What You Leave Behind

"What You Leave Behind" is the series finale of the television show Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the 175th and 176th episodes, the 25th and 26th episodes of the seventh season. The episode was written by showrunner Ira Steven Behr and Hans Beimler and directed by Allan Kroeker. It originally aired on June 2, 1999.

For the Ricochet album, see What You Leave Behind (album).
"What You Leave Behind"
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode
The Federation Alliance fleet prepares for the final battle over Cardassia Prime
Episode no.Season 7
Episode 25 & 26
Directed byAllan Kroeker
Written byIra Steven Behr
Hans Beimler
Featured musicDennis McCarthy
Production code575 & 576
Original air dateJune 2, 1999 (1999-06-02)
Guest appearance(s)

Set in the 24th century, the series is set on Deep Space Nine, a space station located near a stable wormhole between the Alpha and Gamma quadrants of the Milky Way Galaxy. The final episode of the series, "What You Leave Behind" sees the end of the Dominion War as the alliance of Starfleet, the Klingons, Romulans and rebel Cardassians launch a final attack against the Dominion on Cardassia Prime, as well as the resolution of Dukat and Kai Winn's dealings with the Pah-wraiths on Bajor.

The episode was mainly well-received, with most critics considering it a satisfying end for the series, though the final confrontation between Sisko and Dukat was criticized.[1][2][3]

After this episode, Star Trek: Voyager became the sole carrier of the Star Trek franchise, starting with "Equinox", until its end in May 2001.

Plot

On Deep Space Nine, as the Allies prepare to embark on a potentially final, decisive offensive in the Dominion War, Bashir wakes up with Ezri, O'Brien talks with his family about accepting a transfer back to Earth and Sisko comforts a pregnant, nauseated Kasidy. While heading for battle on the Defiant, Sisko's mother Sarah, a Prophet of Bajor, appears to him in a vision, telling him his journey's end "lies not before you, but behind you". The battle between the Jem'Hadar–Breen–Cardassian and Federation–Klingon–Romulan fleets begins. Kira, Garak and Damar, hiding on Cardassia Prime, incite a revolt and sabotage Cardassia's power grid, cutting off communication between the Dominion fleet and the command center. Weyoun and the diseased Founder order the Jem'Hadar to wipe out a Cardassian city.

Kira, Garak, and Damar are captured but as the Jem'Hadar prepare to kill them Cardassian soldiers turn on their Jem'Hadar allies in revenge for the destruction of their city. As Starfleet and their allies are suffering many losses, the Cardassian ships switch sides when they learn of the atrocity, turning the tide of the battle. When the Founder discovers this, she orders the eradication of the Cardassian race and the Jem'Hadar begin leveling cities. The Dominion fleet retreats and regroups around Cardassia Prime and the alliance fleet prepares to mount a final offensive. Kira and her team storm the command center, capture the Founder and kill Weyoun; Damar is killed in the process. The Founder initially refuses to surrender, choosing instead to make the battle as costly as possible for the alliance.

As Sisko prepares for the assault on Cardassia, Odo beams to the command center and tries to reason with the Founder. She argues that her people will never be safe from the solids but Odo defends the Federation's intentions, despite its flaws and links with her over Kira and Garak's objections, curing her disease; she orders an unprecedented surrender of all Dominion forces within the Alpha Quadrant. Odo explains to Kira that he has agreed to cure the other Founders but needs to join them permanently, so he can persuade them to trust solids instead of dominating them. Bashir and Garak are reunited in the command center as a flood of casualty reports indicate over 800 million Cardassians have been systematically murdered. Bashir tries to reassure him that Cardassia will recover but Garak laments that it will never be the same.

On Bajor, Dukat, still disguised as a Bajoran and Kai Winn, who has turned against the Prophets, travel to the fire caves with an ancient book to release the Pah-wraiths, only to find the caves dark and barren. Winn recites a chant that releases the Pah-wraiths, filling the cave with fire, then poisons Dukat as a sacrifice, expecting to become the wraiths' emissary; they possess Dukat instead, resurrecting him and restoring his Cardassian appearance.

