Villains Too Stupid To Win - Who is next? 1. M. Bison (Street Fighter 1994) 2. The Holnists (The Postman 1997) 3. Ultron (Avengers: Age of Ultron 2015) 4. Vilos Cohagen (Total Recall 1990) 5. Syndrome (The Incredibles 2004) 6. Shinzon (Star Trek: Nemesis 2002) To access the vote and other perks, please consider signing up to my Patreon page here: www.patreon.com/mediazealot Feel free to comment below with your suggestions for other contenders.
He's also played by a fantastic actor, who can make him disgustingly evil, and yet charismatic and likeable, at the same time. He's actually the worst kind of villian - the kind who thinks they are right.
yes but even worse the kind of villian that thinks there right yet is so pathetic and childish in action that it makes it worse. a smart kind of villian that thinks there right is dr doom he does everything he does with the belif only a future ruled by him ends in earth in tree paradise no crime no corruption no tyranny and he can back it up as many precogs agree good or bad
Dukats Heroicism is best measured in Statues. Bajorans never did make enough of them, he doubbled their food rations after all what more could a Bajoran want?
he is the perfect example of a pity arch villian a character so incompetent yet so compleing you cant help but hate and feel bad for him even though you know hes purely pathetic
To be clear. He is well written as deliberately incompetent, as analogy to Cardassia itself. Country what is newcomer on galactic stage, what gain short range profits due to malpractice, but as result become overconfident leading to own downfall.
He's retarded. I honestly think Shran was a more compelling Character. The Klingon Lawyer in ST Enterprise was a better Character than Dukat. Granted that Lawyer was played by Garman Hertzler. He's doing a very good Job being a Klingon.
He was great... until they ruined him near the end because they over-corrected after hearing that the fans loved him. 'They can't love him, he's the bad guy! Give him a mustache and have him start twirling it fast!'
He was a Homelander with without superpowers, he did a great job as looking at it, Dukat does not seem like an easy part to play well balancing the unhinged theatricality and smooth-talking self-assuredness
Dukat was so into Bajoran women that he slept with Kai Winn. That's like a alcoholic having to drink mouth wash to calm their addiction and it's all they have.
I once saw an alcoholic who would stop every morning at the pharmacy I worked in, and bought two or three large bottles of NyQuil. Every. Weekday. (though she did distribute her purchases across several different pharmacies in the area, like a "smart" alcoholic...) But she was well-dressed and obviously worked in a professional environment.
There is a fan theory that I like, about the god like races in Star Trek, is that they are ALL future evolutions of the races they are deities to or continually interact with. The Q were once humans, The Prophets were once Bajoran's etc. This would explain some of the odd things these beings have said in the shows and the reason why they are so interested in younger races. Q once said that Humanities social evolution is important to them, meaning that they are somehow connected and the Prophets keep saying they are "Of Bajor"
@@choobooloo1 I think his theory makes more sense if you don't take it literally. If you think of the Q as the logical extrapolation of a version of humanity; killing their gods and Kahlees being expressive of the klingons; Surak of Vulcan; Prophets of Bejor; Great Exchange with Ferengi, etc... so it may (or may not) be the storytelling mechanism of comparing cultures Trek writers used intentionally.
I always thought that the Prophets were an earlier species that evolved on Bajor...or will evolve on Bajor, you can never actually be sure when things happen with the Prophets.
Problem is this has already been explained away. The Q have been around long before humans at the start of the universe, the prophets are just advanced space aliens but they have some sort of power that is like magic instead and they actually say they have no idea what time is they even ask Sisko what that means. That also wouldn't Explain people such as the Watcher(or stranger)a random space alien that is like the Q in powers, takes wesley crusher with him for a few years even. That would mean that there would be two human races etc. Its a cool theory but easy to poke holes into TlDR: just reroute the power couplings with auxiliary power.
@@rynemcgriffin1752 in terms of miltary tactics and leading men yes in terms of being socially aware no not really considering anyone including most kings before cesar would realise doing what cesar did is BEGGING for assination
Well considering that Worf and company actually make time for their children, takes interest in their goals and life, and tries to save them when they are in harm's way, though in Kirk's case fail due to David's action more than anything, can we say they are worst parents than Dukat?
@@raw6668 I think one of the main things against Dukat is remember he's a father for more than just his one daughter. He apparently had a family on Cardasia that left him when he embraced his mixed race daughter... A family we pretty much see no existence of and he never thinks of doing anything with. Not to mention the possibly hundreds of bastard children running around from the women he's slept with. Because apparently birth control is too much for Dukat. He wanted a Legacy and apparently he did so by having possibly hundreds of kids.
Klingons believe only a fool fights in a burning house. That can be interpreted as saying there is no point in fighting if even a victory will be a loss.
@@schwarzerritter5724 "Destroying an empire to win a war is no victory. And ending a battle to save an empire is no defeat." Isnt this the statement you are thinking of ?
He's so stupid and spiteful he nearly blew himself up that one time when ds9 set off the self destruct failsafe and he beamed over just to gloat, only for a second failsafe to lock him out of his own failsafe program. Best bottle episode of early ds9 really.
His writing was rather inconsistent at times. The reason for that was the writers learning how popular he was getting with fans of the show, they started upping his insanity to make him look more monstrous.
My head cannon is that the Pa-Wraiths visited him and actually drove him insane after his daughter died. The wormhole aliens (good and bad) appear as people you know, so his hallucination makes sense in that way.
@@_Muzolf I liked the progression. It suited his personality that if a Pa-wraith talked to him and made him their 'messiah' his massive ego would embrace that sooooo happily!
I agree. I haaaaated the Pah-Wraiths arc. It was all very cartoonish and wacky. After all that buildup, an entire generation of carefully manipulating people and time to create their Emissary, in the end all Sisko had to do was tackle Dukat into a pit. Cuz...y'know. Literally nobody else is able to do tackle a guy. Clearly.
