My favorite Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode about Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) and Jake Sisko (Cirroc Lofton) isn't the one you think. Captain Sisko being a widower and single parent raising his teenaged son sets DS9 apart from other Star Trek series where the Captain's main devotion is to his starship. Captain Sisko bore numerous Starfleet responsibilities, as well as his role as the Emissary of the Prophets of Bajor, but he loved his son above all. Jake loved his father back, and went above and beyond to make Ben happy in my favorite DS9 episode about them.
The standout Jake and Captain Sisko Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode is the all-time classic, "The Visitor. DS9 season 4's "The Visitor" sees Captain Sisko presumably killed aboard the USS Defiant. A distraught Jake (played by Cirroc Lofton and as an adult by Tony Todd) devotes his life to rescuing his father when he learns Ben is trapped in subspace. When Jake is an old man, he sacrifices his own life to bring Captain Sisko back. "The Visitor" is a powerful, heartbreaking, and operatic epitome of how much Jake loves his father, and I love it. But I actually enjoy Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 5's "In The Cards" even more.
My Favorite Jake & Captain Sisko Star Trek: DS9 Episode Is “In The Cards”
All that for a Willie Mays baseball card.
In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 5, episode 25, "In The Cards," Jake Sisko recruits Nog in his scheme to acquire a vintage 1951 Willie Mays baseball card. Deeply concerned by the fear and low spirits gripping Captain Sisko and the crew of Deep Space Nine with the Dominion War inevitable, Jake needs to do something to bring his father joy. Young Sisko decides the Willie Mays baseball card is the key to making his father happy, and he's right. When Jake finally presents Ben with the rare collector's item, and they embrace, it's another shining example of how Star Trek: Deep Space Nine presents the love between father and son better than any other Star Trek series.
One of the things I enjoy most about "In The Cards" is that it's a relatively low-stakes Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode. The fate of the space station or the Alpha Quadrant isn't at risk, although war clouds are looming. Instead, it's a personal story of Jake needing to boost his father's spirits and show him how much he cares. As Jake told Nog, Captain Sisko is the one everyone else on Deep Space Nine turns to for inspiration, but who does Ben look to when he's low? Jake taking it upon himself to give Ben solace means as much, if not more, to me than an epic sci-fi sacrifice. Moments like Ben and Jake embracing in "In The Cards" are what make them real people doing their best for each other.
“In The Cards” Is Also A Great Jake & Nog Star Trek: DS9 Episode
Jake and Nog make a great team.
While everything Jake Sisko does is driven by his need to bring Captain Sisko happiness, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's "In The Cards" is really a Jake and Nog episode, and it may be their finest team-up. Written by Ronald D. Moore and directed by Michael Dorn, "In The Cards" is chock-full of witty banter and bizarrely entertaining character interactions. Winning Jake's prized Willie Mays baseball card at an auction couldn't be so easy, and the young Sisko and his Ferengi best friend jump through increasingly outrageous hoops to acquire the card from its owner, the immortality-obsessed Dr. Elias Giger (Brian Markinson).
Jake and Nog prove they're an all-time great Star Trek duo.
DS9's "In The Cards" is a spectacular showcase for the chemistry between Cirroc Lofton's Jake Sisko and Aron Eisenberg's Nog. From bribing Chief Miles O'Brien (Colm Meaney), to stealing a stuffed animal for Dr. Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddig), to having to convince Weyoun (Jeffrey Combs) that they're not spying on the Dominion, Jake and Nog prove they're an all-time great Star Trek duo. Like Jake, Nog also owes a debt to Captain Sisko, and together, they deliver one of the best Star Trek: Deep Space Nine comedy episodes. Captain Sisko may never know what they went through to get him that Willie Mays baseball card, but it was more than worth it in the end.
