Bechdel Testing Deep Space Nine was more complicated than The Original Series. Not only were there more episodes and more female characters, but there were also many episodes where two women (usually Kira and Dax) had back-to-back lines in a group scene but it wasn’t always clear whether this was enough to say they were definitively talking to each other.
My instinct was to try, as much as possible, to only pass those episodes where it was clear the two characters were talking to one another. For more of my thoughts, discussion of why I chose the method I ended up with, and responses to your comments, check out my post here.
One other point of clarification: I am counting the female changeling, played by Salome Jens, as a named female character. Because she is a recurring, significant character and any viewer would know who I was talking about if I said “The Female Changeling”, she functions as a named character.
Thanks to @The_Mad_Cyclist for her help testing Season 6!
Results
The first percentage indicates the result if you require that the two female characters clearly address each other, even in group scenes.
The second percentage (in brackets) indicates the adjusted pass rate if you include any episode where two women characters have back-to-back lines about something other than a man.
An asterisk in the episode list shows which episodes pass under the second test but not the first.
Total: 57.8% Pass (64.1%)
Season 1 – 68% Pass (79%)
| Episode | Pass? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Emissary | Pass | In Part II, Kira and Dax have short, business-like exchanges |
| Past Prologue | Fail* | Lursa and B’Etor talk to Garak but not really to each other |
| A Man Alone | Pass | Keiko and Molly talk about Keiko’s school |
| Babel | Fail | |
| Captive Pursuit | Fail* | Dax and Kira have back-to-back lines in Ops |
| Q-Less | Pass | Dax and Kira talk several times in Ops, including direct interaction |
| Dax | Pass | Anina talks to Els Renora and later Jadzia |
| The Passenger | Pass | Dax, Kira and Kejada figure out how Vantika accessed the station computers/Kira and Dax figure out why Vantika was coming to the station |
| Move Along Home | Pass | Kira and Dax talk about the game |
| The Nagus | Fail | |
| Vortex | Fail | None of the female characters talk to each other |
| Battle Lines | Pass | Kira and Opaka talk several times about prophecy and faith |
| The Storyteller | Fail | |
| Progress | Pass | Kira and Dax talk about sensor readings |
| If Wishes Were Horses | Pass | Kira and Dax talk about strange sensor readings/Molly and Keiko talk about bedtime |
| The Forsaken | Pass | Kira and Dax talk about the probe |
| Dramatis Personae | Pass | Kira tries to persuade Dax to disobey orders |
| Duet | Pass | Kira and Dax talk about their childhoods |
| In the Hands of the Prophets | Pass | Keiko talks to Winn about the wormhole/Kira and Keiko talk about the Kai |
Season 2 – 65% Pass (77%)
| Episode | Pass? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The Homecoming | Fail* | Dax and Kira talk in Ops, but both are talking to Sisko |
| The Circle | Pass | Dax talks to Kira about her being reassigned/Kira meets Winn |
| The Siege | Pass | Kira and Dax have conversations about the mission, insects, piloting, and Kira’s time in the resistance |
| Invasive Procedures | Pass | Kira and Dax talk about the plasma storm/Mareel asks Kira if she’s okay |
| Cardassians | Fail | |
| Melora | Pass | Dax and Melora talk about Vulcan music |
| Rules of Acquisition | Pass | Dax and Kira talk about the Ferengi/Pel confides in Dax |
| Necessary Evil | Pass | Kira confronts Pallra with an accusation |
| Second Sight | Fail* | Dax and Fenna have lines next to each other, but could be seen as to the men in the scene |
| Sanctuary | Pass | Haneek talks to both Kira and Dax about her role as spiritual leader and the wormhole/Haneek also talks to Vayna and Rozhan |
