History TearJerker / StarTrekDeepspaceNine

* "Hard Time", O'Brien is implanted with the memories of a 20-year prison sentence, during which he was kept sane only with the help of a fellow prisoner, Ee'char. After he's "released" and returns to Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine, the prisoner appears as a hallucination to help him get over the experience and regain his humanity. The scene where Bashir attempts to talk O'Brien out of suicide, and the true story of Ee'char is revealed, is heart-wrenching.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/b899ba540e1b35ee36c8a712bf665c42.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"You always said I looked good in a tuxedo."]]

** Also, the way that he was reduced to little more than a tool for Winn, so that she could claim credit for finishing the negotiations after he was incapacitated. After the negotiations finish, Winn is almost too enthusiastic about pulling the plug and letting him die, now that she has taken credit for his most important and lasting achievement.

* While "Playing God" mainly averts tearjerking, there is a sad FlashBack that reveals that before symbiosis, Dax went through a period where she ''cried herself to sleep every night''.

* In "The Die is Cast", Garak, having been brought back into the Cardassians' fold, interrogates Odo by using a quantum stasis device to prevent him from reverting to a liquid state. Changlings need to revert approximately every 16 hours; by the time Garak gets the information he needs, Odo has been forced to maintain his solid form for so long that [[BodyHorror his body looks like its falling apart]], and he is in such excruciating pain that it's hard to watch.
** Another heart-wrenching detail is how ''Garak'' ends up breaking before Odo. He literally begs Odo to talk, even lie if he must, just to see it end, because he can't stand seeing a man he respect go through so much agony.

** For context, the episode features an alternate future where Jake, now an old man and reclusive former writer, tell a young student his life story, which diverged after Captain Sisko was seemingly killed in an engineering accident. He moves on to some degree, but every several years his father reappears in reality for a few minutes each time. When Jake realizes what is happening and why, he quits his successful writing career and lets his marriage collapse in order to go back to school and become the foremost expert on the physics causing his dad's condition. Even when, after an attempt to save him fails and Sisko begs his son to move on with his life, Jake is unable to do so. Finally, as an old man, he waits for his father to reappear so he can kill himself and break the cycle. The hardest part to see is Ben Sisko trying to help, seeing his son who is older than he is, willing to give up everything just to be with his dad again.

** In its own way, seeing the alternate future for the [=DS9=] characters is this as well, knowing that it won't come to pass - despite losing Captain Sisko, the future isn't all that bad. Sure, the Klingons annexed the Bajoran system, but there was no Dominion War, Nog's gotten a captaincy, Bashir and Dax are married, Jadzia survived to have a long and happy life together, Quark finally got his own moon, Morn's running the bar on [=DS9=]... For all the reasons to feel sympathy for Jake, one could also think that his selfishness in getting his father back undid a lot of good as well.

* A subplot in "Starship Down" has Sisko lying on the floor of the ''Defiant'' with a brain injury and Kira telling him stories and apologizing for worshipping him in her religion. Especially sad is her voice when she's apologizing and uses PrayerIsALastResort when she thinks he's about to die.

-->'''Jake''':[after Mirror Jennifer expires] Dad.
-->'''Sisko''':[Embracing his son, sobbing] Let's go home.

** At the end of the episode, when the first child born free of the blight is presented, the Teplans begin to celebrate. But Bashir wants nothing to do with the celebration, instead preferring to stand off to the side. This is in reference to Jonas Salk, the man who created the first Polio vaccine, he refused to take any credit for his work and said that it was done not for himself, but for the people.

