December Talking #3

[cosmic_llin]

thirdblindmouse said: Tell us about a DS9 character you don't normally talk about.

Ooh, this is tricky. I talk about so many DS9 characters on a regular basis... Looking at a list of the main cast, I've definitely had conversations IRL and on Tumblr about all of them fairly recently, and even the recurring characters, I've talked about some of them at length... I pointed this out to carawj and she was like "Well, you're going to have to talk about one of the boys then". Sadly this is true. ;) 

So I think I'm going to go with Weyoun (although I'll try to avoid spoilers for silly_cleo's sake.)

What I find interesting about Weyoun is that he seems to honestly think that he's quite a nice person? And not in a Dukat way - Dukat has built his whole self on this illusion of being a benevolent father figure to people he casually destroys, he can't bear to be thought of as evil, he believes all his own hype - but with Weyoun it's subtly different. He doesn't need to maintain this kindly self-image, he just genuinely doesn't see what all the fuss is about. Why wouldn't anyone want to be part of the Dominion?

He can be totally merciless and manipulative in spite of that, though, and I think in quite a conscious way. I mean, he was basically designed to get more people into the Dominion in whatever way he could, and if that involves lying, manipulation and coercion, that's fine, but he doesn't get why it has to mean people still can't be his friend?

Which is all interesting in light of how ruthlessly bred to purpose he is - having no appreciation for aesthetics, for example - and it's fascinating to see the times when he tests the boundaries - is he what he was designed for, or does he have free will? Hmm.

Comments

[st_aurafina]

Yes to all of this! I love the occasional sadness we see from Weyoun, too - that episode where we learned that he can't experience taste, and he sounded almost wistful about it.

[cosmic_llin]

Yes! It just makes me so curious to know what and who Weyoun might have been without the Dominion.

[cantarina]

I've always enjoyed that Weyoun knows who and what he is in a way very few people - fictional or otherwise - seem to get to be. The sheer frequency of his earnestness is really endearing and then it flips over on a dime to this unbelievable ruthlessness.

(And YES. Bang on about Dukat, that man is a fucking fascination and irritation all at once, like so many of the best characters.)

[cosmic_llin]

YES. And yeah, uggh, Dukat makes my skin crawl but what a character.