DS9: "The Dogs of War"

[bronnt]

The entire Ferengi ending feels like a twist just for the sake of a twist. First, out of an entire planet of Ferengi, the DS9 one is on the one picked? I know, main character and all, but...

and then it turns around to switches to Rom because... you didn't see that coming!

And that's it. That's the entire reason. Rom became Nagus because the audience would never see it coming. It's a writer's choice, rather than the story's.

What's even more damning is that it's completely inconsistent with Rom's character arc. Rom started off as the idiot brother who was too stupid to be a successful Ferengi. Then it was revealed that he's just very socially awkward and lacking political savvy, but is actually really intelligent with machines and technology. So then he gradually accepts that he's not an ideal Ferengi and that it's okay to be rejected by his own people, as long as he's happy within himself. He quits the bar, stops caring about profit, and works as a Bajoran Technician/Engineer (I guess, based on his uniform, he's within Bajoran service ranks rather than Starfleet).

Then he gradually becomes more integral to the plot with his technical expertise. Fitting in or being accepted by other Ferengi no longer matters to him since he has his hot wife, a son that he's proud of, and a job he enjoys. This job allows him to do important work, like helping design the self-replicating mines that blockade the wormhole. So his story arc basically ends with, "I just want to be an engineer, and that's enough ambition for any man." Then out of nowhere they decide that it's not enough for his character so they might as well jus tmake him the Nagus.

It might be okay if this was something that they were organically building toward. Instead it's just a pointless twist with no establishment in the plot that will have no effect on the plot, the story, or the rest of the Trek universe. It's such an afterthought that it's a wonder it actually made it into any episode.

[Asvarduil]

Honestly, I think Moogie becoming the Grand Nagus makes more sense than Rom; she's the best business mind of her generation, responsible for a cultural - and economic - revolution in Ferengi society, and is the mother of Rom, a Ferengi who has materially contributed to one of the great Alpha Quadrant powers, potentially solidifying Ferengi markets' relationship with the major Alpha Quadrant powers.

In any event, the Grand Magus is essentially like being pre-President Donald Trump. You're in essence a CEO of a corporation, if you consider an entire trade alliance to be a "corporation". Rom proved through his arc, he's just not that kind of Ferengi. He's as stereotypically Ferengi, as Richard Simmons is stereotypically 'straight'. Rom's value is that the stereotypes of the Ferengi, are just that - generalizations.

While the Cardassian Resistance parts of this episode are strong, the Ferengi parts, as so often is the case in DS9...aren't. My one regret is that DS9 in general only occasionally used the Ferengi in an effective way (House of Quark springs to mind.)

[bronnt]

Honestly, I think Moogie becoming the Grand Nagus makes more sense than Rom; she's the best business mind of her generation, responsible for a cultural - and economic - revolution in Ferengi society, and is the mother of Rom, a Ferengi who has materially contributed to one of the great Alpha Quadrant powers, potentially solidifying Ferengi markets' relationship with the major Alpha Quadrant powers.

Honestly, if you ignore the fact that this episode pretends Ferengi character growth never happened, it makes a lot of sense story-wise for Quark become the Grand Nagus of a Ferengi society on the verge of reform. Keep in mind that Quark himself was ostracized for being not quite greedy enough. There's a backstory of him being generous to Bajoran refugees, sometimes selling vital materials at cost, and being too scrupulous to be an arms merchant. He lost his business license and was considered "infected" by the ideals of the Federation.

He definitely behaves a lot less like a scumbag compared to where his character started. He tried to prevent Nog's entry into Starfleet but later came to accept bot Rom and Nog leaving behind Ferengi customs. So him becoming Nagus would be like the culmination of his character growth in becoming more open-minded, while still maintaining a strong business sense and a cunning tactfulness. Within the storty it's the natural thing to do....which is why the writers didn't do it, but also the reason it doesn't work.

[CareerKnight]

Honestly, if you ignore the fact that this episode pretends Ferengi character growth never happened, it makes a lot of sense story-wise for Quark become the Grand Nagus of a Ferengi society on the verge of reform. Keep in mind that Quark himself was ostracized for being not quite greedy enough. There's a backstory of him being generous to Bajoran refugees, sometimes selling vital materials at cost, and being too scrupulous to be an arms merchant. He lost his business license and was considered "infected" by the ideals of the Federation.

He definitely behaves a lot less like a scumbag compared to where his character started. He tried to prevent Nog's entry into Starfleet but later came to accept bot Rom and Nog leaving behind Ferengi customs. So him becoming Nagus would be like the culmination of his character growth in becoming more open-minded, while still maintaining a strong business sense and a cunning tactfulness. Within the storty it's the natural thing to do....which is why the writers didn't do it, but also the reason it doesn't work.

There is one episode that stands in the way of that and it is, unsurprisingly, Chuck's most hated DS9 episode Profit and Lace which drove home that Quark and Moogie hate each other and Quark hates the reforms she had pushed through. If that episode had Quark and Moogie come to an understanding and begin mending fences (and hadn't been a pile of garbage) then it would have really pushed Quark into the position to be Nagus with this episode serving to bring him around fully to the ideas of some of these reforms.

[CharlesPhipps]

I take the general view the Ferengi reforms happened because it's a lot less isolated galaxy than it was in TNG. The Ferengi used to be able to travel across the galaxy in their ships and do their business but it's now the Klingons, Romulans, Cardassians (broken, bent, and bowed), and Klingons as allies.

They have to change if they want to continue making profit the way they used to.

Mind you, I think they should have gone for the moon before Vulcan in terms of reforms. I also think Ferengi society was depicted as a ridiculous one for a profit driven one--there's no sign of actual corporations in their society for instance.