Best Star Trek: DS9 Antagonists

[Lord Pendragon]

I voted for Kai Wynn.

She, to me, is the most well-realized villain in Trek history. We saw a huge dynamic shift in the character over the course of the series, both in how we the audience perceived her, and in the substance of her character. She was power-hungry, but sincere in her devotion to her people. She was continually divided by her desire to control and her desire to be true to her faith.

Gul Dukat comes in a close second, but in the end his entire character is founded on a single basic self-delusion, which never really changes until he's possessed by the Pah Wraiths.

 

[Mycanid]

I voted for the Pah Wraiths. I thought they were a very interesting idea/twist on things and liked how they were presented on the "larger scope".

 

[Vigilance]

I voted for Kai Wynn.

Kai Wynn would have been really close for me, I loved to hate her until that last arc. I realize you need to wrap things up, but totally abandoning the Prophets and working with a Cardassian was a bridge too far for me.

Until that point I liked that there could be people who would see her side, see the Federation as a slightly more benevolent occupying power than the Cardassians, etc.

I mean, if she wasn't willing to roll with Sisko being the Emissary (which I could totally buy btw, her not wanting to submit to a complete stranger, a human who hadn't lifted a finger to stop the Occupation) how am I to reconcile that with her helping Gul Dukat?

 

[Mark]

What you call genocide, I call a day's work. - Aamin Marritza posing as Gul Darhe'el (from Duet Season 1, Episode 18 of ST: DS9)

 

[Mycanid]

Hey there Vigilance ... my memory may be playing tricks on me, but wasn't Gul Dukat possessed by one of the Pah Wraiths and uttering "prophecies" and such? SO in her mind wasn't she just being obedient to what she thought were her god(s)? That would explain why she listened to him in my mind.

If I remember correctly when she realized what was going on and warned the others how to defeat the wraiths the Par Wraith in Gul Dukat fried her good, and that was the end of her.

Or am I totally mixing up storylines here?

 

[Vigilance]

Hey there Vigilance ... my memory may be playing tricks on me, but wasn't Gul Dukat possessed by one of the Pah Wraiths and uttering "prophecies" and such? SO in her mind wasn't she just being obedient to what she thought were her god(s)? That would explain why she listened to him in my mind.

Dukat was the Pah-wraith Emissary. He wasn't possessed as in mind-controlled.

Also, Kai Wynn openly talks about defying the prophets. So she knows that Dukat and the Pah-wraiths are an abomination. It's a huge shift for her- throughout the series, whatever else you could say about her (imo) you could say she was devout in her service to the Prophets.

I guess if I had thought she was a hypocrite all along it wouldn't have been as big a change for me right at the end.

Anyway- that's me- I felt they took an ambiguous character and made her a straight villain and for me, that ruined the coolest thing about her.

 

[Mycanid]

Ah well ... memories all mixed up. Thanks for settin the record straight.

 

[DreadPirateMurphy]

Dukat was the Pah-wraith Emissary. He wasn't possessed as in mind-controlled.

Also, Kai Wynn openly talks about defying the prophets. So she knows that Dukat and the Pah-wraiths are an abomination. It's a huge shift for her- throughout the series, whatever else you could say about her (imo) you could say she was devout in her service to the Prophets.

I guess if I had thought she was a hypocrite all along it wouldn't have been as big a change for me right at the end.

Anyway- that's me- I felt they took an ambiguous character and made her a straight villain and for me, that ruined the coolest thing about her.

Toward the end of the series, she became more and more desperate for some sign of favor from the Prophets. She was jealous of Sisko because he had what she thought her due, and he didn't even appreciate it. She also didn't know who Dukat was at first, as he was altered to look Bajoran. When she learned who he was, she was in too deep to back out, and she could rationalize it through her jealousy and bitterness. At the last, she realized how grave a mistake she made, and tried to rectify things at the end.

 

[Vigilance]

Toward the end of the series, she became more and more desperate for some sign of favor from the Prophets. She was jealous of Sisko because he had what she thought her due, and he didn't even appreciate it. She also didn't know who Dukat was at first, as he was altered to look Bajoran. When she learned who he was, she was in too deep to back out, and she could rationalize it through her jealousy and bitterness. At the last, she realized how grave a mistake she made, and tried to rectify things at the end.

I understand the rationale for it. It just made her less ambiguous and thus, less cool, to me.

 

[Orius]

Got to go with Gul Dukat. Arrogant, womanizing, pompous jerk, a bad guy we all love to hate, although I liked the episodes where he wasn't really the bad guy.

The Jem'Hadar were great bad guys, but for the Dominion, I liked Weyoun and the female changeling better.