History Recap / StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS06E26TearsOfTheProphets

* DownerEnding: Jadzia dies, and the wormhole is sealed shut. Even the Federation's major victory doesn't nudge the episode into bittersweet territory due to Dukat's confident assurance that the Federation is worse off than when they started.

* FantasticRacism: The mutual loathing between Romulans and Klingons is on full display between General Martok and Senator Letant. Both deliberately antagonize each other over their perceived racial failures, stupidity and foolhardiness for the Klingons, being sneaky, cowards for the Romulans.

* DaChief: Admiral Ross gives Sisko quite the dressing down for being indecisive following the Prophet's warnings. It's not cruel and Ross notes [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure he's bent over backwards for Sisko before regarding his status as Emissary]], but that's at an end. He forces Ben to choose: is the Emissary of the Prophets or a Starfleet captain? Sisko chooses his captaincy...and pays the price.

A huge allied invasion force fights the Dominion defenses of Chin'toka, receiving heavy losses from suicidal Jem'Hadar attacks stalling for time. The allies manage destroy a number of offline weapons platforms before they suddenly activate and start shredding the allied ships. Sisko's ship identifies a central power source for all the platforms and attacks it.

* DeathWail: The return of the Klingon Death Roar, under [[TearJerker particularly horrible circumstances.]]

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Kira saying a prayer for the success of Dax and Worf's fertility treatments leads to Dax being in the temple of the Prophets to thanks them when Dukat, possessed by a Pah-Wraith, appears, resulting in Jadzia's death.

* UnwittingInsistigatorOfDoom: Kira saying a prayer for the success of Dax and Worf's fertility treatments leads to Dax being in the temple of the Prophets to thanks them when Dukat, possessed by a Pah-Wraith, appears, resulting in Jadzia's death.

Meanwhile, Dax and Work announce that they intend to have a baby. This seriously bums out Bashir and Quark, who still hold a candle for the Trill. They go to a holosuite and get a pep talk from Vic Fontaine, who tells them there are plenty more women out there. Odo has his own love problems when an irate Kira castigates him for arresting a Vedek over a trivial infraction.

Back on the station, the crew of the ''Defiant'' rushes to the infirmary, where Bashir informs them that the Dax symbiont can be saved, but Jadzia is mortally wounded. Jadzia tells Work that their children would have been beautiful before she dies. Worf [[DeathWail howls in anguish]] and begins singing a Klingon mourning song. The crew plan a funeral for Jadzia, and Sisko confides to her casket that he blames himself for her death because he did not heed the Prophets' warning. He resolves to take some time to get his head straight. He leaves the station, taking his baseball with him. We last see him grimly washing clams at his father's restaurant, uncertain of what to do next.

Sisko senses the disturbance and goes faint, leaving Kira to take command of the assault. The allies trick the weapons platform to fire on their own power source, [[KeystoneArmy knocking them out of commission]] and winning the battle. Weyoun is furious that the battle is lost and that the wormhole is closed to future Dominion reinforcements, but Dukat assures him that banishing the Prophets has benefited the Dominion.

* PetTheDog: Weyoun is critical of Damar expecting the weapons platforms to defend Chin'toka. When the platforms actually start working, Damar states that Weyoun owes him an apology. Weyoun concedes he was right without any sarcasm.

The Gratitude Festival is in full swing in spite of the ongoing war, and spirits are high. With the Romulans on board, the Federation is looking to take a more aggressive posture, with Sisko as the lead strategist. Admiral Ross, Sisko and Martok discuss the importance of getting the Romulans to commit. The Romulans are cautious but eventually bow to the pressure from both their allies to plan an invasion of the weakly defended Chin'toka system. Little do they realize that Damar is planning to bring some new automated weapons platforms online to defend the planet. In addition, the outcast Gul Dukat arrives and announces that he's figured out how to win the war and only needs an old Bajoran artifact to accomplish it. Damar and Weyoun decide to humor him and allow him to proceed.

Meanwhile, Dax and Work announce that they intend to have a baby. This seriously bums out Bashir and Quark, who still hold a candle for the Trill. They go to the holosuite and get a pep talk from Vic Fontaine, who tells them to get back in the game. Odo has his own love problems when an irate Kira castigates him for arresting a Vedek for a trivial infraction.