| Rivals | Pass | Kira and Dax talk about setting up the lab |
| The Alternate | Fail | |
| Armageddon Game | Fail | Kira talks to Dax and Keiko but only about Miles and Julian |
| Whispers | Fail | |
| Paradise | Pass | Kira and Dax talk about finding the Rio Grande/Alixus and Cassandra talk about if they want to leave |
| Shadowplay | Fail | Dax talks to a female villager, but she’s unnamed |
| Playing God | Pass | Kira and Dax talk about how to contain the proto-universe |
| Profit and Loss | Pass | Natima and Rekelen talk about their movement/Natima explains to Kira why she lied |
| Blood Oath | Pass | Dax talks to Kira about killing and Dax’s blood oath |
| The Maquis I | Pass | Kira and Dax talk about an incoming Bolian vessel |
| The Maquis II | Pass | Kira and Dax have an exchange about thrusters |
| The Wire | Fail | |
| Crossover | Pass | Major and Intendant Kira have several conversations |
| The Collaborator | Pass | Kira talks to Winn about why she’s on the station, Kira and Dax talk about Winn |
| Tribunal | Fail* | Dax and Kira talk but in a larger Ops conversation, not necessarily to each other |
| The Jem’Hadar | Pass | Kira and Dax have an exchange about an incoming ship |
Season 3 – 73% Pass (73%)
| Episode | Pass? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The Search I | Pass | Kira and Dax have an exchange about a subspace surge |
| The Search II | Pass | The female shapeshifter talks to Kira about the Founders’ distrust for “solids” |
| The House of Quark | Fail | |
| Equilibrium | Pass | Kira comments on Dax’s musical skills |
| Second Skin | Pass | Alenis tells Kira where she is, Yteppa tells Kira she’s all right |
| The Abandoned | Pass | Dax talk to each other as part of a conversation with Bashir |
| Civil Defense | Pass | Dax and Kira talk about Dax’s idea for an engineering fix, and how to defeat the station’s security program |
| Meridian | Pass | Dax asks Seltin about her planet’s dimensional shifts |
| Defiant | Pass | Kira and Dax talk about storage capacity |
| Fascination | Fail | |
| Past Tense I | Pass | Kira and Dax remark on the colour of the Earth’s oceans |
| Past Tense II | Pass | Kira and Dax figure out where each other are |
| Life Support | Pass | Kira asks Winn why she suspects sabotage |
| Heart of Stone | Fail | |
| Destiny | Pass | Ulani thanks Kira for letting them on the station, Dax talks to the two Cardassian women about the food, Ulani and Kira talk about the comet |
| Prophet Motive | Fail | |
| Visionary | Pass | Kira and Dax talk about detecting and firing at a Romulan warbird |
| Distant Voices | Pass | In a group scene, Dax notes Kira isn’t coming up with ideas and Kira asks her to let her think |
| Through the Looking Glass | Pass | Jennifer tells Intendant Kira the killing has to stop |
| The Die is Cast | Pass | Kira and Dax detct a Cardassian ship |
| Explorers | Pass | Dax and Leeta introduce themselves |
| Family Business | Fail | |
| Improbable Cause | Fail | |
| Shakaar | Pass | Kira talks to Lupaza about the people the authorities have taken in for questioning |
| Facets | Pass | Leeta and Dax discuss the Rite of Closure/Dax talks with Kira as Lela and Leeta as Emony |
| The Adversary | Fail |
Season 4 – 48% Pass (52%)
| Episode | Pass? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The Way of the Warrior | Pass | Dax tries to get Kira to have fun in the holosuite, later they talk about the Cardassians and the Klingons |
| The Visitor | Fail | |
| Hippocratic Oath | Fail | |
| Indiscretion | Pass | Dax talks to Kasidy about staying on the station |
| Rejoined | Pass | Dax has many conversations with Lenara |
| Starship Down | Pass | Kira talks to Dax about fasting |
| Little Green Men | Fail | Kira responds to a comment from Dax, but it’s about the Ferengi men |
| The Sword of Kahless | Fail | |
| Our Man Bashir | Fail | |
| Homefront | Pass | Kira and Dax talk about how many people were at a conference Dax has returned from |
