Star Trek: Accession

Episode: "Accession"

Series: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Season 4, Episode 17

Original Air Date: February 24, 1996

via Memory Alpha

A traveler appears at the opening of the wormhole, 200 years after he first entered it.  That's just the beginning of the surprises.  The man, Akorem Laem, experienced the passage of centuries in minutes.  What's more, he claims to be the Emissary!  Funny, Sisko had just been complaining about the burdens of his own sacred role within the Bajoran religion.  Here's his chance to pass it on to someone else.  

Apparently, neither the viewers nor the studio execs were fans of the religion-themed episodes.  I say the topic is fair game and inherently interesting, even essential if you're going to spend meaningful time exploring a culture.  For Bajor, religion and politics are deeply intertwined.  I'd say we have some experience with that here on Earth, too.  If anything, the lines have become even further blurred in the 29 years since "Accession."

This week's story is one of several in a series-spanning arc about Benjamin coming to terms with his role as Emissary.  The resolution of this particular installment is interesting - and somewhat surprising.  In his brief term as Emissary, Akorem promotes a more traditional position, particularly in regards to the Bajoran caste system, an structure abandoned during the Cardassian occupation.  While the Bajorans seem (mostly) ready to fall in line, Captain Sisko takes great exception as reverting would compromise Bajor's chances for joining the Federation.

What sets up as a political conflict is ultimately resolved by spiritual means.  Sisko challenges Akorem's claim as the Emissary and the two return together to the wormhole to confront the Prophets regarding their intentions.

We still have over three seasons to go in the series so it should be easy enough to guess what the Prophets tell them.

In the long run, Sisko fighting for a title he'd previously made clear he didn't want is a big deal.

Acting Notes

via Mork and Mindy Wiki

Richard Libertini (Akorem Laem) was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, January 7, 2016.  He graduated from Emerson College.  Films included All of Me, Fletch and Fletch Lives.  TV credits include a regular cast role on Soap, multiple guest appearances on Barney Miller and voice work on Animaniacs.

Libertini passed away in 2016 from cancer.