Summary
- Terry Farrell’s departure from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in season 7 led to the introduction of a new Dax character, Ezri, instead of completely removing Dax from the show.
- The decision to create Ezri Dax allowed for new story opportunities and different relationships, including exploring her dynamic with Sisko and Worf.
- While Terry Farrell expressed interest in reprising Jadzia Dax, there is potential for both Jadzia and Ezri to share the screen in future Star Trek projects, whether in animated series or live-action reunions.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’s decision to replace Jadzia Dax (Terry Farrell) with Ezri Dax (Nicole de Boer) in season 7 instead of creating an entirely new character is explained by writer Ronald D. Moore. At the end of DS9 season 6, Terry Farrell departed the series due to behind-the-scenes conflicts with the studio, Paramount. DS9’s writers killed off the beloved Lt. Commander Jadzia Dax character and introduced Lieutenant Ezri Dax, the new host of the Dax symbiont, at the start of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 7.
In the oral history “The Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek” by Peter Holmstrom, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine writer Ronald D. Moore details how the writer’s room reacted to Terry Farrell leaving the series and their decision to create a new Dax instead of replacing the popular Jadzia with a different kind of character. Read Moore’s quote below:
It was a shock and a surprise that Terry Farrell didn’t come back for the seventh season. We were just in denial about it up until the very end, so we made no accommodations to where we would pull Dax as a character completely out of the show. I don’t think any of us were ready to do that. We just wanted Dax to continue, so we viewed it as an opportunity to do different Dax stories, and different relationships. Now she has a different host and how would that change things, in her relationship with Sisko and Worf. We embraced it as an opportunity to expand.
Ezri Dax Worked As Jadzia’s Replacement On Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
- Nicole de Boer’s Lt. Ezri Dax was immediately introduced at the start of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 7, and the new Dax was front and center throughout the final season. Ezri hosting the Dax symbiont but being wholly unprepared to suddenly have the memories of multiple Daxs in her head did create new story opportunities for the character.
- As did making Ezri the space station’s Counselor, which allowed her to interact with DS9
‘s expansive menagerie of characters . Ezri had to resolve Lt. Commander Worf’s (Michael Dorn) mourning over his wife, Jadzia’s, death, and the new Dax also built a different kind of relationship with Jadzia’s best friend, Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks).Terry Farrell has spoken out about why she left Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, but she also expressed her interest in reprising Jadzia Dax if DS9 gets a revival. - There is potential for Farrell to play Jadzia Dax again, especially in one of Star Trek’s animated series, Star Trek: Lower Decks and Star Trek: Prodigy. But fans are also clamoring for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine‘s cast to reunite in live-action, and there are creative ways both Jadzia and Ezri Dax could share the screen together if it happens.