Poll Time: Should they have made Sisko ____ (Season 7 spoilers)

[Quinton O'Connor]

I think I voted in this thread 3.5 years ago!

Anyway, I was cool with it. People make it out to be this show-stopping ruiner of a thing, but frankly, "it's not linear." Those Prophets can work around all kinds of things, y'know, and more intriguingly than Temporal Cold War antics or Janeway flip-flopping on opinions per episode writer.

I thought it added to the story, and surprisingly organically at that.

 

[Zonker]

I didn't like but...

The way I see it. Sisko arrived at DS9, he was not conceived by the Prophets. His encounter with them is what caused his origin. The Prophets exist out of time. They went back and "made" Sisko after meeting the adult Sisko, who explained what linear time was to them.

It's a paradox of sorts.

Is it weird that I like that better? Anyway, I liked the prophets better when they were more ambiguous. When no one was really sure whether they were gods or just aliens that were just really outside our understanding of the universe. I liked that Sisko started out skeptical and then gradually came to believe them and accept his role as the emissary. But I felt that a lot of the emissary plot got worse toward the end of the show. For a show that was almost defined by a shades of gray mentality, it had one of the most obviously black and white conflicts in Trek.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I liked the idea that the Prophets proactively made sure Sisko was born but I wish his destiny would have been something more interesting and not involving Dukat.

I might have liked it more if the destiny was something more subtle. Like they went to all that effort just to make sure he died in a specific place at a specific time to mobilize somebody else, like a certain Lost character.

 

[dub]

I liked it, considering the fact that DS9 was a show that evolved into a series with multiple ongoing serial elements (which made it better IMO) and didn't truly start that way. Hindsight is an awesome thing, and it obviously would have had more of an impact and seemed less weird if little puzzle pieces about Sisko's mom were spread throughout the series, from the very first episode even. Either that, or have flash-forwards throughout the series. But that would have only worked if the writers knew the details about how each character was going to evolve, and how the actors were going to do (or shave) their hair, and which actress would move on at some point, etc., which they didn't. But, on the other hand, they might not have done some of the wonderful things they did if they thought it all through ahead of time.

So, in conclusion, I wouldn't change a thing. DS9 is one of the few shows I have seen that wrapped up in a truly sob-worthy, moving and beautiful way. And sure, some things didn't connect perfectly. But I have to hand it to the writers, actors, and the entire crew of this series. This show was an epic and emotional ride. Most of the characters and even extended characters had incredible arcs. The casting was lighting in a bottle. At the end, AS I WATCHED - I was sad because I knew that while I could rewatch it as many times as I wanted, I could never watch it again for the first time. And I actually felt badly for myself, in a very selfish way, because I wouldn't have that experience ever again. And I cried because of that. And I cried because of the beauty of the ending. I cried for the friends, the romances, and the bromances that were all splitting up for various reasons. I cried because this was goodbye. That has never happened to me before or since.

 

[SpocksOddSocks]

^The thing is, some if it might have been thought of/suggested early in production but vetoed. I'm sure I read somewhere (possibly Memory Alpha, but I'd have to check) that the production team were initially resistant to continuing story arcs in favour of the single episodes of the earliest shows which is why the first two years were in that format.

 

[dub]

Yes, and I think that actually unintentionally forced them to be creative early on as well. I think the subtle character introductions/development and relationship development, along with introducing so many elements that had the potential for serialization early on - though in primarily episodic format at first - was brilliantly crafted overall and led them to a very natural transition into more serial chunks of episodes and much broader arcs. I sit back and look at all of the things that were going against DS9, all of the blocks from the top to make it more TNG-lite, the "middle child" syndrome, and I see how the creatives who had the actual paint brushes took their limited palette and created a truly breathtaking piece of art.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

The only good thing that came out of the Sarah Sisko story was that the image of the Prophets could be personified in terms of Sisko's mother. Otherwise, I feel that the story about the Prophets taking control of Sarah Sisko to assure conception was convoluted, adding little if anything to the final year, and could be jettisoned without affecting Season 7.

 

[Shada Dukal]

I have never felt comfortable with the supernatural arc in the series. If I want to watch magic and sorcery, I can watch the Lord of the Rings, for example. If I want to watch people fighting each other by using supernatural powers, I can watch the Jedi in Star Wars. Star Trek has been about people and aliens using their brains and technology.

