History TearJerker / StarTrekDeepspaceNine

* 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 pah-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.
** Associated is the genuine disappointment that can be heard in Kira's voice when she realizes that Kai Winn will not step down, that Winn, the Kai of Bajor and spiritual leader of the Bajoran people, is refusing to accept that the Prophets path for her is to give up power.

* 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 it's falling apart]], and he is in such excruciating pain that it's hard to watch.

*** Soon after this, Garak kills him. Is the Female Changling overcome with grief? Ha ha, no. In a tone of mild disappointment, as if Garak had simply inconvenienced her, she says, "I wish you hadn't done that. That was Weyoun's last clone."

'''Nog:''' I know, and now you’re running all the time isn’t it great?\\

* The fate of the Jack Pack in "Statistical Probabilities". Patrick forever stunted with a child's mentality, Lauren's obsession with sex, and Sarina trapped in her own mind. Even Jack's a tragic character in his own way; when looking at him you can only think of what Captain Kirk said about Gary Mitchell: he didn't asked for what happened to him. And, except for Sarina, there's no real fix for them. They have to be locked away either for their own safety or for the safety of others.

* The episode "Whispers" ends with 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...

--->'''Dukat:''' We'll go back to Cardassia, Ziyal. We'll be safe there. You'll live with me... [[spoiler:father and daughter]]... everything will be fine...

'''Garak:''' ...I guess I never will.

--->'''Dukat:''' We'll go back to Cardassia, Ziyal. We'll be safe there. You'll live with me... [[spoiler:father and daughter]]...everything will be fine...

* "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 Deep Space Nine, 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.

** The immediate aftermath of Jake's attempt to pull his father out of subspace on the ''Defiant'' fails is heartwrenching; Jake is kneeling on the floor, weeping, Dax trying to comfort him.

** With Jake holding his hand, Sisko slumps down, and can only have a bitter ThousandYardStare as the Borg is destroyed.

* "Tribunal" has Miles O'Brien being tried in court for a crime he didn't commit. Before sending him to jail, they torture him, taking off his clothes by force and anaesthetizing him. Especially sad is Keiko (who he was supposed to be on a romantic vacation with) being understandably in tears at the thought of her husband being tortured and being threatened to be executed. And apparently, Cardassians [[{{Sadist}} let family members attend trials and executions because they like to hear him weep.]] Yeesh! Thankfully, the loyalty of Odo, Sisko, Dax, Kira and Bashir makes it better.

* Really think about what "The Search, Part II" means for Odo. After looking for his own kind his whole life, he finds them, and it's a happy homecoming...at first. Then it's revealed that they're the mysterious Founders of the Dominion. His people are cruel, oppressive fascists, and he can't see a place for himself with them in light of that.

* The episode "Whispers" ends with 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....

--->'''Marritza:''' That's not true. I am alive. I will always be alive! It's Marritza who is dead. Marritza, who was good for nothing but cowering under his bunk and weeping like a woman. Who, every night, covered his ears because he couldn't bear to hear the screaming...for mercy...of the Bajorans... ''[collapses into [[InelegantBlubbering helpless sobbing]]]'' ...I covered my ears every night, but...I couldn't bear to hear those horrible screams. You have no idea what it's like to be a coward. To see these horrors, and do nothing. [[ThatManIsDead Marritza's dead. He deserves to be dead.]]

--->'''Kira:''' ...I'm letting you go.
--->'''Marritza:''' ...Security! Security, get in here!

* The ending of "Progress", where Kira finally burns Mullibok's home and forces him to abandon the land he had tamed. Yes, it's for a indisputably good cause and to save his life, but it's still incredibly harsh. Also her sad realization that, after years of fighting the authority, Kira's now the one wearing the uniform and having to do nasty things for her government.

* He doesn't even get enough development to become a [[TheScrappy Scrappy,]] but Legate Broca's pleas to the Founder to not be executed after the Cardassian fleet has turned on the Dominion, leading to the Founder ordering the extermination of the Cardassians entirely, beginning with him, are pitiful to hear - as bad as it is to be a loyal supporter of the Dominion, that's exactly what he was.

* Garak reacting to the Cardassian death toll in finale, especially his last scene with Bashir. Moral relativism and compulsive lying aside, one thing about Garak was ''never'' ambiguous: how much he loved Cardassia and her people, and it’s obvious from his brutally, bitterly honest summation of the situation how deeply he’s been affected by the senseless destruction.

* The death of one of the greatest Klingon warriors the galaxy has ever known: 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? 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.
*** Not to mention a few scenes later. Martok is recounting what he said to Worf and realizes that the revenge he has waited ''decades'' for against Kor has done nothing but make him feel ashamed of himself for doing it.
** 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.
-->'''Kor:''' Long live the Empire.

** Garak reacting to the Cardassian death toll in finale, especially his last scene with Bashir. Moral relativism and compulsive lying aside, one thing about Garak was ''never'' ambiguous: how much he loved Cardassia and her people, and it’s obvious from his brutally, bitterly honest summation of the situation how deeply he’s been affected by the senseless destruction.

* 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.

--> '''Jake:''' Read the inscription.

** The look on his face when the female Founder calls him the only solid she ever trusted. He looks so pleased to hear that, you get the feeling that he lived his entire life, the lives of every Weyoun that came before him, to hear these words. And he probably has, as well.

** Consider that Bashir, at the start, is confident--even cocky--that modern Federation medicine and his own brilliance will be able to overcome this disease. Consider also that he seems to have forgotten he's overlooked that he's trying to beat a Founder-devised and -engineered disease, and the Founders seemed to have mastered genetic engineering beyond anyone else in the entire galaxy back when Earth was still having mere Eugenics Wars. In the end, he ''does'' win, which in context is actually something of a moment of awesome for him, but oh, the price they pay for it. Now flash forward to the female Founder's intended last stand in season 7. Isn't that just like the Founders?

* Sisko’s AdultFear when Jake becomes infected in “Babel”, telling him Sisko refuses to lose him, the death of his wife still clearly on his mind.