Sandbox / Star Trek The Dominion

The Dominion-Breen Alliance

The Founders

Female Changeling

"Part of the Dominion? Major, the Changelings are the Dominion."

Portrayed By: Salome Jens

"Ironic, isn't it? The hunted now control the destinies of hundreds of other races."

— "The Search, pt. 2"

A Founder from a rogue planet located in the Omarion Nebula, in the Gamma Quadrant. She was chosen by the Great Link, a giant gelatinous sea of shapeshifters, to represent the interests of the Changelings in both the Gamma and Alpha Quadrants and instigated a bloody, genocidal interstellar war in order to conquer their inhabitants and worlds and subjugate them to the rules of the Dominion: a major galactic political power established by the Founders to defend their interests at all costs. The Female Changeling harbored a particular mistrust and hatred towards non-Changelings – whom she referred to as solids – believing them to be infinitely inferior and unworthy beings by design.

---

• Bad Boss: It's dangerously easy to fall out of favor with this Changeling. Broca found this out when he delivered some bad news from the front (see below). Weyoun 8 got into hot water when he failed to quell Damar's rebellion immediately; suddenly, the Dominion's most trusty Vorta finds himself being upstaged by Thot Pran.
  F.C. (to Pran) If our cloning facilities were operational, I would eliminate this Weyoun immediately.
  Weyoun: O_O
• Became Their Own Antithesis: Her worst fear made manifest, thanks to the bright boys at Section 31's virology department.
  "I haven't been able to change form in weeks. It's ironic, isn't it? (close to tears) That I should die as a Solid?!"
• Because You Were Nice to Me: She readily agrees to end the war with the Federation after Odo freely gives her the cure to Section 31's virus.
• Big Bad: She acts as leader of the Dominion's efforts in the Alpha Quadrant, although she seems to leave the bulk of the heavy lifting to Weyoun.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: When she first appears in "The Search", she comes across as a wise, serene mentor who is pleased that Odo has returned to his people. She and the other Founders are later revealed to be the leaders of the tyrannical Dominion. Throughout the series, she demonstrates the malevolence behind her gentle facade.
• Body Horror: The Synthetic virus cooked up by Section 31. Visually, the symptoms are similar to when a Changeling gets stuck in one shape for too long; they begin to rot away. In this case, it takes a lot longer (Odo was denied the ability to shapeshift a few times, and was expected to perish within 24 hours). Initially, the Female Changeling can rejuvenate her skin in private, but over time the damage becomes irreparable.
  • Worse yet, when the Space-AIDS starts kicking in, the kaposi's sarcomas start growing out of her "clothes", seeing as how they're just another part of the humanoid form she shapeshifted into.
• Care-Bear Stare: By sharing one last link with Odo, she inherited all of his life experiences among solids — along with the cure for the Section 31 virus. She immediately surrendered and ordered her forces to withdraw.
• Control Freak: Like all changelings, she is absolutely obsessed with things being in order. As soon as the Cardassian people prove to be too chaotic to control she orders them to be killed. All of them.
• Definitely Just a Cold: After Odo unwittingly acts as carrier to a virus cooked up by Section 31. The Female Changeling does her best to disguise her symptoms, but eventually starts to visibly rot away.
• Dissonant Serenity: She almost never gets angry, but when she does, oh God, watch out. Her hatred of solids really shines through.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: The Changeling race serves as this for her. At the end of the series, she calls off the Dominion offensive and surrenders in exchange for Odo curing the others Changelings of the Section 31 virus.
• Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: As a result of hailing from a species of conquerors and xenophobes, she finds the idea that groups like Starfleet and the Federation could even exist a fleeting notion. On the verge of defeat, she's content to simply order her troops to fight to the bitter end and take as many of the Federation Alliance with them, even when Odo personally promises that Starfleet won't do anything to their people; to her, Starfleet will just use the opportunity of her defeat to wipe out the other Founders. Odo willingly sharing the cure to her condition convinces her to stand down.
• Evil Mentor: To Odo. In "The Search", she teaches him about the history of the Changeling race and helps him hone his shapeshifting skills. When Odo discovers that she and the other Founders lead the tyrannical Dominion, he leaves her. Later, during the occupation of Deep Space Nine, she teaches him more about his people and links with him.
• Evil Virtues: Contrary to their reputation as expert infiltrators, the Founders are highly averse to telling lies to each other. They exist as a singular consciousness and spend their entire lives trading experiences in the Link, so why bother? She has no problem lying her ass off to solids, however.
  • Garak was against the idea of curing the Female Changeling of her disease — even training his gunsights on Odo — not realizing that a Changeling's word is their bond. As promised, the Female Changeling withdrew from Cardassia in exchange for saving her civilization from ruin.
• Evil Overlord: With a kind and gentle demeanor, she will boldly have her troops fight to enslave the entire Alpha Quadrant, no matter how many lives are lost, because she feels it's her duty to enslave the "unorderly" Federation and their allies.
• Fantastic Racism: Takes a dim view of solids.
  • As the series progresses, her opinion of Cardassians sours. When the Dominion's Cardassian soldiers turn their coats and fight alongside the Federation, she has no reservations with ordering their immediate genocide.
• Fatal Flaw:
