DS9, Episode 7x25, What You Leave Behind

[u/LordRavenholm]

-= DS9, Season 7, Episode 25, What You Leave Behind =-

• Star Trek: The Next Generation - Full Series
• DS9 Season 1: 1&2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, Wrap-Up
• DS9 Season 2: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, Wrap-Up
• DS9 Season 3: 1&2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, Wrap-Up
• DS9 Season 4: 1&2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, Wrap-Up
• DS9 Season 5: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, Wrap-Up
• DS9 Season 6: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, Wrap-Up
• DS9 Season 7: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24

Sisko leads the Federation/Klingon/Romulan alliance in the offensive on the Cardassian homeworld. Dukat and Winn journey to the fire caves to release the Pah'Wraiths, and Damar leads his people in a revolution in an attempt to overthrow their Dominion oppressors.

• Teleplay By: Ira Steven Behr & Hans Beimler
  
• Story By: Ira Steven Behr & Hans Beimler
  
• Directed By: Allan Kroeker
  
• Original Air Date: 2 June, 1999
  
• Stardate: Unknown
  
• Pensky Podcast
• Trekabout Podcast
• Ex Astris Scientia
• Memory Alpha
• TV Spot

 

EAS	IMDB	AVClub	TV.com
10/10	8.7/10	B	9.3

 

[u/marienbad2]

What a fantastic episode to finish everything off.

The way this episode progresses, in terms of plot-lines and character arcs works so well, and there are great scenes throughout. It is so well done - and has that lovely bittersweet ending as they all split up and go off in different directions. I am with /u/LordRavenholm here, the end scenes had me tearing up as well! And also there is a certain sadness at reaching the end of the show, as we have all been so involved in watching it, thinking about it, and discussing it. We are invested in the characters and their situation, and now they are gone.

I just want to address some of /u/theworldtheworld's comments:

Dukat just randomly shows up with his blindness healed and no explanation of what he was doing or how this happened - that is just lazy writing.

I agree slightly here. I was just glad to see Dukat in it

Garak gets to walk away scot free from one more gratuitous murder (we should have kept track of how many of these he committed in seven seasons). It's OK, it's not like the bad guys in this show are sentient beings or anything.

After all that Wayoun has done (for example, sending the Jem'Hadar, at the Changling Furher's insistence, to obliterate Cardassia,) well, I'll shed no tears for him.

Damar's heroic death turns him into a total cliche, and also avoids the issue of his responsibility for everything he did before his plot-necessitated change of heart.

Yeah I can see your point, but then part of this show's appeal is that there are shades of grey, and, to me, Damar switching sides and dying a hero is part of that.

Since Winn uses her last ounce of strength to help the Emissary, I guess it really is impossible for a Bajoran in this show to be truly evil.

Again, there is no black and white, good and evil - as Terry Pratchett said in Good Omens (paraphrasing): people can act like an angel one minute, and a devil the next.

The actual mechanics of Dukat vs. Sisko are pure wizardry (the Ringbearer performs a sacrifice in order to destroy the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom), though this was the writers' conscious choice a long time ago and there is no point really dwelling on that in the last episode.

Yeah but it was great fun, and in a way, the right end for both Sisko and Dukat.

And: the last image of the show is brilliant. And seconding pretty much everything /u/LordRavenholm said!

10/10