



*☆. Rosalind Chao as “Keiko Ishikawa/O’Brien” in STAR TREK .♡°
ID: Six gifs from Star Trek TNG, showing different scenes of Keiko. In the first gif, she jumps with a smile to pick a white flower. The second gif is a close-up of her talking calmly, while the third gif shows her in a Japanese wedding gown, smiling. In the third gif, she yells irritatedly. The fifth gif shows her at Data’s arm in the arboretum, with him holding a white flower. The last gif shows her walking towards a flower and then turning around to the door. End ID.
» requested by @vortahoney ♡
Come here. I have the most beautiful carnation for the father of the bride. Now, don’t be nervous.
Deep Space Nine 2x5, “Cardassians”
Keiko does not have time for your space-racism, Miles.
Why is she with him
The cynical side of me would say that the answer is “because the show writers said so”
But I think another answer is, Because Miles proves himself open to being corrected. He isn’t too proud or defensive (or bogged down by toxic masculinity) to listen when people call him out on bigoted bullshit: he listens. Keiko is with him not because he messes up so bad sometimes, but because when he does mess up, he stops, and thinks, and behaves better in the future.
I also appreciate the comments from @firespirited and @onsomekindofstartrek on how the ethnicities of the actors of Keiko and Miles influence this scene, so be sure to check those out in the notes y’all!
Someone had to be the “bad guy” exhibiting the bigoted view for this important scene to take place, and I appreciate that Miles’ actor was willing to play that role. Together, these two skilled actors create a compelling scene that demonstrates to viewers 1) that alluding to the “bad breeding” of any group is very wrong indeed in any context, and 2) that one effective method for calling out bigotry in loved ones is simply to express disgust and disappointment in them, because if they truly respect you they’ll get the message and fix their attitude.