The Visitor (episode)
After an accident in the engine room of the Defiant apparently claims the life of Benjamin Sisko, Jake lives out his life in an endless quest to locate his father.

Summary

Teaser

On Earth, in a house on the Louisiana bayou near New Orleans. It is dark and stormy outside as an elderly Jake Sisko injects himself with an unknown compound before sitting down in front of a fire. Soon, there comes a knock at the door and Jake answers, revealing a young woman, Melanie, looking for refuge from the downpour. After a few minutes of idle conversation the visitor reveals that she, in fact, is a budding writer and is looking for the writer Jake Sisko. Confirming that Jake is who she is talking to, she cuts to the chase and asks, very promptly, why he stopped writing. 

Taking a moment, Jake responds that he stopped writing, because of an event that happened to him when he was eighteen years old. He had lost his father Benjamin Sisko.

Act One
Jake says he had grown extremely close to his father after losing his mother. In a rare event that happens only every fifty years, the Bajoran wormhole was going to undergo a subspace inversion. During this inversion, rare anomalies and temporal fluctuations were going to occur, creating a spectacle that the elder Sisko did not want he or his son to miss. 

Jake was working on a particularly difficult piece of prose at this time and was struggling with it when his father asked him to come along on the  to watch the inversion. Jake tried to hole himself away in the crew quarters to continue with his writing on his PADD, but his father persuaded him to come to the bridge to watch, reminding him of all he'd miss if he doesn't look around once in a while and then agreed to read and discuss what Jake has wrote afterwards. However, suddenly the Defiant was rocked when the wormhole began its inversion, causing a malfunction on the Defiants engineering deck. Benjamin went to see to it, followed by Jake, despite being asked to stay behind by his father. Arriving, Jake found the entire engineering crew unconscious and the warp core beginning to go critical from an energy flux. With Jake's help, Ben was able to stop the core from rupturing by using an interphasic compensator, but as he passed the piece of equipment to his son, the warp core emitted an energy discharge. Jake was pushed out of the way; however he witnessed his father's disappearance, and Benjamin was presumed to have been vaporized by the energy.

 At the memorial service, many people spoke highly of Captain Sisko, but Jake felt he could not. Jake began living with Dax, and everyone did their best to console Jake, even to the point where Quark allowed Nog time off from the bar to spend time with him. Jake and Nog later discussed the former's future plans since Nog was about to leave for Starfleet Academy, and Jake admitted he was considering taking his deferred admittance to the Pennington School on Earth, but wanted to remain on the station too. However, one night as Jake lay in bed, there was a flash of light. Jake turned around, and saw his father sitting in a nearby chair. A few seconds later, he disappeared again.

Act Two
Jake tried to explain what had happened to Dax, who agreed to scan for any anomalies; however, the scan turned up nothing, and Jake dismissed it as a dream.

Meanwhile, the Klingons were making more angry noises and the Bajorans, unsettled by the death of their , entered into a defense pact with the Cardassians. The Klingons were very unhappy at this and everyone knew that if war broke out, Deep Space 9 would be on the front lines. As a result, the majority of the civilian population left the station. Nog had left to attend Starfleet Academy, and Jake found himself feeling more despondent than ever. Kira and Worf tried to persuade Jake to leave, telling him it was the safest thing to do but he refused. Later, at the upper pylon viewport, Kira approached Jake and told him that she knew his grandfather had asked him to live with him on Earth, and that even if Deep Space 9 wasn't on the brink of war, she'd rather he wasn't on the station. Jake told her that the reason he was staying was because that when he and his father arrived, the station was a damaged hulk but Sisko turned it into a thriving community and Jake explained that if he left the station he'd feel like leaving the last part of his father behind. Kira allowed him to stay on the condition that when she tells him to leave, he will. He agreed. 

