10 Star Trek Episodes That Are Perfect For A Good Cry 

"The inner light" is a Star Trek masterpiece.

Someone whose spouse died is called a widow/widower. someone who lost their parents is called an orphan. We don't have a word in English (nor in my native language) for a parent whose child died. It's THAT devastating that there are no words to describe that anguish.

Since you included Star Trek 3 and it's not an episode. I'd say Kirk speaking at Spock's funeral in Star Trek 2. When he chokes up at "His was the most....human." Every time....

The TNG episode family where, after recovering from assimilation, Picard goes home, would also be a good contender in my opinion. When you see the strong and confident captain is reduced to his most vulnerable in admitting that he wasn't strong enough, when he felt he should have been, it's hard not to empathize.

Trip and T’Pol with their baby in “Terra Prime”… waterworks for me.

At the end of “It’s Only a Paper Moon” when Leeta asks Nog if he’s ok and he responds “No, but I will be” gets me every time.

"The Inner Light" Picard: Oh it's me! I'm that someone! Gets me every time I watch the episode!

The ending of “the inner light” was a real tearjerker 😭

A great list, but surely STNG "Lower Decks" should be on the next list! I cry every time Worf slowly comes over to the junior table and sits with them and they all silently grieve.

Real Life from Star Trek: Voyager. The episode with the Doctor's holographic family. Doesn't turn sad until the last 10 minutes of the episode.

Data finding Spot at the end of Generations gets me every single time 😢

I would have included "Duet" (DS9 S1E19). The acting in this episode is phenomenal. "You have no idea what it's like to be a coward. To see these horrors, and do nothing."

The end credits of The Undiscovered Country when the cast autographs are shown still gets me in tears.

3:15 In the episode The Offspring the part that always hits me the hardest is after Data's daughter passes. Specifically when the admiral is talking about how while her circuits were collapsing one after another and Data was fighting to save her. "I've never seen hands move that fast." There may have been no emotion in Data but his drive to create her and save her seemed very much like love.

My dad passed last October and I can tell you straight up, the Visitor would crush me. I watched it once years ago and cried my eyes out, I couldn’t bear to watch it again

Admiral Paris telling his son he’s proud of him will always be a tearjerker to me.

"The Offspring" was an empathetic masterpiece. The audience was not only forced to endure the loss of Data's daughter, but invited to grieve for Data, as he was unable to for himself. Data achieved the greatest gift he could have obtained: create a child who was better than himself. I still get choked up thinking about it...

I love the way that in “Pathfinder”, there are two frames on the bridge at the end where you can see tears in Janeway’s eyes before she blinks them away. Incredible skill, that. “The Elysian Kingdom”, with the way it whips from “La la la, we’re having a fun and goofy time LARPing a fairytale!” to “So you remember how this man has been running himself ragged and hoping beyond all reasonable expectations that he could find a cure for his terminally ill child? He failed. He has to watch her return to the cosmos.”, shocked me into near-hysterical tears the first time. It’s a masterpiece of contrasting highs and lows. Boggles my mind that so many people seem to not get that the ending is metaphorical and call M'Benga a bad father for leaving Rukiya with a stranger - she _died!_ That bookend about her having got to live a full life that he just didn't get to see is the real fantasy, it's comfort for bereaved parents.

The sound of her voice episode on DS9 was powerful. Obriens speech at the end hit me in the heart.

I always hate the fact that Lal seems to always be forgotten. I would have loved to have seen at least a reference to her in Picard S3 during the Data v Lore existintial fight or seeing Data finally getting to mourn her after he got his E-chip.

"Far beyond the stars" hits me harder.

The Visitor always reminds me of the loss of my Dad. Even 25 years later I still miss him terribly. This episode hits incredibly hard 😢

In Pathfinder when Captain Janeway calls Admiral Paris "sir," I sensed a brief moment of relief in Kate Mulgrew's voice saying that word for the first time in five years. It wasn't all on her to bring Voyager home. There was someone else far way and above her that could now be a part of that mission.

"Keep a docking bay open for us." I always love that.

