DS9 had a gift for acknowledging its problems and working them into the story. The station got a starship. The captain got a makeover. The cranky Klingon came aboard to boost ratings, but was worked effectively into the cast of misfits.
And when a character had to be written out and replaced in the last year of the show, the new girl in town came in with as much confusion and uncertainty as you’d expect from anyone in that situation.
I admit to experiencing unhealthy youthful nerd-rage when Terry Farrell left DS9 abruptly, just one year before the finish line. I wanted to see my favorite show make it to the end with all its main characters intact, and on a character-dependent show like DS9, that seemed even more important than most. How do you go on with one of the most spirited, vital female characters ever created for Star Trek missing from your cast?
The answer is, you cast Nicole de Boer. Yes, she looked like a shorter, short-haired version of Jadzia, but the producers have been quoted as saying when she walked into the audition, she was exactly what they imagined as the next Dax. Honestly, I had the same reaction when she first turned up on the show. Ezri struck just the right balance of continuity in a highly serialized tale with a spark of freshness on a show that was always reinventing itself.
And if any character had to be replaced, at least it was one with a built-in replacement mechanism in her very backstory. Ezri was a high-concept character from the get-go, an idea series creator Michael Piller says he wishes he had tried out for Dax from the start. Meanwhile, some of the unsavory reasons Terry Farrell had to leave the show have come out in recent years, which makes it almost more infuriating, but this time on Terry Farrell’s behalf. I hope that Terry, and Ezri, have had many good adventures in the years since that fateful switch.
Best Episodes for Ezri Dax
“Afterimage”
Ezri counsels Garak, who’s really mean to her, and tries to figure out if she really wants to stay on DS9. The lean-into-your-problems philosophy of DS9 is in full effect here, as Garak gives Ezri the speech some fans were thinking, namely that Jadzia was a better character and how dare you try to replace her? While Dax is usually the one guiding Sisko, this time it’s the protégé who helps the mentor, given as how the mentor is suddenly a young woman with no idea who she is.
“The Siege of AR-558”
The grimmest of DS9’s grim war stories (and honestly, a little over the top in its grimness), this episode nevertheless has some sweet moments between Ezri and former sci-fi child star Bill Mumy as the engineer Kellin.
“Field of Fire”
The Joran character annoys me a bit, but they use him to good effect here to put Ezri through the emotional wringer. She solves a mystery (which is actually a really cool mystery) and learns to assert herself. My only question is why Odo has to wear safety goggles for the weapons test WHEN HE DOESN’T ACTUALLY HAVE EYEBALLS?!
(Ezri’s other murder-mystery episode, “Prodigal Daughter,” is the clunker of the season, thrown together at the last minute to fill a sudden production hole. It wastes an opportunity to give her some backstory, as well as dredging up material from one of O’Brien’s less interesting episodes. Dullsville, and one of the major weapons in Ezri-haters’ arsenals.)
“Penumbra”
The first of DS9’s ten-part finale arc begins with Ezri striking out on her own to rescue Worf. I did not like that their uncomfortable fling got stretched across three episodes, but this first chapter is kind of fun, and lets Ezri take some agency.
“Tacking Into the Wind”
Near the end of the finale arc, this episode has multiple storylines going on, but Ezri’s speech to Worf is a highlight of the episode and her character. If you have to bring a new character in for your final season, use their new perspective to preach some truth into an old problem that’s been lingering since the early years of TNG. And that’s what DS9 with Ezri in this moment, giving Worf some hard-to-hear but necessary wisdom on the sorry state of the Klingon Empire. Much respect to the new girl.
Heroes & Villains of MBTI 