A few months later, Jake found his father in a corridor on DS9 and was physically able to touch him. Taking him immediately to the infirmary, they discovered that Ben was caught in a temporal inversion, falling in and out of sync with normal time and disappearing into subspace, unaware of the passage of time. Despite everyone's frantic attempt to save him, Ben began to disappear into subspace. Seeing the devastation in his son's face, Ben begged his son to reassure him he would be all right but Jake was too upset to answer. Ben vanished, and Jake was left more heartbroken than ever. 

Jake tells Melanie he couldn't bear losing his father a second time. Melanie says she can come back later, but Jake says he is dying, so that won't happen.

Act Three
Jake tries to shrug off his previous admission by telling a worried Melanie that when he said he was dying he was just admitting to the inevitable. Melanie assures him he doesn't need to try and grab her attention and the two briefly discuss her ambition to be a writer. Melanie then asks what happened next. 

Dax and Chief O'Brien spent the next few months trying to find a way to get Ben back, but they hit a dead end especially as they couldn't recreate the accident since the wormhole wouldn't undergo another inversion for almost fifty years. Eventually, the situation with the Klingons escalated and Starfleet was forced to turn over DS9 to them. Jake had no choice to leave and could only watch the station disappear into the distance as they left. With no choice but to carry on, Jake moved back to Earth, went to the Pennington School and began writing. Afterward he moved to Louisiana and married a Bajoran woman named Korena and all was well when they met up with Nog, now a Starfleet commander. The Klingons were beginning to let Starfleet ships through the wormhole into the Gamma Quadrant, to see how the Dominion would handle ships coming into their space again. The three met up to celebrate Jake winning the Betar Prize, a prestigious writing award for his collected stories, and Jake seemed happy and settled. 

One night, Jake was up late working on his newest novel and was discussing allowing Korena, an artist, to design the cover, when suddenly the familiar flash of light came from the living room. Jake and Korena entered to find Ben lying near the couch.

Act Four
Starfleet Science was immediately called, and Ben was eager to find out how his son was doing. He was delighted to find that Jake was married and had published two books, achieving his ambition. However, Jake began to get upset at everything his father had missed out on and that he had given up on him, but Ben told Jake that nobody could be expected to hold on for so long, and that he was proud of him. Jake tells Ben that nothing he's accomplished matters now that he knows his father is still out there, but Ben tells Jake that it all matters and that even though he isn't there, he still wants grandchildren. Suddenly Ben disappeared again, and Jake was once again distraught.

Jake stopped writing, and began studying subspace mechanics in an attempt to get his father back. Korena was initially patient; eventually, however, Jake's obsession cost him his wife. But Jake wouldn't let this stop him, and he realized he could get Ben back by recreating the accident. By this time, fifty years had passed and Jake hoped that because the Bajoran wormhole would be inverting again, he could grab his father and get him back into sync with his own life. Nog, now a captain, got the Defiant out of retirement and the crew, including Dax and Bashir, went to recreate the accident. However instead of bringing Ben back, Jake was pulled into subspace where he encountered his father. 

Ben was again eager to find out how his son was doing, but was horrified to find Jake had lost his wife and abandoned his promising writing career in order to try and rescue him. Ben pleaded with his son to get back to writing and to live his life properly, telling him that he shouldn't abandon his future for him. Eventually, Jake was pulled back from subspace.

Act Five
Back in the present, Melanie asks why he didn't go back to writing, and Jake reveals that he had, having been working on more collected stories. He tells her that there wasn't enough time left for him, as he is dying. Melanie realizes that Jake's father is about to appear, and bids Jake goodbye. Before she leaves, Jake makes Melanie promise to enjoy life and once she is gone he rests in an old chair before falling asleep. 

Waking the next morning, Jake opens his eyes to find his father sitting close by, observing him. Ben tells Jake how happy he is that he's living in the house again and that he finally got back to writing. Jake asks Ben to read the dedication:

"To my father, who's coming home."