The inner light, can’t say enough how powerful this episode is and was happy to see it at the top.

Just hearing that flute tune from "The Inner Light" can make me ugly cry.

In the “Offspring” scene where they’re fighting to save Lal always leaves me a sobbing mess. After 40 years in Fire/EMS, we used to jokingly say that we were, “Savin’ lives; Cheatin’ Death; and lookin’ damn good in the process…”. That scene brought back all the times we didn’t accomplish any of those things, try as we might. I periodically put that episode on just to open the floodgates to keep the dam from bursting.

Agree with every choice here but if you wanted to extend it to 20 there's so many to chose from: Voyager: Eye of the Needle is, for me, Voyager's first great episode, One Small Step is an underrated gem where Jeri Ryan shines and Course: Oblivion is devastating - in the running for the darkest episode of Trek ever. Discovery has a few emotional episodes but the S4 finale had me in floods until that final twist Lower Decks: Crisis Point 2 was so unexpectedly emotional. George Takei's cameo makes me cry every time. Prodigy: Time Amok, when they ask how long Rokk was alone and Janeway replies "too long" - nope, not okay. Picard: The Last Generation, from hearing Walter Koenig's voice and the nod to Anton Yelchin, to Riker's 'Imzadi' to Picard going into the Collective to rescue Jack. Magnificent. SNW: Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow, all the more surprising because La'an had been so stoic, and the Elysian Kingdom and All Those Who Wander are devastating for different reasons.

To quote a friend of mine: “If I was wine drunk, I’d be crying right now.” We need a “10 more…” for this.

For me it was DS9, Emmissary... "It's not linear"... Sisko realizing that the trauma of loosing the love of his life makes him relive the trauma again and again... and again... "I never left this ship... You exist here"... daamn, i'm crying already... The episode shows how a traumatic event can get you stuck forever in that moment... 😢😢😢😢😢 And he realizes that life is not that linear at all...

I'd vote for the TNG episode 'The Wounded', in the final scene where O'Brien convinces Maxwell to stand down you see a man who has been broken by grief, you watch his face gradually change as he starts to accept the situation, all while there is a beautiful orchestral piece playing.. truly a hard hitting episode.

I just began watching this, and if the TNG episode "Lower Decks" is not number one on the list, I'm going to protest.

While there are other episodes I might have added (and none I would have dropped), I am SO glad you included "The Offspring." For reasons I cannot fathom, it frequently seems to be ignored when "Best of" lists are compiled, yet it is one of my all-time top 10 most moving episodes of the entire Star Trek universe. Thank you!

You missed my favorite yesterday’s enterprise. The look on Tasha yar‘s face that look of resolve as she goes to meet her fate, brings me to tears.

Wow! I find myself shedding tears as I remember each of these episodes. Beautifully presented.

In 1982 when we didn’t know that Spock would live again was a tear jerking moment in the theater. When Saavik cried the audience cried with her.

The Visitor for me was so right for my life experience. It made me cry every time I saw it. I lost my dad in 1971 when I was 8-9... the devastation has never left me.

"The Inner Light" is one of my favourite episodes in the entire franchise. When Aileen is dying and she says to Kamen, "put your shoes away."

Star Trek episodes that make me 😭 no matter how many times I see them... •ST:TNG "Lower Decks" when Picard announces Sito's death.😭 •ST:Voyager "One Small Step" when 7 of 9 does her eulogy then tells Lt. John Kelly who won the World Series.😭 •ST:Voyager "Homestead" when Neelix leaves Voyager & Tuvok steps forward & "dances" for him.😭 There's snot running out of my nose just making this damned comment😭😭

The offspring wrecks me every time

How is The Elysian Kingdom from SNW season 1 not on this list?! Anyone with a child cannot fail to get choked up at M'Bengas efforts to save his daughter. 1st time a star trek episode actually made me cry

I recently watched the Offspring after my grandmother passed away, and it just hit harder, and I didn't think I would cry twice. My partner, who had seen very little Trek, also started with the Emissary, and *she* cried when Ben lost Jennifer. As much as Trekkies like to poke fun at Avery Brooks, his performance drove my newbie Trekkie partner to tears. Lastly, for different reasons, Far Beyond the Stars made me cry during the 2020 George Floyd protests. It just hit differently (and sadly the same) as it did in the 90s.

