hm. i do think about how in ‘if wishes were horses’ all the characters’ imaginations conjure like… children’s storybook characters, old sports players they admire, somebody they have a crush on, space emus, idk. silly stuff. except for kira, whose imagination makes her see fire and explosion and a man crying out in agony as he burns to death and she genuinely thinks the pylon has blown up and she’s about to die before it disappears. it’s only a small moment in a very lighthearted episode but i think it’s a powerful example of early ds9 kira that shows how she’s still so traumatized and haunted by the cardassian occupation.

that moment is, among other reasons, why kira and jadzia’s conversation at the beginning of ‘the way of the warrior’ a few seasons later is so important to me, where there’s quite a direct parallel to that s1 moment.

KIRA: I guess I don’t have much of an imagination.
DAX: Of course you do. Everyone does. Didn’t you play make-believe when you were a child?
KIRA: Yeah. I used to make-believe that the Cardassians would stop killing the Bajorans and just go away.

imagination is a core part of the star trek philosophy - imagining a better future, imagining a way out of a no-win scenario, etc. but for kira, her life experiences mean imagination only has negative connotations. while other people imagine random, comparatively silly things, she imagines horrors. and as a person she tends to be quite reserved and impersonal on this front to protect herself, which is why her reply to jadzia suggesting she try to learn to use her imagination is one of my favourite moments for her character of all time.

kira’s story is so much one of recovery and opening herself back up to the world, and part of that is opening herself up to other people and trusting them. her willingness to give imagination a(nother) try here at the beginning of s4, supported by jadzia, is such a significant thing for her character. it’s such a contrast to who she was in s1, in that earlier imagination episode. choosing to be vulnerable, to take a chance, to give something a try, is so difficult for her when her whole life has forced her to become a hard, unbreakable person, someone completely entrenched in the harsh reality of their own existence. 

learning to trust and use her imagination and go out of her comfort zone to enjoy life and be happy and relaxed around others is a core part of kira’s emotional journey throughout ds9, and to me this juxtaposition of two small but significant moments seasons apart sums it all up so well.