10 Greatest Redemption Stories In Star Trek
7. Nitwit To Nagus: Rom
They say it's better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt. Rom certainly never took a page out of The Morn Handbook For Scintillating Conversation, but neither was he the idiot everyone thought he was.
Very much portrayed as the Station's nitwit at first, Rom was also decidedly a lot more sinister when we first met him, and much more like your 'traditional Ferengi,' willing to airlock his own brother if it meant getting his hands on the bar. (Rule of acquisition #6: "Never allow family to stand in the way of opportunity.") There was also that time he embezzled money from charity! He did let Nog go to school, though. Most distressing!
Un-surprise reversal: Rom was, in fact, a genius, particularly in the field of engineering. His prodigious technical solutions helped saved crew and quadrant on several occasions. Rom never truly lost the lobes for business either, but he did become a kinder, more open-minded, less greedy Ferengi. In that, he was a perfect fit to be the next Nagus.
Rom's radical redemption, alongside the evolution of brother Quark and son Nog, was, then, by extension, that of all Ferengi. When introduced in Star Trek: The Next Generation's first season (with Armin Shimerman, too), the Ferengi were more Fifty Shades (those whips!) than convincing foe. In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, they were, quite simply, The Magnificent.