The final frontier is full of wonders and exciting adventures, who await only those bold enough to look for them. But for as many excitements and discoveries, there are just as many perils and dangers. And some of them are lethal.
Since the Original Series, Star Trek isn’t afraid to explore the deadliest side of space, but it isn’t afraid to paint it in emotional and heart-breaking ways.
So, let’s explore ten of the most emotional deaths in the history of the franchise
Warning: it contains spoilers and many, many tears
10. Charles ‘Trip’ Tucker III
The first major death we’ll talk about is also the most “controversial” In These are the voyages…, the final episode of Enterprise (an already controversial episode), what looked like a victorious return to Earth after a successful rescue operation, turns into a deadly trap.
Trip’s death is nothing short of emotional: as most of the entries on this list, he dies by sacrificing himself for the good of the mission and leaves an empty hole in the lives of Archer and, most of all, T’Pol.
The quiet realization of Trip’s death offscreen is quite touching: the problem comes with the contrived and convoluted way his character left the scene (space pirates boarding the Enterprise, “forcing” him to blow up a conduit to save the day). We would have ranked it much higher if it weren’t in such a frustrating and pointless place.
9. Shaxs
Let’s continue this emotional list with a somewhat lighter note, shall we? The Bajoran tactical officer started as a sort of “Worf-in-TNG” spoof: an aggressive fighter whose belligerent advice is rarely even noticed by his captain.
This side of Shaxs leads to many funny moments (and the instantly iconic “Fighting fascism is a full-time job!” in season 2).
But the emotional moment comes in the first season finale of Star Trek: Lower Decks when Shaxs sacrifices his life to save Rutherford; his death proves he’s much more than a muscular caricature: he’s a true Starfleet officer who cares for the mission and his crew. And his inexplicable return in season two is the source of another comedic stroke of genius.
8. Tasha Yar
The moment that shocked Star Trek: The Next Generation fans. Even in its first, lacklustre season, The Next Generation was generally more light-hearted than the Original Series, but that didn’t exclude some really dark and emotionally gripping moments: Lt. Tasha Yar’s death is among these moments.
While the episode featuring it “Skin of Evil” is pretty poor, and the scene itself has been criticized for its sudden and futile nature, the effect it has on the main crew (especially Data) and the consequences for future Star Trek stories make Tasha’s death one of the key events in the TNG run.
The heart of the episode comes from her memorial service held in the holodeck: her pre-recorded hologram bed goodbye to her colleagues and friends and planted the seeds for future Star Trek events, as well as being a touching moment in and of itself. Everyone was a little bit teary there; and, we think, some of the viewers were too.
7. Tora Ziyal
Deep Space Nine was a show of consequences; most of the decisions made by the characters had consequences for future episodes; this is especially true for the most innocent individual to have perished onscreen on the show, Tora Ziyal.
The daughter of despotic and ruthless Dukat, despite all the blood on his hand Tora Ziyal still sees the good in her father, and just wants him to be happy. But, with finesse in character relationships typical of Deep Space Nine, she’s also a close friend with Kira Nerys (Dukat’s on-and-off sworn enemy) and divided between the love for Dukat and the gratitude for Nerys.
It’s no coincidence Tora Ziyal’s assassination by the hand of Damar for helping the Federation is so powerful and leaves Dukat mentally broken – and with the feeling that consequences have never been more real before, in Star Trek.
6. Sito Jaxa
A rare case of a one-off character who unexpectedly return for a later episode in The Next Generation, Sito Jaxa first appeared in the fifth season episode “The First Duty“, among the cadets who helped Nick Locarno cover accidental death.
This scandal was enough to taint her reputation for the years to come, but it was clear she was just a young and ambitious cadet who unintentionally made a mess and was still trying her best to remedy it.
But Sito Jaxa’s chance for redemption in a secret operation turned out to be her last mission
on the Enterprise D proving that, despite her initial failures and missteps, she was as brave and loyal as the most experienced Starfleet officers: the mournful and sorrowed expressions on her fellow junior officer’s faces are the definition of “emotional moment”.