DS9: Change of Heart. Eventhough Jadzia survives, Terry Farrell gives probably her best performance. And Worf's speech about being compelled to return and save Jadzia, always gets me!

I wish you had included Hard Time from DS9. O’Brien’s anguish at the end had me in genuine tears.

The end of Lower Decks always gets me. It makes a really good episode into a great episode.

Honorable Mention Picard S3e10: The Next Generation. The moment Picard turns to Jack and says “If you won’t leave, then I’ll stay with you to the end” always gets me.

After having a child, TNGs Dark Page is my top tear jerker episode.

There are several episodes/movies that make me cry, both sad and happy tears for various reasons. "Tears of the Prophets" - Sad tears. When it first aired, I was in my late teens, but I loved Dax, and was crushed to lose her. Later in life, I lost my wife, and its impact on me increased a hundredfold. I didn't even get to say goodbye to my wife, as she went in for surgery, too late to save her life. She spent the next week fading away unconscious, and that was the longest week of my life. Even eight years later, I haven't recovered from her loss. A similar episode to this that draws the same emotions from me is TOS's "This Side of Paradise", when Miramanee dies from her stoning injuries. "Star Trek III: The Search For Spock" - Happy/sad tears. As Sean mentions, the death of David Marcus, and the saving of Spock and McCoy are both great reasons for a cry. The traumatic loss though was the death of the U.S.S. Enterprise, NCC-1701. This had been THE Star Trek ship for twenty years to fans at this point, and seeing so much more of her past now with Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, the loss of this classic lady (Okay, I'm channelling Scotty - shoot me) always jars tears out of me. "What You Leave Behind" - Sad tears. The action and parallel stories are so packed that you're having a great time with most of it, until you realize that Sisko cannot return to Jake, Kasidy, and their future child, followed by a very emotionally moving montage with a tear-jerking orchestration of the Deep Space Nine theme, mixed with the classic "The Way You Look Tonight." Deep Space Nine was the first Star Trek series I followed from beginning to end, and as such, it's always hard to say good-bye, which I've never been good with in any situation. "Unification, Part I" - Sad tears. I know, you're going to say 'but this was the episode with Spock! How can it make you sad?!' This is a valid question, but it's not Spock that saddened me. It's Sarek, and his deterioration. I got into Trek in my teens, by borrowing the movies from a friend. Sarek was this powerful, respected, and dynamic individual. I also saw "Journey to Babel" before his TNG appearances, and even though his first TNG appearance warned audiences what was coming, to see a character I had so respected reduced to such a pitiful state was very sad. Especially when my grandmother, whom I was very very close to, began to deteriorate in the same way. Seeing Sarek unable to do something as simple as the Vulcan salute always makes my heart seize. "Real Life" - Sad tears. The Doctor's daughter died. Anyone who has lost a child, or has friends who have lost a child, and you have seen their grief, can see why this is a tear-jerker. What surprised me though is that the Doctor's wife was played by Francine from "American Dad!" TNG's "Dark Page" is a tear-jerker for similar reasons. "Pathfinder" - Happy tears. As Sean mentioned, the moment Voyager finally makes contact with Starfleet after so long always makes me hold my breath to keep my eyes from tearing up too fast. In a similar vein, the final scene of "Message in a Bottle", when the Doctor relays Starfleet's message, "You're no longer alone," always blurs my vision. Okay, I'm opening myself up to a helluva lot of ridicule here with this last one, but I'm going to say it anyway. "These Are the Voyages . . ." - Sad tears. I know, I know, as you read this, you're probably thinking "WTF?! Seriously?!" Well, before you pass judgement, allow me to explain. First off, as I previously explained, I've never been good with good-byes. And I absolutely loved 'Enterprise'. It gave so much insight into a previously unexplored era of Star Trek, and frankly, I was never impressed by the previously assumed canon for those years, as laid out in "The Star Trek Chronology" books. I wasn't crazy about the "Starfleet: Year One" serial novellas either. They never felt connected to Trek the way 'Enterprise' did. Plus, I was angry that it was being canceled because of issues between Paramount and Rick Berman. Were Riker and Troi really needed for the episode? No. Was it cool to see them? Hell, yeah! I also loved the additional insight it gave into the TNG masterpiece "Pegasus". A fan made a flawless supercut combining the two episodes into a feature-length which they renamed "Historical Truth", and edited it as a full TNG episode, listing the Enterprise cast and characters as special guest stars. That's the version I watch when I watch "Pegasus" now. That said though, 'Enterprise' would have done better to have a different finale after the "Terra Prime" arc, and maybe use "These Are the Voyages . . . " as another example to show the inspiration that Archer and the crew would have down through the centuries of Starfleet. We've now seen it repeated on "Strange New Worlds"'s 'Those Old Scientists', with the 1701 crew geeking out over Archer's Enterprise, as well as the Archer Space Dock in season 4 of Discovery (playing the Archer theme with the unveiling also prompted a few). That's another thing I like about the newer Treks - characters get to relax and geek out more, lol. But why does it make me cry? Simple. I had grown very attached to the Enterprise characters. They felt more human - they had disagreements, they sometimes resorted to violence (particularly Reed and Hayes) to settle issues, and they didn't appear to take themselves as seriously as aliens have accused humans of doing by the 24th century. They were more real to me. Additionally, seeing the final farewells between Archer and Phlox, Archer and T'Pol, as he steps out to sign the Coalition (early name of the Federation) Charter, it seemed like being present at the birth of something overwhelming, and the final shot of the Enterprise-D, Enterprise, and Enterprise NX-01 as their captains recite the tagline, mixed with the emotional music, is just such a beautiful send-off to me that I can't help it. And I really didn't want 'Enterprise' to end.