The Cardassians always had delusions of grandeur. They were never a great power despite their desires to be and in the end they were mere pawns of the Dominion.
I'm ten minutes into the video and I'm just like... yes? All these traits of hypocrisy, narcissism, and self-serving interests are exactly why he's a villain. He's an opportunistic parasite who always does the quick and easy thing to grab more power for himself, even to the detriment of his entire planet. He then tries to justify these actions as benevolent to appease his own warped conscience. The fact that the show and characters clearly acknowledge and resent his hypocrisy is just proof of how great the writing on DS9 was. The actor (I don't know his name off the top of my head) did an amazing job. Really, the only flaw that reflects back on the show is when they gave him superhero powers for the finale.
Dukat was wonderful. He was already cracked from the start as the occupation did irreparable damage to his mind. He was eaten up by the horrible things that he had done and in his own sick way, he was seeking absolution for his sins to the end. He wasn't just trying to sleep with Kira, he saw her as the physical manifestation of the hatred that the Bajorans felt toward him for what he had done and if he could win her over, that was his ticket to forgiveness. He wasn't the only one either, the episode Duet (one of the best Star Trek episodes ever made) about Gul Darhe'el was another that was so shattered they did some seriously odd things to try to find peace.
Damar only changed AFTER he truly understood the reason why the Bajorans despise the Cardassian occupation. That scene where Damar asks the question of „who’d do this“ like what kind of people would kill innocents - that’s when he truly flips
Dukat exemplifies the concept of a villain too stupid to win. He thinks he’s the cleverest most cunning smartest guy in the room and he wants that acknowledged by, everyone. This leads him to villainous actions, which because his own intelligence is overestimated he can’t win so he cheats.
Basically, the Zodiac killer. "A couple of hobbyists cracked my cipher within a week? Well I'll just make up something that LOOKS like a cipher and they'll spend decades tripping over themselves trying to solve something that can't be solved!"
@@nicholasleclerc1583 then you assume there's something about the enemy your missing. No one's omnipotent, and thinking you are is likely to be your downfall. The important part, then, is not just knowing your enemy, but knowing yourself. "If you know your enemy and you know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself and not your enemy, then for every victory you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle." -Sun Tzu, the Art of War, "Attack by Strategem". Additionally, if you know your enemy and not yourself, the information you have of said enemy is entirely without use.
Oh hell yeah. One of my favorites; even if he would shove his hand in a blender then blame literally everyone but him, including the inventor of hands. Yes, hands.
I always suspected that Dukat's only real interest in Ziyal was so he could play the role of altruistic doting father for Kira. Future stupid villain episode: Lord Voldemort.
I think it was more that Ziyal (at least initially) actually liked him and was happy to be with her father and, well, Dukat is a narcissist- he just likes being around people who like him.
@@jonathancampbell5231 while I think that's true to a certain extent, I still believe he saw Ziyal as more of a means to an end. A peculiarity of Dukat's narcissism is that he seemed to desperately want respect from those (Sisco and Kira in particular) whom he knew he was never going to get it from. He was obsessed with obtaining the unobtainable. Ziyal was his chance to play the kind of self-sacrificing family man he thought Kira might respond favorably to.
@Mackenzie Bauroth Really, Voldemort's egomania, paranoia, goals and quite literally self destructive and ineptitude means of achieving said goals doesn't really make him a smart person.
Well yeah ya made good points but the FUN of Dukat is that he was not only a psychopath that could never get out of his own way long enough to win, but that he was insanely ENTERTAINING to watch as he viscously bumbled around.
Oh Dukat is an awesome villain, he actually works himself out of an argument for Sisko on multiple occasions. Dukat's ego has a Chaotica level entertaining quality to it.
I love the character and role he plays in the series. A recurring vilian was a great addition to the series. Despite his hilarious failings, he was great on screen.
He's not actually stupid, just ridiculously egotistical. He passes up multiple opportunities to succeed because he wants respect. He's about self-gratification above all else.
Dukat was poorly written at times, but damn, Marc Alaimo made me love him and hate him in equal measures, as a great actor should! Thanks for the video, I enjoyed it thoroughly!
Dukat is fiercely ambitious, cunning, and without morals. However, he can't stop being his biggest fan. That's why Garak kept besting him in mind games.
Which one of the clones though? each one is slightly different and, if you recall, one even turns on the Dominion of his own free will due to a crisis of concience.
I have only watched DS9 once but Dukat was so amazing I thought. He had so many moments he could have redeemed himself but wouldn't. It's so Star Trek to just finally have the person turn good, or at least understandable, or the very minimum self redeeming. But he never got any of those in the end and just truly was evil and lost
when you think about it, it was the most logical ending for him: trapped in bajoran hell by demons he stupidly tried to release because his bajoran slaves didn't love him.
The Kardashians, omnipresent leather skinned tyrants bent on world domination, oh wait the KARDASIANS omnipresent leather skinned tyrants bend on world domination, not sure which one I prefer.
This video forces a Trek fan, like myself, to totally reinterpret Gul Dukat. For a time the Klingons were the most intellectually challenged of the Trek multiverse aliens. But Dukat's idiocy surpasses theirs throughout DS9's run. Nevertheless I still consider Gul Dukat to be a wonderful character. Marc Alaimo is great at playing him. Please keep posting these videos!
I love this. The way you explain dukats missteps while describing how it intertwines with the rest of the story makes me want to watch this series. I never made it past Janeway. A-we-some
Oddo speaks to Garrak" well why didnt you shoot dukat in the back,Garrak "well it was tempting at the time constable But who would fight off all of those Klingons.
A day at a struggling Cardassian psychiatrist: Hmm seems i have to let go some of my staff next month. The finances simply won't allow me to keep them anymore.... Now lets see who is the next patient. *sees the name Dukat* Seems my i nearly was to hasty. I'll probably need additional staff and my financial problems will be over for a long time.
