10 MORE Star Trek Moments That Broke Our Hearts

Tuvix is often cited as one of the great debates in the Star Trek fandom. There's certainly merit for it - did Janeway do the right thing? However, Similitude occupies a similar theme, though Archer's actions are a little harder to defend.

Tuvix was created accidentally and was a combination of two other living creatures. Sim was created for the express purpose of fuelling Trip's recovery, with Archer fully understanding he was creating a sentient being to farm for parts.

Similitude works so well because Conner Trinneer brings Sim to life, despite the audience already knowing - and rooting for - Trip to live. Sim is certainly a sacrifice, one made more painful by his complete inability to affect his fate, despite his will to live.

The final scene - with Trip standing over his own clone's body - is heart-wrenching. We also feel for Archer who, though directly responsible for a sentient being's death, has saved not only his friend but a vital member of the crew in the name of the mission.

Janeway had it rough as she was forced into an unwinnable scenario, whereas Archer knew exactly what he was doing. Wherever one lands when considering his guilt, there is no doubt that Trinneer and Scott Bakula play the hell out of that ending.

Star Trek: Voyager's fifth season opened with Night, a tale about the downtime that the ship rarely enjoyed. That came with its darkness, and nihilism, while Captain Janeway wracked herself with the guilt of their situation. 

After that sunny entry to Voyager's new season, the writers decided to really break the audience. Opening Drone with a smiling Seven, a sight many had given up hope of ever seeing, the former Borg's day went from up to down faster than a cascading turbolift.

She was first a mentor, then a mother, to One - the 29th Century Borg Drone, formed of Seven's nanoprobes, Ensign Mulcahy's DNA, and the Doctor's Mobile Emitter. Theirs was a short family life as One suffered catastrophic injuries while saving the ship from a Borg Sphere. 

Knowing his presence would only encourage the Collective to return, One sacrificed himself to protect the crew. As Seven's pain was on full show, One rather softly assured her, before meeting his maker:

You will adapt.

In hindsight, Sito Jaxa's death feels inevitable. She is clearly a symbol for all of the Starfleet officers who never get the limelight, though are equally as important as the senior staff. Long before Mike McMahan gave us the comedy of Lower Decks, there was Lower Decks.

The episode, arriving as it does in The Next Generation's final season, seemed an odd choice to shift the focus to an almost entirely new group of officers. Of course, that was the point - take what the audience knows, and flip it through a new lens. 

Shannon Fill is outstanding as Sito Jaxa, the Bajoran officer who is desperate to prove herself after the events of The First Duty. Her confrontation with Picard, her relationship with Worf, and even her interactions with the Cardassian soldier all display a brave, fiercely loyal Starfleet officer. 

Too many redshirts get killed in Trek for it to make a difference every time, which is where Lower Decks comes in. Sito's death hits as hard as it does because the audience has time to get to know her, understand where she came from, and root for her. The episode, now infamous, serves as one of Trek's finest hours, and an absolute kick to the heart. 

Aron Eisenberg brought depth and humanity to the Ferengi Nog that few could have foreseen. Emissary introduced a young man who stole for his uncle, hissed when confronted, and generally seemed like walking proof of Sisko's hesitations over who Jake spent time with.

It's Only A Paper Moon was the culmination of a story arc that, in this writer's opinion, is among the very finest in Star Trek's history. Nog's emotional breakdown in the holosuite only works because the audience cares so deeply.

The terror that he displays, mourning not just his missing limb, but his shattered innocence hurts to the core. It is little wonder that Eisenberg was approached by veterans after the episode's airing, as his performance felt so raw and powerful. It was his finest hour, a gift for those who joined him on the journey. 

Tomorrow And Tomorrow And Tomorrow starts as a fun time-travel episode of Strange New Worlds. La'an and Kirk make a great team, stranded in Toronto, attempting to blend into a world - rather successfully, in La'an's case - that is ironically alien to them.

The comedy beats are balanced with their mission, blending so well that the almost inevitable romance brews - and works. Some people in the audience may have sensed what was coming, though Kirk's death manages to hit the right notes thanks to Paul Wesley and Christina Chong's natural chemistry.

The episode ends with a blunt order for La'an not to mention what has happened to anyone. She contacts the Kirk of her time and universe before she breaks down. The Kirk she lost was the first person with whom she truly connected, opened up to, and genuinely felt for. Seeing him so casually killed, then seeing him again with no recognition in his eyes, cut the audience as keenly as it sliced through her. 

Tears all around. 

Few things will ever cut as deeply as losing a child. For Trip and T'Pol, whose relationship the audience had watched grow - stilted, yet powerful - the culmination of their journey was devastating. 

