Star Trek: 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Kai Winn
In Star Trek, she was the space pope that you loved to hate. Bless you, my child.
The world lost a fabulous talent in the shape of Louise Fletcher in 2022. A true acting genius, she won an Oscar for her performance in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest as the villainous Nurse Ratched. It should come as little surprise that she would play one of the stand-out villains in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
Winn Adami was a fascinating exercise in a villain who could elicit sympathy from an audience, despite engaging in heinous acts of political savagery. She was a political prisoner. She was a Creationist. She was an orthodox, right-wing manipulator. She was a stylish dresser.
Winn would embody many of the worst elements of community leaders as the show went on, played with delicious relish by the late, great Fletcher. She was both one of the most memorable, and despicable, secondary characters in the franchise - one whom the writers couldn't get enough of, and continued coming up with stories to bring her back.
It may be a little surprising, then, to learn that as late as the start of the seventh season's production, they had no idea what they were going to do with her!
10. Bribery And Coercion For Good
When the audience was first introduced to Winn, she was a fundamentalist, rigid zealot. She was shown organising an assassination attempt against her biggest religious rival, working behind the scenes, scheming to place herself on the Kai's throne.
That, arguably, makes a character a little difficult to root for. In fact, over the course of the six seasons that followed, there were so many examples of her awful nature that the audience would be forgiven for loathing her all the way through. Then, a piece of backstory would come out, throwing everyone for a loop.
In 'Til Death Do Us Part, Winn is having a meal with Anjol Tenan, recounting a time when she pried gemstones from a precious Bajoran artifact, then used them to bribe a Cardassian official for the release of prisoners who were marked for death. As any action that brought attention to oneself during the Occupation came with serious personal risk, this was a surprising piece of character history to learn, particularly so late in the game.
There were other instances of self-sacrifice that were revealed through the years as well - just enough to confuse those who would declare Winn totally irredeemable.