You know what’s really interesting to me in terms of Julian’s character development on DS9? (Other than everything because I love it)
He was literally straight out of the academy. Deep Space Nine was his first assignment on anything, ever. He was the youngest senior officer there, in terms of experience and possibly also age (Not sure how old Kira was).
So that sort of rashness and lack of awareness and maturity? Is because he was actually very young and inexperienced, and we get to watch him get that experience and grow as a character, and that’s great.
And I think sometimes people forget just how inexperienced and new he was in those early seasons, where he has a reputation for being insufferable.
And even there, although there were definitely some cringe-worthy moments, there was also a lot that showed how much potential he did have - even from that moment in the pilot where someone is injured and he starts giving Odo directions, or later when he helps those ambassadors in the first Lwaxana Troi episode. Even from the beginning, when he didn’t really know what to expect, he was still good at his job and an asset to the station.
And later as he got more experience he never lost that bit of hopefulness and excitement, and I know it led to some kind of awkward moments, but it’s still one of my favourite things about him.
(Also there are a few parts I refuse to admit happened because I think it was bad writing rather than actual characterization, but that’s a different story)
ourflagmeansbts
