[Ari]

This makes me sad, as I really liked what DS9 and Nog in particular brought to the Ferengi.

The Ferengi started out as a failed TNG concept and had been relegated to the trash bin of species. DS9 picked them up but really wasn’t sure what to do with them. Quark was the only slightly established character, with Rom being thuggish dumb Ferengi #1 and Nog being generic troublemaking kid. And not a troublemaking kid to the protagonist, but to a character piece of the protagonist. Since Jake Sisko was created for the purposes of allowing easy and deeper exploration of Sisko’s fathering and family life, Nog started out as a tool that would test Sisko through Jake. A lesser show and a lesser actor would have left it at that but Nog grew into his own full individual character and not always a likable one either.

Nog goes from annoying kid to admirer of the federation and watches the command staff come back time and time again as heros so he joins starfleet, has a rocky time but makes it and becomes the first Ferengi in starfleet. With his new found pride he enjoys playing soldier right up until he ends up in a real battle in a real war and loses his leg defending some tech junk and everything changes the war damaged PTSD Nog of later seasons is deep and nuanced wanting to escape reality back to the days where everyone seemed invincible and heroic.