Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’s “The Visitor” foreshadowed that Jake Sisko (Cirroc Lofton) would tragically lose his father, Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks). One ofStar Trek: Deep Space Nine’s most emotional and resonant episodes, “The Visitor” was arguably the first true classic from theStar Trek: The Next Generationspinoff. WhileDS9seasons 1-3 had its share of classic episodes,“The Visitor” was at a higher level,and is remembered byStar Trekfans with the same reverence as episodes likeStar Trek: The Original Series' “The City on the Edge of Forever” andStar Trek: The Next Generation’s “The Inner Light.”
InStar Trek: Deep Space Nineseason 4, episode 3, “The Visitor,” Jake Sisko witnesses the death of his father, Captain Benjamin Sisko. However, as Jake ages into an adult (played by Tony Todd), he is buoyed to learn his father isn’t dead. Rather, Captain Sisko is trapped in subspace. Jake abandons his writing career and joins Starfleet to learn the necessary science to bring his father back. Decades later, the elderly Jake is visited by a young writer namedMelanie (Rachel Robinson)on the night he sacrificed his own life to bring Captain Sisko back to the exact point of his accident and change his fate, givingBen and Jake a second chance.
Star Trek: DS9’s “The Visitor” Foreshadowed Jake Would Always Lose Captain Sisko
Jake and Ben Sisko were tragically meant to part ways
Star Trek: Deep Space Nineendedafter 7 seasons with Captain Sisko fulfilling his destiny to become one with the Prophets of Bajor. In turn,Sisko leaving his family behind fulfilled Jake’s destiny that he would ultimately lose his father,as foreshadowed by “The Visitor.” Although the adult Jake’s sacrifice in “The Visitor” afforded his younger self four more years with his father, Ben was not meant to live a mortal life as the Emissary of the Prophets. “The Sisko” was born of the Prophets, and he had another role to play once he fulfilled his duty to Starfleet and helped the United Federation of Planets win the Dominion War.
“The Visitor” better prepared Jake to part ways with his dad.
Looking back at the grand scheme ofStar Trek: Deep Space Nine, it’s evident thatJake Sisko tragically losing his father was always meant to happen; in “The Visitor,” Jake was able to reset Captain Sisko’s timeline to a point where he would be somewhat older and more prepared to say goodbye to his father, although Jake couldn’t and didn’t know it would happen again. Unlike in “The Visitor,” when Jake couldn’t accept his father’s loss, the extra years Jake gained with Ben better prepared him to part ways with his dad. Captain Sisko also didn’t die; he shifted into a new plane of existence at the end ofDS9.Ben promising he would return was enough solace for Jake to lose his father, since he believed he would see Ben again someday.
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Jake is still waiting for his Star Trek comeback
Jake Sisko hasn’t canonically returned in anyStar Trek on Paramount+ series, and the few sightings ofStar Trek: Deep Space Nineonly hint at what happened to Captain Sisko’s son. Unlike inDS9’s “The Visitor,” there’s no evidence Jake abandoned his career as a writer and joined Starfleet since he didn’t need to dedicate his life to bringing Captain Sisko back.Jake likely continued as a writerfor the Federation News Service as well as penning novels intoStar Trek: Lower DecksandStar Trek: Prodigy’s 2280s time frame. Jake is also the older half-brother of Captain Sisko’s child with his second wife, Kasidy Yates (Penny Johnson-Jerald), and Jake-o must have helped raise his sibling.
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“The Autobiography of Benjamin Sisko"by Derek Tyler Attico conjectures that Captain Sisko sent Jake messages from the Bajoran wormhole, giving his son the necessary information to pen Ben’s life story. Although “The Autobiography of Benjamin Sisko” is not officiallyStar Trekcanon, it’s reasonable to believe that Captain Sisko does eventually return to see his son, andStar Trekjust hasn’t shown it yet. In real life, Cirroc Lofton hosts the popularStar TrekpodcastThe 7th Rule, and like Jake waiting for his father’s return,Cirroc is also waiting for the call to reprise Jake Sisko inStar Trekto finally pick up whereStar Trek: Deep Space Nineleft off.
