15 Star Trek Deaths That Didn't Last
3. Kai Opaka - Battle Lines
Set up from DS9's pilot to be a key figure in the ongoing Bajoran storyline, the death of Kai Opaka Sulan came as a bit of a curveball especially so early in proceedings.
Lasting only a handful of episodes into the series and appearing in less than that, Camile Saviola's spiritual leader would meet her demise in a runabout crash and it seemed very clear cut.
But here's the twist. It turned out that the world on which the ship crashed is inhabited by two factions (Ennis and Noi-Ennis) who are constantly at war with each other. Nothing too interesting there however no-one ever really dies and they are dying and being brought back to life every single day to continue an endless and pointless battle thanks to nanotechnology.
Should the Kai leave the planet then she would be dead permanently, so she chooses to stay and kicks off one of DS9's most enthralling plot lines leading to the arrival of the wonderfully evil (Kai) Winn Adami.
Opaka would return fleetingly in the series as part of orb visions (The Collaborator and Assession) but there would never be further mention of the planet nor how she was from the end of Battle Lines to the conclusion of DS9.