The end of Terra Prime also gets to me. T'Pol naming the baby Elizabeth after Trip's sister and Flox saying the baby being dying hurts him just as much as if it was his own child makes me tear up just thinking about it.

"keep a docking bay open for us" crushes me every single time. Home really did feel a lot closer that day.

Uhura’s song from “Subspace Rhapsody” makes my eyes leak too. Her reflection on the loss of her family and Hemmer…whew

Worf and especially the very young Alexander losing K'Lar is what hits me the most. Especially at the end when he asks Worf if he is his Father, to which Worf replies, ""yes." The scene that follows with tiny Alexander being scooped up into a hug by Worf is the real tear jerker part of the episode. It was said that there wasn't a dry eye behind the scenes when they filmed that scene.

Whatever I'm doing in life, I'm always alternating between a full Star Trek watch through, and a full Buffy/Angel watch though. And you release this on the day I watched "The Body" in my current buffy run. What a day to have emotions!

One thing I remember about the Inner Light ... When Picard comes back to the Enterprise and goes to his ready room, he puts his hand up to open the door like he had to on that world.

I really wish we could see Jeremy again. Imagine him, fully embracing his adopted Klingon family, decked out in full Klingon regalia introduce himself as "I am Jeremy, son of Mogh" then I dunno, beat the shit out of some Ferengi.

Lower Decks, when Picard announces the death of Ensign Sito, it gets me every time

The ending of The Visitir is just perfect. "Are you ok, dad?" "I am now."

How dare you put The Offspring at 8! It's the only one where even watching your short summary was emotional. It's clearly the number one tear jerker. From the moment that Lal finds out they want to take her away until the end of the episode I'm balling out my eyes.

Inner light is by far my favorite episode

The Inner Light is a masterpiece

All of these entries got the feels going, but just the brief recaps of Offspring, Visitor, and Paper Moon got the tears going as well. Especially Offspring... always that one. 😥

Spock’s death, the Offspring, Duet and the Visitor get every time.

