Transcription
The Enterprise. Captain Kirk. “Live Long and Prosper.” The iconography of Star Trek in popular culture is supported by several well-known characters and phrases – sometimes phrases not actually said in any series.
Even those who do not watch Star Trek know Mr. Spock is a Vulcan, Klingons are the bad guys, except when they're not, and that Starfleet will “boldly go where know no man (or no one) has gone before,” – oh, and that the best villain in Star Trek is Khan. After all, as we recall through pop culture osmosis, Kirk screams Khan's name, a scene parodied elsewhere in pop culture. Khan must be the best villain, or else why would Captain Kirk be so darn upset? [“Khan!”]
However, Khan's name recognition and cultural impact notwithstanding, the augmented, genetically-enhanced Khan Noonien Singh only appears in one episode of one series of Star Trek, “Space Seed”, and then returns in the film Star Trek II to exact some sort of “wrath” of himself. Khan was introduced to Star Trek as a cautionary tale about eugenics, and he made for a fine adversary for that one episode. Star Trek II is one of the franchise's better film entries, but Khan himself, in the film, is more of an instrument of revenge against Captain Kirk, the post-World War II politics and foreboding social message of the character discarded to make room for the action-packed, high-stakes, singularly-focused space adventure. Wrath of Khan is good. Khan in Wrath of Khan is a hammy, one-note villain with a plastic chest. Are you sure it's Khan you love, or the movie?
His distant relative, La'an Noonien-Singh, gets more character development and depth in half a season of Strange New Worlds. Yet, the cultural impact of the Khan name more than the character keeps him fresh in the minds of Star Trek fans. The name is what counts. In Star Trek: Into Darkness, when Benedict Cumberbatch revealed himself as “Khan”, the camera got in real tight for a tilted close-up, as if simply saying he is Khan was enough to shock the world. In Star Trek: Picard, a character holding a document with the name “Khan” on it was enough to be considered a huge reveal. The name made an impact more than the character. People remember the name, a few melodramatic lines, some goofball histrionics and a wig that defies hairstyle classification.
The notion that Khan is Star Trek's greatest villain runs through an impossible, perpetual motion machine of popular culture discourse. Khan is the greatest villain in Star Trek because people say that Khan is the greatest villain in Star Trek. He's not a bad villain – Space Seed is a pretty solid episode, actually – but Star Trek has so many more intriguing and complex villains. I can think of ten better Star Trek villains the top of my head, and most of them are from Deep Space Nine. This is largely due to DS9's larger cast of recurring, supporting characters and serialized storytelling compared to, say, The Next Generation. Gul Dukat is a far more layered and fascinating monster, and his Cardassian supremacist politics and personality do more with that particular concept than Khan ever did. Even Weyoun gets more character development than Khan, and he's just a basket of clones.
There is one Star Trek antagonist that never seems to get her due with a portion of Trek fans. A character of subterfuge, conspiratorial manuevering, ambitious, insincere motivations mixed with sincere faith, and yes, significant depth. Winn Adame, the Kai of Bajor. A search through Trek fandom usually reveals that fans regard her as one of the “worst” characters, or “most annoying” or “most hated” in the series. Some fans acknowledge that, being a villain, the designation of “most hated” is not so bad, but many others hate her in the sense that they prefer skip the Winn episodes. They do not simply hate what she stands for but hate watching episodes in which she is a key player. I see this a lot in Trek fan circles. “DS9 is good, but skip the Bajor episodes and the Ferengi episodes.” Anyone who skips The Magnificent Ferengi hates Star Trek. This is my hill, this is where I die.
Earlier this month, over the course of two days, I marathoned all fourteen Winn episodes, and my findings are as follows: Kai Winn is easily one of the best villains in all of Star Trek, perhaps second only to Dukat. My most heartfelt apologies to Q – more concept than man – a judge of humanity who serves as counter-point to the vision of a more enlightened Earth. With the exception of “Deja Q” where Q becomes human, Q episodes are not really about Q. They are about a test for humanity. Anyway, Winn. Kai Winn. Let's talk about her.
Popular discourse about Kai Winn casts her as an entitled woman who demands to see the manager, but that is not an accurate representation of her character or her power levels. Kai Winn doesn't ask to see the manager. Kai Winn is the manager. She's ambitious, she wants power, she gets power, and she uses power. Part of the disdain for the character seems to be how she talks. Much of what Winn says throughout all seven seasons of DS9 is insincere in one way or another. Winn's speech patterns usually fit into one of three categories. Condescension, passive-aggression, and only occasionally, direct aggression.
Here is an example of her upper-level condescension game: [“I feel your anger for me, and I forgive you for it.”] The subtext is that Winn is better than the person to whom she is speaking, but there is enough plausible deniability for Winn to claim she was being humble or sympathetic. “I feel your anger for me, and I forgive you for it.” indicates that the other interlocutor in this argument, in this case Keiko O'Brien, must be at fault. It's like saying “I'll pray for you.” or “Bless your heart.” if you live in the mid-west.