A peace treaty is signed on DS9 and the crew celebrates in Vic's lounge but Sisko suddenly becomes aware that he must go to the fire caves. Once there, he attacks Dukat who easily subdues him with his newfound powers. Winn tries to destroy the book when she realizes she made a mistake by turning against the Prophets but Dukat kills her. While Dukat is distracted, Sisko attacks Dukat, falling with him and the book into the fiery chasm. Sisko suddenly finds himself in the Celestial Temple, where Sarah tells him that the Pah-wraiths and Dukat have been returned to their prison in the fire caves and will never emerge again with the Book destroyed and it is time for him to rest with the Prophets, having completed his task. The DS9 crew is puzzled by Sisko's disappearance until he comes to Kasidy in a vision, telling her that he has moved on to a new stage of his life. He assures her he will return, though he doesn't know when and she promises to wait for him.

Martok has a drink on Cardassia, which disgusts Ross and Sisko; the three had previously promised to drink a toast on Cardassia in "Tears of the Prophets". O'Brien finds the figure of William B. Travis in his home, having accused Bashir of losing the figure previously in "The Changing Face of Evil". When signing the armistice that ends the Dominion War, Admiral Ross quotes General Douglas MacArthur's speech following Japan's surrender at the end of World War II.[1]

The crew go their separate ways. O'Brien will teach at Starfleet Academy, finally giving a stable home to Keiko and their children, Molly and Kirayoshi. Worf is appointed the Federation ambassador to the Klingon Empire, moving to Qo'noS where he will maintain his close friendship with Chancellor Martok. Nog learns that one of Sisko's last acts was to promote him to Lieutenant, Junior Grade. Bashir and Ezri discuss their future together. When Odo leaves DS9 to fulfill his promise to the Female Changeling, he refuses to give Quark the satisfaction of a fond farewell but Quark interprets it favorably anyway. Kira takes Odo to the Founders' planet, and Odo tells Kira to tell everyone he will miss them; even Quark, then they bid farewell, Odo sinks into the Link and cures the disease. Now the station commander, Kira continues Odo's and Sisko's example by going to Quark's to shut down his betting ring on who will be the new Kai, leading Quark to quote Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr with the final line of the show, "The more things change, the more things stay the same".[1] Kira finds Jake on the promenade and they look longingly out as the wormhole opens, knowing that her friend and his father resides in the Celestial Temple.

Production
Ira Steven Behr co-wrote the episode; he was the showrunner of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and wrote 53 episodes overall

The episode was written by Ira Steven Behr and Hans Beimler and directed by Allan Kroeker. An early draft of the script has Sisko dying during the final battle at Cardassia, but resurrected by the Prophets to fight the Pah-wraiths. Sisko's joining with the Prophets following Dukat's defeat was originally going to be permanent but actor Avery Brooks was "uncomfortable with the notion of a black man abandoning his pregnant black wife"; the line was rewritten upon Brooks's request to indicate that he would return. Keith DeCandido praised this move in his review. The producers also entertained the idea of a final shot of Benny Russell (from "Far Beyond the Stars" and "Shadows and Symbols") sitting outside a studio holding a script for Deep Space Nine.[1]

The final day of filming took place at Vic's lounge. In the episode, during the party, many of the background hologram characters are actually production staff and recurring cast members without their makeup and prosthetics. This is also one of two Star Trek series finales in which Jeffrey Combs, Michael Dorn, and Colm Meaney appear. Combs later appeared in the Star Trek: Enterprise series finale "These Are the Voyages..." as Shran; and Dorn and Meaney had already appeared in the Star Trek: The Next Generation series finale "All Good Things..." as Worf and O'Brien.[1]

Near the end of the episode, a montage is shown of the ensemble cast with footage from previous Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episodes. The music cues used prior to O'Brien's montage are from the Irish song "The Minstrel Boy", which previously featured in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Wounded". There are no clips featuring Jadzia Dax, because Terry Farrell and her manager reportedly refused the routine process of granting permission for her appearance in the clips, to the great disappointment of the staff.[1][4] Ira Steven Behr guessed that Farrell's feelings might have been hurt regarding the staff's choice of flashback clips, and elaborated: "Her manager was informed that we were thinking of using Terry in a scene in the final episode. It would have probably been three hours of work ... maybe four. The price they quoted us was too high for the budget. After all, this was a show where we had to cut out hundreds of thousands of dollars from the original draft."[5]

This episode was novelized by Diane Carey, who would also go on to novelize Star Trek: Voyager's finale, "Endgame". Carey had also novelized "The Search", "The Way of the Warrior", "Trials and Tribble-ations", and the season six six-episode opening arc. An official series of novels, the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine relaunch, chronicles multiple characters' exploits following the events of this finale. Otherwise, Worf is the only character to appear on-screen after this series, in Star Trek: Nemesis.[1]