  • Her hubris. Time and again she assumes that The Dominion is infallible, and that everyone should simply bow down and do whatever they want because they know what's best for everyone. It never occurs to her that people would actually dare to resist on such a large scale, and even then she thinks that their superior fighters and troops are enough to quell any rebellions. All she learns is that the harder she pushes, the harder the opposition will fight back, which leaves her prone to making fatal mistakes when things aren't going the way she plans. She could have gained a loyal ally in Odo had she not decided to kill Kira to keep Odo from being "distracted", which lead him to fully reject the Founders and free Kira, resulting the station being rendered defenseless against the Federation-Klingon task force. This really came back to bite her in the finale when she starts trying to put down the Cardassian Rebellion by having the Jem'Hadar wipe out every city for each act of insurrection. This just causes the Cardassian fleet to turn against The Dominion, which leads her to order the entire planet wiped out. All that does is just piss the Cardassians off even more, leading her to be captured, and no doubt charged with much higher crimes than she would have been.
  • Her inability to recognize the power of individualism. Because she hails from a species that believes in the collective whole, she grossly underestimates what one person is capable of. Who alerted the Federation to the fact that the Dominion had almost shut off the mine field to the Gamma Quadrant? MORN. Yes, Morn completely turned the tide in Starfleet's favor by warning them, thus leading to their full-scale assault on the station. Another comes up when The Breen destroy the Defiant, and she orders Weyoun to let the survivors get away so they can warn Starfleet about the price for resisting the Dominion. This results in Sisko making it out alive, and he pushes the Federation Alliance into attacking the Dominion's retreating lines around Cardassia, leading to a chain of events that result in her defeat.
• Foreshadowing: As Dominion forces depart from Deep Space Nine in "Sacrifice of Angels," she accurately predicts that Odo will return to the Great Link someday.
  Weyoun: What about Odo? Is he coming with us?
  Female Changeling: No ... but he will join us one day. It's only a matter of time.
  • In "The Search, Part II", she accurately predicts that Odo will long to return to the Great Link (a longing that he admits under torture later in the series).
  Female Changeling: We will miss you Odo, but you will miss us even more.
  • In "Favor the Bold", she tells Weyoun that returning Odo to the Great Link means more to the Founders than securing the Alpha Quadrant. This is proven in the series finale when the Female Changeling makes a deal with Odo: she gives herself up to the Federation to be put on trial for the Dominion's war crimes against Cardassia and the entire Alpha Quadrant, and Odo returns to the Great Link.
• Faux Affably Evil: Most of the time, she's calm and polite to everyone she meets. However, her civility is a very thin veneer that barely, if at all, hides her hatred and bigotry towards solids. Garak saw up close and personal that she will drop her nice persona and bluntly tell you that she's gonna genocide your entire race.
• Forgiven, but Not Forgotten: As an autocratic xenophobe, the Changeling does not distinguish between her obedient subjects and the seditious ones. If it were up to her, the Dominion would have gassed Cardassia Prime in retaliation for the attack on her homeworld by the Cardassian intelligence service. The army swiftly turned around and pledged allegiance to the Dominion as a form of apology — but the Female Changeling never really forgave them. Sure enough, when one of them dares to rebel and turns more of the people against them, she's just as quick to order them all wiped out.
• Galactic Conqueror: An unusually low-key version, being a lot more placid and no-nonsense than the usual bombastic examples of this trope. Still, in her view the galaxy needs to be put under control, no matter how much bloodshed she has to order to make it happen.
• G-Rated Sex: The linking scenes between Odo and the Female Changeling in "The Search", "Behind the Lines" and "Favor the Bold" have the feel of love scenes. In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, Director LeVar Burton confirmed that they were straight-up love scenes.
• I Am Legion: Played with. It might have a little something to do with her megalomania, but she often blurs the line between being a simple representative for the Great Link and being the embodiment of it. Her koan-like words in "Behind the Lines" suggest this.
  Odo: When you return to The Link, what will become of the entity I'm talking to right now?
  Female Changeling: The drop becomes the ocean.
  Odo: And if you choose to take solid form again?
  Female Changeling: The ocean becomes a drop.
  • It isn't even certain that it's the same individual every time.
• Irony: How her story in the series ends. She had been trying to get home to the Gamma Quadrant. She never can, as she's forced to stand trial for her crimes and remain in Federation custody.
• Jerkass Gods: To the Vorta. They're genetically engineered to worship the Founders, but their slavish devotion barely registers for them (with a few exceptions.)
• Kick the Dog: When Garak, cringing, comes asking about the Cardassian crew who attacked her homeworld, she flatly tells him they're dead... And he's next, followed by the rest of his species. At the end of the series, she nearly makes good on that promise, and wipes out 800 million Cardassians.
• Knight Templar: Changelings prefer orderly societies. The Female Changeling considers bringing this order to the galaxy to be her duty and she will gladly kill billions if she finds it necessary. And heaven help if anyone, even her most loyal of followers, disobey her...
• Manipulative Bastard: She plays people for all their worth and, when Odo thinks he can convince her that solids are okay by linking with her, winds up quasi-brainwashing him into seeing them the way she does.
• Muscles Are Meaningless: Being a Changeling, she's stronger than she looks. In "What You Leave Behind," she grabs Broca by the throat and lifts him off his feet when he tells her that civilians have disrupted the power supply.
• No Need for Names: Hence why she's just "the Female Changeling." (The Vorta refer to her as "Founder" or "The Founder", though).
  Odo: You haven't told me your name.
  Female Changeling: What use would I have for a name?
  Odo: To differentiate yourself from the others.
  Female Changeling: I don't.