The interesting part of writing an episode of "Villians Too Stupid To Win" on Dukat is Dukat was intentionally wrote this way. Most of the other characters and civilians you mention are unintentionally too stupid to win. He's awesome because he's intentionally to stupid to win.
The whole thing with the Pah-Wraiths was a mistake. I didn't even mind that they turned Dukat into a crazed, chaotic stereotypical bad guy, but then they threw in "dark prophets" and had him shtupp Nose Ridged Nurse Ratchet. It all just felt silly. I especially find it weak that, after aaaaaallllll that buildup, the only thing The Emissary had to do was tackle Dukat into a pit. Cuz literally no one else could have done that...?
Honestly at that point, Dukat felt more like a side villain to the whole Dominion threat. I cared more about the Damar resistance and the war than his cult shenanigans.
His downfall was ensured when he made the biggest error in all of Trek: he pissed of god-puncher Sisko. A man so awesome he sends litteral deities running scared, with very damp pants.
The sad thing is that for all his faults he really loved his daughter enough to make an effort at pretending to be better than he was. And maybe if she hadn't died when she did he could have gone right on pretending 'til they put him in the ground. But she did and he tried to summon the fucking Chaos Gods.
And just like in 40k, he got fucked, stabbed, JUST AS PLANNED'ed and diseased all in one moment. Sometimes even the gods can't stand stupidity. Fr, though, that would've been interesting to see. Maybe, towards the end, he could've started to actually get better. He'd start to believe the lie, I suppose. Not a proper redemption arc, mind you. He doesn't deserve it.
Dukat is one of my favorite characters. He makes very poor decisions, but at least he is a complex character, and is very well performed by Marc Alaimo
I’d love to see a villains smart enough to win series where you go over villains who could actually win/we actually competent enough to take over and rule.
Yes, Dukat was a total failure in pretty much everything he did. However, Mark Alaimo KILLED IT playing him. Damn did he make Dukat a fun villain. And you can tell he absolutely loved playing him. I always smile whenever Dukat shows up. He's fun.
Sweet pfp, the combination of the Lion of Judah's lion and snake attritibutes into an Asian-style dragon brings to mind the creator-god dragons of Asian religions such as the Candle Dragon. 😎
Dukat should’ve been written out after he lost DS9 and Ziyal. That shot of him babbling in a cell was such a dark but fitting send-off for a guy who’d fallen so far from his narcissistic ambitions, and is a perfect summation of his character; despite the grandiosity of his goals, those planet sized personality flaws doomed him from the very start. It makes him twice as compelling to watch the second time around, since you’re trying to figure out how much of his arc was written ahead of time. Oh, and thousandth comment lol ❤️
Dukat's hard-on for Nerys stems from his relationship with Meru. He clearly thought that if her mother was down for some Cardassian wing-wong, that Nerys would be as well.
It's amazing how this dude has the textbook paranoid delusions of real world self-righteous dictators... A perpetual victim complex; thinking all his actions are for the greater good, despite the needless deaths they cause; the perpetual want for acknowledgement and congratulations. Might as well make him the fourth successor to a certain small hermit kingdom.
The way I see Dukat by the time of DS9 is that he's already been beaten. The retreat from Bajor broke him, and he thought that the unrelated collapse of Cardassia was somewhat related to this. DS9 so happened to also be a strategic strongpoint.
It kinda writes itself. It spits in the face of the Universal Conquest Ethic just by the fact they stopped expanding at arbitrary borders and didn't conquer the whole continent/planet. Then there's the fact they're an advanced sci-fi civilization that still decides it's leaders through ritualistic combat, a trait generally assigned to the "bad guy" advanced sci-fi races and species to contrast them with the "peace loving" good guys, such as how the Klingons and Mandalorians contrast the Federation and Jedi respectively, regardless of how they became more than that.
@@josiaharaki7310 Not every civilization is inherently hostile and seeking to conquer others. Also, their isolationist stance and position as unfathomably advanced allows then to maintain cultural traditions.
"Struggle to understand even simple concepts like linear time" And blind people struggle to understand even simple concepts like color. And beings living on a three dimensional plain struggle to understand even simple concepts like a 5 dimensional plane. How are you supposed to understand something like that easily with no experience? Even limiting it to the simplest possible explanation of the differences between the moment things happen relative to each other, it's not like that would be intuitive to beings that have never experienced it.
@Cian Abroad That's true only makes the idea it's simple even stranger tbh, but I guess it being 'simple' relative to them supposedly being gods is what was intended.
As you've already acknowledged, I was only giving evidence for them not being gods, I'd agree their ignorance could be considered understandable. But here are a few other points just for kicks: 1. Time is a dimension of reality. It's an intrinsic part of the universe. It's hard to believe they could reach their level of knowledge and mastery over physics, without understanding it. Creating the wormhole itself surely would require an understanding of time (assuming they created it). 2. Their interactions with the Bajorans suggest they understand linear time perfectly well. They created prophecies that play out linearly. They intercede at various points to alter future outcomes. They may not be constrained to a linear existence, but at the very least they should have an understanding of it. 3. And finally a theory that popped into my mind during the edit, which negates my entire point in the video (as well as provides an explanation for the point above); they do understand linear time. They pretended they were ignorant of it, as a method of testing Sisko; they needed someone who was cool-headed, kind, rational, and able to teach and influence others. It was a job interview for the Emissary position.
@@MediaZealot well I would argue that because of them not being constrained by linear time, they understood it before specifically because of Sisko explaining it, despite knowing they still needed Sisko to explain it, because that is the point in which they learned it, essentially a predestination paradox.
@@MediaZealot I think, from the perspective of the people in the alpha quadrant that the Prophets do understand linear time by the end of the series. All of the meddling and prophecies probably came about after their encounter with Sisko, even though it played out in the past before they encountered Sisko from our perspective. Part of the problem is actually on our end, since it's impossible for a humans to properly write beings that exist outside of time since we ourselves can't perceive how that can even work or if it's even possible. There's always going to be an element of bullshit when writers try to create beings that exist in manners we don't.
