Tears of the Prophets

The episode featured the death of the character Jadzia Dax and the final appearance on the series of actress Terry Farrell.

Although the critics' reviews were positive and the episode received a high level of press coverage due to the publicized death of Jadzia Dax, it was viewed by 3.9 million viewers in the first broadcast, the lowest of the season.

On Deep Space Nine, Dax is visiting the Bajoran Temple when Dukat, possessed by the Pah-wraith, suddenly transports in; he hits her with bolts of energy from his hands and she collapses.

On the Defiant, Sisko is shaken, sensing the attack on the Prophets; Major Kira takes over and successfully commands the destruction of the weapons platforms.

The concept of the attack on the prophets themselves had been first raised in a discussion between Rick Berman and Ira Steven Behr, and was suggested as a potential ending to a seventh season.

[2] In that episode, a prophet and a pah-wraith each possess a person and battle on the station before being forced out of their hosts leaving a prophecy unfulfilled.

[2] "Tears of the Prophets" was the final episode of Deep Space Nine to feature actress Terry Farrell, as her six-year contract came to an end.

[1] The departure of Farrell caused problems for the writers, as they initially were not sure how to combine their original vision for the final episode of season six, and include a suitable tribute to the character of Jadzia Dax.

[7] In the first draft script by Hans Beimler and Behr, which was entitled "Tears of the Gods", Jadzia was killed by Dukat but managed to save the prophets in the process.

[9] The episode deals with the themes of revenge in the case of Dukat, and also the conflicting nature of religion and military duty with Sisko.

Dukat had been present on the station in the episode "Sacrifice of Angels" when it was retaken by the fleet of the Federation-Klingon alliance, and suffered a nervous breakdown following the death of his daughter Tora Ziyal.

[10] In the episode "Waltz", he escapes from Federation custody whilst en route to a trial for war crimes and vows revenge against Sisko and Bajor.

[13] Prior to the broadcast of the episode, there had been a great deal of publicity due to the imminent death of Jadzia Dax, which had not been held back as a surprise.

[14] Farrell's subsequent casting on Becker was also covered, as was her replacement by Nicole de Boer for the seventh and final season as Ezri Dax.

[15] Jamahl Epsicokhan of Jammer's Reviews thought that the episode took a while to get to the point, but delivered in the end, using the death of Jadzia as a way to drop Sisko "into an abyss of despair".

Michelle Erica Green of TrekNation called it "an episode of mythic proportion, with a tour de force performance by Avery Brooks".

This is a stunning moment for Star Trek: an acknowledgement that there are forces in the universe which cannot be coerced, manipulated, or […] talked into submission by Starfleet captains.

[20] The first home media release of "Tears of the Prophets" was as a two episode VHS cassette alongside "The Sound of Her Voice" in the United Kingdom on December 28, 1998.