• Pet the Dog: After finally accepting that the Dominion has lost the war and that she and her entire race are doomed to extinction, she admits to Weyoun that he's the only Solid she's ever trusted, and that he has served her well. When Garak kills Weyoun minutes later, she's visibly saddened.
• Pink Means Feminine: Her "clothing" is a shade of pink, and she's the only Changeling we see that presents as female.
• Revenge Before Reason: The glassing of Lakarian City. Dominion sledgehammer tactics are precisely what isn’t needed at this stage of the game and their second big mistake (their first being letting Sisko & co. walk scot free all those times) is punishing the entire Cardassian population for the acts of a few rebels. In a blind fury, the Changeling levels an entire city — wiping out two million innocents, including children — and it makes Cardassians more angry than ever. Sure enough, their fleet defects to the Federation and gives their offensive line a much needed boost of support while depleting the Dominion's own fleet substantially. This gives Starfleet a chance to take the battle straight to Cardassia.
• Taking You with Me: In the finale, faced with imminent defeat, she orders the extermination of the entire civilian population of the Cardassian homeworld in revenge against their military's Heel–Face Turn.
• The Power of Hate: Played with. Her irrational loathing toward solids can be allegedly traced in part to persecution that Changelings endured from solids in the distant past. Also subverted when genocidal loathing of solids causes her to pick up the Villain Ball at certain key junctures as the war drags on.
• Save the Villain: When Odo cures her of a deadly disease afflicting the Changelings. This convinces her that she can surrender.
• Shapeshifting Squick: She and Odo have sexual relations in their humanoid forms during the occupation of Deep Space Nine. Their body language and dialogue afterwards indicates that it was unsatisfying for both partners. She insists that sex pales in comparison to immersion in the Great Link, probably to dissuade him from seeing Kira.
• Soft-Spoken Sadist: She's extremely serene for a genocidal Galactic Conqueror.
• Suicidal Cosmic Temper Tantrum: The plan was to "cut off the snake's head" and force the Jem'Hadar to stand down by capturing their Founder. This doesn't quite work out as planned. Rather the opposite; she promises a Pyrrhic Victory until Odo links with her.
• Technically Naked Shapeshifter: Like other Changelings, she typically forms clothing out of herself when taking humanoid form.
• Tranquil Fury: The Female Changeling does not forget past slights against her people. Although the Dominion later buries the hatchet with Cardassia, the hatred is still very much there, as shown when she throttles Broca and snarls that she should've have eradicated their species long ago.
• The Trickster: A malevolent example, especially when she impersonates Kira in "Heart of Stone."
• The Vamp: To Odo. We learn in "Favor the Bold" that her seduction of Odo isn't just about neutralizing an opponent, but about bringing a fellow Changeling home.
  Female Changeling (to Weyoun): Neutralize Odo? Is that why you think I'm here? Odo is a changeling. Bringing him home, returning him to the Great Link means more to us than the Alpha Quadrant itself. Is that clear?
  • Despite being a fairly straightforward example of The Vamp, she defies several of the stereotypes associated with the trope: she takes on the appearance of an older woman, she is not conventionally attractive, and her dress and demeanor are relatively chaste.
• Villain Ball: The Dominion had a chance to obliterate Captain Sisko and his entire crew after disabling the Defiant. Weyoun was happy to gun down their escape pods, but the Founder waved him off, believing the survivors would tell tales of their defeat and stoke fear in the Federation. D'oh.
  • It's a Justified Trope though, as her understanding of individuality is completely lacking, and she had yet to realize what a single man can mean to his people. Sisko, despite being a war hero, an inspiring leader, a brilliant tactician, a religious icon and a strong part of the link uniting the Federation and the Klingons, was in her eyes just another solid.
• Villainous Breakdown: A gradual instance brought about by Section 31's virus and the Dominion's declining military fortunes after losing DS9. While she is no more condescending toward solids than before, she is notably more irritable and more violent, manifesting in her growing willingness to severely punish her subordinates for their failures. All of this culminates in her attempt to exterminate the Cardassians for their betrayal while the Dominion forces are on the verge of defeat.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: To an extent. She plans a Bolivian Army Ending because she thinks the "solids" will dominate and enslave the Founders. Something the Founders do themselves.
• Wham Line: "The Changelings are the Dominion."
• You Can't Go Home Again: She was on Cardassia when the Federation mined the wormhole entrance, leaving her cut off from the Great Link. And by the time the mines came down, the Federation retook DS9. At the end of The War, she willingly surrenders to face war crimes charges as well, never to see the Great Link again.
• You Have Failed Me: She has a very low tolerance for failure and incompetence. Hell, it's implied that the main reason Vorta can be brought back via cloning is because changelings routinely kill them as punishment for failure.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: She pulls this on the entire Cardassian race in the series finale. It backfires against her when the Cardassian fleets switch sides and the Cardassian troops assisting the Jem'Hadar free Damar, Garak, and Kira.
• You Look Familiar: Salome Jens previously had a one-shot role as the ancient humanoid in TNG: "The Chase". Even the makeup is similar.
• You Wouldn't Like Me When I'm Angry!: Generally, despite being such a horrific monster, she's usually quite polite to her opponents and subordinates. If she gets annoyed, she usually throws out a few threats but then goes right back to being calm and polite. But if she every gets truly pissed off, that usually involves Neck Lifts and genocide. Just ask Legate Broca and the Cardassian people.

