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{{quote|''"If the Dominion comes through the Wormhole, the first battle will be fought here. [[You Shall Not Pass|And I intend to be ready for them]]."'' |'''Commander Benjamin Sisko'''}}
 
The second of the "next generation" of ''[[Star Trek]]'' shows, following on from ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation|Star Trek the Next Generation]]'', this series ran seven seasons. ''Deep Space Nine'' traded the [[Wagon Train to the Stars]] premise of the previous (and future) ''Star Trek'' shows for a "Fort Apache in Space" setting.
 
In the setting of the show, the native Bajoran people recently drove out the oppressive Cardassian Occupation through a war of attrition and a fair amount of terrorism (both Cardassians and the Bajoran Occupation were previously established on ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation|Star Trek the Next Generation]]''). The Bajoran Provisional Government petitioned [[The Federation]] for support, despite not being a Federation member. A relatively small crew was sent to take residence on an abandoned Cardassian station called Terok Nor, designated Deep Space 9 by the Federation, to aid the Bajorans in charge. In the first episode a rare [[Swirly Energy Thingy|stable]] [[Our Wormholes Are Different|wormhole]] was discovered leading to the Gamma Quadrant of the galaxy, and the station was relocated there to claim its use. The fixed base allowed the show to delve deeply into the politics of the ''Star Trek'' universe, but the addition of the wormhole also allowed exploration of unknown planets.
 
The storylines were split among several different areas: the first explored was the rebuilding of Bajoran civilization and the Bajorans' worship of the non-corporeal beings that resided in (and had built) the wormhole, known as the Prophets. Other major [[Story Arc|Story Arcs]]s included the never stable relationship with the Cardassians and the dramatic discovery of The Dominion, a powerful counterpart to [[The Federation]] found on the other side of the wormhole. Both allies and enemies of the Federation had to deal with the impact of the Dominion War, which covered the last two seasons.
 
One of the factors that made ''Deep Space Nine'' unique was that every action had consequences. Nobody could solve all of their problems in just one episode, and, unlike its ship-based sister series, the crew couldn't just 'jump to warp' and leave the Problem of the Week behind. The writers used [[Story Arc|Story Arcs]]s much more extensively than ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation|Star Trek the Next Generation]]'' had and they took the time to slowly examine [[The Federation]] for what it truly was: a noble organization that still had problems with bureaucracy and skeletons in their closet. They also re-examined two episodes from ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]'': "Mirror, Mirror" (in "Crossover") and "The Trouble With Tribbles" (in "Trials and Tribble-ations"). DS9 would further explore the [[Mirror Universe]] in subsequent episodes. <ref>Those episodes are, in order: "Through the Looking-Glass," "Shattered Mirror," "Resurrection," and "The Emperor's New Cloak."</ref>
 
Another key difference for ''Deep Space Nine'' was the unprecedented number - and depth - of the supporting characters. While all [[Star Trek]] series have large casts, ''[[Deep Space Nine]]'' is the only one that qualifies for [[Loads and Loads of Characters]]. It was also the only show to have a number of [[Fake Guest Star|Fake Guest Stars]]s, many of whom deserved a slot in the main titles. Supporting characters like Rom and Garak got more [[Character Development]] and background than many main characters on other [[Star Trek]] series; this was possible largely due to the use of [[Story Arc|Story Arcs]], which were enabled, again, by Deep Space Nine being a fixed location.
 
For the first three seasons, the show focused on the aftermath of the occupation and the issues this dealt with, as well as throwing up look-what's-come-through-the-wormhole episodes. The show got a [[Darker and Edgier]] retool after season 4, with the addition of Worf to the regular cast and a [[Story Arc]] about the Dominion threat (which had started in season 2-3, and wouldn't become dominant until season 5). Part of this is due to the fact that the producers became more and more comfortable altering [[Gene Roddenberry]]'s positive, optimistic future.
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As a result of this kind of thing, the show tends to divide Trekkies a bit - most people who like [[Star Trek]] for the [[Techno Babble|science fiction setting]] and the [[An Aesop|moral commentary]] dislike it because it tends to focus on drama and character conflict, treats [[Trek Verse|the universe]] as a political backdrop, and dispenses with many of the utopian themes. On the other hand, those who ''do'' like DS9 tend to like it a lot more than they like the other Trek series, forming a little subculture of their own in Trek fandom known as "Niners".
