TWITrek Character Insight No. 85: Leeta

This is the latest installment in a series of "Character Insight" articles regarding the rich history of characters in the Star Trek universe.  An audio version will appear on the This Week in Trek podcast, available for direct download here.
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Welcome back to Character Insight!  This week, we profile Leeta, the Bajoran dabo girl who works at Quark's Bar on DS9.
 
 

Although Leeta begins the series happily employed working at the dabo table distracting gamblers while they lose money playing the roulette-like game, she ends up leading the charge against Quark's wrongful practices by joining a guild union. That led her to help Rom step up to his boss and brother, which was the beginning of an eventual romance between the Bajoran and the Ferengi.

Before that, Leeta makes close friendships with Jadzia Dax and Dr. Bashir, and she even takes part in a sacred trill ritual as a result of these friendships. Leeta was an amateur sociologist, which may explain why she made friends easily and found herself in interesting social settings like the dabo table. She also turns out to be the perfect resource when Quark needs to learn how to impersonate a Ferengi woman in one of the most ridiculous episodes of the series.

Leeta also starred in the Take Me Out to the Holosuite baseball episode though, so it is difficult to decide which episode is the dumbest featuring this character. That being said, her romance late in the series with Rom once he finally confesses his love makes for some better stories, especially compared to the star Season 7 coupling of Ezri and Julian.

Leeta was never given a full name in her 16 appearances, although it is posited in the DS9 books that she does not know her family name due to being an orphan. Leeta starts as another Bajoran face in the crowd, but she helps bring the intended local flavor to this Star Trek series.

The quote of the week is from Ferengi Love Songs:
Leeta: I hate him.
Major Kira: No you don't.
Leeta: All he loves is latinum.
Major Kira: No he doesn't.
Leeta: Cancelling that wedding was the best thing that ever happened to me.
Major Kira: No it isn't.
Leeta: I'm so glad he's out of my life.
Major Kira: No you're not.
Leeta: Major - you haven't been listening to me.
Major Kira: Yes I have. That's how I know you love him.
Chase Masterson played Leeta, and she was recently in the Starzinger trilogy as well as a main character in the Fist of the North Star trilogy.

Until next time, live long and prosper...