"Major, when you're with the Romulans, try to be diplomatic." "I'm always diplomatic!"
This post is part of the 100 Things: A Blogging Challenge; please click here to learn more about the challenge and the full list of topics I've discussed.
MAJOR KIRA NERYS
After writing up an entry about a male DS9 character, it's time to write about a female DS9 character. Much as I also loved all of the female characters that have shown up on DS0, there was not even a debate for me when it came time for me to choose a female character from DS9: Kira Nerys was the character who came to mind. Kira was for quite a long time my favourite female character ever (for a number of reasons) and out of all of the main characters in the show, she had quite a startling transporation from the first time we were introduced to her in the pilot to the last time that we saw her onscreen. Again, if you're planning on watching this show at any point, potential spoilers ahead! as I will be talking about her character development.
Like Sisko, Kira started on DS9 with quite a checkered past herself with a lot of baggage. Kira grew up during the Cardassian Occupation (that ended quite recently when the show began) and eventually became a freedom fighter, fighting back against the regime. As a result, she became quite a hardened individual, slow to warm up to others--especially those from the Federation--and quick to anger. Her hostility was quite evident when she first met Benjamin Sisko and other characters like Julian Bashir (lol poor Bashir, he was quite the wide-eyed bambi when he first came on-board). As series one progressed and onward, we begin to watch Kira overcome her wariness of the Federation and come to not only accept her new colleagues but also become friends with them. Her suspicions towards Sisko gave way to begrudging respect to friendship, which was nice to see. I especially loved her friendship with Jadzia Dax because growing up, I don't think Kira had the time or thought for talking about things like dates and "girly stuff" (I can't give specifics at this point as it's been a while since I've watched the show but I always enjoyed their scenes together). She obviously had a particular bond with her fellow Resistance members that would never really shake off, but it's nice to see Kira develop those types of relationships that she did not have growing up.
Her character development over the course of the show was just fantastic. She really grew out of the mindset that she had at the beginning of the show thanks to the people she was surrounded with and the situations that she faced over the course of the seven years (one example that comes to mind was befriending Ziyal, Dukat's half-Bajoran child; Kira of series 1 would be abhorred at the idea of making friends with such a person but she did). I can't imagine the Kira from series 1 taking full command of Deep Space Nine at the end of series 7. But yeah, she had these wonderful character moments that reveal a lot about who she is and what she believes in; she often found herself in situations that challenged her beliefs and forced her to reconsider certain things she otherwise would never have done. The Dominion War was certainly a point of intersection for Kira where the person she had come to be since coming to Deep Space Nine and the person she was during the Occupation really came together. I especially loved that in series 7 Kira sported a Starfleet uniform for a while because it really represented her acceptance for the Federation and her trust in Sisko, which is a long way from the pilot episode.
But personally I love Kira's character because she's really one of those tough characters and does not apologise for it. In the early seasons, she would definitely cross the lines when she has to in order to get things done. But she's really quite kick-ass, whether it be defiantly standing her ground with Gul Dukat or doing her routine clash with Quark for whatever illegal thing he's done that week. By series 7 she's much calmer, more collected in presenting a sense of authority but still just as kick-ass when the job demands it (she was great at sizing Damar up in creating a rebellion of their own against the Dominion). But what's also fantastic about her--and kudos to the writers for this--is that we see different facets of her character aside from her kick-ass self on the job or about her past. We see what she's like in relationships, her camraderie with friends, the deep faith that she holds for the Prophets. So yeah, she's definitely my favourite character from the series and one of my favourite characters overall in the genre =)
This entry was originally posted at http://caffeinatedlife.dreamwidth.org/378533.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
MAJOR KIRA NERYS
After writing up an entry about a male DS9 character, it's time to write about a female DS9 character. Much as I also loved all of the female characters that have shown up on DS0, there was not even a debate for me when it came time for me to choose a female character from DS9: Kira Nerys was the character who came to mind. Kira was for quite a long time my favourite female character ever (for a number of reasons) and out of all of the main characters in the show, she had quite a startling transporation from the first time we were introduced to her in the pilot to the last time that we saw her onscreen. Again, if you're planning on watching this show at any point, potential spoilers ahead! as I will be talking about her character development.
Like Sisko, Kira started on DS9 with quite a checkered past herself with a lot of baggage. Kira grew up during the Cardassian Occupation (that ended quite recently when the show began) and eventually became a freedom fighter, fighting back against the regime. As a result, she became quite a hardened individual, slow to warm up to others--especially those from the Federation--and quick to anger. Her hostility was quite evident when she first met Benjamin Sisko and other characters like Julian Bashir (lol poor Bashir, he was quite the wide-eyed bambi when he first came on-board). As series one progressed and onward, we begin to watch Kira overcome her wariness of the Federation and come to not only accept her new colleagues but also become friends with them. Her suspicions towards Sisko gave way to begrudging respect to friendship, which was nice to see. I especially loved her friendship with Jadzia Dax because growing up, I don't think Kira had the time or thought for talking about things like dates and "girly stuff" (I can't give specifics at this point as it's been a while since I've watched the show but I always enjoyed their scenes together). She obviously had a particular bond with her fellow Resistance members that would never really shake off, but it's nice to see Kira develop those types of relationships that she did not have growing up.
Her character development over the course of the show was just fantastic. She really grew out of the mindset that she had at the beginning of the show thanks to the people she was surrounded with and the situations that she faced over the course of the seven years (one example that comes to mind was befriending Ziyal, Dukat's half-Bajoran child; Kira of series 1 would be abhorred at the idea of making friends with such a person but she did). I can't imagine the Kira from series 1 taking full command of Deep Space Nine at the end of series 7. But yeah, she had these wonderful character moments that reveal a lot about who she is and what she believes in; she often found herself in situations that challenged her beliefs and forced her to reconsider certain things she otherwise would never have done. The Dominion War was certainly a point of intersection for Kira where the person she had come to be since coming to Deep Space Nine and the person she was during the Occupation really came together. I especially loved that in series 7 Kira sported a Starfleet uniform for a while because it really represented her acceptance for the Federation and her trust in Sisko, which is a long way from the pilot episode.
But personally I love Kira's character because she's really one of those tough characters and does not apologise for it. In the early seasons, she would definitely cross the lines when she has to in order to get things done. But she's really quite kick-ass, whether it be defiantly standing her ground with Gul Dukat or doing her routine clash with Quark for whatever illegal thing he's done that week. By series 7 she's much calmer, more collected in presenting a sense of authority but still just as kick-ass when the job demands it (she was great at sizing Damar up in creating a rebellion of their own against the Dominion). But what's also fantastic about her--and kudos to the writers for this--is that we see different facets of her character aside from her kick-ass self on the job or about her past. We see what she's like in relationships, her camraderie with friends, the deep faith that she holds for the Prophets. So yeah, she's definitely my favourite character from the series and one of my favourite characters overall in the genre =)
This entry was originally posted at http://caffeinatedlife.dreamwidth.org/378533.html. Please comment there using OpenID.