Ben is touched, but Jake explains further; Jake is the link that kept pulling Ben back into normal space. The sync was like a rubber band and he was the anchor for his father. Sometimes the band would be pulled taut, and during those times before the tension was released, Ben would temporarily rejoin his timeline, but he pulled away again once it snapped back. Once Jake dies, Ben will be lost in subspace forever. The only way to save him is to cut the cord at the time it is most taut, when he is in perfect sync with Jake's timeline. If he did so, Benjamin will be shot back to the time of the incident and he could jump out of the way before he got caught in the loop. Benjamin realizes that Jake has taken poison, and is committing suicide. Ben is horrified, and pleads with his son not to do it and that he shouldn't sacrifice himself for him, but Jake explained he had to. By doing this, he is saving two lives, those of Ben and the boy Jake was, the boy who needs his father. Ben is devastated as his son dies in his arms.

Ben suddenly finds himself back in the Defiant engine room, just after he saved the ship. This time he's able to barely dodge the energy discharge from the warp core. Jake is puzzled how his dad knew to get out of the way, but Ben, having seen how much his son was willing to give up in order to save him, can only hug him knowing they now both have a second chance.

Memorable quotes
"You are my favorite author of all time."
"You should read more."
 - Melanie and the adult Jake Sisko

"It begins many years ago. I was eighteen. And the worst thing that could happen to a young man happened to me. My father died."
 - the adult Jake Sisko

"I'm no writer; but if I were, it seems to me I'd want to poke my head up every once in a while and take a look around; see what's going on. It's life, Jake! You can miss it if you don't open your eyes."
 - Benjamin Sisko

"I'm not sure I could ever get over losing somebody like that; right in front of my eyes."
"People do. Time passes, and they realize that the person they lost is really gone… And they heal."
"Is that what happened to you?"
"No… I suppose not."
 - Melanie and adult Jake Sisko

"Benjamin Sisko was more than my commanding officer; he was the emissary to my people sent by the prophets. But most importantly, he was my friend."
 - Kira Nerys, at the memorial for Benjamin Sisko

"I didn't step forward. I couldn't. I felt that no matter what I said about him, I'd be leaving so much more out; and that didn't seem right."
 - Adult Jake Sisko, to Melanie

"After a few months, things began returning to normal… for everybody else that is."
 - Adult Jake Sisko, to Melanie

"Please don't make me leave; not yet. This is my home. When my dad and I came here, this place was just an abandoned shell. He turned it into something. Everywhere I look, it's like I see a part of him. If I leave, I won't have anything left of him.
 - Jake Sisko, responding to Kira's request that he leave the station

"I have been more popular with women since I stopped asking them to do that." (In reference to have women chew his food for him)
 - Nog, to Jake as adults

"Quark finally got that little moon he was always talking about, and my father, as usual, is making sure it doesn't fall out of orbit."
 - Nog, to Jake as adults

"And don't think because I'm not around much, that I don't want grandchildren."
 - Benjamin Sisko, to Jake just before disappearing

"Let go, Jake. If not for yourself, then for me. You still have time to make a better life for yourself. Promise me you'll do that… Promise me!"
- Benjamin Sisko, imploring Jake to let him go

"To my father, who's coming home."
- Benjamin Sisko, reading the dedication in Jake's last book

"For you, and for the boy that I was. He needs you more than you know. Don't you see? We're going to get a second… chance."
 - Jake Sisko, explaining himself to his father with his last words

"You OK, Dad?"
"I am now, Jake. I am now."
 - Jake Sisko, after Benjamin avoids the accident (last lines)

