Editing Ro Laren (section)

==Reception==
When reviewing "Ensign Ro" for [[Tor Books|''Tor.com'']], DeCandido described Michelle Forbes as "stellar" and called Ro "one of ''TNG'''s best recurring characters". He also added that the character was "a bit of piss and vinegar to add to the syrupy mix of homogeneity that the ''TNG'' cast tends to be".<ref name="torensignro" /> In his review of "Preemptive Strike", he said that the Ro character arc "comes full circle: once again making a decision that puts her on the outs with Starfleet." He praised Forbes again, saying that she "inhabits the character so completely, from her awkwardness at the reception in her honor to her playing the role of rebel, to her pain at thinking about her father... to her decision to betray Starfleet and the ''Enterprise''." He did criticise the episode for not wrapping up the Riker-Ro relationship in the same way that closure had been given to her friendship with Picard.<ref name="torpremtivestrike" /> Zack Handlen reviewed "Ensign Ro" for ''[[The A.V. Club]]'', and described Ro as "terrific" and said that the role represented "one of the rare times that ''TNG'' has managed to have a frustrated character who doesn't immediately seem overly hateful or falsely confrontational". But he criticized the manner in which her opinion changed to be more favourable of Picard and the ''Enterprise'', as he felt that Guinan's intervention was detrimental to the plot.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Handlen|first1=Zack|title=Star Trek: The Next Generation: "Ensign Ro"/"Silicon Avatar"|url=https://www.avclub.com/star-trek-the-next-generation-ensign-ro-silicon-av-1798167419|newspaper=The A.V. Club|access-date=June 17, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150228081852/http://www.avclub.com/tvclub/star-trek-the-next-generation-ensign-rosilicon-ava-52264|archive-date=February 28, 2015|url-status=live|date=February 24, 2011}}</ref>

Ro Laren has placed in several polls featuring the characters of the franchise over the course of several years. In a list of the strongest female characters on the official ''Star Trek'' website by [[Jordan Hoffman]] in 2012, Ro Laren was placed second behind Edith Keeler from the ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]'' episode "[[The City on the Edge of Forever]]". He said that Ro was one of the "richest figures in ''Trek''", and wished to be able to see an alternative timeline where Forbes had accepted the main cast position on ''Deep Space Nine''.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Hoffman|first1=Jordan|title=One Trek Mind #11: Trek's Strongest Supporting Female Characters|url=http://www.startrek.com/article/one-trek-mind-11-treks-strongest-supporting-female-characters|publisher=StarTrek.com|access-date=June 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401181417/http://www.startrek.com/article/one-trek-mind-11-treks-strongest-supporting-female-characters|archive-date=April 1, 2016|date=August 21, 2013}}</ref> A poll at the [[Creation Entertainment]] official ''Star Trek'' convention in 2013, conducted by Hoffman, placed Ro Laren as the fifth most popular recurring character among fans, behind [[Elim Garak]], [[Q (Star Trek)|Q]], Gul [[Dukat (Star Trek)|Dukat]] and General [[Martok]]. Hoffman expressed a view that he had expected her to place higher in the rankings, due to the number of her vocal supporters; however, she also had many booing her.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Hoffman|first1=Jordan|title=Getting My Mind Around One Trek Mind Live 2013|url=http://www.startrek.com/article/getting-my-mind-around-one-trek-mind-live-2013|publisher=StarTrek.com|access-date=June 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160427103147/http://www.startrek.com/article/getting-my-mind-around-one-trek-mind-live-2013|archive-date=April 27, 2016|date=August 21, 2013}}</ref> On a poll run on the official ''Star Trek'' website in 2014 regarding the fans' favourite supporting character, Ro came eighth out of ten.<ref>{{cite web|title=Poll Says Favorite Trek Supporting Character Is...|url=http://www.startrek.com/article/poll-says-favorite-trek-supporting-character-is|publisher=StarTrek.com|access-date=June 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140311224458/http://www.startrek.com/article/poll-says-favorite-trek-supporting-character-is|archive-date=March 11, 2014|date=March 9, 2014}}</ref> In 2015, she was included in a list of the 21 "most interesting" supporting characters in the franchise by Lisa Granshaw at [[Blastr]]. Granshaw called Ro "a complicated, strong character", and said her "different layers and motivations made her a great character to watch interact with the loyal crew of the ''Enterprise''."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Granshaw|first1=Lisa|title=The 21 most interesting Star Trek supporting characters|url=http://www.blastr.com/2015-5-8/21-most-interesting-star-trek-supporting-characters|publisher=Blastr|access-date=June 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160129005551/http://www.blastr.com/2015-5-8/21-most-interesting-star-trek-supporting-characters|archive-date=January 29, 2016|date=May 8, 2015}}</ref>

In 2016, the character of Ro Laren was ranked as the 54th-most important character of Starfleet within the ''Star Trek'' science-fiction universe by ''Wired''.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2016/09/star-treks-100-crew-members-ranked/|title=Star Trek's 100 Most Important Crew Members, Ranked|last=McMillan|first=Graeme|date=2016-09-05|magazine=Wired|access-date=2019-03-20|issn=1059-1028}}</ref> In 2016, ''[[Screen Rant]]'' rated Ro Laren as the 15th best character in ''Star Trek''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://screenrant.com/best-star-trek-characters-ever/|title=The 20 Best Characters In Star Trek History|date=2016-11-19|website=ScreenRant|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-20}}</ref> In 2017, ''[[IndieWire]]'' ranked Ro Laren as the 12th best character on ''Star Trek: The Next Generation''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2017/09/star-trek-the-next-generation-characters-ranked-1201882388/|title='Star Trek: The Next Generation': Ranking the Crew, From Picard to Pulaski|last=Miller|first=Liz Shannon|date=2017-09-30|website=IndieWire|language=en|access-date=2019-06-23}}</ref>

In 2018, [[Comic Book Resources|''CBR'']] ranked Ro Laren the 15th-best recurring character of all ''Star Trek''.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbr.com/star-trek-recurring-characters-ranked/|title=Star Trek: Ranking the 20 Best Recurring Characters|date=2018-12-28|website=CBR|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-25}}</ref> They point out she was the first Bajoran presented in ''Star Trek'', and might have ended up as a character on ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''.<ref name=":0" />