Although he was often a man apart, Constable Odo (Rene Auberjonois) briefly had a forgotten Starfleet sidekick in the early days of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. DS9’s lawman was envisioned as a gruff and solitary frontier lawman in the mold of John Wayne or Clint Eastwood. In DS9‘s early days, Odo often kept his distance from his Starfleet colleagues, as the hierarchy aboard the Bajoran space station was worked out between Commander Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) and Major Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor). As a result, Odo often had to deal with the interference of Starfleet security forces, especially during the Dominion War.
However, Odo had a softer side that made him a loyal friend and a trusted colleague. When he first arrived aboard Deep Space Nine, former security officer Lt. Commander Worf (Michael Dorn) clashed with Odo, but he would later call him a “man of honor“, which is a high compliment from a Klingon. Odo and Worf had a fractious partnership as the Klingon struggled to adjust to life outside the security division, but he wasn’t the only Starfleet officer to clash with Odo in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The first Starfleet officer to question Odo’s approach to station security was a character who appeared in two episodes of DS9 season 1, but is now largely forgotten.
Odo’s Forgotten Star Trek: DS9’s Sidekick Explained
In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 1, episode 9, “The Passenger”, Starfleet send Lt. George Primmin (James Lashly) to oversee security arrangements for a deuridium shipment. Primmin and Odo immediately clashed over the Constable’s decision to inform Quark (Armin Shimerman) about the shipment. Sisko warned Primmin against overruling Odo’s authority aboard the station as he reminded the officer that Starfleet were on DS9 as guests of the Bajoran Provisional Government. Primmin later grew to respect Odo’s approach to maintaining security on the space station, and the mismatched buddy comedy between the two cops on Deep Space Nine is one of the most enjoyable aspects of an uneven episode.
Odo and Primmin’s partnership was short-lived, however, as the Starfleet security officer disappeared after the next episode, “Move Along Home”. As Primmin was originally devised as a temporary replacement for Chief O’Brien while actor Colm Meaney made a movie, there were no further plans for the character. Writer and DS9 story editor Robert Hewitt Wolfe told the Official Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Magazine that he’d have liked to bring the character back, but there were no wider plans to do so.
Odo Got A More Memorable Starfleet Sidekick In DS9 Season 3
In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 3, Starfleet sent another security officer to the station to respond to the threat posed by the Dominion. Hilariously, Odo’s response to Lt. Commander Michael Eddington (Kenneth Marshall) mirrored his response to Primmin. Believing his authority to be at threat, Odo immediately tendered his resignation to Commander Sisko, before being reassured that he was still in charge of station security. Eddington and Odo would occasionally work together, most notably when the Constable and his sidekick stored the DS9 crew in a James Bond holosuite program following a transporter malfunction.
Quark was Odo’s best friend, but both Eddington and Primmin were very capable sidekicks for the Constable during Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Michael Eddington became far more memorable than George Primmin when he betrayed Starfleet for the Maquis in DS9 season 5. Eddington’s betrayal had a bigger impact on Captain Sisko than Odo, as he relentlessly pursued the Maquis traitor, determined to bring him to justice. It was this gripping storyline that meant that Eddington was able to transcend his original sidekick status and become a fascinating Star Trek character in his own right.
