ESTP: Jadzia Dax, “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”

ESTP – the Adventurer, the Dynamo, the Promoter

Jadzia Dax doesn’t suffer as much from the inner angst of her moody friends on DS9. She’s a generally upbeat, adventurous young woman who just happens to carry the wisdom of the ages inside her. Even being over 300 years old, she still has room to grow, in all the ways you’d expect a happy yet impulsive ESTP to grow. Our time with her was too short, but a hell of a lot of fun.

Dominant Function: (Se) Extraverted Sensing, “The Kitchens”

Jadzia starts her mornings with a wrestling match and an alcoholic drink called a black hole. She plays Tongo with Ferengi and fights bat’leth duels with Klingons. She drags her mopey friend Kira into costumed adventures and spa getaways in the holosuites.

She pilots the Defiant, briefly becomes its captain, and goes on any away mission that needs someone smart, alert, and brave. When she’s thrown back in time to 21st-century Earth, she sizes up her situation immediately upon waking and bluffs her way into a comfortable home and resources to find her friends.

She throws a legendary bachelorette party, and won’t let her stuffy fiance or in-laws kill the vibe.

DS9 MBTI: Lt. Cmdr. Jadzia Dax, an Introduction

According to MBTI rules, you don’t change personality types. Dax never did seem much for rules, though. Over the centuries, the Dax symbiont carved quite a path through history, passing from colorful host to host, before ending up in a nervous-but-overachieving young initiate named Jadzia.

Dax was introduced as a wise old sage character, an ancient being in a young woman’s body. She seems cool and distant, maybe an INFJ or IXTP. Terry Farrell was understandably super nervous about having to play a Yoda type, especially as this was her first big acting gig (she was the last regular cast on the show, days before shooting). I think her poise from years of modeling helped sell the illusion of an old soul in a new form. Once they revamped her in the style of a “female Errol Flynn” (kids, ask your parents), she sprang boldly to life, and Farrell’s natural energy got to shine.

ISTJ: Odo, “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”

ISTJ – the Inspector, the Sentinel, the Trustee

Introducing a shape-shifter to the main cast of a Star Trek show meant that we had the chance to see him turn into all kinds of cool stuff. The limits of television storytelling, however, meant that certain restrictions had to be imposed on his powers. Odo must return to his gelatinous state every 15 hours to regenerate, or he loses coherence. Also, judging from the unfinished shape of his face, he isn’t very good at imitating people (so, no Mystique-style infiltration missions for him).

Thus, despite his fluid body, Odo has the most rigid personality on DS9.

Dominant Function: (Si) Introverted Sensing, “The Study”

Odo keeps to a predictable schedule—the shopkeepers on the Promenade can set their chronometers by his passing when he makes his rounds. He’s a reliable and trustworthy Security Chief, impartial in his judgments whether he’s serving the Cardassians or Starfleet, because he’s only interested in the real facts of the matter. Starfleet keeps him on after they take over Deep Space Nine, thanks to his familiarity with the station and its denizens.

Odo makes a skillful investigator, picking up on details in his environment that build a picture of the crime or suspects he’s studying. This makes it especially difficult for Quark to get any shenanigans past him. Even when Quark seems to have innocuous motives, Odo suspects him, because past experience has taught him that, “You’re always up to something.”

Odo prides himself on his knowledge of humanoid nature, and often uses the phrase, “It’s been my observation—“ when explaining something he’s learned about them.

DS9 MBTI: Constable Odo, an Introduction

Rene Auberjonois, like many of DS9’s actors, was classically trained in the theater. His skills at mask work made him a perfect choice to bring the smooth-faced Odo to life. Very few of his past roles were anything like the gruff, stalwart security chief—the crazed Chef Louie from The Little Mermaid, the snobby and ridiculous Clayton Endicott III on Benson, or the mild-mannered Father Mulcahy in the film M*A*S*H.

With that kind of diverse resume, playing a shape-shifter must have come naturally.

