What You Leave Behind

ST episode
name = What You Leave Behind


series = Deep Space Nine
ep_num = 175–176
prod_num = 575–576
date = June 2, 1999
writer = Ira Steven Behr
Hans Beimler
director = Allan Kroeker
guest = Rosalind Chao
Jeffrey Combs
Salome Jens
Penny Johnson
Andrew Robinson
Casey Biggs
Marc Alaimo
Aron Eisenberg
J.G. Hertzler
Barry Jenner
Deborah Lacey
Julianna McCarthy
Hana Hatae
Mel Johnson, Jr.
Greg Ellis
Cyndi Pass
James Darren
Louise Fletcher
stardate = Not stated
year = 2375
prev = The Dogs of War
next = N/A Series finale
What You Leave Behind is the series finale of the television show "". Much of the episode is set on Cardassia Prime, the home world of the Cardassians and the headquarters of the Dominion in the Alpha Quadrant. Starfleet and other powers joined together to launch an attack on the Dominion on Cardassia Prime.

Plot summary

On Deep Space Nine, Bashir wakes up with Ezri, O'Brien talks with his family about leaving the station after the war, and Sisko comforts a pregnant, nauseated Kasidy. It is the morning of the day the crew will leave for the final push in the war. While heading for battle on the Defiant, Sisko receives a vision of his prophet-mother Sarah. She claims that his most important challenge is "not before you, but behind you." The battle between the Jem'Hadar/Breen/Cardassian fleet and Starfleet/Klingon/Romulan fleet begins. Kira, Garak, and Damar, hiding on Cardassia Prime as insurgents, incite a worker revolt and power outage, which cuts off communication between the Dominion Fleet and the command center housing Weyoun and the diseased Founder. In retaliation, the Jem'Hadar wipe out an entire Cardassian city.

The insurgents are about to be executed by a team of Jem'Hadar and Cardassian soldiers, but are saved when the Cardassians turn on them in revenge. Midway through the space battle, the Cardassian ships also switch sides, which Weyoun discovers when communications are restored. As an ultimate retaliation, the Founder orders the eradication of the Cardassian race, and the Jem'Hadar begin leveling the capital. Kira and the insurgents storm the command center, capture the Founder, and kill Weyoun, but Damar is killed. Though the Dominion's Alpha Quadrant forces are facing defeat, the Founder will not surrender, presumably to inflict so much damage that the Alpha Quadrant powers will be deterred from attacking the Dominion.

Sisko prepares for a costly assault on Cardassia Prime. Odo beams to the command center and links with the Founder, curing her disease. She orders her forces to surrender. Odo explains to Kira that he has agreed to cure the other Founders, but needs to join them permanently, to eventually persuade them to trust solids instead of dominating them. Bashir says farewell to Garak, who stays to help rebuild Cardassia. Garak is skeptical that they will ever meet again, because they live "in uncertain times." (The final verbal exchange between Bashir and Garak was cut from the re-run version of the episode.)

Meanwhile on Bajor, Dukat, still disguised as a Bajoran, and Kai Winn, who has turned against the Prophets, trek to the fire caves with an ancient book that will release the Pah-wraiths. After she makes them appear around a chasm, Winn poisons Dukat, but he is resurrected by the Pah-wraiths and restored to his Cardassian appearance.

A peace treaty is signed on DS9, and the crew celebrates in . However, in the middle of dancing with Kasidy, Sisko suddenly realizes he must go to the fire caves. He arrives and attacks Dukat, but is subdued by Dukat's new godlike powers. Winn tells Sisko to destroy the book, and Dukat kills her. Sisko topples Dukat and they and the book fall into the fiery chasm. Suddenly finding himself in the Celestial Temple, Sisko is told by Sarah that his task is complete, and it is time for him to rest with the Prophets. 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, but because of his nonlinear nature, it could be in a year, or yesterday.

The crew splits up: O'Brien will teach at Starfleet Academy, Odo will join the Founders, and Worf will join Martok by becoming ambassador to Qo'noS. Montages highlight the relationships between O'Brien and Bashir, Ezri and Worf, Kira and Odo, Sisko and Jake, and Quark and everybody. Odo refuses to give Quark a fond farewell, but Quark is pleased anyway. Kira takes him to the Founder's planet, where he sinks into the Link and cures the disease. Bashir and Ezri discuss their future relationship together. Nog discusses his promotion with new station commander Kira before she goes to Quark's to shut down his betting ring on the new Kai. She finds Jake on the promenade, and they both look out as the wormhole opens, knowing their loved ones may never return through it.

Guest stars

[
right|thumb|Odo_bids_Kira_farewell_at_the_Great Link.]
* Marc Alaimo as Gul Dukat
* Casey Biggs as Damar
* Rosalind Chao as Keiko O'Brien
* Jeffrey Combs as Weyoun
* James Darren as Vic Fontaine
* Aron Eisenberg as Nog
* Louise Fletcher as Kai Winn
* Hana Hatae as Molly O'Brien
* J.G. Hertzler as Martok
* Barry Jenner as Admiral Ross
* Salome Jens as Female Shapeshifter
* Penny Johnson as Kasidy Yates
* Deborah Lacey as Sarah
* Julianna McCarthy as Mila
* Andrew J. Robinson as Garak

Reception

The episode was received very well by the Star Trek community. The first half of the episode has an average rating of 4.2/5 [http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/DS9/episode/106608.html] and the second half has an average rating of 4.5/5 [http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/DS9/episode/106608.html] on the official Star Trek website (as of April 17th, 2007).

Trivia

* Jadzia Dax was notably absent from the remembrances of the various crew members on board the station. This was because Terry Farrell, upset over an image of her being used earlier in the 7th season without permission, refused to allow scenes with her to be shown in the final episode.

* The words quoted at the surrender ceremony by Admiral Ross were first spoken by General of the Army Douglas MacArthur at the surrender of Japan in Tokyo Bay in 1945.

* As noted in the , Avery Brooks suggested that the ending of the episode be changed so that it did not appear that he was abandoning the pregnant Kassidy, and Jake. Brooks felt that Sisko leaving behind a pregnant wife and his own teenage son would send a bad message to the African American community. In the final script, Sisko tells Kassidy that while he doesn't know exactly when he'll be back, he "will" be back.

*Ira Behr has suggested an option for the show's ending would have been to have made the whole show just a dream in the mind of Benny Russell, from the episode "Far Beyond the Stars", however the impact that would have had on the whole "Star Trek" franchise made that completely impossible. (See Tommy Westphall for background on the "dream" idea.)

*Ira Behr stated in a DVD Feature that one possible ending he felt was 'perfect' was that Sisko turns into a Prophet, and becomes a 'God'. He justified this by saying it was 'perfect on so many levels', both in terms of the character and because "Star Trek" fans practically worship the Captains as Gods.

* The show ends with the expression "The more things change, the more they stay the same"

* Most of the show's production and supervision crew appear as extras (uncredited) in the final scene at Vic's nightclub.

* The final expansion of the Star Trek CCG was named after this episode.

* The omnibus edition of the first four novels has a blurb which says "The Final Episode was only the Beginning".

External links

*memoryalpha
* [http://startrek.wikia.com/wiki/What_You_Leave_Behind WYLB at Memory Beta]
* [http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/DS9/episode/106608.html What You Leave Behind, Part I] on StarTrek.com
* [http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/DS9/episode/107768.html What You Leave Behind, Part II] on StarTrek.com