In 2017, eighteen years after the episode aired, Ira Steven Behr announced a crowdfunded documentary named What We Left Behind, deriving its title from the name of this episode (which itself is based on a quote from Pericles: "What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others"),[1] which met its goal of $150,000 within 24 hours. Released in 2019,[6] the documentary reflects on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's legacy, featuring interviews with the cast and crew of the series and speculating on what would have happened had there been an eighth season.[7][8]

Reception

Broadcast

"What You Leave Behind" was first shown on June 2, 1999 in broadcast syndication. It is the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth episodes of the seventh and final season and received Nielsen ratings of 5.4 percent on the first broadcast. It is the highest-rated episode of the season.[9]

Critical reception

Keith DeCandido reviewed the episode for Tor.com and, while praising the resolution to the Dominion War, said that it failed as the finale to Deep Space Nine, stating that the end of the war and the end of the TV series are not synonymous. He expressed disappointment in the series' failure to resolve Sisko's primary goal of getting Bajor into the Federation. DeCandido compared the episode to other Star Trek series finales, writing, "TNG revisited the trial of humanity by the Q from its first episode,[note 1] Voyager got our heroes home from the Delta Quadrant, and Enterprise ended with Earth helping form the Coalition of Planets that would eventually mutate into the Federation. But DS9 blew the landing by treating the show like Star Trek: The Dominion War." He rated the episode 6/10.[1]

Zack Handlen of The A.V. Club referred to it as an imperfect series finale. He said that of the "handful of deaths in 'What You Leave Behind', ... Damar's is the only one that really stings." Reflecting on the way in which everyone went their separate ways, Handlen wrote, "That's what this finale is about to me. Not the end of the war, or the death of some bad guys, but the reminder that there are so many stories that go on without us."[2]

Jamahl Epsicokhan of Jammer's Reviews summarized the episode as a "poignant and satisfying end to the final arc and the series". Like Handlen, he was "somewhat disappointed" by Damar's death, as it came in "an action scene and with very little fanfare". As a key element of the story arc, Epsicokhan stated "it's almost as if there simply wasn't time to deal with the death of the man who would've been the leader of a new Cardassia. The notion seemingly is: He's dead; on with the story." He ultimately said that the episode made for a nice ending, writing that the "closing sense is more one of 'life goes on'", and gave the episode 3.5/4 stars.[3]

Both Epsicokhan and Den of Geek's Gem Wheeler favorably noted the comparisons between the final shot of the episode and the events of "The Visitor", with Wheeler writing that the latter episode gains in emotional impact after watching the series finale.[11]

Many reviewers criticized the Pah-wraith storyline and its resolution. DeCandido had been heavily critical of the direction of Dukat's character following "Sacrifice of Angels", writing "There's an argument to be made that the world would've been a better place if ["Sacrifice of Angels"] was Dukat's last appearance",[12] as well as the Pah-wraiths following their introduction in "The Assignment", writing that the evil counterparts of the wormhole aliens were "so lazy", "something out of a bad 70s adventure show", and "one of the most wrongheaded plot devices in DS9's history";[13] with exception to "Covenant", where he had written that "The fact that this is [...] the only Pah-wraith episode that doesn't have alien possession, glowing eyes, and people firing ray-beams out of their fingers is not a coincidence [as to why he liked the episode]", he had repeatedly said how much he despised "the entire concept of the Pah-wraiths".[14] He saw the final confrontation between Sisko and Dukat as "a stupid side plot involving fire caves, glowy eyes, magic books, and a simply endless amount of shouting", leading to a "totally absurd confrontation" which reduced the "alienness of the Prophets [and] the depth of the rivalry between Sisko and Dukat [to] yelling at each other and then tumbling into a fire", labeling it as "cheap-ass melodrama".[1] Zack Handlen was more forgiving, summarizing "The end of the Pah-Wraith saga is functional without being in any way good. Winn and Dukat get their just deserts, but neither of their fates are thrilling or insightful. [...] Given all the build-up, this wasn't much of a resolution."[2] Jamahl Epsicokhan shared some of DeCandido's sentiments "concerning the nature of Dukat's twists and turns since his downfall last season in 'Sacrifice of Angels'", writing that "'Waltz' was a powerful episode but left Dukat headed in a direction that didn't seem nearly as interesting as the complex layers in what came before." While Epsicokhan found the "epic struggle of good vs. evil, Prophet vs. Pah-wraith, Sisko vs. Dukat [...] entertaining ([with] plenty of neat-looking fire and fury [to] help set the stage of melodrama)", he said that Deep Space Nine had "always been more compelling when dealing with shades of grey, not cut-and-dry absolutes". Epsicokhan wrote that if Sisko, Winn, and Dukat's final confrontation hadn't been such a disappointment, he would have rated the episode 4/4 stars.[3]