Demons and Terra Prime served to highlight the evil of racism and xenophobia, with both sadly surviving on Earth into the 22nd century. As part of their plot to fuel hatred of non-humans, Paxton's terrorist organisation presented Elisabeth - the half-human, half-Vulcan daughter of Trip and T'Pol. They claimed that mixing species spelt the end of humanity.

What they failed to mention was the botched cloning process they utilised to create Elisabeth as part of their plan. Though the group was stopped, there was nothing that Dr Phlox could do for her. She dies, leaving Trip and T'Pol to grieve the daughter they never knew that they had, though loved no less for it.

Star Trek: Lower Decks' penultimate episode offered a salve for this wound, as it was revealed that, in at least one universe, Trip and T'Pol married and stayed together for sixty years. 

I will feel it for both of us… thank you for my life.

Data's journey into parenthood seemed to be a new take on The Measure Of A Man. His discussion with Picard in the Ready Room echoed the debate on his rights as a sentient being, though the episode takes a sharp turn as the climax approaches. This is less about Data's right to be a parent and more about the pain those around him feel as he loses his child.

Lal, played to perfection by Hallie Todd, is at times comical, though often simply sweet. Her initial attempts to understand the people around her display a staggered integration, her motor functions take some time to catch up, but her emotions quickly develop and outstrip her father's.

Her own heart kills her, though it may better be described as her internal circuitry was not equipped to deal with the width of her new capabilities. She can feel, even as her systems begin to go dark. Though Data does not feel emotion in the same way that she does, her assurance that she will feel enough for both must spark something in his positronic brain. 

The episode is devastating, thanks not only to Todd's performance but to Spiner's as well. His return to duty after Lal ceases to function, not displaying any overt reaction to what has just happened, is both heartbreaking and unsettling. 

Death, when presented in all of its stark truth, is never an easy pill to swallow. Sometimes, it can be as part of a heroic action. Sometimes, it's an evil outcome from a dangerous enemy. Still other times, it is the inevitable end of a long, storied life.

Sarek of Vulcan, father of Spock and Sybok, adoptive father of Michael Burnham, finally dies after more than two hundred years of life in Unification, Part 1. This death occurs in the shadow of Spock's disappearance, amid rumours of defecting to the Romulans. Sarek never wavers in his support of his son, believing above all else that there is a logical explanation.

That the man is suffering from Bendii Syndrome, an illness that affects Vulcans of advanced age, does nothing to dim one of the brightest minds in the history of the Federation. Sarek's deterioration and demise mirrored the real-life passing of franchise creator Gene Roddenberry.

When one of the original stars passes, it is also a sad moment. Mark Lenard would pass away a few short years later, making this moment full of pathos. It was a bittersweet tribute to the end of an era.

Star Trek Beyond serves as a tribute to the franchise's fiftieth birthday and the passing of Leonard Nimoy, who died in February 2015. Though it remains the final Kelvin-era film at the time of writing, it managed to unite this universe with the Prime of yesteryear.

While examining Prime Spock's personal belongings, Zachary Quinto's Spock unearths an old photo. Opening its case, he is presented with the faces of Nimoy, George Takei, Walter Koenig, William Shatner, James Doohan, DeForest Kelly, and Nichelle Nichols, posed in a publicity still from Star Trek V: The Final Frontier.

Accompanied by a reprise of Alexander Courage's Original Series theme, this moment was designed to honour those cast members lost, as well as those still living. It honoured the series from which all other iterations of Trek came, as well as the teams behind them. 

It is not presented as a sad moment but rather as a chance to remember all that had come before. A later moment in the film sees Chris Pine's Kirk raise a toast to absent friends, while a smiling Chekov - played by the already-departed Anton Yelchin - is clearly visible on-screen. 

Star Trek Beyond raises a glass to its history, its contributors, and those who shared in the journey, no matter for how long a time. 

Oh, be honest, you suspected this one was coming. In fact, the only reason it wasn't on the first list was that we had to save something for the second!

Everything about the climax of The Visitor works. Avery Brooks is utterly believable as a father who is watching his son not only die before his very eyes, but shoulders the guilt of knowing his son is dying for him. 

Tony Todd, returning to Star Trek after having previously appeared as Kurn, brings a devastating maturity to the now-elderly Jake Sisko. His joy at seeing his father again, balanced with his failing body, is heart-rending. In a scene that is the very definition of a tear-jerker, seeing Jake's smile, and feeling his certainty that life is going to give them a second chance, is the most bittersweet moment of a bittersweet episode. 

A tour-de-force from all concerned, the ending to The Visitor remains one of, if not the, most powerful scenes showcasing love in the entire franchise.