Tony Todd Made One of Deep Space Nine‘s Greatest Episodes Shine

This past play brought with it the bittersweet quality of the passing of Tony Todd, a beloved histrion with a vocation that spanned a litany of iconic roles crossed movie and TV. While galore volition look to everything from his past arsenic 1 of horror’s greatest foes successful Candyman each the mode up to his delightful show past twelvemonth as Spider-Man 2‘s Venom, determination volition ever beryllium a peculiar spot successful our hearts for Todd’s transportation to Star Trek—and successful peculiar the portion helium played successful crafting 1 of Deep Space Nine‘s top episodes.

Todd had several Trek appearances successful his storied career—a flimsy but amusive relation arsenic the Alpha Hirogen successful Voyager‘s “Prey,” examining the morals of the series’ recently introduced Discount Predator species, oregon possibly astir famously his impermanent relation successful TNG and eventually DS9 arsenic Kurn, Worf’s tragic brother. But by acold and distant his champion crook is anchored successful 1 of the each clip greats of the latter, and possibly 1 of the finest hours of Star Trek there’s ever been, “The Visitor.”

The 3rd occurrence of Deep Space Nine‘s 4th play (as the bid was opening to pivot its introspection of Starfleet and its saints successful paradise with the oncoming tempest that would beryllium the Dominion War arc), “The Visitor” follows a heartbreaking what-if timeline centered astir Todd arsenic an older Jake Sisko. Acting arsenic a framing instrumentality wherever the aged Jake is visited by a young pistillate with dreams of being a writer similar helium was—and dismayed that Jake gave up his penning vocation aft conscionable a fistful of published stories—”The Visitor” follows Jake arsenic helium attempts to navigate beingness without his begetter aft an mishap aboard the Defiant connected a regular subject ngo seemingly kills Captain Sisko.

Much of the occurrence is simply a propulsion and propulsion betwixt the calamity of Jake being wholly unrooted by the nonaccomplishment of his father, and the enigma astir the eventual revelation that the older Sisko wasn’t killed successful the accident, but stuck retired of clip successful subspace, becoming the titular visitant arsenic helium occasionally is pulled backmost into Jake’s beingness arsenic helium grows aged and becomes obsessed with uncovering a mode to prevention him.

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It’s 1 of the champion acted pieces of Star Trek history—Avery Brooks is connected occurrence arsenic Ben Sisko, with an emotionality connected show that would lone yet beryllium rivaled by his crook successful “Far Beyond the Stars,” and Cirroc Lofton, Jake’s regular actor, gives a series-best show navigating the archetypal grief of losing Sisko successful its flashbacks. But adjacent shoulder-to-shoulder with show-defining displays, it’s Todd’s older Jake that truly cements the affectional arc of “The Visitor.” We conscionable Todd’s mentation of Jake successful 2 forms successful the episode: initially and chiefly arsenic an aged man, successful the twilight of his life, and concisely arsenic a younger big bookending a last-ditch effort to propulsion Captain Sisko retired of subspace, and what’s fascinating astir Todd’s show arsenic these antithetic forms of Jake is however radically helium is capable to marque himself consciousness successful lockstep with Lofton’s embodiment of the character—until helium precise overmuch doesn’t.

When we are introduced to the older Jake, initially there’s a benignant of discomfort that Todd softly revels in. He doesn’t feel similar the aforesaid character, not conscionable due to the fact that of age, but due to the fact that determination is simply a spark that is each but gone from the antheral that Todd conveys brilliantly. When helium begins recounting the communicative of however helium mislaid his begetter to his ain visitor, Melanie, you statesman to spot a twinkle successful Todd’s eyes astatine times, the storyteller wrong Jake getting to weave a communicative worthy of primetime TV—but it besides rapidly vanishes, arsenic the older Jake and the occurrence alike statesman to get wrapped up successful flashing backmost and establishing the information down Captain Sisko’s “death.” Todd’s Jake, erstwhile we conscionable him, has mislaid truthful overmuch of himself successful his dogged pursuit of his father’s representation that the calamity becomes conscionable however small of him we tin spot successful Todd, and the calamity down that, and it’s each relayed successful the mannerisms we spot Todd instrumentality connected for his mentation of Jake.

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It’s lone erstwhile the flashbacks statesman to drawback up with an older Jake that everything begins to click into place. Eventually Sisko returns concisely from subspace to find his lad surviving his beingness beyond the sorrow of loss. He’s joined a young Bajoran woman, Korena, his latest (and yet final) published enactment has been awarded a prestigious prize. But it’s Jake himself that is the astir joyful of things to his father, and to america arsenic the audience: Todd switches a flip arsenic helium plays the big Jake successful these scenes, picking up connected Lofton’s tics and intonation a small much intelligibly for the audience, but besides adopting a fewer mannerisms of Brooks to meld begetter and kid together. The spark that was buried heavy successful his show arsenic Old Jake is brought to the fore, a lightness and playfulness that hits the assemblage similar an affectional truck—because arsenic soon arsenic it’s there, it’s gone again.

Just arsenic rapidly arsenic we spot this mentation of Jake that has managed to determination connected from his father’s tragedy, the rhythm of grief brings him backmost to the obsession—and Todd conscionable arsenic deftly portrays that diminution arsenic helium does immoderate different infinitesimal of Jake’s beingness successful the episode. Abandoning his vocation and yet adjacent his woman to prosecute the knowhow to bring his begetter retired of subspace for good, the last enactment of “The Visitor” climaxes arsenic Jake, having rounded up astir of the aged DS9 crew, attempts to recreate the mishap that took his begetter from him each those years ago.

Again, this Jake is Todd successful different form, the span betwixt the older antheral we were archetypal introduced to and past that brief, agleam infinitesimal of the big Jake. He fails, bringing himself concisely into subspace with Captain Sisko, but this clip Jake wells up not for seeing his begetter again, but for obsessing successful that failure, arsenic the “older” Sisko (who reflects that is lad is present older than helium ever was) has whiled distant a fantastic beingness chasing his father’s footsteps. The bitterness, the anger, the frustration, Todd navigates it each portion crafting a distinctly unsocial mentation of Jake for the 3rd clip successful the episode, hammering location the wounded of Jake’s generational trauma successful the process.

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And again, it’s erstwhile “The Visitor” brings it backmost to the older Jake we archetypal met successful its last moments that Todd ties each these forms of Jake together. His mercuriality glimmers successful the last twisting country helium has with Brooks, explaining the past gambit he’s made to bring his begetter and the “true” timeline of DS9 back, ending his ain beingness portion Sisko is successful realspace to enactment the “elastic” tether that has kept begetter and lad connected crossed the years. Todd leans connected it all: that bitter regret, that joyousness successful weaving unneurotic a story, that undying emotion betwixt kid and parent: the assemblage doesn’t conscionable mourn this signifier of decease for the character, adjacent if it’s 1 undone, but the precise thought that Jake had to outgo himself truthful much, crossed decades of hurt, to undo that beingness and reconstruct DS9 to normalcy. That’s an unthinkable happening to person to convey arsenic a impermanent star, successful conscionable a azygous episode, taking connected a bequest quality role. But Todd’s masterful show manages to bash it, and is specified a immense portion of what makes “The Visitor” 1 of Star Trek‘s top episodes.

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