 
In spite of the general divide within fandom itself, ''DS9'' earned more critical accolades than even ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation|Star Trek the Next Generation]]'' due to its intense [[Character Development]], high-quality acting and pioneering use of [[Story Arc|Story Arcs]]; it is still regarded by many as the greatest and most underrated show ever to take the ''[[Star Trek]]'' name.
 
The show currentlyran runs inon British and Japanese TV, and all seven seasons are available on region 1 DVD. It used to run in Syndicationsyndication on [[Spike TV]] in the United States, but due to low ratings has not been seen in repeats in the United States for over a year. As of October 2011 the complete series is available on Netflix streaming in the United States.
 
Information on the main and recurring characters can be found on the [[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine/Characters|character page]].
 
Despite the acknowledged limitations of focusing on individual episodes in a ''heavily'' arc-based series, this show has a tool for voting on [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/crowner.php/BestEpisode/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Favorite Episodes].
 
See also the [[Star Trek Deep Space Nine Relaunch]], a series of novels continuing the show's story arcs past the finale.
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* [[Beware the Nice Ones]]: The Federation. Unlike the other entries in the franchise where the message where they are portrayed as [[Humans Are Diplomats|diplomatic]], ''Deep Space Nine'' routinely shows that just because they favour peace, this doesn't mean that in a crunch [[Humans Are Warriors|they can't knock seven bells out of anyone in their path]].
* [[Big Ego, Hidden Depths]]
* [[Big FuckingFreaking Gun]]: As [[SF Debris]] points out, only Sisko could have helped design "Theyhe ''Defiant"''. ItsIt's so overpowered that Sisko even mentions when he first unveils it in "The Search" that it nearly tore itself apart during shakedowns, and while officially itsit's classed as an Escort Vessel, itsit's really a ''Warship''.
{{quote|'''[[SF Debris]]''': "Its a set of guns, strapped to an engine'''." "Mr. Worf, prepare a high yield torpedo and write on it; don't fuck with the Sisko."}}
** When the threat of a Dominion invasion becomes imminent, Starfleet upgrades Deep Space Nine, which couldn't defend itself from three Cardassian warships in the pilot, into a station handily capable of holding off a Klingon fleet of more than fifty ships.
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* [[Emotional Maturity Is Physical Maturity]]: The Jem'Hadar are all much younger than they look. One episode with a young Jem'Hadar that was separated from the rest of its brood indicates that they grow to full physical and emotional maturity within a few weeks. The few occasions we see into their behavior does bring this into question, especially the childish bickering between the Alphas and Gammas.
* [[Empty Chair Memorial]]: Inverted in "Who Mourns for Morn". Quark pulls another bar patron into Morn's empty seat to "keep it warm". Said patron is actually [[You Look Familiar|the actor who played Morn out of makeup]].
* [[Endangered SouffleSoufflé]]: Subverted, where they sneak weapons into a prison under the pretense of delivering a souffle, and when a guard demands to investigate it, they warn him to be careful with it...right before they knock him out with the Off-Button Hypospray, causing his head to fall into the souffle and crush it.
* [[Enemy Mine]]: Quark and Odo in "The Ascent".
** Dukat envisions himself and Sisko as something like this in the episode "Waltz". The truth is he's just nuts and running out of self-delusions
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*** YMMV, one of his examples is that they never had anything like slavery. But ALL Ferengi females are considered property and forbidden to own anything or earn profit. At least until Quark's feminist mother turns out to be the most brilliant business mind of her generation.
* [[Holodeck Malfunction]]: "Our Man Bashir", sort of. Actually, it was more an example of something going wrong with the ''transporter,'' and the holodeck worked to keep the physical patterns of the crewmembers intact. (On the other hand, the holodeck's safety routines ''did'' malfunction, so...)
** The frequency of this sort of occurrence in ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation|Star Trek the Next Generation]]'' was lampshaded in "The Way of the Warrior":
{{quote|'''Worf:''' We were like warriors from the ancient sagas. There was nothing we couldn't do.
'''O'Brien:''' Except keep the holodecks working right. }}
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'''Garak''': You do have a point. }}
* [[If You Can Read This...]]: The Promenade Directory is full of in-jokes.
