Star Trek: DS9 Actor Dies
Aron Eisenberg skillfully played “Nog”
I never watched an episode of Deep Space Nine until this summer, when I started my campaign to watch every single episode of anything Star Trek ever produced.
I quickly became addicted, and I can see why die-hard fans love it.
Friday I watched the episode arc where Nog, a cadet in Starfleet Academy on detached service with the DS9 crew during the Dominion War, is shot in the leg, has his leg amputated, then suffers an extended bout of post-traumatic stress and depression.
The next day I read that Aron Eisenberg, the actor who played Nog, had died at the age of 50.
I really enjoy Nog’s presence on the show. When I started watching, I thought, “These Ferengis are a real pain, an annoyance. And now there’s a little kid Ferengi?!”
But the show’s writers allowed Nog to surpass audience expectations of Ferengis.
When he badgered DS9 Captain Benjamin Sisko to recommend him for Starfleet Academy, I thought, “This will never work.” But it does.
Nog becomes a skilled pilot, engineer, junior tactician, and line soldier. Honor plays big with Nog, just as it does with the other Starfleet officers he’s seeking to emulate.
Nog really shows viewers how to overcome adversity and the low expectations of others.
From what I have read about Eisenberg in the last couple of days, having endured kidney problems most of the life, his character’s determination reflected his own.
Eisenberg skillfully let that show through Nog.