** For context, Kira, Sisko, Bashir, Worf, Dax, O'Brien, Odo and 42 redshirts crash the ''Defiant'' on a planet on which live their alternate-universe descendants, and there is angst about how if they get back to Deep Space 9, these people would have never existed, but if they don't, Major Kira will die. There's also a few emotions regarding Alternate Odo, who's either in love or infatuated (it's hard to tell) with Kira. Kira, despite knowing it means her death, is the first to say she's willing to do it so the colonists can live. O'Brien, who most vehemently opposes this considering he has his wife and family to get back to, finally relents after spending time with a little girl who's one of his descendants, and convinces Sisko to recreate the accident that strands them 200 years in the past. They're all set to do it, but Alternate Odo hijacked the autopilot to prevent it, and they just stand there in horror as the sensors report there's no sign of the settlement or its people.

* "The Reckoning." Sisko sees Jake in Sick Bay after Jake's been taken over by a Pah-Wraith and almost killed in the ensuing chaos. Sisko tries to explain what happened... but just bursts into tears, horrified at what he almost let happen to his own son.

-->'''Nog:''' He may have been a hero. He may even have been a great man. But in the end, he was a bad Captain.

* Right up until she turns around and accepts them, Winn is sympathetic in her horror about the pai-wraiths speaking to her - these are, effectively, the devils of her faith, asking her to believe in them and to give up the love of the Prophets. Of course, that still ends up going out the airlock once she realizes that the only way to turn away from the pai-wraiths is to give up her position as Kai, but up to the point she makes her choice, you legitimately do feel sympathy for her in her crisis of faith.

** The final moment with Jake; Kira comforting him as he looks out into space, wondering when/if he'll ever see [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence his father]] again.

-->'''Kor:''' [[FamousLastWords Long live the Empire.]]

-->'''Nog:''' I'm scared, okay? I'm scared! ''[starts sobbing]'' When the war began, I wasn't happy or anything, but I was eager! I wanted to test myself. I wanted to prove I had what it took to be a soldier. And I saw a lot of combat. [[WarIsHell I saw a lot of people get hurt. I saw a lot of people die.]] But I didn't think anything was going to happen to me. And then suddenly Doctor Bashir is telling me he has to cut my leg off. I couldn't believe it. I still can't believe it! If I can get shot, if I can lose my leg, [[AnyoneCanDie anything could happen to me, Vic! I could die tomorrow!]] I don't know if I'm ready to face that. [[{{NEET}} If I stay here, at least I know what the future is going to be like.]]

* The villain of "Field of Fire" is a demonstration of what happens to Vulcans when they become a ShellShockedVeteran: they snap. Chu'lak was an officer on a Starfleet ship that suffered immense casualties, as in him being one of a handful of survivors. Being a Vulcan, Chu'lak attempted to suppress his feelings and was unable to do so leading to him go on a murderous rampage. Seeing a member of one of Star Trek's most revered alien races fall so low is rather heartbreaking.

* The brief arc revolving around Worf and Ezri as captives of first the Breen, then the Dominion. Caught up in the mess of unresolved emotions from Jadzia's death, the love that Jadzia had for Worf now echoing in Ezri's head, the utter pain and grief and anguish that Worf carries because after Jadzia's death, made worse by the fact that someone with her memories walks around the station beside him... Even before getting to the fact that she hadn't come to terms with her own attraction to not Worf but Julian, leading to her calling out his name after a session of Breen torture, it's all just a car crash that, in all honestly, probably HAD to happen, but it still guts you. Particularly Worf's reaction to hearing Ezri call for Julian - it's clear that, on some level, he was forgetting that Ezri WASN'T Jadzia, and that he had the woman he loved back, only for the painful crash into reality that explicitly says to him again, no, Jadzia is dead, and no matter what, Ezri Dax will never be her.

** And then, two years later, during "The Search," [[spoiler: he has to drag Dr. Bashir away from (the fake) Garak's body, an act which in the novelization he explicitly compares to having to be dragged away from Jennifer.]] Yikes.
* In Captive Pursuit, the Tosk is a sentient creature from the Gamma Quadrant which has been genetically engineered to be the perfect prey for an entertaining hunt, and indoctrinated to desire no other life. Offered asylum by the Federation, it refuses even in the face of being returned as a living captive, in dishonor, subverting the MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch Star Trek fans would've expected in such a plot. Its speech is a Crowning Moment of Tear Jerker:

* The [[spoiler: CruelTwistEnding]] from "Duet."

