“THE VISITOR”
I’m not crying—you’re crying! We’re all crying!
I don’t think it’s possible to overstate just how much I adore this episode. To me, it’s nothing less than a masterpiece. It takes a lot to make me cry these days, much less television, but I always find myself in tears several times throughout the course of this episode. The reason for that is that it transcends Star Trek; it transcends science-fiction and even the medium of television. It’s storytelling at its most raw and human—a profoundly bittersweet tale of love, loss, grief and sacrifice. Interestingly, I’ve shown this episode to a couple of people who didn’t know much about DS9 and had little interest in Star Trek or sci-fi in general, but right from the opening shot they were captivated and enthralled by it. That’s the power of a simple yet inspired story that touches upon some deep and universal themes relatable to every human being.
I really have to take my hat off to the writers here. Nineties’ episodic television was often as much conveyor belt product as it was art, and that’s largely due to unimaginable time constraints, not to mention budgetary concerns and executive meddling, which already profoundly shifted the direction of the series. That the show’s creative team were able to produce as many good episodes as they did is a wonder, but that they could create episodes as truly exceptional as “The Visitor” is nothing short of miraculous.
The premise initially recalls “The Tholian Web” in TOS, but the fact it focuses on arguably the show’s strongest and most genuine and affecting relationship—Sisko and Jake—immediately lends it a far greater emotional resonance. The framing of the story, which is actually set in the distant future and related by flashback, is something of a gamble. It runs of the risk of alienating the audience from the get-go (“Who is this old geezer? And why’s he letting a trespasser into his home—is he crazy?”) but it absolutely works, in large part to the phenomenal acting throughout—particularly Tony Todd as the elderly Jake. It’s an attention grabbing opening and one of the most utterly intriguing hooks I’ve ever seen on the show.
Some of the more cynical audience members might complain that we know Sisko won’t stay dead, and I might normally be one of them. The episode, however, is just so beautifully executed that it grabbed me by the throat and left me a blubbering wreck; and does so every damn time I watch it, even now, twenty five years later! I think part of the power is the authenticity of the Ben/Jake relationship. Rarely have I seen two actors convey such a bond and sense of genuine love for each other; something I know was actually real given Brooks and Lofton’s close relationship in real life. It’s genuinely gut-wrenching to see Sisko apparently die before Jake’s eyes and, although his part in the episode is actually quite limited, Cirroc Lofton gives the performance of a lifetime. His pain feels so real that it’s impossible not to empathise with him. Lofton conveys so much emotion in very little dialogue; a sense of being empty and lost and, when Sisko apparently returns, we feel his joy, hope and unspeakable anguish when his father is ripped away from him again. Beat for beat, the emotion feels genuine throughout and it’s totally earned as well. It feels as though we see Ben die in front of Jake’s eyes over and over again and it’s simply crushing.
I used to think the episode was a story about grief, but it’s actually about what happens when grief is stunted. If the person you loved most in the world wasn’t killed but was alive and helplessly stranded somewhere, would you really be able to just forget about them and move on with your life? Everyone is different, I suppose. Ultimately, this being Star Trek, we know that Jake will find a way to rescue his father, but the price this exacts is a brutal one. We see Jake gradually age and, following a watershed moment when Sisko appears before Jake and his new wife, he becomes obsessed with saving his father and this obsession (a trait no doubt inherited from Ben, who displays such a streak on more than one occasion) takes over and destroys his life.
One of the most painful moments in the episode is when Ben realises what has happened to his son: that, because of him, he’s sacrificed his wife, career and happiness, and become a traumatised shell of a man. My god, I want to cry just thinking about it. I often see people criticise Avery Brooks and claim he’s a bad actor, and I start to wonder if there’s a
different DS9 starring a
different Avery Brooks that I don’t know about. Brooks is phenomenal here; the pain in his eyes and the desperation in his voice as he begs his son to make a better life for himself before it’s too late is among the best acting I’ve ever seen on Trek. It’s truly heart-breaking.
Brooks just shines throughout; perfectly conveying a wide range of emotions as he sees his son’s life flash before his eyes and, ultimately, come to an end. Some people consider the ending a cheat or a “reset”, but I don’t. Of course, it does reset the timeline, as it was always going to, but it was damn well
earned, with Jake sacrificing himself and dying in his father’s arms. If no one had any memory of this at all (an issue I’ve had with other alternate timeline episodes in Trek) that would have been an issue for me. But Sisko most certainly does remember. Again, full credit to Brooks, who managed to convey an absolute world of emotion, his voice breaking as he simply utters the words “I am now, Jake...I am now...” The series would subtly call back to this episode again, if indirectly, and I’m certain it gave Ben a whole new appreciation and support for his son’s recent decision to become a writer.
The real star of the show is unquestionably Tony Todd. He is superb throughout and he immediately captured my heart from the opening scene, delivering a remarkably tender, vulnerable and open-hearted performance. That he wasn’t at least nominated for an award proves there’s no justice in the world. Fortunately, and all importantly, Todd has a superb chemistry with Brooks in their short but pivotal scenes together, and that helps sell the fact Todd is simply playing an older version of Lofton’s character. Meanwhile, Mister Garak’s real life daughter, Rachel Robinson, is well cast in the role of Melanie, and she’s both charming and empathetic. In fact, the cast are all marvellous—with special mention to Nana Visitor for a short but beautifully played scene with young Jake in the airlock, and Terry Farrell and Alexander Siddig who provide a little light relief as the curmudgeonly future selves of Dax and Bashir. Despite his best efforts, I wasn’t quite as convinced by Aron Eisenberg and think it may have been better to recast older Nog as they had Jake.
Alas, the episode does feature a fair bit of technobabble, although no more so than the average episode of Voyager or latter day TNG. Fortunately, it’s there to serve the story rather than being intrinsic to the story, and it’s fairly intuitive to grasp (I liked the analogy of Sisko and Jake being attached across time and space by a cord). I’m normally quite adverse to technobabble overload, but it serves a purpose so I can let it slide.
Extra plus points for David Livingston’s excellent directing, some truly lovely set design and, finally, but by no means last, Dennis McCarthy, who provides one of the all-time best scores to any Star Trek episode. I can only assume that Rick Berman was on holiday that week, because McCarthy goes against Berman’s ban on melodic music, and composes an utterly beautiful and heart-stirring score which I have no doubt elevates the episode significantly. It’s no coincidence that in the ‘best of Trek music’ compilation released a few years ago, a significant portion of the track-listing came from this one episode.
I’ve said enough. This is simply my favourite episode of DS9 and one that really touched my heart in a way no other quite did. More than it, it’s one of my favourite hours of television full stop—a tour de force of stellar writing, heartbreakingly superb acting, and wonderful music and directing. For me, it doesn’t get much better than this.
Rating: 10+