The Vorta

Weyoun 4, 5, 7, & 8

"Gods don't make mistakes."

Portrayed By: Jeffrey Combs

Hah! Overconfidence — the hallmark of the Weyouns.

— Damar, "Strange Bedfellows"

A Smug Snake par excellence, and the most visible member of the Vorta race. He became an antagonistic foil to Sisko after the beginning of the Dominion War. He had a tendency to get killed a lot, but luckily for him the Vorta were genetically engineered in such a way that this wasn't that big of a deal.

---

• Acting for Two: Jeffrey Combs also played the recurring Ferengi Administrator Brunt.
• Affably Evil: Comes with his job. Also the others of his species (the Vorta), who are the Founders' "carrot" race (with the Jem'Hadar as the "stick"), but Weyoun is the finest of them. Genetically engineered to be efficient, evil, and oh so polite. Sisko grows increasingly incensed with Weyoun's habit of acting as though they're buddies.
  Weyoun: How delightful! You feel comfortable enough around me to make jokes! I'm so pleased to see our relationship evolving beyond the stale adversarial stage—
  Sisko: No, it's not, but before you twist that into a compliment, let me be blunt: I don't like the Dominion, I don't like what it stands for and I don't like you!
  • Good lord, even Kai Winn thinks he's a tiresome windbag!
  • Although he is specifically designed to be polite and persuasive, most characters (especially some of the Cardassians, who are supposedly on the same side) find him intensely irritating.
• Alternative Character Interpretation: Ingratiating, deceptive snake? Or loyal, selfless Founder dog? One alternative interpretation isn't so much as who he is or what he does, but how he's seen. When you take into consideration that he (along with all the Vorta) is a family-less clone who was never born and had no childhood, but instead was callously created by the Founders with the express purpose of serving them, it's actually kind of heartbreaking. In universe, absolutely nobody likes Weyoun. And he doesn't even seem to be all that aware of this. He's also commented about his lack of aesthetics, stating that no Vorta has any sense of art because the Founders didn't think it was important for them to have it. Still, he has said wistfully, it would be nice to carry a tune... the Vorta (with Weyoun being the most extreme example) would do anything for the Founders, and the Founders are quite apathetic most of the time.
  • The closest anyone ever gets to admitting friendship for Weyoun is when the Female Changeling calls him a trusted and loyal adviser. The look of sheer rapture on his face is almost heartbreaking in its sincerity.
    • She also seems to be somewhat saddened by Weyoun's final death, as the destruction of the cloning facility means she can't bring him back anymore.
• Appeal to Flattery: Susceptible to this brand of advertising. Just look at the Cellular Regeneration and Entertainment Chamber!
  • When he first met Sisko, he tried bribing him with the prospect of becoming Federation President. Or, heck, why not think big? Emperor!
• Arbitrary Skepticism: The Bajorans think of the Wormhole aliens as gods? Preposterous! But thinking that the Founders are gods? Well, that's entirely different.
  Weyoun: Pah-wraiths and Prophets. All this talk of gods strikes me as nothing more than superstitious nonsense.
  Damar: You believe that the Founders are gods, don't you?
  Weyoun: That's different.
  Damar: [laughs] In what way?
  Weyoun: The Founders are gods.
• Awesome by Analysis: In "Statistical Probabilities", the genetically engineered Jack Pack super geniuses come up with a fool-proof plan to defeat the Dominion in the long run by having the Federation surrender and then have a future rebellion spring up on Earth, crush the Dominion, and give rise to an even better Federation in a few thousand years. Without even knowing about the plan, Weyoun had already figured out a way to counter it by exterminating Earth's population. How did he know to do so? He simply observed the Federation and figured out what humans are in the Star Trek universe.
• Baddie Flattery: Part of the reason he's so Affably Evil.
• Bandwagon Technique: One of the arguments he uses when trying to persuade people over to the Dominion.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Extremely diplomatic in general, but just listen to him threatening Jake and Nog in "In the Cards" and you'll see how dead serious he can get. Not to mention he's a high ranking commander in the Dominion.
• Breakout Villain: First appeared in "To the Death" and was promptly killed off. The concept of Vorta cloning was created solely to bring Combs back as Weyoun.
• Combat Pragmatist: Of the more strategic type than actual throw-downs, but... yep.
• Covert Pervert: He apparently finds "interspecies mating rituals" fascinating to watch. Ezri and Worf looked suitably creeped out when he said that.
• Death by Irony: The Female Changeling, eager to replace Weyoun 8, keeps asking about when the cloning facilities will be fixed, to which he quickly replies days. Weeks even! Of course, he ends up being the last of the Weyoun line for this very reason. He also shifts blames for the Cardassian rebellion onto Broca, and later the civilians themselves, to direct the Founder's wrath elsewhere. Now, this is very convenient for Weyoun, but it leaves the Dominion HQ largely defenseless as most of the Jem'Hadar troops have deserted it to go exterminate the Cardassians. It certainly doesn't help that the Jem'Hadar bombing run also destroyed Garak's childhood home... and so on to Garak unloading his gat.
• Death Is a Slap on the Wrist: As a Vorta, killing Weyoun would only mean the next clone would be activated. The only way he can truly be killed is to kill him while no cloning facilities are operational.
• The Dragon: The Female Changeling's paranoia is so all-encompassing that she considers Weyoun "the only solid I ever trusted." Presumably, she refuses to put her life in the hands of most Vorta, to say nothing of Jem'Hadar.
• Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Like all Vorta. This appearance is standard for all Vorta as they are a genetically engineered species.
• Even Evil Has Standards: As loyal, obedient and ruthless as Weyoun is, even he is briefly shocked and unable to respond when the Female Changeling orders the entire population of Cardassia Prime to be wiped out to the last man, woman and child. Although it's debatable whether that falls under this trope or Pragmatic Villainy considering that it's not exactly an opportune time to divert a majority of their fighting force to a non-military task.
• Evil Virtues: Hard work, Loyalty, Patience, Responsibility, Selflessness...
  • Temperance too. Though it is not clear that counts for a creature bred to have almost no fleshly desires anyway.
• Expendable Clone: To his chagrin. It got to the point where Damar chuckles heartily whenever a new Weyoun strolls into his office. It's implied that Damar bumped off Weyoun 5 himself, out of annoyance.
  Weyoun 8: I'm glad to see you find the death of my predecessor so amusing.
  Damar: Oh, you misjudge me. I miss him deeply. Here, let's drink to Weyoun 7!
• Fashionable Asymmetry: Weyoun's 'tunic'. The material resembles brown leather, with a floral pattern on his left sleeve and torso.
  • Which is an odd fashion choice, considering the Founders' obsession with order and Weyoun's need to serve the Founders in all things. Although the Vortas' lack of a sense for aesthetics might account for it.
  • It's worth noting that Borath wears the same outfit in "The Search." It's likely a uniform of some kind, or at least a very common fashion for Vorta. Perhaps it represents the Dominion creating order from disorder? Or maybe the Dominion just conquered a planet of excellent tailors and neither the Founders nor the Vorta have thought about what they're wearing too much.
• Horrible Judge of Character: Despite considering himself The Profiler, he misreads The Sisko at every turn. In particular, he considers The Federation to be timid by nature, even after Sisko repeatedly demonstrates that Humans Are Warriors.
• I'd Tell You, but Then I'd Have to Kill You: A scene between Weyoun, Damar, and Damar's lady friend, in the Important War Room.
  Weyoun: I have news.
  Damar: Well?
  Weyoun: Your friend doesn't want to hear this.
  Damar: And why doesn't my friend want to hear this?
  Weyoun: Because if she did, I would be forced to have her executed.
  [She leaves.]
  Weyoun: What a pleasant woman.
• The Heavy: With Weyoun as the "face" and most active of the Dominion, he becomes the most active antagonist of the series.
• Knight of Cerebus: For Deep Space 9, since his arrival heralds the beginning of the Dominin War in earnest.
• Laser-Guided Karma: What finally alienated Damar was the way in which Weyoun overruled his advice in favor of the Breen commander's. This is a huge insult to a proud people like the Cardassians: talking strategy with an outsider who neither cares for Cardassian casualties or the loss of their territories. Well, what goes around comes around: The Female Changeling is so impressed with the Breen that she promotes him over Weyoun. And hands over Weyoun's stake in Earth for good measure. D'oh.
  • Subverted in that the Female Changeling mentions she would promise the Breen the entire Alpha Quadrant if she thought that would make them fight harder, implying like the Cardassians, the Breen are just expendable tools to her.
• Legacy Character: He was Weyoun 8 at the time when his cloning facility was destroyed.
• Neck Snap: How Weyoun 7 dies, courtesy of Worf.
• No-Sell: After Sisko reveales he uncovered a plot by Dukat to assassinate a dying Cardassian defector through a poisoned "gift" of Kanar (Cardassian wine), Weyoun pours himself a glass to demonstrate he is immune to poison. His only reaction is to act like he got indigestion and comment that it's "quite toxic".
• Oh, Crap!: Weyoun 8's reaction when he realizes that Damar specifically destroyed the Vorta cloning facilities as his first rebellious move as a direct attack against him.
• Other Me Annoys Me: Weyoun 7 is really not happy that Weyoun 6 would defect to The Federation.
• Out of Continues: Once Damar blows up his cloning facilities. Oops.
• Pet the Dog: Well, he did let Nog and Jake have the Willie Mays card.
  • Also pet himself by the Female Changeling, who acknowledges him as "the only solid [she] ever trusted."
• The Profiler: According to Weyoun, Sisko's psychological profile is required reading for all Vorta. Not that it does him much good. For one thing, he acts like Sisko can be tempted with the promise of becoming absolute ruler of The Federation, clearly not knowing that Sisko had months earlier saved President Jaresh-Inyo from a coup-d'état by an Insane Admiral.
• Professional Butt-Kisser: It would appear that the loss of Deep Space Nine was laid squarely at Dukat's feet, despite the fact that (as Dukat points out) Weyoun was right there and nodding at every decision he made at the time. Weyoun's even more cold-blooded than the Cardassians he works for—and indeed, he later dumps Damar for the Breen.
• Properly Paranoid: He knows that all the non-Dominion representatives he meets with distrust him and would happily bump him off. (Weyoun 4 was less cautious around his own troops, and learned that lesson the hard way.) He was also wary of putting the Dominion's eggs in one basket, believing that re-taking and holding onto DS9 would drain resources that could be better applied elsewhere. Most of Weyoun's better suggestions fell on deaf Cardassian ears.
• Punch-Clock Villain: We see both sides of this trope in Weyoun. He is generally pleasant and shows no real malice towards anyone, but is still unfailingly loyal to the Founders and will put their wishes over his conscience every time.
