Summary
Star Trek: Deep Space Ninepulled off a miracle by replacing Lt. Commander Jadzia Dax (Terry Farrell) with Lt. Ezri Dax (Nicole de Boer).Terry Farrell exitedDS9at the end of season 6, and the series chose to kill off her popular Jadzia Dax character. Recasting is an issue many television series have faced, butStar Trek: Deep Space Ninerose to the challenge by creatinga new Dax character that turned out to be incredibly successful, especially in hindsight.
Terry Farrell leftStar Trek: Deep Space Ninedue to behind the scenes issues with Paramount. Farrell’s exit was acrimonious at the time, butkept out of the loop wereDS9’s creative team led by showrunner Ira Steven Behr. Suddenly finding themselves without Farrell and Dax, a beloved series regular and an integral member of Deep Space Nine’s crew, Behr and his writers decided to create a new but very different Dax character. Looking back, Behr calls bringing in Nicole de Boer asEzri Dax"the smartest thing we ever did."
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Cast & Character Guide
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine had the biggest cast of characters of any Trek show, meaning that Captain Sisko had numerous allies in the Dominion War.
Star Trek: DS9 Replacing Jadzia With Ezri Dax Worked
Ezri seamlessly integrated into DS9
Nicole de Boer’s Lt. Ezri Dax was introduced inStar Trek: Deep Space Nine’s season 7 premiere, and the new Dax was seamlessly integrated intoDS9’s final season. In fact, one of the smartest movies in introducing Dax was pairing her up withCaptain Benjamin Sisko(Avery Brooks) right away. Sisko and Jadzia Dax had a special relationship going back to Dax’s previous host, Curzon, who was Ben’s mentor.WhenCaptain Sisko immediately accepted Ezri as Dax, it sent a signal to the audiencethat it was safe to do the same.
Ezri was never going to be Jadzia, and never asking her to be was the right move by DS9.
Another masterstroke byStar Trek: Deep Space Ninewas to makeEzri a very different Dax from Jadzia. Where Jadzia was cool and confident, Ezri was insecure and neurotic, especially since she was never trained to be the host of a Trill symbiont. Ezri’s confusion and frustrations in sorting through Dax’s past lives made her endearing, especially since she was also the DS9 station’s counselor.Ezri appeared in the majority ofDS9’s final season episodesand interacted with the show’s entire sprawling cast. The result was Ezri Dax feeling essential toDS9season 7. Ezri was never going to be Jadzia, and never asking her to be was the right move byDS9.
Ezri Feels Like She Has Been Dax In Star Trek: DS9 Longer Than She Was
It’s hard to believe Ezri was only in one season
As Ezri Dax, Nicole de Boer was part of most ofStar Trek: Deep Space Nineseason 7’s most memorable moments. Ezri played baseball with the Niners led by Captain Sisko. Ezri was part of the Las Vegas heist the DS9 crew pulled at Vic Fontaine’s (James Darren) casino. Ezri also compassionately counseledEnsign Nog (Aron Eisenberg)when he was suffering from PTSD.DS9also tackled the issue of Lt. Commander Worf (Michael Dorn) mourning Jadzia head-on, andsettled what Worf and Ezri would mean to each other. Ultimately, Ezri ended up in a romantic relationship with Dr. Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddig).
Ezri’s existence or her characterization on DS9 never dishonored Jadzia Dax’s memory.
Looking back onStar Trek: Deep Space Nine, Ezri Dax was so essential to the final season that it’s hard to believe she wasn’t actually in the series even longer. Ezri’s existence or her characterization onDS9never dishonored Jadzia Dax’s memory, but having Ezri on the show helped Worf,DS9’s characters, and the audience grieve and then move on from the loss of Jadzia. While Ezri did have detractors whenDS9was on the air, those misplaced complaints are now irrelevant and long forgotten. 20+ years after the end ofStar Trek: Deep Space Nine, Terry Farrell’s Jadzia and Nicole de Boer’s Ezri areboth beloved as Dax.
