Would Sisko really put his spiritual journey over the well-being of his children? Having seen how teenage Jake completely fell apart the last time he disappeared, I really doubt that Sisko would be eager to abandon him again. Not to mention abandoning his new child even younger. Plus it undercuts Sisko's character progression throughout the series. When we first see him he's still agonizing over the loss of his wife, and over the course of the series he finds a new love and starts a new family with her. He finally has the chance for the happily ever after that he lost at Wolf 359. That, plus the racist trope Brooks had asked them to avoid, means that Sisko's choice never worked for me. YMMV.
Exactly why I don't want it. That's as tropy as hell and I don't think it fits. Do I think Sisko would put his journey over his family's? No, but, part of what had happened in the latter part of DS9 was that Sisko was not just on his own personal journey but one that had impact upon the future of Bajor. I'm sure many will shudder about this but a touch of destiny. And that's why I'm OK with the journey. Not perfect but I can live with it.
Know what’d be a nice way of kind of fixing it? Have an older Kasidy appear, and on her shelf is a photo of her, Ben and the baby. Maybe a couple as the kid is growing up. Meaning that even if he did become a prophet he came back time and again. Or have her, Jake and the child all appear and in their respective quarters they’ve all got Orb boxes and they can see Ben at any time. I mean it’s not as if he needs to be there to materially provide in 24th century. But if he/they can check in with them each day then he’s there emotionally etc. And time goes gaga in Orb encounters, so if they check in once a day they can get the equivalent of a weekend if they want. And when Ben saw Jennifer, he saw her in many different ‘places’. But then, the amount of exposition you’d need to spell all that out would make it quite dull.
Well, maybe after the conclusion of Picard, we will get a DS9 continuity series. Look at the conclusion episode of Picard season 2. There is a high chance that Federation will need Spoiler a base to guard the new wormhole.
Shudder indeed. Between this and the really awful TUC dialogue, I really wish producers would listen to actors of color when they say "this is racist, actually, please don't make me do it."
Until such time we have to work with what we have. The idea of Sisko sacrificing himself is something I find appealing. While I understand the objections to Sisko leaving behind his family, I don't share them. But, I also prefer noble sacrifice in terms of storytelling tropes. Race, for me at least, is not a factor in enjoying such a story.
You misunderstand. A sacrificial story by a hero is one that I don't care about a person's race in. It will be my preferred story regardless. Race may be tied to Sisko's story but I is not tied to my reaction to that story.
I don't know. I just react positively to a sacrificial storyline. That type of story appeals to me a lot. Would I prefer Sisko get his happily ever after? Of course. Do I expect it? Well, in the great history of Trek happily ever after is just not a thing.
As far as I'm concerned, Ben spent a long time (as we measure it) with the Prophets. And then when he was done doing what he had to do, he came back to Kasidy and Jake. But for them, it was the very next day after the last shot of the final episode. Jake finishes looking out of the window with Nerys. He goes back to his quarters and goes to sleep. When he wakes up the next morning, he goes to see Kasidy. Ben is there, smiling and making breakfast. "Jake-O! Sorry I was gone so long."
This is genuinely what I’ve always thought. He says “Maybe a year, maybe yesterday. But I will be back.” Time has no meaning for the Prophets, so I assume he just returned when Kasidy was going into labour or something. But he definitely did come back.
If you look at it and squint, the latest episode of Strange New Worlds could be a DS9 tie-in, since we find out the story M'Benga has been reading to his daughter was written by Benny Russell.
That's more of an easter egg than a tie-in, since Benny Russell wasn't a real person, just a figment of Benjamin Sisko's imagination.
Let me clarify that I don’t have a real problem with how Sisko’s original arc ended. Brooks had them amend it so Sisko says he WILL be back, and we know time works differently for the Prophets. I simply mean to say I’d enjoy more Sisko/Brooks in Star Trek… because I just would.
Just had a thought. While I am still leery of new Trek doing a DS9 legacy series, I think the seeds were planted in the DS9 documentary with that hypothetical writer's room. What was hashed out there might set some fans off, but it seems about in line with how ST: PIC has handled legacy TNG and VOY characters thus far.
I don't think there was any evidence one way or the other as to if Benny was real (until SNW). Just because Sisco saw him in a vision doesn't mean that he wasn't a real historical figure, a writer that Sisco had read or that the Prophets knew about whose personal story was used as a basis/tie-in to Sisco's lesson/adventure. My number 1 wish for Trek right now after a good/successful season 3 of Picard would be a DS9 legacy series. I think the DS9 doc has some great starting points for a new series and I really hope TPTB pursue it. One other note, my kids were watching an episode of "Avatar: The Last Airbender" this morning and I heard Rene Auberjonois' unmistakable voice and it made me sad again for a bit remembering that he is gone.