| Paradise Lost | Fail | |
| Crossfire | Fail | Kira and Dax talk, but only abotu Shakaar |
| Return to Grace | Pass | Kira explains to Ziyal how to use a phase-disruptor pistol and Ziyal shows her a knife trick |
| Sons of Mogh | Fail* | Dax and Kira have lines next to each other and they are riffing off each other, but their audience is the group |
| Bar Association | Fail | Leeta, Dax and Kira never talk to each other |
| Accession | Fail | |
| Rules of Engagement | Fail | T’Lara orders Dax to answer a question, but it’s about Worf |
| Hard Time | Pass | Keiko and Molly talk about colouring |
| Shattered Mirror | Pass | Intendant Kira and Jennifer talk as the Intendant tries to capture her |
| The Muse | Pass | Lwaxana, Dax and Kira talk about love, but not about men per se |
| For the Cause | Fail | |
| To the Death | Pass | Kira asks how long ago the ship left and Kira answers (group scene in Ops) |
| The Quickening | Pass | Kira warns Dax about the Jem’Hadar/Ekoria and Dax introduce themselves and later talk about food |
| Body Parts | Pass | Keiko and Kira talk about the surrogacy/Molly asks Kira if she’s her aunt |
| Broken Link | Fail |
Season 5 – 50% Pass (50%)
| Episode | Pass? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Apocalypse Rising | Fail | Dax and Kira only talk about Gowron |
| The Shipr | Fail | Dax asks Kilana a question but Sisko answer it |
| Looking for par’Mach in All the Wrong Places | Pass | Kira and Keiko talk about Kira’s new uniforms |
| Nor the Battle to the Strong | Fail | Kira and Dax are in the same scene at Quark’s but talking to the men, not each other |
| The Assignment | Pass | Dax and Keiko talk about food |
| Trials and Tribble-ations | Pass | Dax asks Kira to identify the Klingon vessel |
| Let He Who is Without Sin | Pass | Dax tells Leeta she doesn’t have to serve them drinks/Arandis and Dax talk about pottery |
| Things Past | Fail | |
| The Ascent | Fail | |
| Rapture | Pass | Kira and Dax talk about the painting of B’hala/Kira and Winn have lines, but only about Sisko |
| The Darkness and the Light | Pass | Kira and Fala talk about getting Fala to safety/Lupaza asks Kira about the pregnancy |
| The Begotten | Pass | Kira and Y’Pora and Keiko have lines to each other about the delivery |
| For the Uniform | Pass | Dax and Kira have lots of lines as part of a larger bridge conversation, but there is at least one time Kira asks a question that Dax answers |
| In Purgatory’s Shadow | Pass | Kira and Dax talk about Cardassian code and the Dominion |
| By Inferno’s LIght | Pass | Kira commands Dax on the Defiant |
| Dr. Bashir, I Presume | Fail | |
| A Simple Investigation | Fail | Dax and Kira only talk about Odo |
| Business As Usual | Fail | |
| Ties of Blood and Water | Fail | Kira and Dax talk, but only about Tekeny Ghemor |
| Ferengi Love Songs | Fail | Leeta and Kira only talk about Rom |
| Soldiers of the Empire | Pass | Dax and Tavana introduce themselves and later talk about food and bloodwine |
| Children of Time | Pass | Dax and Kira talk about the Defiant bunks/Dax talks with Lisa and Molly about how the kids look |
| Blaze of Glory | Fail | |
| Empok Nor | Fail | |
| In the Cards | Fail | |
| Call to Arms | Pass | Leeta and Ziyal briefly discuss wedding dresses |
Season 6 – 46% Pass (57%)
| Episode | Pass? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| A Time to Stand | Fail | |
| Rocks and Shoals | Pass | Yasim and Kira talk about the right to protest |
| Sons and Daughters | Pass | Ziyal tells Kira about her art and why she left the university |
| Behind the Lines | Fail* | Kira and the female changeling have back-to-back lines but Odo is there and it’s sort of about him |
| Favor the Bold | Pass | Kira and Ziyal talk about how things are going on the station, as well as about asking Dukat to free Rom |
