What you leave behind... is nothing.

[milan]

I have just seen the last episode. I tell you, I like DS9. I liked this episode too. But I would like to express my dislike in some epic fails in the last episode and not only.
1. How did so many good, well-rounded characters come to be so marginalized? First of all, Quark: in the last seasons they stopped even trying. They stopped giving him funny lines, funny scenarios, heck, when I watched the show I could have thought about a dozen witty remarks at times that quark could have said and expressed his "Ferenginess" with it, but no... And in the end they totally smoke him, his idiot brother becomes Nagus, while he is left with nothing. Ferengenar is on the way to become an illustrious Federation planet. Not even Odo gives him any morsel of kindness, he just laughs at him in the last episode and leaves. After all they've been through. I just felt really sorry for that character. Something, anything, like in Voyager, when Tuvok dances for Neelix... Then there's Jadzia. No wonder she left the show, her character was also left to rot.
2. Chief and Bashir: "Hey let's blow up the best friendship in the world cuz it's the last episode." They totally disregard our emotions as viewers. The fan would like to imagine things on, it would have been a real comfort to know the two of them are still on the station... or at least Bashir goes with them to Earth in an unexpected turn of events.. or something! This separation was completely uninspired.
3. Finally, a well-rounded character arises in the final parts: Damar! We can see him evolve, become a positive character, do things right. Then he just gets shot in a sideshow. So much for killing off a nice thread.
4. Gul Dukat!!! Man, in the first seasons he was THE MAN! A very good character, awe-inspiring, dark, scheming, powerful. We could look up to him. THe last seasons just deconstructs him piece by peace, finally robbiing him even of his looks, making him a plain Bajoran man. Half mad. So much for destroying a good thing.
5. Kai Winn. If they saw everybody just plain dislikes that character they thought: hey, let's keep this character, wow, we're geniuses! And shove her down everyone's throat episode by episode! Look, we had Gul Dukat, the perfect nemesis, we'll destroy his character and put this insufferable one instead, to make the show less attractive! The only good moment of that woman was when she got incinerated by the (finally Cardassian again!) Gul Dukat!
6. Odo and Kira: I had no problem with that pair, I only found the ending idiotic: Throughout the series Odo is madly in love with her... says many times over: she is the reason I don't go back to my people. Then he finally gets her. And guess what: he goes back to his people. So much for the "love conquers all" thread. Yeayea, you could argue responsibility, own people, personally I found it lame. True love has to be true love because one sacrifices everything for it.
7. Sisko: Hey I have a wife, a kid and an unborn child, so I'm gonna go off because the Prophets have so much to teach me. Give me a break. Only Dragonball Z ended in a lamer way, when Goku leaves his family to teach the new kid karate-moves.
What I'm saying is: what they left behind DS9 is nothing. Many good things ended, and that is raping the fantasy of the fans. It's one thing to end with a tragedy, a hero dies or something, that is nice, poetic. It's Star Trek, man, that should leave you with positive feelings, not a big hole where something dear used to be.

[Hockey]

You make a good point. I thought of it that way.
And yes, the ending was pretty disappointing.