Recap / Star Trek Deep Space Nine S 05 E 10 Rapture

The debut of the grey uniforms.

Sisko, Kira and Dax are admiring an ancient Bajoran painting that has recently been returned by the Cardassians. It's the only known depiction of the holy city of B'hala, which was lost millennia ago. According to Bajoran prophecy, only an Emissary of the prophets can find the city again. Sisko takes it upon himself as Emissary to study the painting and rapidly locates clues that provide coordinates. But before he can study it further, he's zapped and knocked out. In sick bay, Bashir tells the recovering Sisko that his brain chemistry has been altered by the shock, so his sensory input will be altered until the effects go away.

In the meantime, Bajor has officially been accepted into the Federation, and the signing ceremony will take place on the station. Sisko's old buddy Admiral Charlie Whatley and a host of bigwigs, including Kai Winn, are set to attend. If that's not enough excitement, Kasidy Yates has completed her prison term and returns to the station to reconnect with Sisko. They pick up like nothing ever happened, though Sisko is more obsessed than ever about finding B'hala. He takes Kasidy on a runabout jaunt to Bajor, and they uncover the buried city of B'hala together.

Sisko is riding high on prophecy and revelation, but he's convinced that more insight is to come. He's also having headaches, so Whatley orders him back to sick bay. When Sisko arrives, he's gone full holy man, delivering prophecies and fortunes to everyone he passes. But his physical reveals that the damage to his brain is getting worse and will kill him if Bashir doesn't get rid of it, but that will also end Sisko's visions. He refuses, determined to uncover his final revelation even if it kills him. No amount of protests from Kasidy or Jake will sway him.

Kai Winn, now a firm believer in Sisko and eager to toady up to him, promises to help Sisko reach his revelation and gives him access to the Orb of Prophecy. His rapidly deteriorating health gives even her pause, but he insists. When the time for the signing ceremony arrives, Sisko is nowhere to be found, so they start without him. Just before the actual signing can take place, Sisko stumbles into the room ranting that Bajor will be destroyed if it joins the Federation at this time. Then he collapses.

Sisko has gone comatose and will surely die if he doesn't receive treatment. Kira reluctantly notes that the captain already refused treatment, so Bashir cannot save him of his own accord. As Sisko's closest family member, it's up to Jake to determine whether to go against his wishes and treat him. He chooses to save Sisko's life. Sisko awakens restored to health but horrified that his visions are gone, lamenting that he had almost reached the final revelation.

The Bajorans heed the Emissary's warning and back out of the signing. Sisko could be kicked out of Starfleet for his role in the pull-out if Whatley wishes to press the issue, but he's mollified when Sisko assures him, both as a captain and the Emissary, that Bajor will come into the fold eventually. The captain returns home to an awkward reunion with Kasidy and Jake. Kasidy tells him that he might have lost his visions, but he gained something just as good. The trio clasp hands, reconciled once again.

Tropes featured in "Rapture":

