an aspect of ds9 I have always loved is that the series just starts off by throwing this cast of characters together who are almost entirely strangers to one another, and who struggle to get along and cooperate because of their different values and pasts and motivations. they aren’t a perfect team of people with established relationships - they’re flawed individuals who have to learn to work together, who grow from strangers to family as the story progresses. it’s easy to forget watching later seasons that at the beginning of ds9, the characters mostly aren’t friends. part of the beauty of the show for me is the way it shows a group of people with so little in common, with very different ideals and experiences, being brought together by circumstance and ending up developing such strong and meaningful relationships.
