Deep Space Nine's 'The Visitor' is one of the most powerful Star Trek episodes ever made [Warp Factor 2.10]

For seven seasons, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine gave us no shortage of amazement. The series featured the biggest and best starship battles ever seen in the franchise, movies included, but that's hardly important. It excelled in the realm of character-driven drama. A lot of these episodes were serialized, and this was the first time Trek would go that route. Every now and then, however, DS9 would break from the form it was gradually establishing and give viewers a self-contained tale.

Such was the case with "The Visitor" from Season 4. The episode came right after the season-long arc of the Klingon conflict was established, and right before the series reminded everyone that the Jem'Hadar were still out there. It wove the previously mentioned Klingon conflict in a little, but it remains a self-contained (and masterful) sci-fi tale about the love of a father and son — Captain Benjamin Sisko and Jake Sisko.

It is perfectly acted by Avery Brooks and Cirroc Lofton, with the real-life bond between these two actors was becoming truly apparent at this point. Added to the mix was genre legend Tony Todd, trading in his usual duty as Worf's brother Kurn to play older Jake Sisko. The three of these actors, serving a powerful script, ended up giving DS9 one of its all-time classics.

Forget that, not just DS9 — this is one of the all-time classics of Star Trek as a whole, full-stop. Welcome back to Warp Factor, where we are diving into this stormy night of stories. Take a watch right here.