Dukat has discovered that the wormhole is the domain of the Bajoran prophets and plans to ally with the pah-wraiths to attack the Bajorans' gods. He breaks a Bajoran artifact and is possessed by a pah-wraith. In the midst of the battle, he teleports to Deep Space Nine and makes his way to the Orb of Contemplation. Dax, who has just received good news about the possibilty of a pregnancy, is praying at the orb to give thanks to the prophets. The pah wraith in Dukat shoots her with a red energy beam, knocking her unconscious, and transfers itself into the orb, turning it black. The wormhole instantly seals shut.

Sisko senses the disturbance and goes faint, leaving Kira to take command of the assault. The allies trick the weapons platform to fire on their own power source, destroying it and winning the battle. Weyoun is furious that the battle is lost and that the wormhole is closed to future Dominion reinforcements, but Dukat assures him that banishing the Prophets has benefited the Dominion.

Back on the station, the crew of the ''Defiant'' rushes to the infirmary, where Bashir informs them that the Dax symbiont can be saved, but Jadzia is mortally wounded. Jadzia tells Work that their children would have been beautiful before she dies. Worf howls in anguish and begins singing a Klingon mourning song. The crew plan a funeral for Jadzia, and Sisko confides to her casket that he blames himself for her death because he did not heed the Prophets' warning. He resolves to take some time to get his head straight. He leaves the station, taking his baseball with him. We last see him grimly washing clams at his father's restaurant, uncertain of what to do next.

* DownerEnding: Oh boy...
* [[DroppedABridgeOnHim Dropped a Bridge on Her]]: Jadzia dies rather casually and arbitrarily, with it not even being clear until her actual death scene that Dukat did anything other than just render her unconscious.[[note]](Mostly because the producers didn't believe Terry Farrell would actually quit the show and wrote the episode under the expectation that they'd change it at the last minute to Jadzia just being knocked out, thus leaving them with no time for a more thorough rewrite when it turned out that Farrell wasn't bluffing)[[/note]] This becomes a plot point in the next two episodes, as Worf grouses about Jadzia not getting an honorable death and tries to ensure a great victory is accomplished in her name.

The Federation Alliance goes on its first major offensive against the Dominion since the retaking of [=DS9=]: the taking of the Dominion shipyards in the Chin'toka system. Meanwhile, Dukat returns to Cardassia Prime with a plan of his own - one that he believes will not only allow the Dominion to again use the wormhole, but will strike a blow against the Emissary as well.

* FamousLastWords:
--> '''Jadzia:''' Our baby would have been so beautiful.

* PyrrhicVictory: Cardassia has been breached by the joint Federation-Romulan-Klingon forces. But they've lost many ships in the attempt, Jadzia is dead, the wormhole is gone and Sisko leaves the station.

[[caption-width-right:350:Warning, side effects of Pah-Wraith possession include bright red eyes and severe heartburn.]]

* [[DroppedABridgeOnHim Dropped a Bridge on Her]]: Jadzia dies rather casually and arbitrarily, with it not even being clear until her actual death scene that Dukat did anything other than just render her unconscious. This becomes a plot point in the next two episodes, as Worf grouses about Jadzia not getting an honorable death and tries to ensure a great victory is accomplished in her name.

* ApologeticAttacker: Dukat to Jadzia.

* StockFootage: Interior shots of the Klingon Bird-of-Prey blowing up - corridors exploding, Klingons falling to the ground - are recycled from ''Film/StarTrekGenerations''.

* HeroicBSOD: Sisko goes into one after Jadzia dies and the Prophets disappear.

* [[DroppedABridgeOnHim Dropped a Bridge on Her]]: Jadzia dies rather casually and arbitrarily. This becomes a plot point in the next two episodes, as Worf grouses about Jadzia not getting an honorable death and tries to ensure a great victory is accomplished in her name.

** Not long thereafter, the ''Defiant'' gets a message from the station, but it's from ''Dr. Bashir'', who would presumably be the next-ranking Starfleet officer on the station with Jadzia having been incapacitated (and mortally wounded).

* WhamShot: Sisko takes his baseball with him when he leaves the station. [[labelnote:Explaination]]When Sisko previously left the station before the Dominion took it over, he left his baseball behind; a tacit warning that he would return. Taking his baseball with him leaves whether he will return in question.[[/labelnote]]

* VoiceOfTheLegion: Dukat gets a second voice layered over his normal one when initially possessed by the Pah-Wraith.