Decades in the future, the surviving crew of Voyager observes the bittersweet anniversary of their return home. Admiral Janeway regrets one particular decision that led to events unfolding as they did, and plots to travel back in time. There, she must convince her younger self to use a Borg transwarp conduit as a shortcut home. But Captain Janeway wants to instead destroy the conduit to protect the Alpha Quadrant.
Up front, let me say: "Endgame" is a decent enough series finale to Voyager. There's plenty of action and adventure. Subplots honor the relationships we've seen over the years (Tom and B'Elanna, Janeway and Tuvok). We get one more clash against the Borg, the fun of seeing older versions of many of the characters, and most importantly, Voyager does make it home. Essentially, the finale ticks all the required boxes.
Yet at the same time, this finale feels far inferior to me to "what might have been." For one thing, there's a certain lack of originality to it. The finale of The Next Generation was a time-hopping adventure that took us to the future, and here's Voyager cribbing that idea (and not really improving upon it). As for the Borg, Voyager has clashed against them so many times as to thoroughly declaw them. Seeing Alice Krige return as the Borg Queen is great (with all the same twisted sensuality she brought when first portraying the character), and the logic of "one final Borg adventure" undeniable... but it's not as if there's any suspense over the outcome.
But my real criticism is that the Voyager finale ends just when it gets to the best part. To me, the major dramatic question is not simply "does Voyager make it home?" but "what happens to everyone once they do get home?" Our glimpses of an alternate universe fail to scratch that itch (since rewriting history means it all never happens). In my opinion, Voyager should have done what Deep Space Nine did in its final season, devoting multiple episodes to a long "finale" story arc. Voyager should have made it home with many episodes still to come, so it could then pursue the many interesting dramatic opportunities that would have opened up.
What happens when Janeway has to defend her many questionable decisions to Starfleet, or actually come face-to-face with the fiancé who moved on without her? What happens with Chakotay and B'Elanna, and the rest of the Maquis crew? How do B'Elanna and Tom reconcile (or not) with their estranged fathers? Harry Kim has wanted to get home more than anyone; what's it like for him to see that dream come true? What is it like for Tuvok to reunite with his family, and have to deal with the strong emotions as a proper Vulcan should? What's it like for the Doctor to lose the place that makes him special, and have to fight to assert his personhood? What's it like for Seven of Nine to acclimate to a strange new world? What about Neelix? (Who, as I said, should have made it back to Earth instead of being written out early.) Does Icheb get to become a Starfleet cadet? Why not check in on Barclay and Troi, who became not-insignificant parts of Voyager's story in later seasons?
Nope, all of that is just left for fan-fiction to address. What a missed opportunity.
So it's perhaps hard for me to fairly rate the finale we got, rather than the finale in my head. But fair would be to get specific about the many elements here that do work. Opening with Voyager and a fireworks display over the Golden Gate Bridge is a clever, instant tease. Harry Kim makes captain! We see grown-up Naomi Wildman and Miral (Tom and B'Elanna's daughter). The Doctor settles on the name "Joe." Tuvok's deteriorating mental faculties make for a moving proxy for dementia (though I do wish it hadn't just come out of nowhere for this one final episode). We see Seven keeping in touch with Neelix via "long-distance phone calls." Ensign Kim delivers a big motivational speech before the climax.
And yeah, there are a few elements don't work so well. The unearned romance between Chakotay and Seven of Nine. (Had it continued all along from the earlier episode where Seven tested these waters on the holodeck, that would be something. Instead, it comes out of nowhere all over again.) Captain Janeway has a weirdly adamant reaction to discovering the Borg transwarp hub. (Basically: "I will turn this car around!") And the idea that the Borg are defeated "once and for all" here seems clearly ridiculous (even if the writers genuinely thought in the moment that there would be no more Star Trek ever in that time frame). How about those abrupt end credits, which roll almost the moment Voyager emerges from the wormhole near Earth?
Other observations:
- The future Starfleet uniforms from "All Good Things..." get another on-screen appearance here.
- Old Tuvok's photo of his friends aboard Voyager is clearly just a real-world publicity photo of the cast.
- Regular guest actor Vaughn Armstong collects one more appearance on Voyager's way out the door, as the Klingon captain.
I wish the Voyager finale felt like less of a "remix" of other Star Trek finale (and movie) elements. And I really wish that it had made space to show us more of "life back on Earth" after the crew gets home. But, as a pure action-adventure conclusion that does tie everything up in some way, "Endgame" works alright. I give it a B+.
As always at the end of a season, let me list what I thought were the top five episodes: "Author, Author," "Shattered," "Endgame," "Workforce" (part one), and "Prophecy." And then, let me move on with a few final thoughts about Star Trek: Voyager as a whole:
Re-watching all seven seasons of Star Trek: Voyager, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the show was better than I remembered. I think in the series' original run, I was focused a lot on how it wasn't as good as Deep Space Nine. (And that part, to be sure, is still true.) But when you're not getting an episode of both series each week, the contrast between them doesn't seem as sharp.
On the other hand, how Voyager is better than I remembered is an important consideration. In my view, it gets there by quite reliably delivering episodes of a fairly consistent quality. There really aren't that many "stinkers" in Voyager's run (far fewer, in fact, than in Star Trek: The Next Generation). Yet at the same time, there really aren't that many "all-time greats" either. In 168 episodes, I only ever gave an A- grade to two of them -- and none ever got an unqualified A. That's in sharp contrast to both The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine, each of which has at least a dozen contenders if you were building a "best episodes of Star Trek" list. I think the writing on Voyager risks less, and that puts both a floor and a ceiling on the quality of the episodes. On the other hand, if you're going to watch a randomly selected episode of a Star Trek series, your odds of getting an enjoyable one seem much higher with Voyager.
Next up? I am moving onto a re-watch of Enterprise (later renamed Star Trek: Enterprise). That is going to be interesting, for reasons I'll touch on when I'm back to review its pilot episode, "Broken Bow."
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