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Kira Nerys - one of the best Trek characters ever?

Kilana2

Kilana2

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When I started watching DS9 I couldn't stand Major Kira. She was tough, grim and belligerent. With progression of the show Kira showed different aspects and startet to really grow on me. It were the novels that showed a little bit more of her background and childhood. There are still people around who dislike Kira. Why? She is my favorite female character now.

1. She had discussions with Kai Winn.
2. She did things nobody expected from her - e. g. carrying a child for the O'Briens.
3. She fought for her dear life during the Occupation.
4. She hated Cardassians but was able to overcome her misgivings and fought with Damar against the Dominion.
5. She is faithful.

The only thing that bothered me is her relationship with Bareil. Shakaar was the better choice. The Odo-Kira relationship is something special.
 
To be fair, in the pilot, Kira doesn't come across as very sympathetic. It's only with the hindsight you gain later in the series and when you learn something of her background story you can understand why she was so non-trusting and belligerent in the beginning of the series.
 
Sometime in Voyager's first year, one of the mainstream entertainment magazines had a cover and large spread on "The Women of Star Trek." All the main cast women were there for the shoot, including Nichols and Crosby (too early for Ryan, of course). In spite if the fact that the thrust of the accompanying article was that Voyager broke the glass ceiling with Janeway, it still argued that Kira (and to a lesser extent, Dax) was clearly the breakthrough when it came to showing something different and strong in a female character.

Yes, Kira is the best woman in Star Trek, if not one of the few best in Science Fiction. She started off in an interesting place, having both her own agendas and flaws, but she also evolved. She basically carried the first season and a half. I suspect that Michael Burnham will surpass Kira at some point as the Discovery writers get a better handle on that character: Sonequa Martin Green is a better actres, IMO. Even so, Kira's story will be special and unique.
 
Never really liked her. The only main character I cared even less about was Jake. All the others ones are more interesting to me.
 
As much as I like Kira, I really can't stand the Intendant Kira from the Mirror Universe. She's a sex and power obsessed character. For Nana Visitor it must have been great: so much overacting to do.....

tumblr_ojioyacbpP1qj6sk2o4_500.gifv
 
Kira ruled from the first moment we saw her in "Emissary". Character setups were largely well done but she's clearly an interesting character and one with some depth. "Duet" is also a masterpiece worthy of numerous accolades.

DS9's mirror universe episodes never once appealed to me, and it later became too convenient to jump across the dimension. But as @Bad Thoughts indicated, "Our Man Bashir" and its ilk do seem to stand out far better for letting actors get to really relish other roles and with gusto... and overacting can indeed be highly entertaining and for all the right reasons.
 
I love how complex Kira Nerys is. And she actually was a good role model for me when it came to my own journey of faith. We saw her faith develop beautifully. It wasn't truly blind faith, and she recognized the difference between talking the talk and walking the walk.
 
Bad Thoughts said:
Yes, Kira is the best woman in Star Trek, if not one of the few best in Science Fiction. She started off in an interesting place, having both her own agendas and flaws, but she also evolved. She basically carried the first season and a half. I suspect that Michael Burnham will surpass Kira at some point as the Discovery writers get a better handle on that character: Sonequa Martin Green is a better actres, IMO. Even so, Kira's story will be special and unique.
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IMHO Kira was the only female character up until Discovery who was allowed to have her femininity almost incidental to her overall personality. That is to say that other female characters were all arguably there to be "the woman" - either in a tokenistic sense, to be the eye candy/sex appeal, in traditionally feminine roles (counselor, mother, nurse, switchboard operator, etc) or alternatively to partially subvert the feminine tropes. Kira was just allowed to be who she was - which I think is evident because if you imagined her as a man, aside from some of the romantic interactions everything could have played basically exactly the same.
 
Bad Thoughts said:
Actually, no. She found the outfit suffocating and because the plastic squeaked when she walked, she was forced to dub all her lines.

Whenever she talks about a fun, campy outing, it's Our Man Bashir: she got to come out of the wall on a bed and use a bad Russian accent.
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So that's like Jeri Ryan's outfit: very sexy but uncomfortable for the woman who has to wear it.
 
Is Kira one of the Best Trek characters ever?

