109: A Spiritual Hat Trick

Rapture. When Benjamin Sisko arrived at Bajor, he was told right away that he was the Emissary. He didn’t believe it. By the end of the series he did, but it took some time. The writers marked several turning points, such as “Destiny” (season three) and “Accession” (season four). But it wasn’t until the fifth season episode “Rapture” that Sisko reached the point of no return. His discovery of the lost Bajoran city of B’hala left no doubt that he was an instrument of the Prophets. In this episode of The Orb, hosts C Bryan Jones and Matthew Rushing discuss Sisko’s long spiritual journey, what triggered the discovery, whether or not he is violating the Prime Directive, and why he is willing to die to see the visions to the end. We also discuss whether or not the Federation is a homogenous union, Deep Space Nine’s un-Star Trek-like presentation of faith, and whether the Prophets are pulling the strings throughout “Rapture.” Chapters Intro (00:00:00) A Moses-type Figure (00:05:56) A Homogenous Federation (00:09:09) Turning Toward a Position (00:13:02) A Technological Trigger (00:16:22) Prophet Intervention? (00:19:19) Sending Kasidy (00:23:57) Sisko Knows Bajor (00:26:37) A Violation of the Prime Directive? (00:33:01) Worf and Faith (00:40:22) Something Worth Dying For (00:44:19) Final Thoughts (00:50:49) Hosts C Bryan Jones and Matthew Rushing Production C Bryan Jones (Editor and Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Norman C. Lao (Executive Producer) Charlynn Schmiedt (Executive Producer) Ruth Ward (Associate Producer) Will Nguyen (Associate Producer) Ken Tripp (Associate Producer) William Murray (Associate Producer) Kay Elizabeth Janeway (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager) Will Nguyen (Content Manager)