Reassociation Reassociation was the resumption of a romantic relationship between at least one joined Trill and a person with whom the symbiont ' s previous host was romantically involved . Platonic friendships without a romantic element were not subject to this rule and could be resumed , and in some cases were even encouraged . Since the point of each successive host was for the symbiont to acquire new lifetimes of experiences , Trills considered reconnecting with intimate relationships from a past life " unnatural . " Joined Trills who reassociated were exile d from Trill society , which also meant that their symbionts died with that host , since they no longer had access to new hosts . This was a dire consequence , since for Trills , nothing was more important than protecting the life of the symbiont . ( ) Appendices . Background information . The idea of a Trill taboo prohibiting rekindled romance between former spouses was conceived by Michael Piller . ( " Cinefantastique " , Vol . 28 , No . 4 / 5 , p . 44 ) He suggested it early in the run of . René Echevarria later recalled , " " He felt they ' d have a very strict taboo , in order to avoid an aristocracy of the joined . Otherwise , they ' d only want to hang out with each other , their dear old friends from five hundred years ago and it would become a really screwed up society . " " ( " " , p . 279 ) The DS9 writing staff in general accepted the notion that renewed attraction between former spouses was forbidden in Trill society . " " We always suspected that was a Trill cultural taboo , " " reflected Robert Hewitt Wolfe . ( " Cinefantastique " , Vol . 28 , No . 4 / 5 , p . 44 ) From as early as when the story was originally concocted by René Echevarria , the idea of Trill taboos preventing Jadzia Dax becoming romantically involved with another Trill was part of the plot that developed into " Rejoined " . ( " Captains ' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages " , p . 107 ) " " The existence of the taboo meant that we could do a tragic love story , " " Echevarria acknowledged . ( " " , p . 279 ) Robert Wolfe wondered , " " How do you make the audience understand that even though Dax is doing something they would find acceptable , it ' s against the norms of social behavior for her society ? " " The writing staff ' s solution was to make the relationship a homosexual one . " " [ The taboo ] was always an analogy to the way homosexual relationships are treated in our society , " " Wolfe explained . The inclusion of the banning of reassociation in the story also served to highlight the alien nature of the Trill . ( " Cinefantastique " , Vol . 28 , No . 4 / 5 , p . 44 ) Immediately , Ronald D . Moore liked the concept of the taboo , later saying , " " It ' s a great metaphor for today , but it wasn ' t hitting it over the head [ . . . ] You had this taboo , which sounded so ridiculous , on Trill , yet it makes you think our own taboos are ridiculous . I thought that was a great way to go . " " ( " Captains ' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages " , pp . 107 - 108 ) Moore also regarded the taboo as " a perfect metaphor for issues of sexual tolerance and intolerance . " Expressing his approval while " Rejoined " was in development , Moore told the other DS9 staff writers , " " This taboo tracks with our own taboos or many audience members ' taboos about homosexuality and the argument will track straight down the line and it will be great . " " Thus , Moore and René Echevarria , while writing the script for the installment , " played that [ Trill ] taboo without really playing our taboo " of homosexuality , even though the other Trill Jadzia Dax was reassociating with , in the episode , was female too . ( " Cinefantastique " , Vol . 28 , No . 4 / 5 , pp . 45 & 44 ) Showrunner and Executive Producer Ira Steven Behr also approved of how Trill conventions were used to metaphorically represent homophobia . " " It was a Trill problem [ which is established in ' Rejoined ' ] . It wasn ' t about sex . It wasn ' t about same sex relationships . It was a distinct , science fiction , Trill problem . That was good , to couch it in futuristic terms , " " he remarked . From the perspective of her character , Jadzia Dax actress Terry Farrell likewise clarified , " " It really had more to do with my vows , being a joined Trill . " " ( " " , No . 5 ) She felt it was extremely " important " that the Trill taboo , rather than homosexuality , was the source of conflict in the episode . ( " Crew Dossier : Jadzia Dax " , DS9 Season 2 DVD special features ) Some things about reassociation seem to conflict with what was seen in , when the Odan symbiont appeared willing to rejoin with Beverly Crusher after its transference into a new host ( though the way Trills were portrayed in this episode contradicts almost everything subsequently shown about Trills ) . This law does not seem to apply to platonic friendships : three of Dax ' s hosts were friends with Benjamin Sisko and Jadzia did not hesitate to rekindle Curzon ' s friendship with Kang , Kor , and Koloth . Ezri Dax ' s decision to remain with Jadzia ' s old friends appeared to be perfectly acceptable to Trill society , apart from some initial discomfort among the DS9 crew about how to relate to someone who both was and wasn ' t their old friend . This is also consistent with Michael Piller ' s original notion of the taboo , intended " to avoid an aristocracy of the joined . " ( " " , p . 279 ) Relationships , especially platonic ones , between a joined Trill and a non - Trill ( or even an unjoined Trill ) would not present this risk . It seems also acceptable for joined Trills to be platonic friends with the spouses of their former hosts . When Worf wanted to avoid Ezri , Captain Sisko assumed it was to honor the Trill custom forbidding reassociation , Ezri corrected him by saying " that doesn ' t mean we can ' t talk to each other . " It is possible that this law only applies to two joined Trills , as Ezri ' s decision to have sex with Worf did not weigh as heavily on her as Jadzia ' s feelings for Lenara did . When Worf stated that she had broken Trill law , she neither confirmed nor corrected him , she only responded by saying that he had " broken a few Klingon laws in his time . " All of this suggests that a joined Trill reassociating with a spouse who is not also a joined Trill is not acceptable but not as strictly forbidden either ( though if the purpose of the custom is to prevent an " aristocracy of the joined " it would not further this purpose to hold an accidental host , like Ezri , to the same standards as a host who was properly screened and chosen , Ezri may have had a reasonable expectation of receiving leniency for her transgression ) . Apocrypha . In the novel " " , Worf speculated that his marriage was over , as the new Dax symbiont – even assuming that it was a female – would be automatically discouraged from a further relationship with him , due to the rule against reassociation . This could be the result of his ignorance of the fine details of Trill society , where this rule is concerned , rather than definite proof that romantic relationships between Trills and non - Trills could not continue past the life of one host .