Deep Space Nine - Rejoined

In this episode Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Dax meets Lenara Kahn, the new host of the wife of Dax's former host Torias, and they are not allowed to renew their relationship.  This episode was DS9's way of pointing out that love is love, regardless of gender.  In 1995, this was news. When we shot this episode; it was a closed set and very hush-hush. Kudos to Terry for being one of the people to start breaking down our own societal taboos!  I was in the closet in 1995, and this episode encouraged me to come out within a year and a half of leaving DS9.  Thank goodness things have changed for the better in the last nearly 20 years. 

I also admit I had a crush on Terry because 1) she's a brunette with blue eyes and that's my thing, and 2) she had an extensive vocabulary of profanity and knew how to use it!  Last I heard of Terry, she showed up at the big Las Vegas Star Trek convention in full costume to help recapture the Guinness World Record for most Trek costumes in one location - and the fans loved it.  So, a shout out to Terry Farrell, who has retired from film & television production - I'm not even sure where she lives these days, either Pennsylvania or New York.  Wherever you are, Terry, I wish you joy!  You rock.

Here's what writer Ron Moore had to say about the episode.

“To the audience, you’re playing out this metaphor of a taboo that you’re not supposed to be involved with somebody, and the audience sees these two women who are in love together, but the show will never ever comment on it, because it’s really about this Trill taboo, this completely other issue. But the idea of homosexual love is staring the audience in the face no matter what they do, but we never have to mention it in the show. It just became this lovely tale about these two forbidden lovers that just couldn’t get over that one had died and didn’t get a chance to say goodbye, and here they come together in these two other bodies, but what they once felt for one another is still there, but the societal taboo was so strong that one of them had to back out, one of them wasn’t willing to take it all the way. It was just a lovely bit of Star Trek because it really was an allegory for our society, and that’s ultimately what Trek does best.”

— Ronald D. Moore, Writer & Producer, on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine S4E05: "Rejoined" (via inamirrordorkly at Tumblr)