DS9’s Gul Dukat and Kira Nerys Could Never Be a Couple, Says Nana Visitor

There was quite a bit of romance in “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” with some pretty unusual couples that ended up being some of the best in the franchise. Unfortunately, for every couple as perfect as Jadzia Dax (Terry Farrell) and Worf (Michael Dorn)several misguided couples didn’t work out. The character who was least lucky in love in “Deep Space Nine” was Major Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor), whose boyfriends had a history of either dying tragically or being called to higher purposes. However, a proposed romance for her would have been even worse, as the show’s writers toyed with the idea of ​​pairing her with Cardassian leader Gul Dukat (Marc Alaimo).

In an interview with ScreenRantVisitor revealed that although Dukat and Kira had a unique and deeply complicated relationship, a romance between them could never have worked for one simple reason: Dukat is a real villain and a sociopath who only cares about himself. When you add in the fact that he also slept with Kira’s mother (exposed in the episode “Star Trek Deep Space Nine: Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night” and under consensually unclear circumstances, no less!) and helped participate in the Cardassian occupation of Bajor, the idea of ​​Kira and Dukat together is honestly just disgusting.

Major Kira has very good episodes with Cardassian characters over the course of the series, and ends up questioning his own prejudices and growing considerably. Although it might have been interesting for her to fall in love with a Cardassian, Dukat would have been the worst possible option, as Visitor explains:

“I think a lot of people found Dukat [to be] not only a great character, but romantic, almost interesting. He had this thing. There were a lot of women who loved him, but I think that would be jumping the shark. […] “He’s a bad boy, but he means well.” No, he’s a sociopath, you can’t fix that. You can’t. Narcissists are good at convincing you of the person you want reflected back to you. He’s so good at it.”

Kira was condemned to a pretty tragic case of “I can fix it” syndrome, which she ultimately turned on the station’s head of security and grumpy resident, Odo (René Auberjonois). But the visitor is right that Dukat is simply beyond repair. Dukat tried again and again to make Kira fall in love with him, but she immediately saw his selfishness and lack of true love for others. Once his daughter Ziyal was killed, he really went off the deep end and Kira and Dukat never had a chance to reconcile their differences. Ultimately, Dukat and Kira work best as adversaries forced into casual camaraderie, and a romance between them could never have come to fruition.

Now Dukat and Bajoran religious leader Kai Winn (Louise Fletcher)? This is a duo we can get behind.