Witness the wonder that is Rene Auberjonois’ emotional range under a flat rubber face in these great episodes:

Best Odo Episodes

“The Forsaken” (season 1)

Odo’s deep need for privacy meets Lwaxana’s aggressive flirtiness when the two of them are stuck in a turbolift together. With his 15th hour drawing near (he needs to regenerate, or he literally falls apart), we get some genuinely sweet-hearted scenes as the two bare their souls and show their true forms.

“Necessary Evil” (season 2)

A highlight of DS9’s early years, the episode shows Odo at his investigative best as new clues crack open a cold case from his Occupation years. We flash back to see how he first got the job on DS9 (called Terok Nor at the time), and how he first met Kira and Quark. It’s dark, compelling, and emotionally gut-wrenching, and proves that Odo is committed to justice above anything else, even friendship.

ISFP: Kira Nerys, “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”

ISFP – the Composer, the Seeker, the Virtuoso

The leaders of Trek’s two previous incarnations were mostly Thinkers. Both shows could be campy and fun, but also intensely cerebral. So it figures that for the “dark, moody” version of Star Trek, we’d get a pair of commanding officers who are driven by Introverted Feeling.

Sisko and Kira don’t start off as best friends. Their Fi needs time to check the other out and make sure they measure up to their deeply held values and goals. In time, they see the same thing in each other—a very passionate, individualistic, sometimes emotionally broken leader with fierce inner moral codes fighting against a universe that wants to control them.

Dominant Function: (Fi) Introverted Feeling, “The Deep Well”

To say that Major Kira Nerys is uncompromising in her values would be like saying Superman is kinda good at lifting heavy stuff. Kira leads with a strong inner moral compass, forged from her years fighting for the Resistance against the Cardassian Occupation of her homeworld. Everything she does, every choice, every step, is to fight for the cause of her people. She acts only on what she believes is right.

While Sisko goes through his emotional healing in the first episode, Kira’s takes the entire series. She’s broken and raw after a childhood spent fighting as a terrorist to free her people, and her only reaction to most situations is anger. She’s quite certain that the Bajoran government only assigned her to DS9 to get her off the planet and out of their hair.

DS9 MBTI: Major Kira, an Introduction

We almost didn’t get Major Kira on DS9. The original plan was to bring Ensign Ro, the popular recurring character from TNG, over to the new show. She was a strong female character whose backstory helped set the stage for DS9, so it was a natural fit.

But actress Michelle Forbes didn’t want to be tied to a regular TV gig, so she politely bowed out. The character was quickly rewritten, this time as a non-Starfleet officer who had even more freedom than Ro to break the rules and pick fights with her commanding officer. Along came Nana Visitor to fill her boots, and I’ve often thought that the one-two punch of Ro and Kira established the Bajorans as a society where women tend to take the lead.

With Kira, we watched possibly the best-written female character in all of Star Trek develop over the course of seven engrossing years. I’d even venture to say she’s one of the best-written characters in all of Star Trek. When I think of good character arcs, I think of Kira.

Check out these episodes and see if you agree:

INFP: Benjamin Sisko, “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”

INFP – the Healer, the Dreamer, the Clarifier

The revelation that Sisko is an INFP hit me one day like a ton of latinum bricks. I was trying to explain his moody attitude in the first episode compared to his later boldness. Cycling through a half-dozen or more different types and cognitive functions, I suddenly recognized the Fi-Si loop. I’ve been in one many a time, and now that I know we share the same type, I wish I had more of the positive aspects of my favorite Star Trek captain’s personality in common with him. But Star Trek is about nothing so much as aspiration, so I hope all the shy INFPs out there can look to this commanding example of the INFP as a figure of power and passion.

Dominant Function: (Fi) Introverted Feeling, “The Deep Well”

Once Sisko believes in something, his intensity can be scary, even to the family and crew who know him well. Witness his fury for fighting the Dominion, hunting down Eddington, or saving Bajor.

When he first takes the DS9 assignment, this intensity is in danger of trickling away. Sisko is stuck deep in an Fi-Si loop in the wake of his wife Jennifer’s death at the hands of the Borg, and he’s become withdrawn, directionless, and moody. Meeting the wormhole aliens grants him the emotional catharsis he needs to properly grieve Jennifer’s loss, and he returns to his mission with renewed energy.

