10 Star Trek Characters Who Don't Deserve The Hate
6. Keiko O'Brien
For some reason. Keiko O'Brien has become an easy target for those who wish to rant about female characters in Star Trek. She will often turn up as an example of the nagging wife, though in reality, she is far from it. Between The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine, she is easily the most developed partner of any main cast, with the possible exception of Kassidy Yates.
She is shown to be resourceful, intuitive, and deeply understanding - almost to a fault. She encourages Miles to spend more time with Julian, knowing that he needs time with his friends just as much as his family needs time with him.
When she is trapped in Ten Forward during her labour on Molly, the back and forth between her and Worf is hilarious, leading to a genuinely funny follow-up gag several years later. Rosalind Chao was offered a starring role on Deep Space Nine, as Nana Visitor revealed on the TrekCulture Podcast in 2024, but turned it down to concentrate on other projects. That alone suggests the confidence that the producers had in her.
Keiko is ultimately an example of a civilian character who often gravitates around, while not taking a direct part in, the day-to-day life of a Starfleet officer. Between the bombing of her school, and her deep understand of her husband's coffee habits, Keiko is a character who always delivers episode after episode.