Dukat is a playa. His only mistake his fascination with the lame Bajorans. Dukat could've teamed up with Riker and banged their way through the Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Quadrents.
Until they ruined Dukat with the Bajoran religion BS, he was a fantastic villain, not because he was intelligent, but because he was delusional. He was a realistic villain, a man who found ways to justify his horrific actions and decisions.
![[MV] A leap of faith...ความเชื่อใจครั้งสุดท้าย (From "Petrichor the series")](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/U1piZH2CNXA/mqdefault.jpg)
Villains Too Stupid To Win - Who is next?
1. M. Bison (Street Fighter 1994)
2. The Holnists (The Postman 1997)
3.
Ultron (Avengers: Age of Ultron 2015)
4. Vilos Cohagen (Total Recall 1990)
5. Syndrome (The Incredibles 2004)
6. Shinzon (Star Trek: Nemesis 2002)
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Feel free to comment below with your suggestions for other contenders.
Ultron
M.Bison
(Sees M. Bison) OF COURSE!
maybe sydrome
Syndrome
He's also played by a fantastic actor, who can make him disgustingly evil, and yet charismatic and likeable, at the same time. He's actually the worst kind of villian - the kind who thinks they are right.
yes but even worse the kind of villian that thinks there right yet is so pathetic and childish in action that it makes it worse.
a smart kind of villian that thinks there right is dr doom he does everything he does with the belif only a future ruled by him ends in earth in tree paradise no crime no corruption no tyranny and he can back it up as many precogs agree good or bad
Villain? you mean Hero! He said so himself!
Sadly for Dukat, his ego means he's not going to take anyone's criticism unless it's his idea.
Dukats Heroicism is best measured in Statues. Bajorans never did make enough of them, he doubbled their food rations after all what more could a Bajoran want?
"the kind who thinks they are right" real revelation comes when you realize there is no any other kind.
Dukat's foolishness just made his character better. He was the most compelling villain in Star Trek ever and a great foil for Sisko.
he is the perfect example of a pity arch villian a character so incompetent yet so compleing you cant help but hate and feel bad for him even though you know hes purely pathetic
To be clear. He is well written as deliberately incompetent, as analogy to Cardassia itself. Country what is newcomer on galactic stage, what gain short range profits due to malpractice, but as result become overconfident leading to own downfall.
He's retarded. I honestly think Shran was a more compelling Character. The Klingon Lawyer in ST Enterprise was a better Character than Dukat. Granted that Lawyer was played by Garman Hertzler. He's doing a very good Job being a Klingon.
He was great... until they ruined him near the end because they over-corrected after hearing that the fans loved him.
'They can't love him, he's the bad guy! Give him a mustache and have him start twirling it fast!'
Dukat was not only written well but also acted brilliantly. Alaimo brought that character to life.
I think Garrak summed him up well when he told him “I always knew your arrogance would be your undoing.”
No one knows Dukat better than Garrik.
I believe the quote is “I always knew your shortsightedness would be your downfall.”
I just recently rewatched Civil Defense, lol.
Marc Alaimo took what is essentially the bumbling incompetent villain from Saturday morning cartoons, played it straight, and made it work!
He was a Homelander with without superpowers, he did a great job as looking at it, Dukat does not seem like an easy part to play well balancing the unhinged theatricality and smooth-talking self-assuredness
Dukat was just so fascinating to watch. You knew he would fail, but how he got there was usually so entertaining
He's like the One Punch Man of failure.
Like a Joker
Dukat was so into Bajoran women that he slept with Kai Winn. That's like a alcoholic having to drink mouth wash to calm their addiction and it's all they have.
Yeah that was like......how far had he fallen.......
Kai Winn…🤮🤮🤮
I'd sleep with a Klingon woman before I slept with Kai Winn.
Don't knock Klingon women, they are fire-crackers in the sack... If you're into furniture breaking passionate loving, they are great!
I once saw an alcoholic who would stop every morning at the pharmacy I worked in, and bought two or three large bottles of NyQuil.
Every. Weekday. (though she did distribute her purchases across several different pharmacies in the area, like a "smart" alcoholic...)
But she was well-dressed and obviously worked in a professional environment.
There is a fan theory that I like, about the god like races in Star Trek, is that they are ALL future evolutions of the races they are deities to or continually interact with. The Q were once humans, The Prophets were once Bajoran's etc. This would explain some of the odd things these beings have said in the shows and the reason why they are so interested in younger races. Q once said that Humanities social evolution is important to them, meaning that they are somehow connected and the Prophets keep saying they are "Of Bajor"
an interesting theory I have to say.
Ooo I thought the same thing!
@@choobooloo1 I think his theory makes more sense if you don't take it literally. If you think of the Q as the logical extrapolation of a version of humanity; killing their gods and Kahlees being expressive of the klingons; Surak of Vulcan; Prophets of Bejor; Great Exchange with Ferengi, etc... so it may (or may not) be the storytelling mechanism of comparing cultures Trek writers used intentionally.
I always thought that the Prophets were an earlier species that evolved on Bajor...or will evolve on Bajor, you can never actually be sure when things happen with the Prophets.
Problem is this has already been explained away. The Q have been around long before humans at the start of the universe, the prophets are just advanced space aliens but they have some sort of power that is like magic instead and they actually say they have no idea what time is they even ask Sisko what that means. That also wouldn't Explain people such as the Watcher(or stranger)a random space alien that is like the Q in powers, takes wesley crusher with him for a few years even. That would mean that there would be two human races etc. Its a cool theory but easy to poke holes into
TlDR: just reroute the power couplings with auxiliary power.
Basically a slapstick Caedisian Caesar. That said the actor chewed the scenery wonderfully.
Marc Alaimo did a wonderful job as Gul Dukat
Great characters usually have deep flaws. And Dukat had many, many flaws.