Chimera from DS9 season seven. There's a scene between Odo and Kira where they're talking about the insecurities she's feeling about how they can never truely connect the way Changelings can with each other. Just as the conversation seems to end they snuggle in together and Kira says "I'm sorry I can't link with you". Goodness it gets me in the feels every single time. It's such a bitter sweet moment. Quite different is the scene from Duet in season one. Aamin Marritza breaking down and admitting he's not Gul Darheel. It was such a powerful moment in DS9 that it makes me cry for him and his pain.

I don't know how many times I've seen The Visitor. It still makes me cry today. Reminds me of the bond of my father and I. 😢

I'm sorry, but Spock's death scene at the end of ST2 is the saddest moment to me. I know it doesn't mean as much now that we know he returns, but at the time it was devastating.

I didn't realize that could go for a good cry right now, but watching each of these moments, and remembering the stories around them was actually enough to get the water works flowing. Great video!!!

The DRONE episode in Voyager got me when Seven was hurt at the end

ST: III the opening music as we pan across the planet and come to rest on the "in tact" torpedo tube. My first In-theatre Trek at 6yo. My goodness, did that draw an emotion or two. Every time I watch it, it still does.

So glad Inner light made it to number one here. It was my number one too! The best most moving episode of TNG IMHO. One of those episodes that just sticks with you for years!

The TNG episode 'Half a Life' is my favourite tearjerker.

There could easily be a second episode to this. In Star Trek Generations there are two parts that made me tear up, the last scene between William Shatner and Patrick Stewart and when Brent Spiner starts to tear up when he finds Spot after the saucer sections crash into Veridian III.

One that I think was missed was “Time’s Orphan” from DS9 Season 6. Great story line from the “O’Brien must suffer” collection.

It is both the brilliant acting and chemistry between Sir Patrick and the great Margot Rose that makes the wonderful story of "The Inner Light" so brilliant and moving. Right up there with "City On The Edge Of Forever." 🏅

Surprised the Voyager episode "Homestead" didn't make the list, or at least garnered an honorable mention. Love him or hate him, Neelix was part of the crew for 7 years and they gave him a proper and heartfelt sendoff. Tuvok even "danced" a little. Gets me misty-eyed every time. Also "Duet". Super strong and emotional episode, especially for a first season. Really sets up DS9 as the series that goes hardest with PTSD.

Just recently I watched "The Inner Light" for this exact reason. I never liked this episode as a kid, as it is so sad. But having experienced something last year made me relate to this episode and what Picard experienced in an incredible level. After it was over, I needed a good cry one final time. Over the last few years I had (and still do have) periods of depression and sadness. I watched Deep Space Nine, Voyager and Enterprise over those years, and providentially, right at those periods some episodes came up that impacted me more deeply. DS9 pilot "The Emissary", with that Sisko's interaction with the Prophets about the linearity of time and his realization that he lives in the past just broke me down crying. Masterful performance and the best pilot episode of all Star Trek. Also "Hard Time", with that incredibly traumatic virtual prison experience for O'Brien, and his suicide attempt at the end, with his best friend there to get him out: "You are a good man, Miles Edward O'Brien"... "Tears of the Prophets" also impacted me in a special way, having experienced a personal failure that resulted in a loss, I felt those Sisko's words at Jadzia's casket deeply. Enterprise's "Similitude", of course. But also "Azati Prime" I found very painful with T'pol's "I don't want you to die!" and her subsequent breaking down in tears after Archer's departure on a sacrificial mission, Archer captured and learning that Enterprise is under attack, helpless to do anything about it, not to mention the final scenes of Enterprise brutalized, and lives lost (those three persons blown into space). I was in a particularly deep period of sadness then so I appreciated the depth of that episode more intensely. The ending of "Terra Prime" also... There are probably more I forgot, but those were the most impactful for me in recent years

Consider "The Sound of Her Voice" DS9 Season 6 Episode 25. After the Defiant crew has maintain open communication with Captain Lisa Cusak for the 6 day trip to rescue her, they arrive and discover that Cusak has been dead for three years as the planet's energy field caused their communications to travel through time.

“Darmok” is another one that is emotional.

