WHY WOULDNT ODO TELL KIRA HE WAS IN LOVE WITH HER?
There are a number of factors involved here. When Odo first realized his feelings for Kira she was already involved with someone else. Another reason is that he believed Kira could not return his feelings, and feared losing her friendship by confronting her with a fact that would make her uncomfortable. And Odo also saw his physical nature as a shapeshifting life form as a barrier to a relationship with a humanoid. But probably the main reason for Odo’s silence was his lack of self-esteem. Having always been an outsider, never having a family, being treated like a laboratory specimen by Bajorans and exploited as a source of entertainment by the Cardassians (Odo was used to entertain at parties when younger, performing the “Cardassian neck trick” among others), Odo has had precious little affection in life. Consequently he formed a rather low opinion of himself, and it is always hard to believe that others can love you when you don’t love yourself.
