Spock’s death scene in Wrath of Khan usually chokes me up (as does the earlier scene of the death of Scotty’s nephew) but never before has Trek induced rivers of tears down my face. Best was that I watched this on my laptop on a plane.
The Visitor is continually ranked as one of the best episodes of DS9 by the fans and the cast. Avery Brooks calls it a landmark in American culture in how it depicts an African American family. I never thought of it that way, inasmuch as all racism is gone by the time this show takes place – but certainly not when this show was shot and shown.
The premise – that an accident has evaporated Sisko into a white void outside of time, only to pop out of it every few decades for a minute or so – is heartbreaking. Bad enough to have one’s father die, but to have the hope of seeing him again dangled in front of you your whole life totally ruins young Jake. He essentially wastes his life trying to brink him back – but is this not what a good son must do? To never give up hope?
The Visitor is, essentially, a treatise on the importance of acceptance in the grieving process….and a complete violation of the sci-fi heroics code. The ending just effs with your head more – I’ll let you draw your own conclusion. Just pack a few kleenex.
This episode is nothing short of brilliant, and I concur wholeheartedly. While I agree with the panel’s decision that year to award the Hugo to B5’s “The Coming of Shadows,” DS9’s “The Visitor” would not have been a bad choice (it was, in fact, nominated).