By Drew Dietsch
| Published
The best relationship in Star Trek is not a romantic one. Sorry to all you Riker/Troi and Worf/Dax fans. Across all the television shows, books, and movies, the best relationship in Star Trek is in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It’s between Benjamin Sisko and his son, Jake.
Actors Avery Brooks and Cirroc Lofton crafted a real friendship and love for each other during the series’ run that became instrumental in depicting the relationship between a father and his son. Specifically, Brooks wanted to portray a Black single father who was devoted to his son and maintained a strong, loving relationship in the midst of extreme difficulty.
Benjamin and Jake openly showcase love and affection for each other, breaking a lot of expected norms for male characters on television at the time. Both characters are shown supporting each other, either with Benjamin urging Jake to become a writer or with Jake helping his father start dating again.
Episodes that highlight this strong and loving relationship include “The Visitor,” with the late, great Tony Todd playing a future version of Jake who lost his father at a young age, and “Explorers,” in which Benjamin and Jake sail across the stars together in an ancient spaceship and learn more about one another.
The story of their relationship maintains importance throughout the entire run of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, from the very first episode to the very last. That’s something you can’t necessarily say about many other relationships in the franchise.
Star Trek is full of interesting, compelling, and dynamic relationships, like the triumvirate of Kirk, Spock, and Bones, the playful Garak and Bashir, or even the absurdity of Picard and Q.
But when I think about the most endearing and effective relationship in the franchise, I always return to this beautiful portrayal of a father and son who love each other unconditionally. Watching them together hasn’t lost any of its heart all these years later.
If anything, the relationship between Benjamin and Jake only gets stronger with time. That’s why Giant Freakin Robot is calling it the best relationship in all of Star Trek.