That DS9 one where Tony Todd is old Jake always gets me 😢

The Visitor always makes me cry a river! Jadzia's death left me bereft for years. ( I named my dog Dax that year for her) Similitude also pushes the heart strings to tender and sorrowful.... But The Visitor wins if shedding tears is the goal here.... 😥

"The Skin of Evil" - Tasha Yar's funeral: I bawl every single time.

I watched The Offspring before I became a dad, then years later when I was a dad. It hit me very differently when I was a dad. The episode was a lot more emotional for me after I became a parent. It's true when my parents told me that I won't understand certain things about them until I myself become a parent.

"His was the most... human."

Excellent list, The Offspring, The Bonding. I thought I was the the only one who got emotional over Pathfinder and glad i am not alone. The inner light was amazing in many ways.Real life in which The Doctor’s holographic daughter dies also a tearjerker

This is the regular reminder that just because an episode you would pick wasn't covered in the video, that doesn't mean it was forgotten. Just nominate episodes for their next go around. After all, there are still plenty of very moving episodes left they can cover.

While Lwaxana Troi is often the butt of many jokes and distain, I think her moment on TNG where she laments the loss of her child should get an honorable mention.

The paper moon one with Nog was so good.

For my money, The Visitor is the one that gets me the most. I nearly lost it the first time I watched it. It absolutely reinforced how great the Sisko family was on that show. The episode where Nog was shot is also one that just might as well punch me in the gut. DS9 was really on fire that last season. And to think they snuck in the hilarious baseball episode among all those heartwrenching ones.

Excellent list. The offspring and the visitor are obvious choices. I'd also consider Sarek. Picard unloading all of the elder vulcan's repressed emotions...Stewart was 🔥

Can I just throw a shoutout for Generations? Picard's final speech before the credits roll. A reminder of mortality and to make every moment count. I've replayed that clip after so many moments in my life and it never fails to make me cry, it's the most poignant moment in all of Trek for me.

The death of Spock is surprisingly missing . His sacrifice in ST 2 was one of the saddest scenes yet .

OMG the timing on this since I just got done watching again DS9's "The Visitor" and before I even watch it if it is not on this list someone better explain who is chopping onions around me then LOL

Thanks . . . thanks a lot. Now I have something in my eye. A LOT of something. Such memorable moments that reduced me to a mess of tears ("The Visitor," "The Offspring," "The Inner Light,") and now, you are reminding me of ALL of them. Great list and a great idea!! Lal's final moments where she tells her father that she loves him, the moment Jean-Luc/Kamin realizes that he recognizes the object as he is once again, surrounded by family and friends, or the last moment of Jake's life as he saves his father. NONE of those moments have failed to make me start the waterworks.

Just the mention of The Visitor makes me choke up a little. Dang it, now I need to watch it and get a good cry...

I love these lists and this one is no exception. I would have maybe substituted The Search for Spock moment with The Wrath of Khan. It really got to me when Spock died and Kirk gave his speech at the end. Much more so for me then Kirk's son dying as sad as that was. Keep up the awesome work!

“Times Orphan” is another one that gets me, though I think it may be because of personal reasons rather than the writing. When fiction resonates with events in your own life it can really get you. It’s like 3 sad episodes in a row starting with that one as the following one is with the captain they befriend via subspace who they cannot save, followed by the death of Jadzia in the next one. If I’m binge watching DS9 I have to stop at the end of, “The sound of her voice” to give myself some time because I’ll get overwhelmed.

The most I ever teared up was the destruction of the Enterprise in The Search For Spock. Even more than the death of Spock in The Wrath Of Kahn. After that nothing in Trek makes me cry. You die...you might come back...Ship blows up...oh look it's rebuilt.

I remember watching Star Tre Voyager: Real Life where the doctor created a family. that brought a tear to my eye when i first watched it.

Nothing will ever hit as hard as The Offspring.

Discoverys "Forget Me Not" definitely deserves a place on that list

"The city on the edge of forever" is the most important episode ever for us British fans as its the one that convinced the BBC to pick up the show as a regular feature rather than the sporadic filler that it had been up until then. Without it, its likely the show probably wouldn't have became a hit here.