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Endgame (Star Trek: Voyager)

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"Endgame"
Star Trek: Voyagerepisodes
Episodenos.Season 7
Episodes 25 & 26
Directed byAllan Kroeker
Story by
Teleplay by
Featured musicJay Chattaway
Cinematography byMarvin V. Rush
Production code271
Original air dateMay 23, 2001(2001-05-23)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
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Star Trek: Voyagerseason 7
List of episodes

"Endgame"is theseries finaleof theAmericanscience fictiontelevision seriesStar Trek: Voyager,episodes 25 and 26 of theseventh seasonand 171 and 172 in the overall series. It was originally shown May 23, 2001, on theUPNnetwork as a double-length episode and later presented as such in DVD collections, but it is shown in syndicated broadcasts as a two-part story.

Plot

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In the year 2404, the Federation and the re-assembled crew ofVoyagerare celebrating the 10th anniversary of the ship's return to Earth, 23 years after it was stranded in theDelta Quadrant.Kathryn Janeway– now an admiral – reminisces with her crew, but reflects on the high personal costs of the long journey. She launches a plot to undo some of them by intervening at a key point in their history, changing a decision she now regrets. She steals an illegal time travel device and – with the reluctant help of now-CaptainHarry Kim– takes a shuttlecraft back to 2378, where she meets up withVoyager,still in the Delta Quadrant. She pulls rank on younger Captain Janeway and orders the ship to return to a nebula filled withBorgthat they had passed a few days before. She provides advanced technologies that allowVoyagerto survive the massive Borg defenses, destroy two Borg vessels, and enter a transwarp corridor, which the Borg use for interstellar travel.Voyagercomes upon a Borg transwarp hub, which connects distant parts of the galaxy, and could save the ship from sixteen more years stranded in the Delta Quadrant.

However, Captain Janeway wants to use Admiral Janeway's future technology to instead destroy the transwarp network; this can only be done from its terminus in the Delta Quadrant. Admiral Janeway explains that 23 additional crew members will die on the remainder of their trip home, includingSeven of Nine(whose death will emotionally devastateChakotay), and thatTuvokwill develop dementia from a neurological condition that could have been treated in the Alpha Quadrant. Troubled by the choice, Captain Janeway discusses the issue with the crew, who agree that destroying the hub – severely diminishing the Borg threat to the Alpha Quadrant – is more important. The admiral is inspired by their spirit, and works with the captain on a scheme to do both.

The admiral takes her shuttlecraft and enters the transwarp hub, arriving at theUnicomplex– the center of all Borg activity and the home of the Borg Queen.[note 1]She pretends to offer a deal in defiance of the captain's plans: her future technologies, in exchange for sendingVoyagersafely home. However, the Queen captures the admiral and begins to assimilate her into the Borg collective. Admiral Janeway then turns the tables by unleashing a pathogen she was carrying in her bloodstream into the collective, devastating it and killing the Queen. The Unicomplex suffers a cascade failure and explodes, killing the admiral as well.

Meanwhile, Captain Janeway andVoyagerhave entered a transwarp corridor, pursued by a surviving Borg sphere that is trying to destroyVoyagerand crew in a last-chance attempt to create atime-travel paradoxthat will undo the devastating damage that Admiral Janeway has just done. Unable to fight back against the sphere's defenses, Captain Janeway takesVoyagerinside it, destroying it from the inside just as they emerge from the collapsing transwarp corridor near Earth. They are met by a fleet of Starfleet vessels that had been sent to confront the Borg, which instead escortVoyagerhome to Earth. B'Elanna Torres gives birth to her and Tom Paris’ child.

Production

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It was originally expected that a character would die in order to returnVoyagerto Earth, with Kate Mulgrew saying in an interview that one of the characters would die in one of the final frames of the series finale – but added that it didn't mean she was saying that it would be Janeway who would perish.[1]In 2015,Brannon Bragastated onTwitterthat he felt that it should have been Seven of Nine who died in the finale,[2]and that he had written the episode "Human Error"specifically to set this up.[3]

Awards

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This episode won two Emmy Awards, which only four otherStar Trekepisodes have done. It won for Outstanding Music Composition For A Series (Dramatic Underscore) (Jay Chattaway) and Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series, in both cases beating theVoyagerepisode "Workforce",which was also nominated in those categories." Endgame "was also nominated for Outstanding Sound Editing For A Series.[4]

Reception

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In 2015,SyFyranked "Endgame" as one of the top ten episodes of the series.[5]

In 2016, on the fiftieth anniversary of the franchise,[6]multiple publications included "Endgame" in episode rankings.The Hollywood Reporterrated "Endgame" the 54th best television episode of allStar Trekfranchise television prior toStar Trek: Discovery,including live-action and the animated series, but not counting the movies.[7]They also ranked "Endgame" the sixth best episode of theStar Trek: Voyagerseries.[8]SyFyranked "Endgame" as the third best finale ofStar Trekseries up to 2016.[9]SyFyranked "Endgame" as the eighth best time travel plot inStar Trek.[10]Empireranked this the 48th best out of the top fifty episodes of all the 700 plusStar Trektelevision episodes.[11]Radio Timesranked the return of the USSVoyagerto Earth as the 30th greatest moment in allStar Trek,including films and television up to that time.[12]