• Shiny New Australia: Subverted — Weyoun had been looking forward to hoisting his flag over Starfleet Headquarters (as the ultimate revenge for all those times Sisko snubbed him), but his boss changed her mind and promised it to the Breen. Pop! That's the sound of a deflating ego.
  "Apparently, uhh, I was under the mistaken impression that all Federation territories would fall under my jurisdiction, including Earth..."
• Shut Up, Hannibal!: Garak turns up in the command center, blood in his eye, and shoots Weyoun in the heart for gloating about Cardassia's fate.
• Sycophantic Servant: The change in his tone, manner, and body language whenever a Changeling walks in is instant.
• Sissy Villain: He never picks up a phaser himself. The Jem'hadar do all the heavy lifting.
• Smug Snake: To a tee, albeit a very competent one.
• Tampering with Food and Drink: The Dominion probably noted that their diplomats are often victims of this, so they engineered them to be immune to most poisons. Weyoun takes a swig from one to prove his point.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: With Dukat, and later (even more hilariously) Damar.
• Teleporter Accident: How Weyoun 5 dies (at least, they never prove that it wasn't an accident).
• They Killed Kenny Again: The first one to be introduced is Weyoun 4 (who dies at the end of his debut episode). By the time the war ends, it's Weyoun 8 who bites it.
• Too Dumb to Live: How his clones usually die. Questioning a Jem'Hadar's loyalty to the Dominion? Getting too close to Worf while mocking him and Ezri? Mocking the widespread destruction across Cardassia to a Cardassian?
  • Damar burst out laughing when Worf killed him, and mocked the next clone about it as well.
  • It's possible that between his intense loyalty to the Founders and his knowledge that they'll clone him, he simply has no sense of self-preservation. Taunting a very pissed off Garak knowing he's the last, however...
• Tragic Villain: There's something very sad about Weyoun devoting his entire existence to the Founders, who regard him, as best, as a particularly useful tool that is nonetheless disposable. He worships them and is utterly loyal to them and they in turn return none of that loyalty because he's a Vorta and it's expected of him. The Female Changeling regrets him being killed in the end - but at the same time she openly was going to kill Weyoun 8 the moment a new clone would be available. Weyoun also notes the founders engineered his race to lack many of the capacity for entertainment other species have. He has no ability to appreciate art and poor eyesight, and the only food they really like are berries and nuts they apparently subsisted on before being uplifted by the founders. Weyoun is aware of those shortcoming but too blinded by faith to question them.
• Undying Loyalty: Even by Dominion standards.
• The Unfettered: Most definitely qualifies for his often frightening devotion to the Founders and their cause. He would do ANYTHING for them... the only 'right' or 'wrong' that exists for this character is whether or not something will serve the Founders.
• Unfriendly Fire: How Weyoun 4 dies, courtesy of his Jem'Hadar First.
• Villainous Friendship: Subverted in regards to Dukat. They seem to get along really well and Weyoun does a pretty good job of listening to Dukat's rants, even taking an interest in Tora Ziyal's art. However, after Ziyal's murder and Dukat losing his marbles he makes it very clear to Damar that it was all an act and that he had always thought of Dukat as an arrogant moron. Notably, Weyoun doesn't even bother trying befriend Damar which comes back to bite him in the ass later on.
  • Weyoun even calls out Dukat's petty and self-serving behaviors to his face, but in ways that Dukat might not see as flat-out insults at the time.
• Villains Out Shopping: Most scenes in the enemy camp are from Weyoun's perspective, so he gets quite a few of these moments. There's one where he is analyzing (or trying to analyze) a painting, and even asks Major Kira (a good guy who is under an occupation force that is under his command) what she thinks of it... genuinely, with no sinister undertones whatsoever, making it extra creepy to some, yet creepily cute to others. There's also a clip from the final montage of the episode "In The Cards", showing Weyoun thoroughly enjoying the crack-pot "Cellular Regeneration And Entertainment Chamber."
  • In the script notes for the aftermath of the Dominion's occupation of DS9, it's noted that Weyoun lived in Bashir's quarters and was building a collection of random stuff - like string and things we might consider trash.
  • Weyoun is fascinated by alien games, including the Dabo wheel in Quark's bar. Dukat has to pry him away from it. (In an unfilmed scene from "The Sound of Her Voice", Quark admits the only way he survived during the Dominion occupaton was by overcharging Weyoun.)
    "DABO! Hehe! (That is Dabo, isn't it?)"
  • Not technically Weyoun; but his renegade clone, Weyoun 6, flummoxes Odo by sampling every item from Odo's food replicator on their runabout (with chopsticks!) claiming he likes the varying textures.
• We Have Reserves: This is what ultimately causes Damar to defect. It's not enough that Cardassian troops are being fed into the Dominion's meat grinder, or that Dominion troops now occupy all of Cardassia. Now Weyoun is auctioning off Cardassian territories to the Breen in exchange for their help.
  Weyoun: We need the Breen to win this war. When it's over, there will be more than enough territories available to compensate Cardassia for the loss of a few minor planets.
  Damar: (fuming) There're no "minor" planets in the Cardassian Union!
• Your Favorite: When a holo-image of Weyoun says to Bashir, "Do you remember when I first offered you scones?" in that magnificent voice of his, after delivering said scones on a tray (with jam and tea, just the way Bashir likes it!) to a flustered and freaked out Bashir.

