Just once or twice a season… Please?!! I haven’t committed treason in two years!
Ok … so do we need a Lawful-Chaotic + Good-Evil matrix for Trek?
I mean, so many of the main characters would be on the good side of things, it might get crowded
Still interesting to see the contrasts.
Garak - Chaotic Neutral? Dukat - Lawful Evil?
Worf - Lawful Neutral? Picard - Lawful Good?
Kira - Chaotic Good? Kai Winn - Lawful Evil?
Dukat is a prime example of a character that slides all over the scale you almost have to put him as neutral. He starts lawful evil, bound by his word amd antagonistic to anyone not in his faction.
Then he slides to being lawful neutral as relations thaw and elements of his past are exposed while he begins to see his federation counterparts less as adverseries and more like friendly rivals.
Once his half-breed daughter comes into play he eventually slides up to being lawful good, doing everything in his power to be a model father and role model for her and using every last ounce of his influence to care for her. While still operating in self interest, he is far more willing to use his resources to aid his former enemies even when inaction on his part would probably be a net positive given the problems they are solving.
But then the allure of former power and glory mixed with a reminder of who he once was leads to a betrayal of his new friends with some surprisingly honest comments about how he wishes they could have stayed friends but his people’s best hope hinges on him making a deal with the devil. He’s back to being lawful evil but he’s not out to kill his rivals, despite getting more than a few opportunities to do so. In his own words, he only wants them to realize they were wrong to oppose him, and he would only kill them if given no other choice.
This spiral does not stop there though, as when all his plans and schemes fall apart due Sisko’s hail Mary, followed immediately by the death of his daughter leads him into madness and finally being Chaotic Evil. All his former allies are viewed as betrayers who ruined his plans and deprived him of glory. And he almost immediately turns to a new, almost literal devil to be hos patron as he carries out much more personal and haphazard attempts at revenge, with all previous ties and virtues he once held discarded since they no longer serve him.
Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right.
Also don’t let yourself think you are doing what’s right when you are doing whats comfortable and easy for you as Sisko does several times.
Returning Rugal to his father, half of his actions to do with the maquis and everything he does in a pale moonlight are the immediate ones that come to me.
What’s “pspsps” in Cardassian?
I like Sisko because he makes the difficult choices other captains don’t. It’s not to say that he’s always right (poisoning a planet just to catch Eddington, the lamest Star Trek villain since the Pak’led, seemed a little extreme), but he’s willing to make decisions with lasting consequences, as opposed to Picard whose problems tend to get resolved by the end of an episode. Ah, if only EVERY issue could be fixed in 44 minutes!
