Dukat is a prime example of a character that slides all over the scale you almost have to put him as neutral. He starts lawful evil, bound by his word amd antagonistic to anyone not in his faction.
Then he slides to being lawful neutral as relations thaw and elements of his past are exposed while he begins to see his federation counterparts less as adverseries and more like friendly rivals.
Once his half-breed daughter comes into play he eventually slides up to being lawful good, doing everything in his power to be a model father and role model for her and using every last ounce of his influence to care for her. While still operating in self interest, he is far more willing to use his resources to aid his former enemies even when inaction on his part would probably be a net positive given the problems they are solving.
But then the allure of former power and glory mixed with a reminder of who he once was leads to a betrayal of his new friends with some surprisingly honest comments about how he wishes they could have stayed friends but his people’s best hope hinges on him making a deal with the devil. He’s back to being lawful evil but he’s not out to kill his rivals, despite getting more than a few opportunities to do so. In his own words, he only wants them to realize they were wrong to oppose him, and he would only kill them if given no other choice.
This spiral does not stop there though, as when all his plans and schemes fall apart due Sisko’s hail Mary, followed immediately by the death of his daughter leads him into madness and finally being Chaotic Evil. All his former allies are viewed as betrayers who ruined his plans and deprived him of glory. And he almost immediately turns to a new, almost literal devil to be hos patron as he carries out much more personal and haphazard attempts at revenge, with all previous ties and virtues he once held discarded since they no longer serve him.
Wonderfully put! And I don’t think putting him Neutral-Neutral would make sense … he has an arc, as you outline so well, which would be worth plotting over the chart. Your post should rendered in that way to illustrate how awesome his arc is.
That being said, in my mind, achetypal Dukat is always original Lawful Evil with the chaotic Evil lurking within.
Ok … so do we need a Lawful-Chaotic + Good-Evil matrix for Trek?
I mean, so many of the main characters would be on the good side of things, it might get crowded
Still interesting to see the contrasts.
Garak - Chaotic Neutral? Dukat - Lawful Evil?
Worf - Lawful Neutral? Picard - Lawful Good?
Kira - Chaotic Good? Kai Winn - Lawful Evil?
Dukat is a prime example of a character that slides all over the scale you almost have to put him as neutral. He starts lawful evil, bound by his word amd antagonistic to anyone not in his faction.
Then he slides to being lawful neutral as relations thaw and elements of his past are exposed while he begins to see his federation counterparts less as adverseries and more like friendly rivals.
Once his half-breed daughter comes into play he eventually slides up to being lawful good, doing everything in his power to be a model father and role model for her and using every last ounce of his influence to care for her. While still operating in self interest, he is far more willing to use his resources to aid his former enemies even when inaction on his part would probably be a net positive given the problems they are solving.
But then the allure of former power and glory mixed with a reminder of who he once was leads to a betrayal of his new friends with some surprisingly honest comments about how he wishes they could have stayed friends but his people’s best hope hinges on him making a deal with the devil. He’s back to being lawful evil but he’s not out to kill his rivals, despite getting more than a few opportunities to do so. In his own words, he only wants them to realize they were wrong to oppose him, and he would only kill them if given no other choice.
This spiral does not stop there though, as when all his plans and schemes fall apart due Sisko’s hail Mary, followed immediately by the death of his daughter leads him into madness and finally being Chaotic Evil. All his former allies are viewed as betrayers who ruined his plans and deprived him of glory. And he almost immediately turns to a new, almost literal devil to be hos patron as he carries out much more personal and haphazard attempts at revenge, with all previous ties and virtues he once held discarded since they no longer serve him.
Wonderfully put! And I don’t think putting him Neutral-Neutral would make sense … he has an arc, as you outline so well, which would be worth plotting over the chart. Your post should rendered in that way to illustrate how awesome his arc is.
That being said, in my mind, achetypal Dukat is always original Lawful Evil with the chaotic Evil lurking within.
Garak is prime chaotic neutral. The perfect spy master.