If you're curious, there's a robust discussion I've participated in on the matter over at TMDB, where the episode airdate metadata comes from: https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/68507-his-dark-materials/discuss/638a74681283e90083222764?language=en-US
Another brilliant episode of tv. This season has just been knocking it out of the park imo. The wait was worth it.
Man, watching those scenes in 2025 were so hard. Honestly, as much as I want to see more of Gordon on this show, I don't think the crew made the right decision here. I hope that LaMarr was right about there being alternate timelines in this universe, because I really hope that future still exists out there in some form. I don't think he was being selfish at all.
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@morphinapg Loved your comment. I cried through most of this episode.
Minor nitpick: I think Gordon was being selfish--in the deepest and most profound sense of the term. He was deeply committed to his personal values and to what he knew his happiness and prosperity depended on. This is not a condemnation...I think it's the only philosophically serious way to use the word "selfish", and it's the hardest and most important thing in the world to get right.
How do I begin to sum up 'The Visitor'? It's not only one of the finest episodes in all of Star Trek, it's one of the best pieces of television ever made. Every time I see it, I end up in tears. But it's not an overly sentimental tearjerker, it's subtle and honest in its storytelling. It's delightfully simple and self-contained, making it something that you can watch even if you've never seen any of DS9 before.
I think what clicks for me always is the performances. Everything that makes Avery Brooks my favourite Star Trek captain is displayed here, not only because of his performance but because of what he allowed Captain Sisko to be. He's a family man and a father before he is a Starfleet officer, and he's never afraid to show his vulnerable and caring side. Duty is important to him, but it's with the simple things in life that his heart really lies.
To complement that, Cirroc Lofton as Jake is probably the best he's ever been so far. The moment where his father first comes back and asks how he's doing, and instead of being able to reply he just starts to cry sums up so much of their close father/son relationship. Jake really needs his dad, even relies on him and there's a really deep love between them, undoubtedly solidified more since he lost his mother. We can see that without his dad, Jake turns completely away from the life he could have and shuts the doors to so many other people and paths. My favourite moment is actually the last time Sisko appears and he just watches old Jake sleeping with such a lovely expression on his face.
Then there's Tony Todd playing the older Jake who also is magnificent. While the old-age makeup effects still look kind of terrible (always a problem, they looked terrible back in the 1990s too), the performances are fortunately able to come through. He also has a great chemistry with the young lady playing Melanie.
Maybe there's a bit too much technobabble at moments, butI love this episode and it will make you want to go and see your dad.
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@lefthandedguitarist I was bawling as I read your review, when I went to check in after just having watched the episode (which I also cried over, throughout). Thank you so much.
Look, I agree with some of the ideological/political points they're pushing in this episode, but it's really obnoxious to beat us over the head with what amounts to little more than vacuous propaganda.
For the viewpoints that are right, they're doing them a disservice by attempting to support them in an intellectually superficial way (instead of robust, fundamental philosophical principles). And it's a drama, so there's no time for that, I get it, but then just leave it out of the episode.
For the viewpoints that are wrong, they're dishonestly oversimplifying complex issues and implicitly strawmanning dissenting opinions.
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@daybreak1012 I have not watched that show at all, but thank you for the recommendation! (Nowadays, I'm very wary of adding any new shows to my life...as it is, I already have a huge backlog!) The way you describe its treatment of issues reminds me of how good scifi wrestles with contemporary philosophical issues using metaphor and drama, not drive-by pot-shots.
You can't even pronounce Ayn Rand's name correctly, and yet you feel qualified to take cheap pot shots at her and her philosophy? Shameful.
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@cluisanna Irrelevant, but yes, I can, because my family immigrated from Russia, and I speak Russian. Ayn Rand was her chosen name in English as an American. This is an American show. There's nothing challenging for English speakers to pronounce it correctly. Mispronouncing it here actually does signify something, either ignorance or something else.
You can't even pronounce Ayn Rand's name correctly, and yet you feel qualified to take cheap pot shots at her and her philosophy? Shameful.
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@cluisanna Seems to me that if one can't even manage to pronounce her name correctly, it shows a lack of being educated enough about her and her philosophy (and the reasoning behind it) to be qualified to comment on it. So if that's what's going on, that seems pretty dishonest or irresponsible. Alternatively, if it's intentional, then that's just more dishonest.