* [[Impostor -Exposing Test]]: The blood screening for changelings. {{spoiler|Not only does it not work, it turns out to have been suggested by a changeling in the first place.}}
* [[Insistent Terminology]]: DS9 is not a Federation station... it's a Bajoran station under Federation administration. This is repeated several times by Sisko and ''especially'' Kira in the early seasons.
* [[I Say What I Say]]: O'Brien in "Visionary" hates temporal mechanics. Both of him.
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'''Quark:''' So then, the Andorian says, "That's ''not'' my antenna." }}
* [[The Other Darrin]]: Two different people played Quark's mother Ishka, and Tora Ziyal was played by ''three'' different people.
** The actor who plays Alexander is a different one from any of the actors who played him in ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation|Star Trek the Next Generation]]''. Interestingly, more people are upset about this than either of the above actors, possibly due to his [[Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome]].
* [[Password Slot Machine]]: Used in "In the Hands of the Prophets."
* [[Patrick Stewart Speech]]: The baseball scene in "Emissary."
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* [[Reincarnation Romance]]: Sort of. Dax and another Trill consider continuing their relationship from when both were in previous hosts. They eventually decide not to, as this is considered a massive taboo by Trill society.
* [[Religion of Evil]]: The Cult of the Pai-Wraths.
** Actually, they are more like the [[Path of Inspiration]]. Though mainstream Bajoran religion portrays the Pah-Wraiths as [[Exclusively Evil]] [[Omnicidal Maniac|Omnicidal Maniacs]], members of the Cult of the Pah-Wraiths (who don't call it a "cult", obviously) believe that the Pah-Wraiths have been [[Mis BlamedMisblamed]] and the ''Prophets'' are the villains, even before Bajor's [[Arch Enemy]] Dukat showed up and took over claiming to be receiving visions and commandments from them. The problem, of course, is simply that the Pah-Wraiths really ''are'' [[Exclusively Evil]] [[Omnicidal Maniac|Omnicidal Maniacs]], and rather worse than that really ''are'' giving Dukat visions and commandments, possibly up to and including [[Kill'Em All]] in order to conceal the fact that Dukat is still a womanising murdering [[Manipulative Bastard]]. That it really was ''their'' idea, and not Dukat just covering his tracks via mass-murder, is pretty damn sinister, but that their followers don't believe them to be evil (one even goes through with the suicide because he believes that, despite Dukat's treachery, they really did order it, and kills himself out of "faith") and in fact believe them to be ''good'', stops this being a [[Religion of Evil]].
* [[Remember the New Guy?|Remember The New Species]]: In "The Adversary", we're told of a species named the Tzenkethi, who fought at least one war against the Federation in the past 20 years; the ''TNG'' era is in its seventh season and this is the first we've heard of them. (And we never ''do'' actually ''see'' them on-screen).
* [[Renaissance Man]]: Sisko does have quite a wide range of talents and interests. But then, being [[Renaissance Man|Renaissance Men]] is more or less the Federation's [[Planet of Hats|hat]] (at least since ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation|Star Trek the Next Generation]]'').
* [[The Renfield]]: Weyoun and every other Vorta are this whenever a Founder, in fact they are genetically programmed to be as such and it seems that any cunning bastardry in the Vorta's characterisation gets diverted from nefarious plotting into finding the best way to suck up.
* [[Religious Stereotype]]: The Bajorans often fall under this, being a people who's religion dominates their culture.
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** Later, he is turned into a "solid" human by his people as punishment (for half a season).
** The Founder's Disease does this to all Changelings during the war, though most of the ones at home just stay in liquid form anyway.
* [[Shout-Out]]: In the penultimate episode, Quark cops some of Picard's speech from ''[[Star Trek: First Contact]]'' to defend the sacred Ferengi practice of sexual extortion from employees.
** Morn is an anagram of Norm, from ''[[Cheers]]''. It was entirely intentional.
** In the comedic episode "Trials and Tribble-ations," the two agents who show up to investigate Sisko's [[Timey-Wimey Ball|time traveling shenanigans]] are named Dulmer and Luscly, [[X Files|anagrams of "Mulder" and "Scully."]]