* The episode "Whispers" ends with [[spoiler:A replicant of Miles O'Brien]] dying. It's bad enough for the viewer, who knows that the one who died [[spoiler:never knew he was a fake--he thought he was the ''real'' Miles O'Brien]]--but one wonders how the Starfleet officers felt after they listened to the log entries that person left on the runabout....

* "Blood Oath": The deaths of two of Trek's greatest and most well-known (as well as popular) Klingons, [[spoiler: Kang and Koloth]]. In the end, Jadzia sums it up best.

** It's also HilariousInHindsight, considering that [[spoiler: Nog's failure of a father becomes the Grand Nagus and leads a successful top-down revolution of the way Ferengi do business. But only because Rom began doing the same thing that Nog was doing - not blindly following cultural rules. Both became extremely successful, holding titles of great import: first Ferengi in Starfleet, and Grand Nagus, but only by realizing that continuing what they were doing, simply following what they thought society expected, was not sufficient.]] If that's not a cause for ManlyTears, what is?

* Everything about Tekeny Ghemor in "Second Skins". He had a daughter Iliana he clearly loved, to the point he agreed to let her join the Obsidian Order instead of becoming an artist. She went deeply undercover as a Bajoran, and he had no news about her for ''ten years''. Then the Order claims they found her but she has memory problems, so she's hostile towards Ghemor who's nothing but patient and supportive. Then he learns "Iliana" isn't his daughter at all but Kira Nerys, and it was a sting to unveil his dissident sympathies. When the episode ends, Ghemor has to go back to waiting for his daughter.
** Wanna know the worst thing? [[spoiler: They're never reunited. Ghemor dies without ever seeing Iliana again, Kira being at his bedside instead -- because she's the best substitute he can find.]]

** The number of [[MomentOfHeartwarming Moments Of Heartwarming]] in this episode for Odo, Dr. Mora ''and'' Kira, only make the ending that much more bittersweet and painful. The fact that the baby Changeling was reaching out to Odo in such a way and the connection he had with it only makes it more so.
* The death of Enabran Tain, who was not only Garak's mentor but also [[spoiler:Garak's father as well]], in "In Purgatory's Shadow".

* At the very end of "Sacrifice of Angels", when Garak learns of [[spoiler:Ziyal's death]]. It seems subdued, especially compared to Dukat's anguish, but it's also lacking in his usual theatrics; for once, you get the impression that the practiced liar isn't putting on a show.

** [[spoiler:When Ziyal is shot by Damar, a devastated Dukat refuses Damar's urging to flee and cradles his daughter in his arms, telling her he forgives her and wailing in grief and agony as she dies.]]
*** The ending scene is even worse. Love him or hate him, it's hard to watch the once mighty leader of Cardassia curled up on the floor of a holding cell, speaking to his [[spoiler:dead daughter]] before breaking down in tears. By the time Odo helps him to his feet, it's clear the man is [[VillainousBSOD completely and utterly broken]];
--->'''Dukat:''' We'll go back to Cardassia, [[spoiler:Ziyal]]. We'll be safe there. You'll live with me... [[spoiler:father and daughter]]...everything will be fine...
* ''Far Beyond the Stars''. He may or may not have just been a figment of Sisko's imagination, but still. Poor Benny...

** Even the Kirayoshi subplot becomes a TearJerker in hindsight once you realize that it inspired [[spoiler:Jadzia and Worf to have a baby of their own, only for Jadzia to be killed by a possessed Dukat as she's praying to the Prophets for help with her fertility.]]