In 2019,Nerdistrated Captain Kathryn Janeway one of the top seven time-traveling characters in all ofStar Trekfor her role in "Endgame".[13]The same year,Nerdistalso suggested watching "Endgame" as part of an abbreviatedbinge-watchingguide featuringUSSVoyager's confrontations with the Borg.[14]They also ranked it as the fifth best time-travel episode of allStar Trekin between "Tomorrow is Yesterday" (#6) and "All Good Things..." (#4).[15]

Also in 2019,SyFyrecommend this episode for itsSeven of Ninebinge-watching guide.[16]

In 2021,Screen Rantranked "Endgame" the sixth best episode with the Borg, based on anIMDBrating of 8.6 out 10.[17]

Novelization

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A novelized version of "Endgame" was adapted byDiane Carey,and published in 2002.[18]Some relatedStar Trekepisodes were also novelized, including theStar Trek: Voyagertelevision premiere "Caretaker", which was released as a 278-page novel called "Caretaker", and as anaudiobookin 1995 bySimon & Schuster.[19]

Two additional novels based onVoyager's return areHomecomingandThe Farther Shore,both by Christie Golden.[20]

See also

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  • Endgame (Stargate SG-1)(this is also the episode title of a similarly named TV series that aired the following year)

Notes

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  1. ^Alice Krigereturns to the role of the Borg Queen for the first time sinceStar Trek: First Contact.The character was portrayed bySusanna Thompsonin three previousVoyagerepisodes.

References

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  1. ^"Trek to Break Final Taboo?".Dreamwatch(73): 18. October 2000.
  2. ^@BrannonBraga (May 10, 2015)."True. I thought 7 of 9 should sacrifice herself to get her crew home. She was a tragic character. Bad idea?"(Tweet) – viaTwitter.
  3. ^@BrannonBraga (May 10, 2015)."Human Error – the last Voyager I wrote – was intended to set up her death. She learns she can never be fully human"(Tweet) – viaTwitter.
  4. ^"Dispatch:" Endgame "Earns Emmys for Visual Effects, Music".Star Trek. September 10, 2001. Archived fromthe originalon October 6, 2001.RetrievedSeptember 5,2014.
  5. ^Granshaw, Lisa (January 16, 2015)."20 years later: Our top 10 episodes of Star Trek: Voyager".SYFY WIRE.Archived fromthe originalon May 12, 2021.RetrievedJuly 15,2019.
  6. ^"Fans celebrate Star Trek's 50th anniversary".TechCrunch.August 15, 2016.RetrievedJuly 25,2020.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^""Endgame" – 'Star Trek': 100 Greatest Episodes ".The Hollywood Reporter.September 8, 2016.RetrievedMarch 24,2019.
  8. ^""Endgame" – 'Star Trek: Voyager' – The 15 Greatest Episodes ".The Hollywood Reporter.September 23, 2016.RetrievedJuly 2,2019.
  9. ^Roth, Dany (January 26, 2016)."These were the voyages: Every Star Trek finale, ranked".SYFY WIRE.Archived fromthe originalon September 29, 2021.RetrievedJuly 4,2019.
  10. ^Granshaw, Lisa (November 15, 2016)."Ranking the 15 best Star Trek time travel episodes".SYFY WIRE.Archived fromthe originalon March 28, 2019.RetrievedJune 3,2019.
  11. ^"The 50 best Star Trek episodes ever".Empire.July 27, 2016.RetrievedJune 29,2019.
  12. ^"The 50 Greatest Star Trek moments of all time – 3".Radio Times.RetrievedJuly 4,2019.
  13. ^"The 7 Best Time Travelers In STAR TREK".Nerdist.RetrievedJune 23,2019.
  14. ^"A Guide to Binge Watching 7 Great STAR TREK Arcs".Nerdist.RetrievedJuly 23,2019.
  15. ^"The 10 Best STAR TREK Time Travel Episodes, Ranked".Nerdist.RetrievedJuly 27,2019.
  16. ^Fleenor, S. E. (April 16, 2019)."The Seven of Nine binge guide".SYFY WIRE.Archived fromthe originalon April 17, 2019.RetrievedJune 12,2019.
  17. ^"Star Trek: 10 Best Borg Episodes (According To IMDb)".Screen Rant.April 3, 2021.RetrievedApril 7,2021.
  18. ^Carey, Diane; Golden, Christie (December 18, 2001).Endgame.Simon and Schuster.ISBN9780743453899.
  19. ^Graf, L. A. (February 1995).Caretaker.Simon & Schuster.ISBN9780671521424.
  20. ^"Book Review & Summary: Star Trek Voyager Novels: Homecoming | The Farther Shore".kickinglettuce.RetrievedJuly 15,2019.
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