Over the years, the assignment takes on greater personal meaning for Ben—he is “of Bajor,” and he calls DS9 the place where he belongs.

For all his passion, Ben usually keeps a reserved, somewhat brooding composure. His bond with his son Jake appears through warmth, physical affection, and shared meals. He and his eventual new wife Kasidy strike sparks together instantly, but he has trouble voicing his feelings at certain awkward points in their relationship. For a long time, he won’t join the DS9 crew at Vic’s, until Kasidy drags out of him that he morally objects to joining a re-creation of a time and place where brown people like themselves weren’t allowed.

DS9 MBTI: Captain Sisko, an Introduction

Sisko had a great pilot episode. In “Emissary,” he took an emotional arc through one episode that some characters don’t get to do for an entire series. After that, though, he seemed to fade into the background of his own show. Breakout characters like Kira and Odo stole the show for the while, and it wasn’t certain just what set this captain apart from the others.

That he was actually a commander, not a captain, was part of the problem.

Another big part was that actor Avery Brooks just wasn’t allowed to physically be the captain he knew he could be. He was cast as Star Trek’s first captain of color (at least as the lead of a series), and then costumed and written rather blandly. Once Sisko got his promotion, shaved his head, and grew his beard, he became a force to be reckoned with. Giving him his own ship, which he’d designed himself and chosen for a daring mission, literally put Ben in the captain’s seat of the show he was supposed to be leading.

Until then, pinning down the personality of this sometimes aggressive, sometimes brooding captain proved tricky.

A clue presented itself, however, in an early season one episode. “Q-Less” finds Star Trek’s favorite omnipotent troublemaker playing his usual schtick on the crew of DS9. Rather than join Q’s mind games, Sisko just punches the god-like being in the face.

Deep Space Nine MBTI

Deep Space Nine is my Trek, and Sisko is my Captain. I don’t say that to pick a fight. You can read my series on the previous Treks to see that I unabashedly geek out over them all.

DS9 though, was the one that caught me at the right time in life, a moodier take on Star Trek’s universe that got me through my teenage years. Thanks to the book The Making of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, a Christmas present from my Trekkie aunt, it also inspired me to follow my muse into film production and screenwriting. Like most of the stories I call my favorites, it is all about a makeshift family of misfits that finds a home and a mission together.

It thrills my heart that after all these years, Star Trek’s oft-neglected middle child has found new life and a new generation of fans through venues like Netflix and Tumblr—so much so that the new making-of documentary busted through its fundraising goals in a matter of days! Not to mention that most of the cast is active on Twitter, and can I tell you how my stomach flipped the day Aron Eisenberg replied to one of my tweets? In an age when representation in film and television is coming under close scrutiny, DS9 tells stories of strong women, queer characters, people of faith, and brown families—and did it over 20 years ago.

While it was criticized for its apparent “dark, gritty” take on the franchise at the time, DS9 turns out to hold some of the most hope for people these days who need its stories.

Deep Space Nine features complex characters with long arcs, so these profiles are a bit longer than most. To help with the reading, I’ve written an intro post for each of the lead characters that sums them up and provides a handy list of their best episodes for you to catch up on. Once the cast from the opening credits is covered, we’ll have themed weeks for the Ferengi, for Family, and of course for Villains.

(And note, that since DS9 was a show steeped in continuing storylines, spoilers will abound in these profiles for those who haven’t watched.)

Despite many re-watches over the years, I found these characters still had the ability to overturn my expectations. I expected Kira to be an Extravert. I expected Quark to be a Perceiver. I expected Sisko to have Te higher up in his stack. Some characters I wrote two full profiles of before I decided on their type.

But as Sisko said in the first episode:

“That may be the most important thing to understand about humans. It is the unknown that defines our existence. We are constantly searching, not just for answers to our questions, but for new questions. We are explorers. We explore our lives, day by day. And we explore the galaxy, trying to expand the boundaries of our knowledge. And that is why I am here. Not to conquer you with weapons or ideas, but to co-exist and learn.”

Preach it, Ben.

(P.S. Worf won’t be featured in this series, since he already got his profile in the TNG run. Chief O’Brien, however, will finally get his write-up now that he’s a full series regular.)