Sisko as a character has a lot of aspects – the widower who lost his wife and blamed himself forever, the father who had to face the fact that his son was nothing like him, the commander of a cosmopolitan station who had to find out that sometimes playing by the rules is impossible, the Starfleet officer who had to become a bad-ass forced by the circumstances, the diplomat who had to mediate local conflicts and deal with new species, the ordinary man who enjoyed his hobbies and his new relationship, the frontier officer who had nothing to do with the top brass in San Francisco Head Quarters. I am sure there are more.

His demigod background was useless and somehow dwarfed his personal achievements. It turned out that whatever he did, was because it was meant to be, and he was only a pawn with restricted options. Assuming that the Wormhole Aliens can actually determine the fate of several species by assuring that the right person was born seems too far-fetched. It reduces choices and free will to a mere tool in the cosmic scheme of things.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

He wasn't half-Prophet. He was 100% human, whose biological mother was inhabited by a Prophet to ensure he was conceived so that he could "fulfil his destiny".

 

[M.A.C.O.]

He wasn't half-Prophet. He was 100% human, whose biological mother was inhabited by a Prophet to ensure he was conceived so that he could "fulfil his destiny".

Ira Steven Behr said Sisko is "part-prophet" in the DS9 Companion.

Talking about the ending of Sacrifice of the Angels.
"I felt it was the perfect next step in the evolution of the relationship between Sisko and the Prophets that began in the pilot. Hearing people refer to it as some dopey deus ex machina is really annoying because I would think they'd give us more credit for being on the ball. We didn't have to end it like that, we chose to end it like that. Because we wanted to say that there was something going on here. And ultimately, that would lead to our finding out that Sisko is part-Prophet. They wouldn't have done this for just anyone. This was the man going out into the wilderness and demanding God to interfere, to do something for crying out loud. The corporeal characters had done so much in the episode; surely they'd earned the help of the gods."


I disagree with Behr's reasoning of what happened. He says it was man demanding God to help him. I see it as Sisko asking his phenomenally cosmic powered, supernatural, extended family, for a favor. Which they grant him.

 

[kkt]

The only thing I really liked about it is that Kira ended up in command of DS9 and I find that ending suitable. She really deserved to be the station's commander.

Yep. Eat yer heart out, Riker.

 

[K'Toska]

I didn't like that finale really for reasons many people have already stated. I also have to say it would've been much more satisfying for Kira to kill Dukat, although I realize that wouldn't have allowed "the Sisko" to complete his task since the Pah-Wraith was in Dukat. If only the Pah-Wraith had taken over someone else's body so that it would still work out.

 

[RoJoHen]

If only the Pah-Wraith had taken over someone else's body so that it would still work out.

Kai Winn. That would have been awesome.

 

[K'Toska]

RoJoHen, that is brilliant!! Sisko killing the Pah-Wraith/Kai Winn and Kira killing Dukat... why did that not happen?!

 

[Bad Thoughts]

I realize that wouldn't have allowed "the Sisko" to complete his task ...

As in sacrifice himself and be raptured away? Isn't that the ending we all hate?

 

[K'Toska]

I realize that wouldn't have allowed "the Sisko" to complete his task ...

As in sacrifice himself and be raptured away? Isn't that the ending we all hate?

Yeah it is but what I mean is if they insisted on him dying, I'd prefer it were handled in the way RojoHen and I were thinking. I mean if it were up to me, I'd nix him dying altogether. I don't think it was necessary and I feel like so many shows think they're being less predictable by killing main characters off but in my opinion, it's more predictable.

 

[RoJoHen]

RoJoHen, that is brilliant!! Sisko killing the Pah-Wraith/Kai Winn and Kira killing Dukat... why did that not happen?!

She never truly accepted Sisko as the Emissary of the Prophets. It would have been a neat turn of events if she had turned out to be the Emissary of the Pah-Wraith. I mean, she ended up dying in the Fire Caves anyway.

I'm just not sure what Dukat would have been doing in the meantime.

 

[K'Toska]

Maybe they could've had Dukat trying to release some kind of pestilence onto all Bajorans because he didn't win and had been blinded by looking at the book he wasn't supposed to... then Kira catches him and has to shoot him to stop him. I dunno. I guess even then she might just shoot to stun, not to kill. I'm sure they could've come up with some reason serious enough that she'd kill him. Also what the hell, the scene at the Fire Caves... totally seems like Sisko could've just pushed Dukat off that cliff without sacrificing himself as well. Then again, I always prefer a happy ending.