Weyoun 6

"From the moment I was activated, I felt this war was wrong."

Portrayed By: Jeffrey Combs

Odo: Has it ever occurred to you that the reason you believe the Founders are gods is because that's what they want you to believe? That they built it into your genetic code?
Weyoun 6: Of course they did. That's what gods do. After all, why be a god if there's no one to worship you?

— "Treachery, Faith, and the Great River"

An aberrant clone of the Weyoun line who had misgivings about Dominion activities in the Alpha Quadrant. An escape attempt by him ended in tragedy, as he took his own life to prevent the death of Odo, whom he revered as a Founder.

---

• Clone Angst: By Dominion standards, anyway. Weyoun 6, who was considered "defective" after he questioned the plan to invade the Alpha Quadrant and decided to defect. Despite being bred to be loyal and serve the Founders, Weyoun 6 realises that both could still apply if he served Odo, who just happens to be allied with the Federation. Unfortunately, he was killed shortly after by his replacement, Weyoun 7.
• Defector from Decadence: He thinks the Dominion War will end in their loss and goes to the one Founder who would share that opinion: Odo.
• Died in Your Arms Tonight: Odo's arms, specifically.
• Dies Wide Shut: After he expires, Odo makes sure to close his eyes.
• Heel–Face Door-Slam: This Weyoun actually felt some remorse for what he had done. As he lay dying, he expressed terror that he'd failed in his mission.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Activated his termination implant to save Odo from the attacking Jem'Hadar ship.
• My Country, Right or Wrong: Subverted. He saw himself as loyal to the Founders and the Dominion as a whole, but he just couldn't support the war, seeing it as both immoral and ultimately counter to the Dominion's best interests.
• Offered the Crown: Asks Odo to come take over the Dominion and reform it after the Founders die. Odo never gives him a definitive answer, but the Founders don't die at the end, and Odo does wind up joining them and trying to reform them.
• Redemption Equals Death: He didn't do much evil himself (having defected not long after activation), but Weyoun 7 tells him that the only way he can redeem himself is by punching his kill switch.
• Sympathy for the Devil: Odo clearly did not know how to feel about one of his greatest enemies dying in his arms.
• Token Good Teammate: Of the Weyouns, and arguably the Dominion itself, at least until Damar turns.
• White Sheep: The only Weyoun who isn't blindly faithful to the Founders' plan.

Keevan

Portrayed By: Christopher Shea

A Vorta commander of an attack fighter. He and his Jem'Hadar are stranded on a planet with a limited supply of Ketracel-White. Then, Sisko and his crew land on the planet as well, and Keevan immediately sells out his men to save his own skin. He later re-appears as one half of a prisoner exchange overseen by Quark, only to end up being accidentally killed before being handed back to the Dominion.

---

• Asshole Victim: Both the smoking hole in his chest and the indignity of having his corpse used as a poorly-animated puppet are richly deserved.
• Dirty Coward: Keevan happily sells out the Jem'Hadar under his command to save his own neck, as well as giving himself up to the Federation rather than commit suicide, as Vorta are expected to do. Further, during the attempted hostage exchange, Keevan takes the first opportunity to make a run for it, although given the kind of welcome he was likely to get from the Dominion, this is more understandable.
• Dying Declaration of Hate: His final words after being shot are that he hates the Ferengi.
• Faux Affably Evil: He pays lip service to the Vorta's typical affable nature, but he fails to hide (or even make much of an effort at hiding) what a self-interested slimeball he really is.
• Hate Sink: Smug, selfish, and willing to sell out his own troops. According to Word of God, he was written to be "as despicable as possible".
• Humiliation Conga: Receives a very satisfying one in "The Magnificent Ferengi" that lasts beyond his death.
• It's All About Me: He would rather see his loyal Jem'Hadar perish in a futile battle than make any attempt to keep them alive.
  • In a way, though, it's also a Mercy Kill. With no supply of ketracel-white, the Jem'Hadar will slowly go violently insane, killing everything in their path before dying themselves.
• Karmic Death: Accidentally shot by Quark's cousin, but it still pays to see him phasered.
• Smug Snake: Even more so than Weyoun, if that were somehow possible.
• Welcome Back, Traitor: He knows that if he's handed back to the Dominion, they'll "debrief" him with the most amount of pain they can dole out, likely including a You Have Failed Me and his next clone being activated, so he's not exactly happy to go back.

