12 Most Heartbreaking Moments In Star Trek
2. I Have Been, And Always Shall Be Your Friend - The Death Of Spock
One cannot discuss the pain that a Star Trek fan knows without the inevitable appearance of the death of Spock. Since Leonard Nimoy's passing in 2015, this scene takes on a deeper resonance as the most famous Vulcan's final words ring with a sense of finality.
The sacrifice that Spock finally offers to save his ship and crew in the Wrath of Khan may have come initially from a place of frustration on the part of the actor but transformed along the way to one of the truest examples of fraternal friendship that the franchise has offered.
Star Trek Beyond, filmed and released after Nimoy's death, found a way to honour the character as well. As the only returning actor from the Original Series to appear in the Kelvin universe, his death felt like the end of an era, closing the door between the two versions of the characters.
With the uncertain future of Star Trek 4 at the moment, it is possible that the final Kelvin universe offered the final, warm tribute to Nimoy's Spock. In the Wrath of Khan, Spock struggles to make sure that his greatest friend knows how much he cares for him.
In Star Trek Beyond, when Quinto's Spock is examining Spock-Prime's effects, he finds a photo portrait of all of the Original Cast in their heyday, smiling at the camera, preserved forever in a moment of sheer admiration and acknowledgement of the passing of a great, great man. If there was a moment or even two in the franchise to make the fans' hearts break, it with the passing of Leonard Nimoy.