| Sacrifice of Angels | Pass | Kira and Leeta have back-to-back lines about how to stop the Cardassians |
| You are Cordially Invited | Pass | Dax and Sirella talk about the Klingon rituals and Sirella’s family history |
| Resurrection | Pass | The Intendant tells Major Kira how smart and beautiful she is |
| Statistical Probabilities | Fail | |
| The Magnificent Ferengi | Fail | |
| Waltz | Fail | |
| Who Mourns for Morn? | Fail | |
| Far Beyond the Stars | Fail | |
| One Little Ship | Fail | |
| Honor Among Thieves | Fail | Kira and Dax have back-to-back lines but it’s in a group scene talking about Chief O’Brien |
| Change of Heart | Pass | Kira talks to Dax about sending her and Worf to the Badlands on a mission |
| Wrongs Darker than Death or Night | Pass | Several scenes between Kira Nerys and Kira Meru |
| Inquisition | Fail* | Dax and Kira have back-to-back lines in Ops, but to the entire group |
| In the Pale Moonlight | Fail* | Dax and Kira have back-to-back lines in Ops but not to each other specifically |
| His Way | Fail | This one is debateable. Kira asks Dax about “moments of clarity” but she’s really asking about Odo, so I believe doesn’t pass the test |
| The Reckoning | Pass | Kira explains to Dax why she’s taking Sisko to Bajor/Kira asks Winn if something’s wrong |
| Valiant | Fail | |
| Profit and Lace | Fail | |
| Time’s Orphan | Pass | Kira asks Dax about her investigation of the time portal/Keiko and Molly talk about the other Molly |
| The Sound of Her Voice | Pass | Kasidy asks Lisa if there’s anything the Defiant crew can do to help her |
| Tears of the Prophets | Pass | Kira tells Dax she prayed for her to have a baby |
Season 7 – 56% Pass (64%)
| Episode | Pass? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Image in the Sand | Pass | Kira and Cretak talk about the accommodations on the station and about jumja sticks |
| Shadows and Symbols | Pass | Kira asks Cretak why warbirds are transporting medical supplies |
| Afterimage | Pass | Kira talks to Ezri about being at the place where Jadzia was killed |
| Take Me Out to the Holosuite | Pass | Leeta and Ezri talk about the baseball game |
| Chrysalis | Fail* | Ezri asks Sarina what she’s listening to, but Sarina also replies to Bashir/Ezri and Sarina’s other conversation is about men |
| Treachery, Faith and the Great River | Fail | |
| Once More Unto the Breach | Pass | Kira and Ezri talk about what it’s like to prove yourself as a new Trill host |
| The Siege of AR-558 | Fail | Ezri and Larkin have lots of lines, but not to each other |
| Covenant | Pass | Kira tells Ezri what her religious services were about |
| It’s Only a Paper Moon | Fail | |
| Prodigal Daughter | Pass | Kira and Ezri talk about gagh/Ezri tells her mom about her promotion |
| The Emperor’s New Cloak | Pass | The Intendant and Mirror Ezri talk about escaping/Mirror Ezri and Leeta talk about “debriefing” |
| Field of Fire | Fail | |
| Chimera | Fail | |
| Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang | Fail* | Kira, Ezri and Kasidy are in the same scenes but always talking to the larger group |
| Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges | Pass | Kira and Cretak talk about repairs and maintenance on the Romulan ships |
| Penumbra | Pass | Saghi asks Kasidy about her wedding ceremony |
| Til Death Do Us Part | Pass | Winn is spoken to by Prophet-Kira in her vision, real Kira asks her if she’s all right |
| Strange Bedfellows | Pass | Winn talks to Kira about feeling like she’s on the wrong path, Prophet-Kira speaks to her in another vision |
| The Changing Face of Evil | Fail | |
| When It Rains… | Fail | |
| Tacking Into the Wind | Fail | |
| Extreme Measures | Fail | |
| The Dogs of War | Pass | Kira talks to Mila about helping their resistance/Leeta and M’Pella talk about asking for a raise |
| What You Leave Behind | Pass | Kira orders the female changeling to end the war/Kira also talks to Mila but only about Damar |