Based on user ratings, "What You Leave Behind" holds a 9.2/10 and a 9.0/10 on TV.com[note 2][15][16] and an 8.7/10 on IMDb.[17] The episode won the 2000 Best Television Episode SyFy Genre Award.[18] In a poll conducted on the official Star Trek website to determine the best episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, "Trials and Tribble-ations" won, leaving the staff to ponder why "remarkable episodes" as "The Visitor", "What You Leave Behind", "Duet", and "Far Beyond the Stars" didn't receive the necessary votes to challenge the winner in earlier rounds.[19]

Taken as the last two episodes of a seven episode story arc starting with "The Changing Face of Evil", CBR ranked this episode as part of the #1 episodic saga of Star Trek overall.[20] They praise the "great" crew montage and note the many plotlines being wrapped up, as well as the special effects work of Star Trek space battles.[20]

In 2015, WhatCulture ranked this the 23rd best episode of all time in the Star Trek science fiction universe.[21]

In 2016, The Hollywood Reporter ranked the two-episode finale as the ninth best episode of the series overall.[22] In 2016, Empire ranked this the 30th best out of the top 50 episodes of the all the 700 plus Star Trek television episodes.[23]

Notes
  1. DeCandido had previously reviewed "All Good Things..." and had given it a "warp factor rating" of 10/10.[10]
  2. TV.com lists "What You Leave Behind" as two separate episodes rather than as one double-length episode.

References
  1. DeCandido, Keith (February 24, 2015). "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Rewatch: "What You Leave Behind"". Tor.com. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  2. Handlen, Zack (May 8, 2014). "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: "What You Leave Behind"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  3. Epsicokhan, Jamahl. "[DS9] Jammer's Review: "What You Leave Behind"". Jammer's Reviews. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  4. Moore, Ron D. (May 19, 2019). "Ron D. Moore Q&A" (Interview). Interviewed by lcarscom. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  5. Behr, Ira Steven. "Ira Steven Behr (Executive Producer)" (Interview). Archived from the original on January 2, 2010. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  6. Staff, TrekMovie com. "Star Trek: DS9 Documentary 'What We Left Behind' To Screen In Theaters For One Night In May". TrekMovie.com. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  7. "What We Left Behind: Star Trek Deep Space Nine Doc". Indiegogo. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
  8. Burt, Kaytl (February 9, 2017). "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Documentary Gets Crowdfunding Campaign". Den of Geek. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
  9. "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine * SEASON 7 NIELSEN RATINGS". WebTrek. Archived from the original on January 24, 2017. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
  10. DeCandido, Keith (April 3, 2013). "Star Trek: The Next Generation Rewatch: "All Good Things..."". Tor.com. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  11. Wheeler, Gem (November 2, 2012). "Top 10 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episodes". Den of Geek. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  12. DeCandido, Keith (August 26, 2014). "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Rewatch: "Sacrifice of Angels"". Tor.com. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  13. DeCandido, Keith (May 16, 2014). "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Rewatch: "The Assignment"". Tor.com. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  14. DeCandido, Keith (December 23, 2014). "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Rewatch: "Covenant"". Tor.com. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  15. "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Season 7, Episode 25: What You Leave Behind (1)". TV.com. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  16. "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Season 7, Episode 25: What You Leave Behind (2)". TV.com. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  17. ""Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" What You Leave Behind (TV Episode 1999)". IMDb. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  18. Hinman, Michael (October 1, 2007). "'300,' 'Battlestar Galactica' Take Top Prizes In Genre Awards". Airlock Alpha. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  19. StarTrek.com staff (April 9, 2012). "Star Trek "Tribble-ations" Wins Best DS9 Episode Poll". StarTrek.com. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
  20. Star Trek's Greatest Episodic Sagas, Ranked by Michael Weyer – on Nov 23, 2018
  21. Fisher, Matthew (2015-04-28). "30 Best Star Trek Episodes Of All Time". WhatCulture.com. Retrieved 2019-07-15.
  22. "'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine' — The 20 Greatest Episodes". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2019-06-06.
  23. "The 50 best Star Trek episodes ever". Empire. 2016-07-27. Retrieved 2019-06-29.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.