Eris

Portrayed By: Molly Hagan

A Vorta agent in service of the Dominion. She was involved in an attempt to infiltrate the Federation in late 2370. She was the only Vorta known to apparently possess telekinetic abilities.

---

• Early-Installment Weirdness: She's the first Vorta we meet and the only one to show telekinetic powers.
• False Innocence Trick: She claims that the Vorta were conquered by the Dominion, when in reality they're second-in-command.
• It Has Only Just Begun: Her final words to Sisko: "You have no idea what's begun here."
• Trojan Horse: She's a Dominion spy masquerading as a fugitive from them, but she's discovered before she can do any real damage.
• Meaningful Name: In Greek mythology, Eris is the goddess of discord.

Yelgrun

Portrayed By: Iggy Pop

A Vorta negotiator, sent to carry out a prisoner exchange that would have seen the Dominion take back the captured Keevan in exchange for Quark's mother, Ishka.

---

• Actor Allusion: Some versions of Yelgrun from the Star Trek collectible card game have the "Music" talent as a nod to Iggy’s behind the scenes status as a legendary musician, even though Vortas canonically have no artistic ability.
• Affably Evil: Perfectly willing to make a deal and abide by the terms of it, as well as being quite friendly with Ishka, despite threatening to kill her if Quark doesn't make good on his end of their arrangement.
• Deadpan Snarker: Makes a lot of snarky comments throughout his sole appearance. In particular, when Quark makes a joke about the universality of family problems, Yelgrun just shrugs and points out that he was cloned.
• Dirty Coward: Like Keevan and Weyoun 6, Yelgrun doesn't activate his termination implant upon capture, and he spent the brief shootout between the Ferengi and the Jem'Hadar cowering in a corner.
• Hypocrite: Despite being sent to bring in Keevan for failing to kill himself upon being captured, as Vorta are required to do, he himself fails to commit suicide after being captured by the Ferengi.
• Odd Friendship: With Ishka, as she is seen giving him business advice, and he in turn says that he really doesn't want to have to kill her if Quark fails to live up to his end of the agreement.
• Pragmatic Villainy: While a full platoon of Jem'Hadar would be able to take out a half-dozen lightly-armed Ferengi without breaking any sweat, as Quark correctly surmises, Yelgrun won't actually have them attack, as the Ferengi would just kill Keevan as soon as the fighting started, leaving the Dominion unable to find out what secrets he gave up to the Federation.
• Villain Respect: He genuinely admires the Ferengi for their cunning and hopes that they'll join the Dominion.

Others

Legate Broca

Portrayed By: Mel Johnson Jr.

The leader of the Cardassian Union after Damar becomes a rebel.

---

• Dirty Coward: Unlike Damar, who stood bravely for his execution, and Dukat, who never lost his Smug Snake-ness, Broca died whining about how loyal he actually was and how it was unfair.
• Neck Lift: The Female Changeling lifts him up by the throat in a moment of anger.
• Puppet King: He's even more of a puppet than Damar.
  "I serve the Founders in all things."
• The Quisling: Why he is listed here and not on the Cardassian page, as he's far more willing to go with the Dominion party line than Dukat or Damar were.
• You Have Failed Me: Taken out and shot as soon as the Cardassian fleet switches sides as a preemptive measure.

Thot Gor

Portrayed By: Todd Slayton

The leader of the Breen.

---

• Deadpan Snarker: When Legate Damar observes that he and Thot Gor are equal in rank, Gor tells Damar to fix his Universal Translator.
• The Faceless: We never do get to see what they look like under those masks.
• The Unintelligible: To the audience. Everyone seems to understand what he's saying though.
• We Have Reserves: Orders a suicide attack on Federation Headquarters.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Thot Gor is replaced by Thot Pran after the second battle of Chin'toka, with no given explanation. Word of God though is that he was replaced because Todd Slayton (his actor) was "too skinny to be a supreme leader".

Thot Pran

Portrayed By: Max Omega

The second leader of the Breen, replacing Thot Gor.

---

• Blood Knight: Thot Pran is noticeably more eager to fight than his predecessor, insisting on joining the Jem'Hadar on the front lines during the Dominion's last stand at Cardassia Prime.
• Creepy High-Pitched Voice: The Female Changeling remarks at one point that she "finds the shrillness of his voice very tiresome". The audience has to take her word for it, given that what they hear is unintelligible electronic gibberish.
• Deadpan Snarker: About as much as his predecessor was. Special mention goes to his Implied Death Threat to Weyoun 8 during a meeting with the Female Changeling. She agrees with him.
• The Dragon: Effectively becomes this to the Female Changeling during the waning hours of the war.
• The Faceless: As per usual with his people.
• The Unintelligible: Ditto.

---