Star Trek: 10 Things You Didn't Know About The Cardassians

8. Tears Of The Women

Star Trek Deep Space Nine Profit And Loss Natima Lang
CBS Media Ventures

The original 'tear' makeup on Cardassians was solely on the forehead, just above and between the eyes. Dukat's skull, on full grinning display in Star Trek: Picard's second season episode Penance showed us the tear, and ridges, were bone structure, as opposed to muscle.

Star Trek: The Next Generation's sixth season episode The Chase introduced the first female Cardassian to the franchise. Gul Ocet was given accents on her neck ridges. The script describes that they could 'possess a kind of sexual dimorphism' apparent in many species.

For Cardassians, this was depicted as a colour change. Cardassian females had a slightly blue colour in their 'tear', as well as coloured neck ridges. No genetic reason was given for this, so it could also be cosmetic - an idea that Star Trek: Lower Decks producer Bradley Winters supports.

Natima Lang, appearing in Profit And Loss, also had a 'tear' on her chest, while Cardassian males didn't seem to have this. 

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Seán is the host and head writer/presenter for TrekCulture, as well as a writer/presenter on WhoCulture and WhatCulture Horror. He has authored two novels, dozens of short stories, and hundreds of articles for WhatCulture. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. As part of his work with TrekCulture, Seán has been invited to participate in collaborations with Roddenberry Entertainment, as well as contributing to several Star Trek community projects. An avid fan of Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the horror genre at large, Seán's expertise has helped develop these channels to the successes they are today. As host of the Ups & Downs series on TrekCulture, Seán has become internationally recognised for his positive yet critically informed approach to reviewing every episode of modern Star Trek, ensuring he is one of the go-to voices in the Trek community. Favourite Quote to describe himself: "I'm serious about what I do, just not always about the way that I do it"