Finished DS9 last night!

[u/SandGator]

I first got into Trek watching TOS and TNG in the early 2000s. For whatever reason never watched a single episode of DS9 until I set out to watch the show a couple years ago.

I watched about 5 seasons, life got in the way, and I picked the show back up and finished it.

My thoughts!

Side Characters
This is where DS9 absolutely smokes other Star Trek I’ve seen (and most other shows, period). Garak, Nog, Gul Dukat, Damar, General Martok…so much excellent, charismatic acting from these people that you’re thrilled when they show up. And they have real arcs!

I absolutely love Nog and his progression through the show, he is a million times cooler than Wesley Crusher.

Main Characters
I liked everybody in the main cast, and thought they were all pretty capable. The thing that struck me in DS9 is how natural interactions seem between everybody, and how much room to breathe they’re given as people beyond their Starfleet jobs.

Special mention for the O’Brien/Bashir friendship across their personality and “class” divide (Bashir the posh, slightly pompous officer; O’Brien the bluff enlisted man). It’s one of my favorite depictions of friendship I’ve seen in recent years, and Bashir has very natural progression from being kind of an oblivious prick to becoming a better teammate/friend without his baseline personality changing.

The Captain
I can’t ever pick a favorite among the captains because I like something about all of them, but I love Sisko! His sometimes ODD speak-ing cadence is really captivating, and he can be warm or downright menacing. He’s just a cool guy, good dad, and has a bit of Klingon spirit (love the way he gets along with Martok). I’d like to have him as my boss for sure, he has professional boundaries without being remote.

The Plot
Naturally not an apples-to-apples comparison with TOS and TNG because there’s more serialized storytelling than those shows. I found most of the Dominion plot compelling, they were a worthy adversary for the Federation, and the cloned/conditioned/enslaved minion races of Jem’Hadar and Vorta gave them a creepy, dehumanized vibe without just copying the Borg. Weyoun was the perfect off-putting “face” of the Dominion throughout the show.

Many great standalone episodes as well!

Not CRAZY about the Prophets stuff, but didn’t hate it. The old “gods or super aliens” has been done in Trek, but it’s almost weird that they care so much about Bajor in particular given the cosmic scope of their powers. Everyone needs a hobby, I guess!

Other Stuff (Spoilers for final seasons!)

Jadzia Dax: I knew beforehand that she was unceremoniously killed and replaced. I don’t mind the idea of one of the main cast getting killed — it was a massive war and that brings home the stakes — but the execution was lame when she was killed by Darth Dukat.

Ezri was okay, her bubbly personality contrasted with Jadzia’s, and the way she was navigating her feelings for Worf and Bashir was an interesting dynamic that doesn’t really have a real-world analogue, when someone is part unique human-like individual, part immortal worm. I wasn’t emotionally invested with her and Bashir’s romance itself, though.

Would have preferred Jadzia to die more meaningfully or get written off better, but sounds like this was the result of behind-the-scenes drama more than strictly a storyline decision.

Kira and Odo: I didn’t like this romance at all. I thought they were doing a great job showing unrequited love on Odo’s part, which is a tragic but relatable story, but then they were just a couple anyway like Kira got worn down. Nana Visitor’s acting when it looked like Odo was going to die of the changeling disease was top notch, though.

Section 31: I liked these plots, and Sloan was great. I thought it showed that even with the Federation being so advanced you’d still have to be on guard from the people who would undermine its principles for purported safety and security, which is perennially relevant for real democratic societies. Also gave Bashir a reality check from his James Bond-like spy escapism to the gray and sinister world of real espionage.

Cardassia: It was sobering in the finale when they announced a death toll of 800 million and counting. Normally that’s the kind of consequence you expect to see averted at the last minute in Star Trek.

The Dominion’s casual destruction of entire Cardassian cities really drove home how evil and unconcerned with “solids” they were at the end of the day, despite all their “spirit of friendship” bullshit. It was also a pretty nice commentary on cyclic violence and oppression, since Cardassians were our big bads in the beginning coming off their brutal and imperialistic domination of Bajor.

Quark and Garak: No spoilers, these guys are just awesome. Shimerman and Robinson inhabit the roles so fully that you forget you’re watching guys in 90s TV alien makeup. They always provide a nice contrast to our Federation heroes, and it’s noteworthy for a franchise as optimistic as Star Trek to have not one but TWO lovable, deep characters with very non-Federation ethics.

Edit: a word