** When the occupying forces on DS9 in ''The Siege'' find that Odo (the shape-shifter) is missing, their commander concludes the situation is "[[Transformers|more than meets the eye]]".
** In ''Looking for Par'Mach in All the Wrong Places,'' Quark states his opinion on war, and what it is good for. {{spoiler|Absolutely Nothing}}
** The Breen's refrigeration suits are modeled after Princess Leia's disguise as Ubese bounty hunter Bouschh in the beginning of ''[[Return of the Jedi]]''.
** In "Crossover" (the first [[Mirror Universe]] episode since [[Star Trek: The Original Series|TOS]]), Quark stands accused of helping human slaves escape captivity, and tells the enforcing officer (mirror Garak, a Gul) that [[Casablanca|he is nothing more than a simple barkeep and doesn't stick out his neck for anyone]].
** In "The Way of the Warrior", Quark speculates that perhaps he should have listened to his cousin who said, "Quark, [[The Graduate|I got one word for you]]: 'weapons'."
** The episode "The Nagus" is an homage to ''[[The Godfather]]'', especially the scene where Quark "receives" guests in his quarters.
** Sisko's "Hello, ship" was a direct reference to the [[Steve McQueen]] movie ''[[The Sand Pebbles]]'', and the ship in question was also named the ''Sao Paulo''. {{spoiler|But not for long. It was soon rechristened ''Defiant''.}}
** In a more subtle one Garak manages to be [[John Le Carre]]'s most famous novel: he is [[Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy|a Tinker, a Tailor, a Soldier, and a Spy]]
** A conversation between Sisko and Quark in "The Jem'hadar" heavily references a similar one in ''[[The Great Outdoors]]''.
** In the final episode, Sisko's words to Kasidy about when he'll be able to return from being with the "Prophets" echo what a character from ''[[Martian Successor Nadesico]]'' said to his wife just before going off to war. The Nadesico guy said, "It might be tomorrow. It might be ten years from now. But I will come back."
* [[Shut UP, Hannibal]]: Weyoun probably should've [[Too Dumb to Live|just kept his mouth shut]] with Garak.
** And Worf. And Damar. [[Running Gag|And his own men.]] He doesn't learn quickly.
* [[Significant Anagram]]: Lucsly and Dulmur, the DTI field agents from "Trials and Tribble-ations", are (near-)anagrams for [[The X-Files|Scully and Muld<s>u</s>er]].
* [[Silent Offer]]: In "Past Prologue", Garak negotiates the price for a terrorist with two Klingons in this way, using an electronic tablet instead of paper.
* [[Single-Purpose Planet]]: Casperia Prime, a pleasure planet described as the "vacation capital of the Horvian Cluster".
* [[Slave Collar]]: In one alternate universe episode, the captured Garak is restrained this way by Worf.
* [[Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism]]: Started out as optimistic -- but still not so cheery, considering the themes of Sisko's bereavement and Bajor's Holocaust-like recent history -- as the other series, only to head straight into the Dominion War arc by the third season, and slamming straight into the very end of the Cynical side of the scale in the second to last season with the episode "In The Pale Moonlight".
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{{quote|"I've got more important things to do than play Choose the Changeling."}}
* [[Staff of Authority]] - The Grand Nagus's staff, which Ferengi are supposed to kiss as a sign of respect.
* [[The State RoomStateroom Sketch]] - A confirmed homage in "The Circle", though it's in Kira's quarters rather than a closet and it's pretty much friends barging in intending to wish farewell privately. All done in one take, though the final cut has reaction shots cut in.
* [[State Sec]] - The Cardassian Obsidian Order, which Odo says records even what Cardassian citizens eat for dinner. The Ferengi Commerce Authority also comes across as this at times.
* [[Stealth Pun]]: In "A Time To Stand" they have to perform a mission piloting a captured Jem'Hadar ship. One of the first things they notice about the ship is that there are no chairs...
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== Tropes T-Z ==
* [[Taking a Third Option]]: This trope is directly quoted by Kira in the third season premiere "The Search, Part I" after the senior staff (minus Sisko) has run many simulations and found that the station will be overrun by the Dominion very quickly in the event of a full-scale assault. Dax says that that leaves them with two options--: abandon the station and make their stand on Bajor, or collapse the entrance to the wormhole. Kira says, "I want a third option" and almost at that very moment, the third option appears in the form of the new USS ''Defiant.''
