Endgame

I love this show. It is my favourite in the Star Trek world except the original series. Too bad the writers went the "we don't want to fall into the sappy, captain gives a heroic speech, ticket tape parade trite ending" that most shows would naturally do. They went the Sopranos ending route and tried to change it up and not form to convention. yes, you can be bold and take that route but you also have to pay the piper if that route fails. I doubt David Chase can go anywhere even years later without a fan coming up and saying, "WTF guy! I felt stiffed!" When you have a 2 or 3 hour film you can play that card BUT when you have the finale show after a 7 year run that is ALSO part of a huge fan based universe for the past 40+ years, you have to pay off some debts buddy. Like it or not it is emotionally satisfying having those moments and when you cheat your audience by not showing them at all because you don't as filmmakers want to present the same old same old, then you can't complain when you are dragged out on the carpet for it. Your job is to present it in in a non-sappy way by use of writing, acting and directing skills to satisfy an audience, not to re-invent the wheel.

It appears the writers got the information about the termination of the contract for the series on a very short notice!

They not only produced an episode that was clearly rushed but also contradicted many of the past episodes involving time travel, and commits a time travel paradox (also recognized as such in past episodes) which by definition would be impossible: if Janeway was to be successful in her reckless plan as it appears to be the case at the end, how could her sad self exist to get back in time to execute it in the first place? Besides, where are time cops from 29th century to stop her?

I enjoyed the series very much but the finale left a sour taste that I still cannot forget; hence my review here to vent.

Star Trek can be very hit and miss with finales. Voyager, however, is the cream of the crop. It just has so much that works in its favor. Time travel shenanigans, action, drama, humor, a baby being born amidst the chaos, the return of Alice Krige as the true Borg Queen (thank god the other actress was unavailable, she sucked and Krige killed it as ever). The conclusion itself was extremely satisfying.

It just has one glaring flaw: a forced romance subplot that neither makes sense or works on a basic chemistry level. It comes absolutely out of nowhere and drags the story to a halt every single time they cut to it.

Bad romance aside, however. If you're a fan of Voyager, it will satisfy you on every other level. Kate Mulgrew in particular absolutely shines in a dual role.

My favourite TV show. Not my favourite episode. But I loved how they kept things open regarding the crew's future. Easy 10 stars. Here is how I would want VOY to continue from here: The exact same crew explores Romulan space. In a cloaked ship that looks Federation, except it's all Borg-like square shapes, instead of round circles. 'We look like Federation, but we're not. Hence, we're allowed to cloak.' Tuvok turns out to be a Romulan, really. The adventures of the new VOY crew resemble Indiana Jones from here. The crew constantly has Romulans in their backs. Romulan space is vast. And why are Romulans so secretive, anyway ? Let's have that kind of show, shall we ? Star Trek Voyager was the slickest, shiniest, smartest show I ever was so privileged to witness. Thank You. --- Find an invitation to my Star Trek Fan Project STAR FLEET: ROMULUS on Google Play Books. Codename Greenspace.

Strange. I seem to agree with those who love this ending and those who hate it. Or I can understand why people love it and others hate it. I can't really rate it. The main point of the story is sacrifice which Janeway does and doesn't do. How we get there is the problem some have. Plotholes are never a good sign. We have to fall back on the Borg queen having a smug arrogance as opposed to using simple cold hard logic like, you know, the Borg in order to leave the collective open. A possible explanation is having unique access to future technology and that leads to a general issue I have with Star Trek and time travel.

Its the same with Doctor Who when the Daleks acquire time travel. Suddenly the massive plotholes of having villains free to go anywhere in time even tamper with human evolution at its source never seems to enter their grinch like minds. It is always conveniently at a specific time later when it is conceivable for them to be vanquished making it seem like the villains aren't really so villainous. Its like Bond villains always finding a reason to leave Bond alone just long enough to escape after spilling their guts about everything. I think thats why Goldfinger is so well remembered, they did such a good job at justifying leaving Bond alive or Bond actually figures it out on his own. Here, the Borg never bothered to do enough, same as in First Contact. Dont get me wrong, it was a fun movie but still, Time Travel opens plotholes when villains have it. You can even wonder why the Borg don't go into the future to aquire future technology.

Anyway. The well written shows today tend to end with darker conclusions. Sure, outcomes are reached and perhaps they are mostly successful for tue protagonist but with bitter tradeoffs. So would the opening of Endgame be how it would end now? An ugly battle back after 23 years instead of initially facing a journey that was to take 75 years? Crew members gone for various reasons, others aged or gone mad. Frankly, the most moving moment in the two parter is Janeway's farewell to Tuvok as Tuvok, now long gone with a degenerative mental disease furiously writes by candelight while kneeling on the floor, trying to complete a project he will never finish. Moving stuff. That gets undercut with the heroic mission through time and a confrontation with the Borg with future technology.

On the other hand, the story is supposed to be about Janeway's sacrifice, face death for the good of her crew. A fate similar to the three different Enterprise ships at the end of TNG though that was to save the human race from never existing.

Generally, this ending is like sci fi gold compared to what passes for sci fi today. Today there is no wonders to explore, just mental masturbation of the same old boring woke cliches and worn out human obsessions with sexual identity, money and power. No imagination at all. All things Star Trek never was and never meant to be. Any issues to explore were explored via aliens grappling with them, not humans still mired in them hundreds of years in the future. That was the hopeful message of the whole show. We do overcome all this crap and see ourselves and how we act after our conflicts end.

If I had to rate it, this is 10/10 compared to where the bar is set for sci fi today. For those who demand and expect something better from their entertainment, then that number will drop a bit. All and all, I do find it enjoyable enough. The opening stuck with me the most.