Yeah but Caesar actually had a brain
Don’t insult Caesar that way
@@rynemcgriffin1752 in terms of miltary tactics and leading men yes in terms of being socially aware no not really considering anyone including most kings before cesar would realise doing what cesar did is BEGGING for assination
"The second worst father in the whole of star trek"
Shows clip of Worf.
Well played, dude, well played.
So I got this crazy fan theory that Picard is secretly wesley father, so third worst in my opinion
Sarek: Am I a joke to you?
Kirk waves aswell :D
Well considering that Worf and company actually make time for their children, takes interest in their goals and life, and tries to save them when they are in harm's way, though in Kirk's case fail due to David's action more than anything, can we say they are worst parents than Dukat?
@@raw6668 I think one of the main things against Dukat is remember he's a father for more than just his one daughter. He apparently had a family on Cardasia that left him when he embraced his mixed race daughter... A family we pretty much see no existence of and he never thinks of doing anything with. Not to mention the possibly hundreds of bastard children running around from the women he's slept with. Because apparently birth control is too much for Dukat.
He wanted a Legacy and apparently he did so by having possibly hundreds of kids.
You know that Dumbkat is really wrong when he opts for a violent solution despite a *Klingon* believing that negotiation is a better option.
Klingons believe only a fool fights in a burning house.
That can be interpreted as saying there is no point in fighting if even a victory will be a loss.
@@schwarzerritter5724 "Destroying an empire to win a war is no victory. And ending a battle to save an empire is no defeat." Isnt this the statement you are thinking of ?
@@chaosakazero Khaless' philosophy warns against Pyrric Victories.
@@Janoha17 Something Putin should learn...
I was a kid when I watched Deep Space 9, so I don't remember all of it, but that totally seems legit. XD
So basically he's a villain who occassionally uses his brain but is entirely guided by his "lower head's" desire for all that Bajoran "fruit".
“any plan that involves sleeping with kai winn just ain't worth doing”
lmao
He's so stupid and spiteful he nearly blew himself up that one time when ds9 set off the self destruct failsafe and he beamed over just to gloat, only for a second failsafe to lock him out of his own failsafe program. Best bottle episode of early ds9 really.
Totally agree. It is a surprise he hadn't gotten himself killed sooner due to stupid arrogance
He only f'd up when he tried to leave. Cant blame him though he had the ds9 crew by the balls and he couldn't have known his boss would sabotage him.
@@joshuabonesteel2303 He couldn't have known, but should have suspected it. Garak wouldn't have made that mistake. Hell, Damar wouldn't have either.
that scene still cracks me up till this day
Fuckin love that one.
Dukat was at times compelling, even up to his cult leader phase. But giving him crazy space-magic really ruined him.
His writing was rather inconsistent at times. The reason for that was the writers learning how popular he was getting with fans of the show, they started upping his insanity to make him look more monstrous.
My head cannon is that the Pa-Wraiths visited him and actually drove him insane after his daughter died. The wormhole aliens (good and bad) appear as people you know, so his hallucination makes sense in that way.
Just have him die in Waltz and the show is better overall
@@_Muzolf I liked the progression. It suited his personality that if a Pa-wraith talked to him and made him their 'messiah' his massive ego would embrace that sooooo happily!
I agree. I haaaaated the Pah-Wraiths arc. It was all very cartoonish and wacky. After all that buildup, an entire generation of carefully manipulating people and time to create their Emissary, in the end all Sisko had to do was tackle Dukat into a pit. Cuz...y'know. Literally nobody else is able to do tackle a guy. Clearly.
He's not to stupid to win.. he's to delusional to win.
Too*
which makes him stupid
The Cardassians always had delusions of grandeur. They were never a great power despite their desires to be and in the end they were mere pawns of the Dominion.
grabs you with a glow nooss
At least they didn't go through the Borg phase.
@@juliovictormanuelschaeffer8370, where they were ultra-scary supervillians but got overused and watered-down to baddies of the week?
@@enoughothis more like perfect baddies of the week.
They are just substandard Centauri.
I'm ten minutes into the video and I'm just like... yes? All these traits of hypocrisy, narcissism, and self-serving interests are exactly why he's a villain. He's an opportunistic parasite who always does the quick and easy thing to grab more power for himself, even to the detriment of his entire planet. He then tries to justify these actions as benevolent to appease his own warped conscience.
The fact that the show and characters clearly acknowledge and resent his hypocrisy is just proof of how great the writing on DS9 was. The actor (I don't know his name off the top of my head) did an amazing job. Really, the only flaw that reflects back on the show is when they gave him superhero powers for the finale.
Dukat was wonderful. He was already cracked from the start as the occupation did irreparable damage to his mind. He was eaten up by the horrible things that he had done and in his own sick way, he was seeking absolution for his sins to the end. He wasn't just trying to sleep with Kira, he saw her as the physical manifestation of the hatred that the Bajorans felt toward him for what he had done and if he could win her over, that was his ticket to forgiveness. He wasn't the only one either, the episode Duet (one of the best Star Trek episodes ever made) about Gul Darhe'el was another that was so shattered they did some seriously odd things to try to find peace.
he definitly saw kira as more but dukat really was obssesed with sleeping with bajoran women
No wonder Damar ended being the hero of Cardassia. Surviving through years of Dukat's bullshit is quite the achievement.
granted he counted dukat as a great leader and friend and dukat did encourage damar to take his own destiny
Damar only changed AFTER he truly understood the reason why the Bajorans despise the Cardassian occupation. That scene where Damar asks the question of „who’d do this“ like what kind of people would kill innocents - that’s when he truly flips
Both of them are bad guys
It's just that Dukat is a mental case while Damar just survives long enough to look to the public
Dukat exemplifies the concept of a villain too stupid to win. He thinks he’s the cleverest most cunning smartest guy in the room and he wants that acknowledged by, everyone. This leads him to villainous actions, which because his own intelligence is overestimated he can’t win so he cheats.
Basically, the Zodiac killer. "A couple of hobbyists cracked my cipher within a week? Well I'll just make up something that LOOKS like a cipher and they'll spend decades tripping over themselves trying to solve something that can't be solved!"