* [[Talking to the Dead]]: Literally due to a [[Temporal Paradox]]. The ''Defiant'' receives a distress call in the middle of an interstellar storm and alter their course to the planet in order to help. During the trip, they hold a conversation with a starfleetStarfleet officer who only managed to keep herself alive thanks to the recommendations of rationing what few medical supplies she had. By the time the crew finally reaches her on the surface, they find that she had been dead long before the ''Defiant'' got the distress call.<!-- trivia? -->
* [[Techno Babble]]: A ''Star Trek'' staple. Q also refers to it by name during his appearance.
* [[Ted Baxter]]: Quark.
* [[Teens Are Short]]: Jake and Nog. Both cases ended up subverted by [[Real Life Writes the Plot]], as detailed on the trope page.
* [[Teleporter Accident]]: A few happen, per Star Trek tradition. "Our Man Bashir" uses one to set up a hilarious [[James Bond]] homage.
* [[Teleporter Accident]]
* [[Theme Naming]]: All the runabouts assigned to DS9 are named after Earth rivers. [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] by Kira in "Family Business".
{{quote|'''Kira:''' You know, the rate we go through runabouts, it's a good thing the Earth has so many rivers.}}
* [[Theme Tune Cameo]]{{context}}
* [[The Name Is Bond, James Bond]]: Bashir does this at least twice in the Bond homage "Our Man Bashir", using both his real name and his cover name. Less humorously, O'Brien introduces himself this way to {{spoiler|the ''faux''}} Boone in "Tribunal".
* [[They Do]]: Odo/Kira, Bashir/Ezri, Worf/Jadzia
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'''Future O'Brien:''' But if you're feeling bad and you're me, shouldn't ''I'' feel bad, too?
''[Beat.]''
'''Both O'Briens:''' I ''hate'' temporal mechanics. }}<!-- trivia? -->
* [[Token Evil Teammate]]: Garak.
* [[Tomato Surprise]]: "Whispers".<!-- trivia? -->
* [[Torture Always Works]]: Averted, as this is one of the rare occasions in ''Trek'' where we see the torturer's point of view. One of [[Multiple Choice Past|several accounts]] of Garak's exile involved Garak aborting an interrogation that was going nowhere.
** In "Improbable Cause"/"The Die Is Cast", Garak flat-out tells Odo to lie after torturing him for hours.
*** Garak eventually starts begging Odo to make up something he can give Tain so that he can stop. Odo does eventually give in, and then Garak lies to Tain about it. Garak is, at the time, far more emotionally upset about the torture than Odo is.<!-- trivia? -->
* [[Torture Technician]]: In "Improbable Cause"/"The Die Is Cast", Tain strongly indicates that Garak often played this role for him in the past prior to Garak's exile and, in the episode itself, Tain expects Garak to play that role again to torture Odo.<!-- trivia? -->
* [[Trademark Favorite Food]]: Most of the main cast are fond of raktajino, particularly Sisko. Miles, on the other hand, prefers Jamaican blend Earth coffee, "double strong, double sweet", while Julian drinks Tarkalean tea, and Worf drinks prune juice.
** While Worf drinking prune juice is a [[Continuity Nod]], it's amusing that he's one of the few who don't drink raktajino, since it's described several times in the show as "Klingon coffee."
* [[Treasure Chest Cavity]]: Morn hid liquid latinum in one of his stomachs.<!-- trivia? -->
* [[Tricked-Out Time]]: "Past Tense". Specifically, figuring out how to achieve this trope solves the problem in that episode, where history happened that shouldn't and pulling this trope off fixes the resultant paradox.
* [[Tricked-Out Time]]: "Past Tense".
* [[Trickster Mentor]]: Garak was one to Bashir.
* [[Trust Me, I'm an X|Trust Me, I'm a Gambler]]: Quark says this in a speech to Odo in "Move Along Home", explaining why he should take the shortcut in the ''chula'' game. Hilariously subverted when it backfires.<!-- trivia? -->
* [[Tsundere]]: Keiko O'Brien. She appears in relatively few episodes, but when she does it is mostly to be cranky and domineering. There are many other episodes in which she antagonizes her husband, Miles, from somewhere off-camera. Her bouts of 'mushiness' are mostly limited to self-important meddling in the affairs of others.