* The death of one of the greatest Klingon warriors the galaxy has ever known: [[spoiler: Kor, who first appeared for the franchise three decades earlier on TOS.]] Both "Blood Oath" ''and'' "Once More Unto The Breach" become this way with the passing of all three of the Klingon trio.
** What really makes this one sad? [[spoiler: Kor's big HeroicSacrifice comes at the heels of him trying to have one last battle, just like his GloryDays, but he's old, past his prime, and, as it turns out, ''suffering from dementia'' - he nearly gets the crew all killed when he starts hallucinating at a key moment in battle. A bitter Martok and some of the crew taunt him mercilessly, while [[HowTheMightyHaveFallen Kor looks absolutely ashamed of the shell of a man he's become.]] It's almost a relief when he gets the opportunity to die in battle so the crew can escape.]]

** [[spoiler: To add a meta layer to the poignancy of this, John Colicos' performance as Kor was his last acting role before he died of a heart attack a year and a half later.]]
-->[[spoiler: '''Kor:''']] [[FamousLastWords Long live the Empire.]]

** One of the most harrowing parts is what happens to Nog: [[spoiler:he is ambushed by Jem'Hadar and hit in the leg by a blaster, the damage requiring amputation. It is absolutely heartwrenching when he falls to the ground and cries out in pain.]]

* "It's Only A Paper Moon," and Nog's [[DespairEventHorizon crying fit]] to Vic Fontaine. He honestly thought he was untouchable, until [[spoiler: he lost a leg two episodes earlier.]] Now he's truly ''afraid'', for the first time. It hits harder since all this time we've [[CharacterDevelopment watched him grow]] from a rascal running around on the station with Jake, into a model Starfleet officer, and we're reminded all too suddenly that in the grand scheme of things, Nog's still only young, and he's in the middle of a war. Poor little guy.
-->'''Nog:''' I'm scared, okay? I'm scared! ''[starts sobbing]'' When the war began, I wasn't happy or anything, but I was eager! I wanted to test myself. I wanted to prove I had what it took to be a soldier. And I saw a lot of combat. [[WarIsHell I saw a lot of people get hurt. I saw a lot of people die.]] But I didn't think anything was going to happen to me. And then suddenly Doctor Bashir is telling me he has to [[spoiler:cut my leg off.]] I couldn't believe it. I still can't believe it! If I can get shot, if I can [[spoiler:lose my leg]], [[AnyoneCanDie anything could happen to me, Vic! I could die tomorrow!]] I don't know if I'm ready to face that. [[{{NEET}} If I stay here, at least I know what the future is going to be like.]]

* The ending of "Valiant". Watters' downright suicidal overconfidence leads to the destruction of the ''Valiant'' and the deaths of everyone onboard - all of whom were little more than cadets - save for Dorian.

** And then there's the fact that Mirror!Bashir is apparently intelligent enough, even though he was a slave and wouldn't have had access to genetic engineering. Which implies that there was nothing wrong with him in the first place. It may be that his learning problems were exaggerated from him being a little slower than his peers, but his parents, as many [[TruthInTelevision parents in real life do]], panicked because they thought it was a predictor of his performance in life.[[note]]In reality, as with, say, height, children who seem below average at first sometimes end up being above average, and vice versa. (Of course, Mirror!Vic wasn't even a hologram so one shouldn't assume that mirror universe counterparts are genetically identical in every way.)

-->'''Kira''': ''(tearfully)'' So the three brothers started arguing about how to divide the money for the kava root. The oldest said that he should get more because it was his idea to sell it in the city, and the youngest objected, saying he was the one to till the--This can't happen! You can't die! You're the ''Emissary''! There's still so much for you to do! I don't know if this is the right thing to do or not but I'm going to give you a stimulant. Captain, I know your beliefs make you uncomfortable around me sometimes, and that maybe that's why you keep me at arm's length. But I don't care about that right now and I am going to pray, because I don't know what else to do. I'm losing you and I can't let that happen.