• Bittersweet Ending: Sisko is troubled by the loss of his visions and what he saw in them, but he is reconciled with Jake and Kasidy. Bajor won't be joining the Federation today, but it's merely postponed.
• The Bus Came Back: Kasidy was only slapped with a six-month sentence for her role in smuggling supplies to terrorists, so she's right back in the action again.
• Challenge Seeker: Initially, Sisko is simply intrigued by B'hala's status as a lost city and how it's believed only "one touched by the Prophets" can find it. As he works, he comes across a clue that might lead to the needed coordinates and subsequently spends hours fiddling away without even realizing it. Then he gets a shock.
• Character Development: Kira herself notes that her opinion on the Federation has changed over the past five years, and she now welcomes Federation membership.
• Continuity Nod: Winn recalls denying that Sisko is truly the Emissary, which she did in the season 1 finale. Her change of heart is not so much Character Development like Kira but simple pragmatism to get her closer to her goals.
• Continuity Overlap: While the release of First Contact was still a month away at the time of airing, DS9 now formally switches over to the film's redesigned Starfleet uniforms as part of the lead-up. No in-universe explanation is given for the change, though.
• Crazy-Prepared: Quark apparently keeps flags of all the major galactic powers in case they take over the station.
  Worf: "Welcome Klingons"?
  Quark: (harsh whisper, to dabo girls) Not that one!
• Darker and Edgier: The new Starfleet uniforms are this, both figuratively and literally. They're darker in color and more closely resemble military uniforms, rather than space explorer outfits. It's a visual representation that, in the face of growing threats from the Dominion and the Borg, Starfleet has been forced to become a military unit, abandoning the idealism of Kirk's era.
• Early-Installment Weirdness: This is the first DS9 episode to feature the Starfleet uniforms from Star Trek: First Contact, and it's evident that, except for Michael Dorn, who's already worn it, the main cast hasn't gotten used to them yet. As seen in the picture, Avery Brooks winds up wearing his Starfleet commbadge on his shoulder. The flag officers attending the ceremony all wear the old-style uniforms. The new style won't debut for them until season 6.
• Easily Forgiven: Sisko plants a Big Damn Kiss on Kasidy the moment she walks through the door, all of their former unpleasantness put behind them without a word. The fact that Sisko is in a state of religious ecstasy might have sped things along.
• Enhance Button: Sisko makes liberal use of it to decipher the coordinates hidden in the painting.
• Explosive Instrumentation: Apparently Invoked by the Prophets to kick off Sisko's visions.
• Failed Attempt at Drama: To celebrate Bajor's upcoming entry into The Federation, Quark arranges a drumroll-accompanied unfurling of a banner... with the Klingon emblem on it.
• Fainting Seer: Sisko blacks out several times as the visions take their toll on his brain.
• First-Name Basis: Sisko and Whatley go back a long way. While in the cave, he uses the Admiral's first name when imploring him for more time to see things through.
• Flat-Earth Atheist: The Federation knows that the Prophets exist, and that they are powerful energy beings who exist outside of linear time, yet they still have a very hard time stomaching Sisko's talk of prophecies and revelations.
• Foreshadowing:
  • Sisko's vision of locusts heading for Cardassia is foreshadowing for the events of "By Inferno's Light," though it's unclear if it's just a coincidence.
  • Sisko also mentions that he had a vision of the "coming war with the Dominion."
• Heel Realization: Though it doesn't stick, Winn is moved by Sisko's visions.
  "Before Captain Sisko found B'hala, my path was clear. I knew who my enemies were. But now nothing is certain."
• Hidden Depths: Winn actually gets a sympathetic dimension to her character when she describes how she suffered imprisonment and torture for her efforts to keep the Bajoran religion and culture alive during the occupation.
• Hope Spot: Sisko foresees locusts hovering over a rebuilt B'hala before moving on to Cardassia. Kira asks if that's a good thing or not, but no one's really sure. Sisko's time with the Orb convinces him it's not, and later episodes will prove it right.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Winn during a discussion with Kira.
  "Those of you who were in the Resistance, you're all the same. You think you're the only ones who fought the Cardassians, that you saved Bajor single-handedly. Perhaps you forget, Major, the Cardassians arrested any Bajoran found to be teaching the word of the Prophets. I was in a Cardassian prison camp for five years, and I can remember each and every beating I suffered. And while you had your weapons to protect you, all I had was my faith... and my courage. Walk with the Prophets, child... I know I will."
• Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Bashir tests Sisko by asking if his uniform seems brighter than normal. This is the first episode with the more muted uniforms, so Sisko's affirmative response is a sure sign that his brain is funky.
