Why Terry Farrell’s Jadzia Dax Left Deep Space Nine After Season 6

When Star Trek: Deep Space Nine aired in 1993, it set itself apart from any Star Trek show preceding it with its primary location of a large space station, darker tone and focus on serialized storytelling. The series thrust its characters into conflict with the Dominion, a military force comprised of many species from the Gamma Quadrant who invaded and threatened Starfleet and the Alpha Quadrant like no other enemy before. Throughout the conflict, Deep Space Nine told stories about unique characters. Among the colorful crew and civilians calling the station home was pansexual science officer Jadzia Dax, a Trill played by actress and model Terry Farrell.

For six seasons, Dax remained a valued member of the Deep Space Nine crew. Her personal friendship with Benjamin Sisko and her romance with Worf created a lot of memorable moments in the series. Sadly, she died in the Season 6 finale “Tears of the Prophets.” Here’s who Jadzia Dax was and why Terry Farrell left the show after Season 6.

Who Was Jadzia Dax on Deep Space Nine?

Although she appeared as a young woman, Jadzia was host to a centuries-old symbiont named Dax. The two shared the same body and mind, though Jadzia’s personality was a mix of her own and all the symbiont’s past lives. Even in childhood, Jadzia wanted to be joined with a symbiont, which was seen as sacred and honorable by the Trill. As such, she studied and received degrees in exobiology, astrophysics and other areas of science and archeology — all of which helped make her a successful candidate for joining and a highly regarded Starfleet officer.

She was close friends with Deep Space Nine’s commander Sisko — who knew one of Dax’s previous hosts, Curzon — and Sisko’s Bajoran first officer, Kira Nerys. Many storylines focused on Jadzia’s use of her past hosts’ knowledge to solve conflicts or her scientific skills in surveying the wormhole, which served as the entry point into the Gamma Quadrant. In Season 4, Star Trek: The Next Generation and Picard hero Worf joined Deep Space Nine as a main character. He and Jadzia fell deeply in love, with Worf admiring her warrior spirit and Jadzia feeling a close connection and interest in Klingon culture.

Yet in the Season 6 finale “Tears of the Prophets,” Jadzia was attacked while visiting the temple of the Prophets by notable villain Gul Dukat, who was possessed by cruel non-corporeal beings known as Pah Wraiths. She was mortally wounded and dies in the station’s sickbay. The crew rescued the Dax symbiont and later transferred it to a new host, Ezri, who became a major character in Deep Space Nine

Why Did Terry Farrell Leave Deep Space Nine?

In Mark A. Altman and Edward Gross’ oral history book The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years (per Showbiz Cheat Sheet), Farrell said she left DS9 because she struggled with her chaotic schedule, and she no longer wanted to deal with what she characterized as producer Rick Berman’s sexist and derogatory behavior. “The problems with my leaving were with Rick Berman,” Farrell explained. “In my opinion, he’s just very misogynistic. He’d comment on your bra size not being voluptuous.”

In an interview with Trek Movie, Farrell stated that she was willing to keep playing Jadzia Dax, even though she asked for a reduced schedule. “I would have been so happy if they just would have let me be a recurring [character] the final season, so I didn’t have to be in every episode. I was just really tired. I was tired of waking up at four in the morning. I was tired of all the minutiae. I’m sure a lot of the other actors feel this way, too.”