Background information

Story and script
Writer Michael Taylor based the concept of a fan visiting a reclusive writer who hasn't published in years on the famous 1980 interview given by  to a high school student who simply turned up at his door. ()
Rene Echevarria did an uncredited rewrite of this episode. Taylor recalled, "He made lines of mine into better lines, and deepened the relationship between Jake and the young woman interviewer. It was a lesson to me how to really make the most of a good story." (-271)
O'Brien was to also appear in the scenes set in the future, although Colm Meaney was unavailable. Rene Echevarria was disappointed that Meaney was not available and that other scenes in the future had to be cut. Echevarria commented: "The only thing I thought was disappointing was the the future Defiant sequences. There was originally a little more interaction between the old characters that had to be cut for time. O'Brien was there as well, but Colm wasn't available, and that was a shame, because we had some fun stuff between O'Brien and Bashir". (Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages, p. 106)

Production

Although this episode aired the week before , it was actually filmed after it. The reason for this was that after  wrapped, the next episode scheduled to go into production was "The Visitor", to be directed by Rene Auberjonois, followed by  to be directed by David Livingston. However, a last minute change in Colm Meaney's film schedule meant that  now had to be shot first so that Meaney was available. As such, the episodes switched position in the production schedule. It is worth noting however that although the episodes switched weeks, the directors didn't, so Livingston ended up directing this episode and Auberjonois directed . ()
Kira wears a new uniform from this episode onward. The shoulder pads of the old uniform have been reduced and the neck opened. The color is also a little darker and Kira now wears high heels. According to costume designer Robert Blackman the new outfit was "more body conscious". Actress Nana Visitor appreciated the change, as the previous uniform had made it more difficult to move. However, Ira Steven Behr recalled that some fans on the internet accused the producers of trying to turn Kira into a "Baywatch babe", an idea that he strenuously denied. This red uniform (instead of orange) was worn by Kira for the rest of the series. ()
The music of the "The Visitor" was composed by Dennis McCarthy. Parts of the score form part of The Best of Star Trek, Volume One; a track also appears in McCarthy's disc in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Collection.
Illustrator John Eaves based the design for Jake's house on the Haunted Mansion in Disneyland. (Deep Space Nine Sketchbook: John Eaves, DS9 Season 4 DVD special features)
 Tony Todd, who portrayed Worf's brother Kurn, was cast as the older Jake after it was deemed too difficult to make Cirroc Lofton appear to be in his seventies. He revealed that when filming the episode, he was mourning his aunt, who raised him as child, and had died only three months before. "This script got me out of my shell. It's like she was whispering to me 'Go back to work.' … Doing this was as close to heaven as I can imagine." 
 Todd reprised the role of Kurn later in the fourth season in . Todd commented "I really felt blessed that I was able to do two different roles on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine this year which may or may not be a small feat". (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - The Official Poster Magazine, issue 13)
Rachel Robinson, who played Melanie, is the daughter of Andrew Robinson, who played Garak.
Future uniforms and combadges worn in this episode were reused from . Costume designer Robert Blackman commented that the time frame was similar so it was considered appropriate to re-use. ()
This is the first episode to feature O'Brien's embroidered rank insignia, similar to the US Navy with stripes denoting rank.

Continuity
Jake began writing Anslem, under Onaya's influence later in the season, in .
The Dominion War did not happen (as of the 2390s) in the alternate timeline. Nog states that "I think they (the Klingons) were happy to have us test the waters in the Gamma Quadrant after all these years – find out how the Dominion would react to ships coming through."
The shot in the upper pylon, with Jake staring out into space, and Kira approaching him from behind to comfort him, seems to predict the very final shot of the series, in the episode . The only difference is that the shot in the final episode is from outside the station whereas this one is from inside. Despite the difference in camera position however, the blocking of the actors is very similar in both shots.
Similar to the later  episode , as well as the Voyager episodes , , and , this is a sort of "bad dream" episode, in that the plot resolution prevented the main part of the story from occurring. However, because Jake continued to write, it is still entirely possible that Melanie will become a fan of his in the main timeline.
The episode is similar to the  episode  in that they both feature a character living an entire life up to old age, the difference being that unlike Jean-Luc Picard, Jake lived as himself. Picard also retained all memories of his life as Kamin after the incident while Jake didn't remember anything of his life as his older self.
 This is the first episode where Kira Nerys is seen wearing the red uniform (instead of orange) that she ends up wearing for the rest of the series.

