Star Trek Deep Space Nine Feature Length Episodes: Ranked
2. What You Leave Behind
The epic finale to Deep Space Nine deserves its own separate spot on the list. It is a fitting and cathartic send off to the show that rose from an early immitator of The Next Generation to one of the boldest and deepest iterations of the franchise. The Dominion War finally comes to a close and, despite some huge losses on all sides, it is Odo who finally convinces the rest of the Founders to stand down. With the recent passing of Rene Auberjonois, it seems right to highlight that it was Odo who ended the war.
The episode is also the last time we see most of the characters, with the exception of Worf and a mention of both Quark and Kassidy Yates in Star Trek Picard. So, to see each of their stories wrap up gives the audience a deeper sense of closure than was afforded fans of Voyager (more on that in another list). It is of course Captain Sisko who has the most epic end when, after all is said and done, he ascends to be with the Prophets. To quote Ira Stephen Behr - what better ending than to make the man a God?
The original story pitch had the closing scene a little different. The camera would pan away from the station and then Benny Russell would put down his pencil. Was it all a dream? While Behr was overruled by the producers (they didn't want the entire franchise to be the dream of Russell) they comprimised on the beautiful closing shot of the digital reconstruction of the station, lonely and floating, safe at last.