His portrayal of the self aware hologram Vic on DS9 was always a highlight for me. In the midst of an ongoing war epic, they’d sprinkle in moments for Fontaine to cheer/distract the crew and audience. His beautiful voice helped Nog through the loss of his leg and the PTSD incurred from battle. He got Odo to remove the proverbial stick from his ass. Plus, he helped to orchestrate a ridiculous heist on the holodeck in order to save his program. He will be missed.
I felt that way too, until it clicked for me that music has a history in war of keeping morale up, and that’s a messy relationship.
So I’ve reconciled Vic as being meant as a stand-in for a missing traveling ‘support the troops’ musician. Vics “what the hell did you all bring me to life, here in the middle of a war, for?!” sort of maps messily to the experience of a musician drafted during WWII and put directly into an army band.
I’m curious if the theory holds up to closer inspection on my next watch through.
Thank you, that is a good way of looking at it, Starfleet sent DS9 the program to keep morale up on the frontlines, yeah that makes sense.