10 Star Trek Characters Who Died Off-Screen
3. Sarek
The Vulcan ambassador has been a part of Star Trek lore since the second season of the classic show, appearing for the first time in Journey to Babel, reprising the role in The Search for Spock some 16 years later. It would be a role Mark Lenard would inhabit for a another two movies and two The Next generation episodes. The character would then go on to appear in the 2009 reboot, played by Ben Cross, and on Star Trek: Discovery, played by James Frain.
For now, wind the clock back to Unification. The seminal Spock-led story was produced as part of the 25th anniversary celebrations in 1991. In an attempt to understand why Spock has apparently defected to Romulus, Picard travels to see a dying Sarek, effectively making Unification Pt 1 a sequel to the third series episode Sarek. In that episode, Picard and the famous ambassador shared a mind-meld, cementing a close relationship for the rest of the Vulcan's life.
It is only when Picard and Data are ensconced within Romulan territory that they learn of Sarek's passing. It's almost second-hand news but as a viewer there is no absolute certainly that Sarek has passed. In this case, however, despite the rule we have been following, there is little doubt as to the truth of his death.
The death of the character was thematic. It was an on-screen depiction of the (then recent) passing of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry.