Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's "The Visitor" foreshadowed that Jake Sisko (Cirroc Lofton) would tragically lose his father, Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks). One of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's most emotional and resonant episodes, "The Visitor" was arguably the first true classic from the Star Trek: The Next Generation spinoff. While DS9 seasons 1-3 had its share of classic episodes, "The Visitor" was at a higher level, and is remembered by Star Trek fans with the same reverence as episodes like Star Trek: The Original Series' "The City on the Edge of Forever" and Star Trek: The Next Generation's "The Inner Light."
In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 4, episode 3, "The Visitor," Jake Sisko witnesses the death of his father, Captain Benjamin Sisko. However, as Jake ages into an adult (played by Tony Todd), he is buoyed to learn his father isn't dead. Rather, Captain Sisko is trapped in subspace. Jake abandons his writing career and joins Starfleet to learn the necessary science to bring his father back. Decades later, the elderly Jake is visited by a young writer named Melanie (Rachel Robinson) on the night he sacrificed his own life to bring Captain Sisko back to the exact point of his accident and change his fate, giving Ben and Jake a second chance.
Star Trek: DS9’s “The Visitor” Foreshadowed Jake Would Always Lose Captain Sisko
Jake and Ben Sisko were tragically meant to part ways
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ended after 7 seasons with Captain Sisko fulfilling his destiny to become one with the Prophets of Bajor. In turn, Sisko leaving his family behind fulfilled Jake's destiny that he would ultimately lose his father, as foreshadowed by "The Visitor." Although the adult Jake's sacrifice in "The Visitor" afforded his younger self four more years with his father, Ben was not meant to live a mortal life as the Emissary of the Prophets. "The Sisko" was born of the Prophets, and he had another role to play once he fulfilled his duty to Starfleet and helped the United Federation of Planets win the Dominion War.
"The Visitor" better prepared Jake to part ways with his dad.
Looking back at the grand scheme of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, it's evident that Jake Sisko tragically losing his father was always meant to happen; in "The Visitor," Jake was able to reset Captain Sisko's timeline to a point where he would be somewhat older and more prepared to say goodbye to his father, although Jake couldn't and didn't know it would happen again. Unlike in "The Visitor," when Jake couldn't accept his father's loss, the extra years Jake gained with Ben better prepared him to part ways with his dad. Captain Sisko also didn't die; he shifted into a new plane of existence at the end of DS9. Ben promising he would return was enough solace for Jake to lose his father, since he believed he would see Ben again someday.
What Star Trek Revealed About Jake After Captain Sisko Left DS9
Jake is still waiting for his Star Trek comeback
Jake Sisko hasn't canonically returned in any Star Trek on Paramount+ series, and the few sightings of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine only hint at what happened to Captain Sisko's son. Unlike in DS9's "The Visitor," there's no evidence Jake abandoned his career as a writer and joined Starfleet since he didn't need to dedicate his life to bringing Captain Sisko back. Jake likely continued as a writer for the Federation News Service as well as penning novels into Star Trek: Lower Decks and Star Trek: Prodigy's 2280s time frame. Jake is also the older half-brother of Captain Sisko's child with his second wife, Kasidy Yates (Penny Johnson-Jerald), and Jake-o must have helped raise his sibling.
"The Autobiography of Benjamin Sisko" by Derek Tyler Attico conjectures that Captain Sisko sent Jake messages from the Bajoran wormhole, giving his son the necessary information to pen Ben's life story. Although "The Autobiography of Benjamin Sisko" is not officially Star Trek canon, it's reasonable to believe that Captain Sisko does eventually return to see his son, and Star Trek just hasn't shown it yet. In real life, Cirroc Lofton hosts the popular Star Trek podcast The 7th Rule, and like Jake waiting for his father's return, Cirroc is also waiting for the call to reprise Jake Sisko in Star Trek to finally pick up where Star Trek: Deep Space Nine left off.