"The fatal flaw in every plan is the assumption you know more than your enemy."
@Kasey Bennett
But wait, what about when you actually do know more than the ennemy ?
@@nicholasleclerc1583 then you assume there's something about the enemy your missing. No one's omnipotent, and thinking you are is likely to be your downfall. The important part, then, is not just knowing your enemy, but knowing yourself.
"If you know your enemy and you know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself and not your enemy, then for every victory you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle."
-Sun Tzu, the Art of War, "Attack by Strategem".
Additionally, if you know your enemy and not yourself, the information you have of said enemy is entirely without use.
@@nicholasleclerc1583 then you’ve forgotten your Socrates, “Wisest is he who know he does not know.”
Oh hell yeah.
One of my favorites; even if he would shove his hand in a blender then blame literally everyone but him, including the inventor of hands.
Yes, hands.
God damn those inventors of hands.
I always suspected that Dukat's only real interest in Ziyal was so he could play the role of altruistic doting father for Kira.
Future stupid villain episode: Lord Voldemort.
I think it was more that Ziyal (at least initially) actually liked him and was happy to be with her father and, well, Dukat is a narcissist- he just likes being around people who like him.
@@jonathancampbell5231 while I think that's true to a certain extent, I still believe he saw Ziyal as more of a means to an end. A peculiarity of Dukat's narcissism is that he seemed to desperately want respect from those (Sisco and Kira in particular) whom he knew he was never going to get it from. He was obsessed with obtaining the unobtainable. Ziyal was his chance to play the kind of self-sacrificing family man he thought Kira might respond favorably to.
@Mackenzie Bauroth trust me... they're both.
HE WHO MUST NOT ME NAMED!!!
@Mackenzie Bauroth Really, Voldemort's egomania, paranoia, goals and quite literally self destructive and ineptitude means of achieving said goals doesn't really make him a smart person.
Maybe he was never smart enough to win, but he was one of the best Star Trek villains
Are you still keeping up with the cardesians
Dukat is probably my favourite ST villain and this was hilarious.
Well yeah ya made good points but the FUN of Dukat is that he was not only a psychopath that could never get out of his own way long enough to win, but that he was insanely ENTERTAINING to watch as he viscously bumbled around.
I never realized Cardassian are supposed to be snakelike...
@Tom Griffiths Yup, didn't make that connection but now I can see it.
I think it's the fact that they don't have crazy eyes or a forked tongue.
They have limbs. They are not snakelike, probably psychologically only. Just other lizard men.
They could of been a legitimate lizard like species had the TV series budget been bigger, @@PCGameNerd917.
@@adamgray1753 I prefer the way they are.
Didnt you watched the reality show?
Ah yes.... The return of the Why-do-they-even-exist villains. *WITH A VENGEANCE!*
And yes! This **is** a Hellsing Abridged reference!
Dukat may qualify more for, "How did this idiot even BECOME a villain?"
Lmao! Love the Hellsing Abridged reference!🤣🤣🤣
r/unexpectedtfs
Dukat totally exists for a reason, though. He's an awesome villain.
the look on Weyoun's face when he realizes how nuts Dukat is
Oh Dukat is an awesome villain, he actually works himself out of an argument for Sisko on multiple occasions. Dukat's ego has a Chaotica level entertaining quality to it.
I love Dukat. Definitely one of my favorite Star Trek villains. Mark Alaimo plays him with so much enthusiasm. You can tell he loves it.
I love the character and role he plays in the series. A recurring vilian was a great addition to the series. Despite his hilarious failings, he was great on screen.
2:37 I'm glad someone else found Dukat's obsession with punching that Vulcan woman in the face really funny
He's not actually stupid, just ridiculously egotistical. He passes up multiple opportunities to succeed because he wants respect. He's about self-gratification above all else.
any other garrek fans out there!, can we get an episode on one of the best charecters in startrek history???
Deep Space Nine had the greatest Star Trek characters and stories ever!
Yes!
Garak was nothing more than a plain, simple tailor.
@@logicplague indeed, it's not like he's some Cardassian Spy or anything like that, that would be crazy.
@@logicplague he was a tailor with many... hobbies....
Dukat was poorly written at times, but damn, Marc Alaimo made me love him and hate him in equal measures, as a great actor should!
Thanks for the video, I enjoyed it thoroughly!
was it poor writing, or was it deliberate to showcase him as a bumbling villain that still poses a threat from time to time?
Dukat is fiercely ambitious, cunning, and without morals. However, he can't stop being his biggest fan.
That's why Garak kept besting him in mind games.
You can do one for Weyoun too, and his never ending attempts to talk to Worf again.
Which one of the clones though? each one is slightly different and, if you recall, one even turns on the Dominion of his own free will due to a crisis of concience.
So, he is basically Handsome Jack, but uglier.
EXACTLY.
@Embelm12 oh and way more lecherous and evil at least jacks goal was theoretically good on paper whilst dukat just wants sex and validation
*handsomer
A sort of... off-Jack-like character, one could say.
Some big Jack-off.
@Django Fett booo that joke is neither funny nor accurate to his negative traits
“You have a knack for choosing the losing side, Dukat. First the Dominion. Now, the Pah Wraiths.”
I have only watched DS9 once but Dukat was so amazing I thought. He had so many moments he could have redeemed himself but wouldn't. It's so Star Trek to just finally have the person turn good, or at least understandable, or the very minimum self redeeming. But he never got any of those in the end and just truly was evil and lost
"Weyoun's bitch" legit made me choke on my juice. The ace ventura clips sent me into a coughing fit. So thanks for that.
"I'll let Dukat explain, as he does so often, at length".
