Star Trek: 10 Character Reveals That Didn't Have To Go THAT Hard
6. Is There Anything That We Do Actually Know About Julian?
Julian Bashir was a thinly developed character for the first couple of seasons of Deep Space Nine. He was brought in doe-eyed, fresh from the Academy, and burdened with a confidence well beyond his experience level.
His first few outings helped the audience get a bit of an idea of him - sex pest as he was. When the writers paired him with O'Brien, sparks began to fly, and one of the franchise's greatest friendships was born. However, there still wasn't a thorough understanding of who Julian really was.
Doctor Bashir, I Presume? changed everything. Alexander Siddig was given barely any more notice than the audience on the fundamental shift in Bashir's being.
Oh, by the way Sid, Bashir's genetically engineered, and always has been. We shoot on Monday.
So, no pressure then.
This was a core shift in the character of Bashir. Now, one rewatches the early seasons and retroactively has to view him constantly hiding his true nature. In a way, it works. The pressure of being anything but himself would turn anyone awkward, so this does help the character in hindsight.
That said, a more deliberate build-up to Bashir's altered status would have allowed truthful hints to drop - rather than pulling the rug out from all of us.