Is Chief O’Brien Actually Star Trek’s Most Suffering Character?

O'Brien not being able to win a suffering competition seems to be the ultimate sign that he is the most suffering character

I think at least an honorable mention should go to Tasha Yar. Raised on the streets of a barbaric colony avoiding rape gangs and escaping only by tossing her sister aside. Dies pointlessly on a away mission, killed by a oil slick. Only to be resurrected in an alternate timline. Having to choose to knowingly sacrifice her life to correct the timeline. Only to then be captured by Romulans, forced to become a sexslave, have a daughter, and ultimately be killed by her abuser while trying to escape! Considering how comparatively few eppisodes Tasha appears in, I'd say pound for pound She truly is a top ranking contender for "most suffering Trek character".

I'm going to give a nod to Kira Nerys. 1: Grew up under a brutal occupation. 2: Parents died when she was young under said occupation. 3: Most of her resistance cell members who were her surrogate family were murdered. 4: Found out her deceased mother had been a comfort woman to her worst enemy. 5: Protege Ziyal was killed as was her best friend Jadzia. 6: One great love dies another is forced to leave and possible never return to her.

Poor Harry. Dude died FOUR TIMES on the show and still couldn't get promoted.

I think Picard's experience in The Inner Light should be considered as a part of his suffering. In no way does it bring him up to O'Brien's or Worf's level, but he lived an entire life, had a family, and lost all of that, with only a shitty flute as a keepsake.

how did you forget troi, a character constantly being mentally attacked, physically assaulted, and also has to deal with her mother

“He had not one, but two children…” I was waiting for something to come after that, then started cackling. Well played, sir.

That Picard-stabbing-joke was heartless.

"O'Brien experiences pain, Worf experiences loss." Holy shit, dude. That one hit me. Your analyses of episodes I've seen dozens of times point out to me things I've never caught. This is the content I'm here for! Also, I cannot state how much I appreciate the proper pronunciation of my surname in the shout-outs!

I nearly spit at the "argument over lighting fixtures that got out of hand" line🤣🤣

What about Seven of Nine? After twenty years as a Borg drone, she's liberated but has to live with medical problems, psychological trauma, and discrimination. Edit: Also, Seven lost her family, too.

I feel like Kira should be on this list. Her backstory alone puts her there but she ends off bidding goodbye, probably forever, to the love of her life. Everything she goes through inbetween (and there is fair amount there) is just icing.

O'Brian putting the phaser to his head trumped Whorf's pain, for me.

I feel like the 20 years of prison that Obrien lived wasn't factored in nearly enough. He endured a significant amount of isolation, which does a ton of damage to the mind. Let alone that he was forced into such extreme starvation and neglect that he lost his mind and killed his cell-mate. He had to live with that agony

"The argument with David Warner over lighting fixtures that got out of hand" - you're on fire today

For most concentrated suffering, Tasha gets an honorable mention. Backstory alone puts her in the top 5

What makes O'Brien special is a) he's not a lead character and b) it's never O'Brien's fault or something he pushed into motion; he's just a really put upon everyman ^^

The worst thing for Kirk was his brother being stung to death by a flying pizza.

Honestly I think I became a meme because everyone who watches Star Trek loves O'Brian. This is thanks to him being really well-written, and the everyman charm of Colm Meaney. His suffering is our suffering, because he's "us." He's got a wife and kids, he plays video games with his best friend, he geeked out as hard as the rest of us when he talked to Kirk... he's our man. And that's why we love him.

You left out Harry being tricked into thinking he's not actually human but some alien species of hot women who actually feast on the men they so trick (Favorite Son).