10 Star Trek Twists You Never Saw Coming
9. The Valjean Incarnation
When Lieutenant Commander Michael Eddington was introduced in season three of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, he was intended to be a rather by-the-book Starfleet security officer, and thorn in the side of Odo – not especially likeable, but not entirely detestable either. At that stage, the writers and producers hadn’t decided on a particular arc for the character. Over the episodes, the dynamic between him and Sisko would be favoured over that of his adversarial relationship with Odo.
Apparently, before the big reveal of the character’s alternate allegiances, viewers were convinced Eddington was a changeling – even more so after the episode The Adversary, during which a Founder takes control of the Defiant and nearly starts a war. It was decided at this point to make Eddington a leading member of the Maquis. This twist then came in the episode For the Cause when the character defects from Starfleet definitively, taking some industrial replicators along for the ride.
Eddington actor Ken Marshall was reportedly surprised (but pleased) by this turn-of-events, only finding out when reading the script of For the Cause. Fans were equally as shocked, having warmed to the character in season four with episodes such as Our Man Bashir.
The storyline is then wrapped up in season five of DS9, as Eddington places himself in the role of protagonist Valjean, relentlessly pursued by the vindictive Sisko as Javert.