Although simple condescension with plausible deniability brings Winn to the dance, passive-aggression is Winn is what wins her the contest. In this scene, Major Kira and Vedek Bareill, who are becoming acquainted but have not yet become romantically involved, are confronted by Winn. After pretending she doesn't remember Kira's name – classic move – she says [“After working so hard, you deserve a little recreation.”] OK, so here, Winn is making it known she thinks Bareill is interested in Kira and may use that knowledge to her advantage at a future date. It's a threat. Next, only seconds later, when Bareill tells Winn that Kira is in the garden for spiritual reasons, Winn says [“A worthy endeavor for someone who has lead such a life of violence, child.”] Really putting on the pressure. Kira fought in the resistance, something she correctly wears as a badge of honor. Winn is envious of this valor, and wants to take it from her by making it seem sinful instead of righteous. Then, Winn remarks that she knows Kira used one of the sacred orbs without permission from the Vedek assembly, but the assembly does not actually need to be consulted. This is another threat. Winn knows Bareill and Kira used an orb without telling anyone, which is not against the rules, but might be considered discourteous by the highly religious population if that information were revealed. Finally, Winn asks Kira how long she will be staying, and Winn responds [“Feel free to stay as many days as you like. Even a week, if necessary.”] Obviously, this is code for “You have one week to leave this place, or else I will use my political influence and what I have learned here today against you.” Notice how she chooses to speak to both Bareill and Kira. Above them. What an absolute boss, and each devastating passive-aggressive threat happens within seconds of each other, and all in the span of about half a minute. Winn maximizes her passive-aggression and fits a lifetime worth of threats into one brief conversation. No wasted motion. She is the Serena Williams of making you feel bad.
Last but not least, Winn engages in direct aggression from time to time. [“Oh, doctor. I won't forget what you've said here today.”] [“If you're wise, you will never speak to me with such disrespect again!”] This is rare, because Winn prefers to keep her feelings and motivations hidden, not to mention her D&D alignment, and that's what makes her unique.
Winn is a “villain” but she is also the spiritual leader of Bajor. Captain Sisko cares about the Bajoran people. They spend a lot time working together, whether they want to or not. Sometimes Sisko's interests and Winn's interests even align. With the exception of Winn's first appearance, which involves a criminal conspiracy, Winn is usually working alongside the Starfleet officers and Bajoran militias – until her interests come into conflict with theirs. Winn is a villain, but she also offers to officiate Captain Sisko's wedding. The relationship is complicated.
Winn is envious of Sisko because he was chosen to be the Emissary of the Prophets, and that leaves her in his shadow – but she's never plotting to steal his baseball or whatever. That would have been a great episode, actually. Sisko's baseball goes missing, and it turns out it was Kai Winn being super petty. What makes Winn such a great character is that she's complicated. Her choice of words might make her insincere, and her ambition might make her arrogant, but there is some sincerity and humility within her.
In the second season, when Winn is still a Vedek, she conspires with Minister Jarro to drive the Federation out of Bajoran space. In exchange for her cooperation, she will be made Kai. However, she was not aware of Jarro's connection with the Cardassians, and when this is revealed, she correctly turns on him. She gives up her conspiracy and her potential position as Kai because she's not that kind of traitor. Even in season seven, she tells Gul Dukat [“I don't forgive war criminals.”]
Winn went through a lot during the occupation. In one episode, she reminds Kira that those who were caught preaching the word of the Prophets were executed. Winn did this anyway, despite the risks, because their faith helped the Bajoran people get through the occupation. In another episode, it's revealed that Winn tried to encourage the Bajoran clergy to resist further, bribing Cardassian officers to spare Bajorans. The implication is that Winn probably saved a lot of lives during the occupation.
In the seventh season, Winn goes full-on villain mode, but the circumstances are unusual. She receives a vision from entities that she initially believes are the Prophets. Not long after, the entities reveal themselves as the Pah-Wraiths – the ancient enemies of the Prophets. Winn had no idea, but the Prophets refuse to engage with her through the orb anymore. Winn goes to Kira for guidance, but when the former resistance fighter tells the Kai that she should step down and show humility, Winn can't bring herself to do it. She fails the test – initially. Winn is manipulated and entrapped into serving the Pah-Wraiths, and once there are no more options, she goes along with the plan. What do you do when you have never intentionally done anything to offend your gods, but through the trickery of others, you forever cut yourself off from them?
In the end, she gives Captain Sisko the key to defeating Gul Dukat: destroying the book of the Kosta Mojan. [“Emissary, the book!”] [“The book was the key!” “To a door that can never been opened again.”] Kai Winn is best understood as a tragic character who suffered too much trauma living through the occupation. She speaks of it often. Her ambition comes from insecurity, vulnerability, a desire to protect herself: qualities that are exacerbated by trauma. Dr. Bashir correctly calls her a coward, but her cowardice comes from somewhere. It doesn't make her actions justified. It only makes her actions interesting. Kai Winn is a fascinating character, easily one of the best villains in all of Star Trek, and ten times the character that Khan could ever dream to be. And now to check the comments section!