• Little "No": Sisko the moment he wakes up after surgery.
• Manly Tears: Sisko is devastated when his visions are taken away.
  "No...No! You took them away!"
• Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: While Sisko's prophecies sound impressive at the moment he states them, we never get any evidence that they're accurate or come from some supernatural revelation. The closest we get is Whatley wondering how Sisko knew that he’s quarreling with his son, though Sisko could have found out through mutual acquaintances or simply guessed. Sisko's assertion that the admiral's son has secretly forgiven him is never confirmed. That said, once the Dominion War arrives, keeping Bajor out of the Federation turns out to have been a very good idea.
• Never My Fault: As Sisko recovers from the shock, Quark insists a random energy surge can't possibly be his fault. Odo points out the holosuites have had lousy maintenance for sometime now. Quark responds by saying he did try to get Rom to work on them days earlier, but O'Brien denied that request, so he insists Odo take it up with the Chief instead. Odo just tells Quark to take it up with the magistrate, and it's clear on Quark's face the story won't play well with that person.
• "Not So Different" Remark: During the discussion in Ops about Sisko's worsening condition, Worf sides with Kira's unwavering belief that everything will work out. He doesn't believe in the Prophets, but he does believe in faith and how it can trump everything else.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Sisko suddenly trusts Kai Winn enough to seek her guidance (shocking Jake) and Winn now believes Sisko is the Emissary (surprising Kira). Ultimately this results in Bajor declining Federation membership.
• The Quisling: When Quark attempts to celebrate Bajor's admission into the Federation, he accidentally unfurls a banner welcoming his new Klingon overlords. It seems Quark is prepared to kowtow to any force who might seize power next.
• Please, Don't Leave Me: Jake's plea to his unconscious father before giving Bashir permission to operate.
  Jake: Dad, I know you want to see this thing to the end, but...I need you. (tears up) I'm sorry.
• Properly Paranoid: As Sisko becomes focused on his religious visions at the expense of Starfleet business, Whatley says he always worried about such a thing happening the moment Bajorans declared a Starfleet officer a religious figure.
• Race Against the Clock: Once before the Orb, Sisko can barely function. Kai Winn suggests he wait, but he says he's running out of time to find out what his visions mean. He later stumbles into the ceremony just as Whatley was beginning his speech.
• Shipper on Deck: During dinner, Jake reminds Sisko that Kasidy is due to return to the station. He says they had a good thing going and hopes the old man doesn't throw that away.
• Shout-Out: Sisko becomes obsessed with a tower-shaped object and begins crafting a representation of it in his food, an obvious nod to Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
• Skepticism Failure: Whatley disbelieves Sisko's visions until Sisko remarks that Whatley's son, Kevin, has forgiven him. Whatley had never told anyone about his problematic relationship with his son.
• Ultimate Job Security: Given that the whole reason he was assigned to Deep Space Nine in the first place was to help bring Bajor into the Federation, Sisko derailing Bajor's admission based on a vision would have almost certainly ended the career of any other Starfleet officer. As the Emissary, however, Starfleet can't remove him without alienating Bajor forever, so he remains at his post.
• Undying Loyalty: The Bajoran Council of Ministers unanimously vote against entry into the Federation based on Sisko's warning.
• Vagueness Is Coming: After seeing locusts, Sisko was increasingly troubled by his visions. He's late to the ceremony because he uses an Orb to put what he can into focus. Barely able to stand, Sisko later stumbles into the ceremony, tanks the show's long-standing goal, and hints at serious trouble down the road. No one has any idea what he's talking about, but the Bajorans take him at face value.
  Sisko: Locusts! They'll destroy Bajor, unless it stands alone!
  Whatley: Ben, what the hell are you talking about?!
  Sisko: IT'S TOO SOON! Bajor must not join the Federation! If it does, it will be destroyed! [collapses]
• What the Hell, Hero?:
  • Kassidy gives Sisko one for putting his "mystical journey" above being there for his son.
  • Whatley then gives Sisko one for derailing Bajor's entry into The Federation.
• You Called Me "X"; It Must Be Serious: For perhaps the first and only time, Kira calls Sisko "Benjamin" out of worry when she finds him almost catatonic during a vision.
• You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Already reeling from Sisko's refusal to get the operation, Jake questions him suddenly trusting Kai Winn.
• You Have to Believe Me!: Sisko comes into the meeting of the Federation and Bajoran leaders raving like a religious nut job. However, because he's the Emissary, the Bajorans take him seriously.