SerpApi.Org
Star Trek: Deep Space Ninefollows Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) and his crew aboard the titular space station. The seriestookthe sci-fi franchise in a darker direction than ever before. The Season 6 episode, "Far Beyond the Stars," is one of the show's most memorable, especially for its ending.
The story at the heart of the episode centers on Sisko, as he finds himself living in 1950s New York City as a science fiction writer named Benny Russell. He faces racism in his day-to-day life, being harassed by cops and struggling to get his stories published. The ending has left fans talking since its premiere.
Deep Space Nine's 'Far Beyond the Stars' Has a Memorable Ending
When the episode begins, Captain Sisko laments that every time he seems to achieve a victory in the ongoing Dominion War, something terrible happens, "and everything seems to turn to ashes." Sisko expresses to his father that he doesn't know how much more he can take, and he even considers relinquishing command of Deep Space Nine.
Sisko's uncertainty leads him to fall into a vision of sorts, living an entirely different life. As Sisko lives his life as Benny, he imagines a story about a Black captain who commands a space station called Deep Space Nine. All of his fellow writers agree it's a great story, but his publisher says no one will want to read it.
When the magazine editor finally agrees to publish Benny's story, he goes out to celebrate. But his celebration is interrupted by gunshots when two cops shoot local grifter Jimmy (Cirroc Lofton) for trying to break into a car. Just like the real Captain Sisko, everything good that happens to Benny seems to be followed by something terrible.
When Benny confronts the cops who killed Jimmy, the cops beat him. Benny later goes back to work only to discover that his story will not be printed after all, and he has been fired from his position. This leads Benny to have an understandable breakdown — with a great performance from Avery Brooks — as he insists the story of DS9 will always exist within his mind.
After his breakdown, Sisko wakes up back on Deep Space Nine, remembering his life as Benny as if it were a dream. The episode ends as it began, with Sisko discussing life with his father. He decides to stay, to "finish the job [he] started." But then the episode comes to a close with the following lines courtesy of Sisko.
"But maybe, just maybe, Benny isn't the dream; we are. Maybe we're nothing more than figments of his imagination. For all we know, at this very moment, somewhere far beyond all those distant stars, Benny Russell is dreaming of us." Rather than tying everything up with a nice bow, this ending refuses to offer any easy answers and forces the audience to sit in uncertainty.
On a meta level, it could also be seen as a commentary on storytelling as a whole. In our reality, Sisko and his crew on DS9 are the product of people's imaginations, but then so is Benny Russell. It's a beautiful, fascinating ending that leaves viewers thinking long after the credits roll.
Deep Space Nine's Themes Remain More Relevant Than Ever
With a teleplay written by Ira Steven Behr and Hans Beimler, based on a story by Marc Scott Zicree, "Far Beyond the Stars" works well within the context of the Dominion War storyline, but it also stands on its own. Episodes like this highlight why Star Trek remains such a popular franchise even sixty years after it first began.
The topics brought up in the episode remain just as relevant today as they were when the episode first aired. Directed by Avery Brooks himself, the episode is widely regarded as one of the best Star Trek episodes of all time, and its ending in particular cements it as something unique.
Even Star Trek rarely allowed for episodes that leave the viewer with no easy answers, but "Far Beyond the Stars" does just that. Star Trek typically takes a more optimistic approach to its endings, leaving the viewer with more of a sense of closure and reassurance that everything will work out all right.
"Far Beyond the Stars" takes a different approach, as Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was willing to pause its ongoing storylines to tell a quieter, but no less powerful, story about a Black man named Benny Russell. Most modern Star Trek does not have enough episodes per season to do something like this.
Challenging the audience with an ambiguous ending has become less common. All of this makes "Far Beyond the Stars" a high point for the Star Trek franchise, even 28 years after it originally aired.