Reception
According to most of the staff on the show, this was one of the best  episodes they worked on. Avery Brooks and Cirroc Lofton cite this as one of their favorite episodes, along with . Director David Livingston says simply, ""The Visitor" is the best piece of material I've ever been able to direct, in terms of the script." (Hidden File 05, DS9 Season 4 DVD special features) Ira Steven Behr says, ""The Visitor" was that certain kind of Star Trek episode that really appealed very strongly to certain people. It's a whole heart-on-the-sleeve, sentimental, emotional, personal story." Similarly, producer Steve Oster enthuses, "It was wonderfully written, wonderfully performed. But I think everyone was surprised at the audience reaction. No one expected it to have the emotional impact that it did." ()
Many fans of Deep Space Nine have also counted this among their favorite episodes; in a 1996 issue of TV Guide, it was voted the best Star Trek show ever. TV Guide called this result a "shocker," surprised that "the least popular incarnation of Star Trek has produced the most popular show." ()
TV Guide ranked this as the tenth best Star Trek episode for their celebration of the franchise's 30th anniversary. The reviewer wrote "Easily Deep Space Nine's finest hour and the most haunting, heartfelt Trek installment ever". (TV Guide August 24, 1996)
In 2020, Lofton commented: "All these years later, you know what’s going to happen. You know what it’s about. I’ve read the script. It’s been 25 years but yet still I’m dripping tears watching this episode. I can’t make myself not feel these emotions. You feel the loss. You feel the emptiness. You feel the regret. You feel all of those emotions and then you reflect on your own life and the people that you love and what it means to have them in your life or lose them. If you have any feelings at all, they will be activated by watching this episode". 
Avery Brooks sees this episode as an important milestone in the manner in which American TV depicts non-white families. Speaking of the relationship between Sisko and his son Jake, Brooks says "I'm glad that relationship is there. It is, even in the most naive mind, a sin of omission that we have not looked at this side of people raising their children in other television shows, and having some cultural resonance other than that of white Americans. It's something that we have to see more often, the relationship of a brown man and his son. Because historically, that's not how it began in this country for brown families who didn't have the freedom of their own will and volition, let alone the ability to hold their families together." ()
Ira Steven Behr particularly liked the way this episode deals with love, a love that spans a lifetime, because it is not a romantic love, but a filial love, which is not something that is seen as much as romance: "A love stronger than death. Usually that's romantic love, but for this show, this series, we chose the love between a father and son. And it worked like gangbusters. Everyone could relate to it." ()
Reviewing the first part of the fourth season, Rick Berman commented "Our second episode 'The Visitor', was a warm and sweet episode while still having a great science fiction premise. I believe it will remain a very strong Star Trek episode for years to come". ("Star Trek Update with Rick Berman", )
After this episode aired, there was much online speculation that writer Michael Taylor must have been a pseudonym for Michael Piller and Jeri Taylor. Both were known for writing emotionally driven stories with a lot of heart, but no one had ever heard of freelancer Michael Taylor, and some fans assumed that the producers were playing a joke on them. ()
Cinefantastique ranked "The Visitor" as the third best episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. (Cinefantastique, Vol. 32, No. 4/5, pp. 97-98)
In her book Star Trek - Where No One Has Gone Before (paperback ed., p. 203), J.M. Dillard described this episode as "poignant."

Apocrypha 
Nog is also depicted as a Starfleet captain in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Millennium (where he is a protege of Jean-Luc Picard), Star Trek Online and in the "season eight" storyline in What We Left Behind.
 Melanie appears in the framing story of the Prophecy and Change anthology.
 Korena appears again as Jake's wife in the Worlds of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine novella Fragments and Omens, and the novels Rough Beasts of Empire, Raise the Dawn, and The Good That Men Do.