5. David Marcus
Few people in the galaxy are as lonely as James T. Kirk. At a young age he survived a massacre of thousands of colonists by Kodos the Executioner, he lost Spock, his brother Sam, and most of his significant others (one notable example later).
In Star Trek III, his son too. David Marcus was a resolute scientist who worked alongside his mother Carol on space station Regula I; he had a difficult relationship with Starfleet, but soon it was crystal clear this was merely a reflection of his troubled relationship with his father, Admiral Kirk himself.
After an initial resentment, they grow into understanding and mutual respect, and they begin a process of reconciliation; but after he’s taken hostage by rogue Klingon Kruge, David is killed while trying to defend Spock and Saavik. Kirk’s pain in the hearing of his son’s death is Star Trek at its most heart-breaking.
4. Jadzia Dax
O Jadzia, why? While the Dax symbiote still lived, Jadzia’s exit from the show is a real crime, for both story-wise and behind-the-camera reasons. The most badass character in a cast already full of those, she was the funny, brave, and smart heart of Deep Space Nine and she could face everything and every one with her signature smirk and Klingon-level fighting ability.
She probably could have faced even the Pah-wraith in Dukat’s body, if they hadn’t taken her by surprise. The sixth season of Deep Space Nine ends with Bashir’s quiet announcement of her death, Worf’s outburst of anger, and Sisko’s bewilderment who led him to leave the station.
She didn’t live long enough to see the end of the Dominion War, but she lived through her friend’s actions – and through the following host Ezri.
3. Data
The only person in this list to have died more than once (well if we exclude Prime Timeline Spock. And Tasha Yar, in two different timelines). And both times it has been incredibly emotional and represents his character perfectly.
The first time, he sacrifices himself to save everyone and blow up the Romulan vessel Scimitar, even if the movie ends with that ambiguous note – the possibility that he had survived through B-4. But then Star Trek: Picard was released, with the revelation that B-4 had been dismantled and stored at the Daystrom Institute.
His second death occurs in the season finale “Et in Arcadia Ego: Part 2“, after Picard himself succumbed to his illness and dies; after that inconvenience, he met Data in a simulated room which contained Data’s consciousness, restored by Maddox.
After a final goodbye to his captain and mentor, Data can fully live the final human experience he had missed: a peaceful death with a loved one next to him.
2. Spock
Did you expect Spock’s noble sacrifice in The Wrath of Khan would be at first place, didn’t you? It surely deserved it, if it weren’t for the fact that he comes back to life in the next movie.
While partially undercut for his return from the grave in Star Trek III, Spock’s sacrifice in the Wrath of Khan is the dictionary definition of “gut punch”, and probably THE signature scene of The Wrath of Khan -made even more tragic by the fact that he was “merely” another casualty in Khan’s revenge plot-.
An act that was more than pure and cold logic: it was a true act of selflessness and friendship, and his final words to Kirk are the most emotional goodbye ever.
Of all the souls we’ve met on this list, he was the most… human. (And also: is second death’s revelation in the Kelvin Timeline is quite emotional too).
1. Edith Keeler
The #1 emotional death in this ranking is also the first emotional death in the history of Star Trek, and one of the most powerful scenes in the whole franchise. It’s quite surprising, given that it lasts a few seconds, and her death happens mostly offscreen, and the fact that we’ve known Edith Keeler only in what is considered by many (Harlan Ellison excluded…) the best TOS episode ever, “The City on the Edge of Forever“.
But she was so memorable, her death deserves the first spot on this list. The fact is that she had to die to restore the future as we know it because her peaceful and kind nature and her dedication to peace would paradoxically lead Nazis to win World War II.
And, to add injury to another injury, James T. Kirk and Edith Keeler fell in love with each other… which makes the tragic nature of the character even more terrible. Those “He knows, Doctor. He knows” and “Let’s get the hell out of here” are top emotional Trek.
But these are my top ten, what are yours? Comment below and tell me what you think of this list and if you would add anyone to it.