** Kira Nerys. Oh ''[[Oh My Gods|Prophets]]'', Kira Nerys. [[Fiery Redhead|Fiery Redheaded]]ed [[Badass]] who goes positively ''kittenish'' at certain points with her romantic interests - particularly Odo.
* [[Tuxedo and Martini]]: "Our Man Bashir".<!-- trivia? -->
* [[Twenty Minutes Into the Future]]: Quite rarely for ''[[Star Trek]]'', the episode "Past Tense" plays this straight, when Sisko, Bashir and Dax accidentally time-travel to 2024 Earth. There's no fantastic issues involved, it just takes contemporary political issues and technological developments from [[The Nineties]] and exaggerates them.
* [[Twist Ending]]: "In the Pale Moonlight" has one of the best [[Twist Ending|Twist Endings]]s in ''[[Star Trek]]''. It starts with Sisko [[How We Got Here|dictating his log to the computer in a state of deep depression,]] explaining the unethical plan he'd concocted together with [[Magnificent Bastard|Garak]] to trick the Romulans into declaring war on the Dominion and talking about how "it all went wrong". Near the end of the episode {{spoiler|the Romulan senator who he presented his forged evidence to has seen through his plan and left in a fury, intending to expose the "Federation treachery" to the Romulan senate}} and you think Sisko's misery is because {{spoiler|he accidentally caused the Romulans to declare war on the Federation instead.}} Then we find out that {{spoiler|Garak assassinated the Senator and framed the Dominion for it and Sisko's plan has gone perfectly, with the Romulans declaring war on the Dominion}}... and ''that'' is why Sisko is miserable. {{spoiler|And he can live with himself.}}<!-- trivia? -->
* [[Ugly Guy, Hot Wife]]: Rom and Leeta. Though Leeta thinks Rom's kinda cute, actually.
* [[Uncoffee]]: Raktajino.
* [[Unique Pilot Title Sequence]]: The pilot credit sequence does not feature the wormhole opening as it hadn't been discovered yet in story.
* [[Unobtainium]]: Latinum
** Although not really - it may be a made up substance with one key property (can't be replicated, making it useful as currency), but otherwise it's not powering any [[Applied Phlebotinum]]. The purpose it mainly serves is as currency in a universe where something like gold has no practical value since it can be replicated to the point of worhtlessness.
** 2 words: tetrion particles <!--one word:-->{{context}}
* [[Unusually Uninteresting Name]]: The incredibly innocent sounding "Section 31".
* [[Unwanted False Faith]]: Odo resents being revered as a "Founder" by Weyoun and the other Dominion grunts.
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* [[Unwitting Pawn]]: Winn Adami, so '''very''' badly.
* [[Uptight Loves Wild]]: Worf and Jadzia. To a 't'.
* [[Vigilante Execution]]: '''Heavily''' subverted in "Duet", one of the best early episodes. Aamin Marritza, a Cardassian {{spoiler|file clerk masquerading as a war criminal to force Cardassia's sins to light}} is stabbed to death immediately upon being released. When Kira tells the assailant the truth, he says that Marritza being Cardassian was reason enough to kill him. The last line of the episode is Kira telling the assasinassassin [[Character Development|"No, it's not!"]]
* [[Villainous Breakdown]]: Dukat after {{spoiler|Ziyal's death}}.
** Played with in 'Duet', where the notorious war criminal Gul Dar'heel's breakdown confirms that {{spoiler|he isn't Gul Dumar, or even a villain}}.
* [[Visions of Another Self]]: Sisko has a vision of being a '50s sci-fi writer, and his associates were versions of people he knew.
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*** Kira was a feared terrorist/freedom fighter and being a badass in battle should be a lot more expected of her than of Jadzia Dax. Nevertheless, she is a lot more waif-ish than Dax in some ways - Terry Farrell is 6 feet tall.
* [[War Is Hell]]: existing from the middle of the series and forward but especially in the episode The Siege of AR-558
* [[Warrior Poet]]: Klingons show up quite a bit, and they are very prone to this. Bajorans have a bit of this too since they tend to quoter the more lyrical portions of their religious tracts in combat situations.
* [[Warrior Poet]]
* [[Wartime Wedding]]: Worf and Dax; Rom and Leeta.