Yes, without question. Maybe only Kirk and Spock supersede her in my mind. Brilliantly conceived, brilliantly written, brilliantly portrayed.
 
I don't want to annoying you guys or offend the Kira fans but to be honest, there is nothing interesting even complex for me about Kira. (Only episode, that she was kind of interesting was Our Man Bashir.) Here are reasons why for me:

-I never like the religious fundamentalist people, so most of Bajorans, their pointless Gods, Emissaries, Kais and Kira. She was not less radical than Kai Winn. Kai Winn believed only power and utilized the religion for her issue. Kira never asked, if a priest has to have such kind of power, her problem was about an temporary owner of this power. The people who obsessed with their religion/nation/ ideology/ whatsoever tended to being dangerous for the rest of the society. As I understand not the Cardassian Occupation made them so fundamentalist (which can be a reason for a deep trauma, but it doesn't make them better) furthermore they were always like this. :cardie:
-I never like the people who doesn't know who they are. Kira called herself more than once terrorist, how can be a person who fights for survive during the genocide call herself as a terrorist? Who terrorize whom? Self defend is not a crime or terrorism. If you don't believe what you are doing, even see as crime what is your motivation? I am not sure, if it is weakness of script or it is intended..
-For me strong Trek females like Seven or T'Pol always be criticized to be oversexed, none of them have too many relationships as Kira and/or cringey "sexy" scenes as Intendant. Face palm, nothing more.
-We have Spock, next time we have Data. We have Troi, oh let me have next time Kira. How creative!
-She was never a smart/ a good tactical warrior/ leader, maybe an adventurer and wanna be badass but not a solid /reliable soldier. Her ethical decisions were more than questionable and opportunist. They are not adjectives that I can relate with being strong. Nothing is inspiring about her, for me. Girly girls are cute when they are only children.
- Horrible costume. It remembers me always cheap Halloween Superman costumes with six packs, nothing moves with the body.
-Her relationship with Odo was never believable for me. Writers even didn't care about to show us how they forgive to each other after occupation of DS9. And the message of their "love": if a girl reject you, keep going, she will " accept" and love you back one day. Great empowerment for the stalkers!:barf:
Of course she is tooo sexy and another guys like Gul Dukat does the same.Ohh, how erotic! Such amazing object of desire. :rolleyes:
-The voice of Nana Visitor is to me more disturbing than scratching of blackboard.:eek:

Summa summarum: She looks like smart, but she is not.She looks strong, but she always has an alpha man her side who protects her, loves her more than everything, adores her, and so on. She is sexy (?) and you can have her.....
She serves all outdated cliches. It is not only misogynistic but furthermore misandrist. :censored:
I think women as well men of today deserves better.
As I said, I am talking about my meaning about her, if you think other way, I am totally fine with it.
 
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Those are all reasons why she is interesting. :)
sekundant said:
none of them have too many relationships as Kira
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Kira has three lovers throughout the run of the entire show. How many relationships are "too many" for a female character?

sekundant said:
She looks strong, but she always has an alpha animal man her side who protects her, loves her more than everything, adores her, and so on.
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Even if that were true, so what? Strength is not dissolved by having people who support you. A woman is not less capable if she accepts the help of a man. Accepting help is a strength, not a weakness.
 
Tosk said:
Kira has three lovers throughout the run of the entire show. How many relationships are "too many" for a female character?
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It is not my point, I am talking about why she is not seen as oversexed character, although she presented to audience with more different lovers/love interests than the others. I remember Vedek Bareil, Shakaar, Odo, Mirror Barreil, Thomas Riker. Did I forget someone? (Plus, Gul Dukat's constantly flirting). How many lovers/affairs have Seven and T'Pol together?

Tosk said:
Even if that were true, so what? Strength is not dissolved by having people who support you. A woman is not less capable if she accepts the help of a man. Accepting help is a strength, not a weakness.
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Problem is all those men are alpha men who can help her in some way; they are useful. A strong and self confident woman has no problem with taking a man as an equal partner who is not alpha or not kind of useful for her position. Kira never breaks the cliche. Should we now praise so called gold diggers, while they have no problem with the accepting "help" of a man? Why should we reproduce things what our parents already dealed? That's one of the reason why I call her "outdated".
 
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