Awards
This episode was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Makeup for a Series. The award was won by . 
It was also nominated for a Hugo Award for "Best Dramatic Presentation," which was won by the Babylon 5 episode "The Coming of Shadows". "The Visitor" was also up against Apollo 13, Toy Story and 12 Monkeys for the Hugo Award.

Video and DVD releases
UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 4.2, 
The front cover of the CIC releases changes slightly from this volume on. The station now appears tilted around the character portrait.
As part of the DS9 Season 4 DVD collection
As part of the Star Trek: Fan Collective - Alternate Realities collection

Links and references

Starring 
 Avery Brooks as Captain Sisko

Also starring 
 Rene Auberjonois as Odo
 Michael Dorn as Lt. Commander Worf 
 Terry Farrell as Lt. Commander Dax 
 Cirroc Lofton as Jake Sisko 
 Colm Meaney as Chief O'Brien 
 Armin Shimerman as Quark 
 Alexander Siddig as Doctor Bashir 
 Nana Visitor as Major Kira

Guest stars
Tony Todd as the adult Jake Sisko
Galyn Görg as Korena
Aron Eisenberg as Nog
Rachel Robinson as Melanie

Co-star
Majel Barrett as Computer Voice

Uncredited co-stars 
 Patrick Barnitt as Bajoran officer
 Scott Barry as Bajoran officer
 Ivor Bartels as operations officer
 Ivy Borg as Rita Tannenbaum
 Robert Cox as Promenade bystander
 Brian Demonbreun as command officer
 Kathleen Demor as operations officer
 Randy James as 
 Mark Lentry as command lieutenant
 David B. Levinson as Broik
 Mary Mascari as Bajoran woman
 Mary Meinel-Newport as Bolian woman
 James Minor as operations officer
 Mark Allen Shepherd as Morn
 Michael Wajacs as Bajoran civilian
 Unknown performers as
 Vulcan ensign
 Female operations officer

References 
47; 2355; 2373; 2374; 2381; 2389; 2392; 2395; 2405; 2408; 2422; Anslem; Bajor; Bajoran; Bajoran sector; Bajoran system; Bajoran wormhole; ; bayou; Betar Prize; biography; branch; candle; Cardassian; career; chair; champagne; clock; coffee; Collected Stories; commander; commanding officer; Commodore Hornblower; containment field; Corsican; cover; cup; Deep Space 9; deflector array; dermal regenerator; divorce; docking pylon; Dominion; dom-jot; dream; Earth; elastic cord; Emissary of the Prophets; engineering; Federation; first aid kit; French; French Quarter; front line; gall; Gamma Quadrant; graduation; gravimetric field; graviton pulse; holosuite; ; interphasic compensator; ion surfing; Jake-o; Klingon; Klingon Empire; Klingon High Council; latinum; listener; Louisiana; Melanie's friend; memorial service; monster; moon; Morn's; muse; mutual defense pact; New Orleans; novel; paragraph; parson; pen; Pennington School; posthumously; Promenade; Prophets; Quark's; Quark's moon; rain; red alert; redfish; religious figure replicator; Rom; Saltah'na clock; scientific research; scrape; separation; short story; sickbay; ; ; Sisko's Creole Kitchen; slug; Smallbridge; Spain; subspace flux isolator; Starfleet; Starfleet Command; Starfleet Science; subspace; subspace inversion; subspace mechanics; Takarian mead; tea; temporal displacement; temporal signature; toast; war; warp core; warp core breach; warp core ejection system; warp coil; ; ; writer; Yoruba mask

Starship references 
 (freighter); Bajoran vessel (2373 transport, 2374 transports);  (runabout); ; ;  (Docked starship); Nog's starship;

External links
 
 
 
 
 

de:Der Besuch
es:The Visitor
fr:The Visitor (épisode)
ja:父と子（エピソード）
nl:The Visitor

DS9 episodes