* [[Warts and All]]: Kor's last appearance.
* [[We Are Everywhere]]: The Founder's final words to Odo in ''The Adversary.''
** And subverted in ''Paradise Lost'': A Founder states that they ''aren't'' everywhere, and indeed, aren't even in most places at all. But that doesn't matter because they can be ''anywhere'', pretending to be ''anyone'', and the Federation has [[Paranoia Fuel|no way of knowing]] ''where'' they are at any moment. Four agents operating on Earth are able to cause a chain reaction of events leading to Martial Law being declared on Earth, and a battle being fought [[Let's You and Him Fight|between two Starfleet starships]] that had each been lead to believe the other was commanded by a changeling.
* [[Welcome to Hell]]: O'Brien gets this in "Hard Time".<!-- trivia? -->
* [["Well Done, Son" Guy]]: {{spoiler|Garak towards Enabran Tain.}}
** Odo towards Doctor Mora Pol, the Bajoran scientist who discovered him. Odo admits he's never wanted anything more than his respect and for him to think of him more as something to be studied and experimented on in a laboratory. Odo also reveals he purposefully imitated Mora Pol's hair because he respected him.
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** The series was completely changed after "The Way of the Warrior", with [[Star Trek: The Next Generation|Worf]] joining the crew, the [[Space Nazi|Cardassians]] rebelling and forming for the first time a democratic government, and the decades-long allied [[Proud Warrior Race Guy|Klingons]] declaring war on previously mentioned Cardassians, antagonising the Federation and breaking the alliance, turning them into active recurring antagonists. Finally, the eponymous Space Station had a [[Gun Porn|slight tactical upgrade]]. This episode set the theme for the rest of the series.
** Let's not even start to talk about "Inferno's Light", where the writers decided to just throw everything in the air and decide to keep the status quo about whatever they could catch. The rest, [[Nothing Is the Same Anymore|not so much]].
* [[What Happened to the Mouse?]]: The excellent episode "Duet" nevertheless leaves some important questions unanswered. {{spoiler|Minister Koval insisted to Sisko that if Marritza was at Gallitep, the Bajoran government wanted him, and ''would'' have him. Gul Dukat, meanwhile, told Sisko that if "any Bajoran hate-mongers get their hands on him, I'll hold ''you'' personally responsible." Sisko authorized Marritza's release, no doubt pissing off Koval, and then Marritza was indeed murdered by a Bajoran hate-monger.}} So what are the consequences? {{spoiler|Likely little, since it turns out it was a no name file clerk LARPing as the real deal}}, but the show never addresses this either way.
* [[What the Hell, Hero?]]: "In The Pale Moonlight", in which Sisko does it to ''himself''. Also, "For The Uniform".
{{quote|{{spoiler|'''Sisko:''' Commander, launch torpedoes.}}
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** The above example should be noted as Sisko irrevocably gassing a ''former'' Earth colony with biogenic weapons lethal to humans but not Cardassians. He justifies this as they were a Maquis stronghold and they were planning to do the same thing with similar weapons lethal to Cardassians but not humans.
* [[When It All Began]]: The Bajoran occupation that launched the plot.
* [[When She Smiles]]: Sarina of The Jack Pack. Originally catatonic thanks to her senses forever failing to catch up with her brain, her first action after a procedure correcting it is smiling. Bashir is smitten on the spot.<!-- trivia? -->
* [[White Void Room]]: Often when communicating with the Prophets.
* [[Will They or Won't They?]]: Odo and Kira. {{spoiler|[[They Do]] after nearly a ''decade'' of tension.}}
* [[Word of Gay]]: Andrew Robinson has commented in multiple interviews that he considered Garak "omnisexual," and also strongly implied it in the character book he wrote. Robert Hewitt Wolfe has [https://web.archive.org/web/20130616141904/http://www.exisle.net/mb/index.php?showtopic=38718&st=160&p=857040&#entry857040 stated] that he wrote Garak to be attracted to Bashir, but Bashir [[Oblivious to Love|never realized this]].
* [[The Worf Effect]]: In order to show how dangerous the Jem'Hadar are, in their debut episode they blow up the USS ''Odyssey'', a Galaxy-class starship like the ''Enterprise-D'' from the [[Does This Remind You of Anything?|at the time recently cancelled]] ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation|Star Trek the Next Generation]]''. Using such a familiar ship helped make this moment genuinely shocking.
