Far Beyond the Stars as the Finale

[STEPhon IT]

I just watched Far Beyond the Stars last night. It occurred to me that they should have used a grander, expanded version of this episode as the finale.

I would be down for anything other than Odo simply linking up with the Female founder and mind manipulating her to end the war. Bajor not becoming members of the Federation, or Sisko wrestling with Dukat in some spiritual baptism of fire. Give me more grand storytelling with a heart which compliments how Sisko seems to be trapped in being non-linear. Producers forgot Gul Dukat was also non-linear where he never accepted Bajor and DS9 for what it was. "Far Beyond the Star" was the appropriate start to fix a lot of things wrong in the war seasons IMO.

Kate Nichols, if the series finale was expanded to that episode, how would you approach this inventive series finale? I would've had the Prophets bring back Jennifer Sisko alive to be the final trial test for the Emissary.

 

[Tenacity]

A finale that lacked finality.

I personally preferred the open ended "ending." That the finale was just one more episode and the story continued.

DS9 had the characters spread to the four winds,

Voyager reach it's destination, I'd imagine most of the characters would never want to see the inside of Voyager ever again.

Odo simply linking up with the Female founder and mind manipulating her to end the war

Is that what supposedly happen?

I thought it was Odo gave the cure to the female founder as proof that it existed, but she had no way of then getting the cure to the other founders. it was only through surrendering to the coalition that the cure would be made available to the greater founders population.

It's been a while since I watch DS9, and I completely missed any mind manipulating.

Bajor not becoming members of the Federation

With the Cardassians no longer a problem, the incentive to join would have been gone.

 

[HugeLobes]

My favourite thing about Star Trek is how much freedom the writers had to explore very different stories. One week you'd have something silly and comedic, next you'd have something dark and character-focused, then you'd have a real ensemble piece with a war focus, then you'd have a courtroom drama, and so on. DS9 even had a dang baseball episode!

Just like the sci-fi magazine in Far Beyond the Stars, Trek could serve as something of a blank canvas for different sci-fi concepts. That's one reason I personally consider Discovery as something different from traditional Trek.

Far Beyond the Stars was one of those wonderfully unique episodes that sometimes come together when writers are allowed that sort of freedom. It was great by itself as well as a fantastic homage to the influence of science fiction. Having said that, I think pushing the concept further is too much of a good thing, which is unfortunately something Trek has a habit of doing. One Benny Russell is great, but trying to force that successful concept into other episodes just doesn't work.

 

[UssGlenn]

I thought it was Odo gave the cure to the female founder as proof that it existed, but she had no way of then getting the cure to the other founders. it was only through surrendering to the coalition that the cure would be made available to the greater founders population.

It's been a while since I watch DS9, and I completely missed any mind manipulating.

If I remember correctly ,Odo said something along the lines of that by rejoining the great link he'd be able to show them that their fear and desire to control solids was wrong/misguided. My question is, why didn't that happen the first time he joined with the Great Link.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

. My question is, why didn't that happen the first time he joined with the Great Link.

Immaturity. First, he himself was not entirely aware of how to relate to others in the link, and second, he was not himself sure how to articulate why solids, especially the Federation, could be trusted..

 

[kkt]

I am kind of amazed that Female Changling would accept that the solids could be trusted, given that they had just attempted genocide against the Founders.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

^ After they'd attempted genocide of the Cardassians.

When linked, Changelings don't seem to have much concept of time, so what felt like a few moments to us could've been much different to them, so as Odo cured her of the disease they could've come to an agreement about what needed to happen next, with the Female surrendering to the Allied Forces in exchange for Odo returning to the Link (he was more important to them than the entire Alpha Quadrant after all).

 

[Takeru]

Far beyond the stars would have been an awful finale, it's perfectly fine as a regular episode but it's a gimmick episode (look at our cast without alien make up) that told a story that wasn't about the main characters and didn't matter in the big picture. The main cast and most of the supporting cast appears but for the bulk of the episode they're not playing their regular characters, the audience would have screamed bloody murder if it had been the finale, it wouldn't have gone over well.

 

[metalheaddoc]

It's been a while since I watch DS9, and I completely missed any mind manipulating.With the Cardassians no longer a problem, the incentive to join would have been gone.

That's not true. There are plenty of reasons for Bajor to join the Federation.
1. Free Starfleet protection.
2. Library card to Memory Alpha.
3. Discounts on Risa.
4. Join the Columbia House Holosuite Club. You get 13 holosuite program for just 1 quatloo. Then you only have to buy 10 programs at regular club prices over the next 2 solar years.
5. A year's supply of Turtle Wax.

 

[Athena28]

200 quatloos on the Bajoran in the orange bodysuit.

 

[CRM-114]

Far beyond the stars would have been an awful finale, it's perfectly fine as a regular episode but it's a gimmick episode (look at our cast without alien make up) that told a story that wasn't about the main characters and didn't matter in the big picture. The main cast and most of the supporting cast appears but for the bulk of the episode they're not playing their regular characters, the audience would have screamed bloody murder if it had been the finale, it wouldn't have gone over well.

I agree. It would've been "These Are The Voyages" before "These Are The Voyages".

 

[Elephant999]

Would not have made a good finale. I’m looking at you St Elsewhere!

I loved it as a stand-alone episode, brilliantly written and portrayed but left it as it was.

The only thing I didn’t like in the finale was Winn and Dukat. I wanted Dukat to revert to his former badness and not this path-wraith rubbish.

I still don’t understand why Odo couldn’t have gone to the puddle, cured them, sorted them out and then returned to DS9.

I think the Changelings capitulating was all too easy and wrapped the end of the war “too perfectly” for my liking.

 

[mlbach]

I think Odo earned some time in Paradise.

 

[Crazyewok]

I hated this episode.....

I watch star trek for space and aliens.