Nog Is Everything That’s Great About Star Trek

Nog the Ferengi is everything that’s great about Star Trek.

Yesterday was Aron Eisenberg’s birthday, and that occasion got me thinking about his famous Trek character Nog. Nog was of course the nephew of Quark in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Nog is sometimes overlooked as a character, but when you look at him closely you see that he’s everything Star Trek is about.

Nog starts off as a typical Ferengi. We see him attempting to rob part of the falling apart station during the first episode of DS9. He’s cast as a friend for Jake Sisko, but of the two characters it’s Nog that truly grows. Nog truly starts in one place and ends up in another. If you’re looking for character development on Star Trek you’ll find no better example than Nog.

Nog starts to pull away from his Ferengi roots and decides to enter Starfleet. Not to make a profit, but to make more of himself. Nog’s journey from typical Ferengi to model Starfleet cadet isn’t easy, Quark in particular is disdainful of Nog’s choice. By the time we reach one of my favorite episodes “The Magnificent Ferengi” Nog has really come into his own though. Even Quark sees Nog’s value as a Starfleet officer by this point.

Nog’s journey is the journey of Star Trek. Star Trek shows us that we as humans can have a better future through science and understanding, and Nog personifies this. Nog may be a Ferengi, but he’s very human, especially compared to us living in 2017.

So don’t see Nog as “the Ferengi kid from DS9” see him as “the Ferengi that represents all of us in DS9.”

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So what do you think? Do you have a favorite Nog moment from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine? Share it with us on Facebook or in the comments below.