* [[World of Cardboard Speech]]: Inverted for "In the Pale Moonlight".<!-- trivia? -->
* [[Worthless Yellow Rocks]]: After the writers realized gold could be replicated, they realized its value would be nothing to a Ferengi. Thus latinum was created, and any mention of gold was retconned into being pressed with latinum.
* [[Worthy Opponent]]: Dukat views Sisko in this way, though the feeling isn't mutual.
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{{quote|'''Jadzia Dax:''' I hope you're not holding back because I'm a woman. If it makes things any easier, think of me as a man. ''Been'' one ''several'' times!}}
** On the other hand, Gul Dukat certainly ''would'' hit a girl, as he shows by decking Sakonna in "The Maquis, Part I" when she's part of a group trying to kidnap him.
* [[Writers Cannot Do Math]]: Fewer people died in the 50 years of horrific genocide during the occupation of Bajor than people die of old age in a single first world country on modern day Earth. This number is even sillier when compared per capita.
* [[Xanatos Gambit]]: The Dominion pulled off several of those.
* [[You Can't Go Home Again]]: Odo. {{spoiler|Subverted in the finale.}}
* [[You Don't Want to Catch This]]: The Blight.
* [[You Have No Idea Who You're Dealing With]]: A female Vorta's parting shot at Sisko, before the Dominion makes itself known.
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* [[You Look Familiar]]: [[Jeffrey Combs]] as Brunt and Weyoun, among others.
* [[You Never Did That for Me]]: [[Played for Laughs]]:
{{quote|'''Q''': "You hit me! ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation|Picard]]'' never hit me!"
'''Sisko''': "I'm not Picard." }}
* [[Your Mind Makes It Real]]: Garak's bloody nose while in Odo's "dream" manifests itself in the real world as he lies unconscious in the infirmary.
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*** Of course, there's a second part to that rule: "Insult something he cares about instead."
* [[Your Normal Is Our Taboo]]: Trill marriages are "until death do us part". Too bad if you die and come back from the dead: The love of your life is now taboo forever. Even worse, the cycle of life in the elite circles of Trill society is based on a kind of reincarnation. Jadzia falls prey to this in one episode, falling head over heals in love with her ex-wife. Nobody even notices that they are of the same gender, the ethical/cultural problem is all about them having been husband and wife in a previous life.
* [[You See, I'm Dying]]: Tekeny Ghemor in "Ties of Blood and Water"<!-- trivia? -->
* [[You Shall Not Pass]]: concerning the deaths of both Eddington and Kor. Also happens in "The Homecoming", where a few of the Bajoran prisoners stay behind and hold off the Cardassians so that Li Nalis can escape from prison.
* [[You Talk Too Much]]:<!-- intrivia? "Vortex"-->
** In "Vortex"
{{quote|'''Odo''': I think I finally figured out what crime you were found guilty of on your world.
'''Croden''': What's that?
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** In "Indiscretion", Kira says this to Dukat:
{{quote|'''Kira:''' Commander Sisko was right; you are in ''love'' with the sound of your own voice.}}
* [[YoutubeYouTube Poop]]: The scene from "In the Pale Moonlight" where Vreenak yells "It's a FAAAAAKE!" is growing in popularity.
* [[Your Terrorists Are Our Freedom Fighters]]: Bajoran resistance, Maquis, and the Cardassian resistance against the Dominion. Some members or each even refer to ''themselves'' as terrorists.
* [[You Will Be Beethoven]]: "Past Tense" is built around this trope.<!-- trivia? -->
* [[You Would Do the Same For Me]]{{context}}
* [[Zeerust]]: Notable as it's easily the ''least'' affected out of any of the Trek shows so far; part of this is due to largely being set on an alien space station with somewhat odd architecture, making it easier to gloss over any breaches of plausibility. The ''Defiant''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s military bridge has also withstood the test of time very well so far.
* [[Zerg Rush]]: The Jem'Hadar attack with massive amounts of ships, due to the "disposable" nature of the species.
* [[Zip Me Up]]: Odo zips up Kira's dress in "Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang"<!-- trivia? -->
 
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