Despite everything in this video, Dukat actually makes for a really great villain. Even the bizarre ending didn't really ruin him for me.
when you think about it, it was the most logical ending for him: trapped in bajoran hell by demons he stupidly tried to release because his bajoran slaves didn't love him.
the real enemy is oneself, diminished is the one who does not cultivate openly
👌😁
Dumb AF yes but I could watch him all day long, DS9 rules 😍
And yet you have to admit.. when He plays the "nice Guy" , Dukat can really be very persuasive.. And that is the real danger.
The Kardashians, omnipresent leather skinned tyrants bent on world domination, oh wait the KARDASIANS omnipresent leather skinned tyrants bend on world domination, not sure which one I prefer.
*Cardassians
HONEST TRAILERS
STAR TREK : TNG
@@andrewblanchard2398 YES😅
He's so self-serving yet all he does is actually hurt himself & everyone around him.
This video forces a Trek fan, like myself, to totally reinterpret Gul Dukat. For a time the Klingons were the most intellectually challenged of the Trek multiverse aliens. But Dukat's idiocy surpasses theirs throughout DS9's run. Nevertheless I still consider Gul Dukat to be a wonderful character. Marc Alaimo is great at playing him. Please keep posting these videos!
I love this. The way you explain dukats missteps while describing how it intertwines with the rest of the story makes me want to watch this series. I never made it past Janeway. A-we-some
Oddo speaks to Garrak" well why didnt you shoot dukat in the back,Garrak "well it was tempting at the time constable But who would fight off all of those Klingons.
Can't believe this came out the same day as a video about Odo being a flaky snake. A blessed day.
A day at a struggling Cardassian psychiatrist:
Hmm seems i have to let go some of my staff next month. The finances simply won't allow me to keep them anymore.... Now lets see who is the next patient.
*sees the name Dukat*
Seems my i nearly was to hasty. I'll probably need additional staff and my financial problems will be over for a long time.
The interesting part of writing an episode of "Villians Too Stupid To Win" on Dukat is Dukat was intentionally wrote this way. Most of the other characters and civilians you mention are unintentionally too stupid to win. He's awesome because he's intentionally to stupid to win.
The whole thing with the Pah-Wraiths was a mistake. I didn't even mind that they turned Dukat into a crazed, chaotic stereotypical bad guy, but then they threw in "dark prophets" and had him shtupp Nose Ridged Nurse Ratchet. It all just felt silly.
I especially find it weak that, after aaaaaallllll that buildup, the only thing The Emissary had to do was tackle Dukat into a pit. Cuz literally no one else could have done that...?
Honestly at that point, Dukat felt more like a side villain to the whole Dominion threat. I cared more about the Damar resistance and the war than his cult shenanigans.
His downfall was ensured when he made the biggest error in all of Trek: he pissed of god-puncher Sisko.
A man so awesome he sends litteral deities running scared, with very damp pants.
Tread lightly. Dukat is a damn legend.
That was kind of the point of Dukat, and one of the reasons he's such a unique villain.
The sad thing is that for all his faults he really loved his daughter enough to make an effort at pretending to be better than he was. And maybe if she hadn't died when she did he could have gone right on pretending 'til they put him in the ground. But she did and he tried to summon the fucking Chaos Gods.
And just like in 40k, he got fucked, stabbed, JUST AS PLANNED'ed and diseased all in one moment. Sometimes even the gods can't stand stupidity. Fr, though, that would've been interesting to see. Maybe, towards the end, he could've started to actually get better. He'd start to believe the lie, I suppose. Not a proper redemption arc, mind you. He doesn't deserve it.
@@generaljoe3447 Becoming the Mask would have been interesting...
@@kabob0077 It's a pretty cool thing to do in writing, provided you can pull it off.
HERESY!!!!
He didn’t love his daughter, he loved that she saw him as a good man worthy of redemption.
With so much subject matter to draw from for this character, I'm impressed you kept it down to just 34 minutes! 👍
Dukat is one of my favorite characters. He makes very poor decisions, but at least he is a complex character, and is very well performed by Marc Alaimo
Dukat is still one of my favorite characters in all of sci-fi. Or all time. He is extraordinarily HUMAN.
Make Cardassia Great Again!!!
I’d love to see a villains smart enough to win series where you go over villains who could actually win/we actually competent enough to take over and rule.
I always suspected that Dukat knew about the prophecy of the Emissary, and thought that he should have had the title.
Excellent villain. No amount of talent, determination, or advantage can fix flawed goals.
Ah yes, the man who turned the last season of a Star Trek series into Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
And what's wrong with Buffy the Vampire Slayer?
(Just joking. I can see the point you're making.)
Who wouldn't want to sleep with Kira tho?
Especially alternate universe catsuit with whip edition
Yes, Dukat was a total failure in pretty much everything he did. However, Mark Alaimo KILLED IT playing him. Damn did he make Dukat a fun villain. And you can tell he absolutely loved playing him.
I always smile whenever Dukat shows up. He's fun.
Dukat was an aggressive, ruthless commander with no moral scruples. Perfect for the Dominion.
Dukat always wanted Sisko's respect and Kira's affection.
He always had a tenuous grip on sanity, but the death of his daughter seemed to push him over the edge.
It did. Damar caused that when he shot and killed Ziyal.
Before I even watch this video! Dukat WON. He only lost because of magic worm holes aliens making his fleet disappear. That's not fair!
Saying it as south park "dea took our shirps
Sweet pfp, the combination of the Lion of Judah's lion and snake attritibutes into an Asian-style dragon brings to mind the creator-god dragons of Asian religions such as the Candle Dragon. 😎
He had his own wormhole aliens
@@Josep_Hernandez_Lujan But they didn't seem very competent either.
When Dukat snaps and screams at the elevator “PRAMANOD!!”
I bet Kira wishes she could throw Sisko’s baseball at Dukat’s head.
Make Cardassia Strong Again....that seems like a very familiar slogan
Damn I want to rewatch DS9 again.
The whole thing is on Netflix now.
Dukat should’ve been written out after he lost DS9 and Ziyal. That shot of him babbling in a cell was such a dark but fitting send-off for a guy who’d fallen so far from his narcissistic ambitions, and is a perfect summation of his character; despite the grandiosity of his goals, those planet sized personality flaws doomed him from the very start. It makes him twice as compelling to watch the second time around, since you’re trying to figure out how much of his arc was written ahead of time. Oh, and thousandth comment lol ❤️
Then they decided to turn him into a one dimensional villain who wants to kill everyone just cuz
Ah, Dukat. A tragic villain. Not because of the tragedies life gave him. But because of the ones he caused to himself.
But people like Dukat aren't impossible. They are everywhere!
Dukat's hard-on for Nerys stems from his relationship with Meru. He clearly thought that if her mother was down for some Cardassian wing-wong, that Nerys would be as well.
You gotta give alot of props to both Marc Ailamo and the writers. Probably one of the most nuanced villains in trek.
Dude is almost entirely pure evil. Where is this nuance?
It's amazing how this dude has the textbook paranoid delusions of real world self-righteous dictators... A perpetual victim complex; thinking all his actions are for the greater good, despite the needless deaths they cause; the perpetual want for acknowledgement and congratulations. Might as well make him the fourth successor to a certain small hermit kingdom.
Dukat's failings are effectively a case study in the self-defeating nature of evil.
The way I see Dukat by the time of DS9 is that he's already been beaten. The retreat from Bajor broke him, and he thought that the unrelated collapse of Cardassia was somewhat related to this. DS9 so happened to also be a strategic strongpoint.
Advanced civilizations too stupid to exist: Wakanda
Da fuc?
I disagree with this. But respect your opinion.
It kinda writes itself. It spits in the face of the Universal Conquest Ethic just by the fact they stopped expanding at arbitrary borders and didn't conquer the whole continent/planet. Then there's the fact they're an advanced sci-fi civilization that still decides it's leaders through ritualistic combat, a trait generally assigned to the "bad guy" advanced sci-fi races and species to contrast them with the "peace loving" good guys, such as how the Klingons and Mandalorians contrast the Federation and Jedi respectively, regardless of how they became more than that.
@@josiaharaki7310 Not every civilization is inherently hostile and seeking to conquer others. Also, their isolationist stance and position as unfathomably advanced allows then to maintain cultural traditions.
They're too stupid to exist because they rely entirely on one material.
He was stupid, but in a very real way
Yikes, I feel bad for Kira imagine having a freaky snake dude lusting after you
Dukat: Won’t someone think of the children?
"the children I endangered"
No matter what you say on this, I still think he's one of the best villains of Startrek
You have done such a great job, with crisp delivery and excellent wordcraft. Jolly Effin Good mate!
"Struggle to understand even simple concepts like linear time"
And blind people struggle to understand even simple concepts like color.
And beings living on a three dimensional plain struggle to understand even simple concepts like a 5 dimensional plane.
How are you supposed to understand something like that easily with no experience?
Even limiting it to the simplest possible explanation of the differences between the moment things happen relative to each other, it's not like that would be intuitive to beings that have never experienced it.
@Cian Abroad That's true only makes the idea it's simple even stranger tbh, but I guess it being 'simple' relative to them supposedly being gods is what was intended.
As you've already acknowledged, I was only giving evidence for them not being gods, I'd agree their ignorance could be considered understandable. But here are a few other points just for kicks:
1. Time is a dimension of reality. It's an intrinsic part of the universe. It's hard to believe they could reach their level of knowledge and mastery over physics, without understanding it. Creating the wormhole itself surely would require an understanding of time (assuming they created it).
2. Their interactions with the Bajorans suggest they understand linear time perfectly well. They created prophecies that play out linearly. They intercede at various points to alter future outcomes. They may not be constrained to a linear existence, but at the very least they should have an understanding of it.
3. And finally a theory that popped into my mind during the edit, which negates my entire point in the video (as well as provides an explanation for the point above); they do understand linear time. They pretended they were ignorant of it, as a method of testing Sisko; they needed someone who was cool-headed, kind, rational, and able to teach and influence others. It was a job interview for the Emissary position.
@@MediaZealot well I would argue that because of them not being constrained by linear time, they understood it before specifically because of Sisko explaining it, despite knowing they still needed Sisko to explain it, because that is the point in which they learned it, essentially a predestination paradox.
@@MediaZealot I think, from the perspective of the people in the alpha quadrant that the Prophets do understand linear time by the end of the series. All of the meddling and prophecies probably came about after their encounter with Sisko, even though it played out in the past before they encountered Sisko from our perspective. Part of the problem is actually on our end, since it's impossible for a humans to properly write beings that exist outside of time since we ourselves can't perceive how that can even work or if it's even possible. There's always going to be an element of bullshit when writers try to create beings that exist in manners we don't.
Keeping up with the cardesians
Kira is extremely patient with him because of her job but I am sure she had fantasies of putting his head on a pike.
Indeed. She told Ziyal that when she looked at Dukat, she saw nothing but a murderer.
I simply love the straight forward no non sense explanation of Dukat
Oh man Star Trek lizards except for one look more like slightly different Klingons than lizards.
It was a simpler time
Oh noooo I love Dukat😭 great video though as always 💁🏼♀️
Dukat wants everyone to recognize that he's better than them.
that basically
TRUMP
PATHOLOGICAL
NARCISSISTIC SOCIOPATH
i noticed this is the longest villain video. that fits for the longest winded of all Star Trek villains. Great video! i am rewatching ds9, now! ❤️
Dukat is a playa. His only mistake his fascination with the lame Bajorans. Dukat could've teamed up with Riker and banged their way through the Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Quadrents.
😂🤣🤦🏽♂️
Riker would pole ANYTHING.
Even a asexual person
Until they ruined Dukat with the Bajoran religion BS, he was a fantastic villain, not because he was intelligent, but because he was delusional. He was a realistic villain, a man who found ways to justify his horrific actions and decisions.
basically he's TRUMP
I just finished DS9 a month ago, this is gonna be great