Trek Culture gives 10 reasons why Kathryn Janeway is the best in Star Trek

Trek Culture gave ten reasons why Kathryn Janeway is the best captain in all of Star Trek, but is she, or is this just a clever video title?

Trek Culture is always good for some insightful thoughts and controversy churning questions. This week is no different as they asked the question; is Kathryn Janeway the best captain in Star Trek history? They gave ten reasons why Janeway is the greatest and all ten are valid arguments but it should be stated clearly, to avoid any unnecessary squabbles; there is no such thing as “the best” in Star Trek history.

It’s a subjective point of view.

Just by being in the conversation, she is one of the best, and just by the merits of her having her own show, she’s one of the best. That shouldn’t be disputed. That said, let’s talk about why I agree with Trek Culture’s premise.

While we can talk about the merits of the show’s writing and it’s a depiction of the events of Janeway’s show, Star Trek: Voyager, we have to look at the broader events and not the minor details. Janeway was both James T. Kirk, Jean-Luc Picard, and Benjamin Sisko all at once. She was both the explorer Kirk was, the diplomat Picard was and the war-time tactician Sisko was.

Let’s not forget that in her seven years as captain, she dealt with three warrior races (Hirogen, Species 8472, Kazon) that wanted to kill her and her crew, none of which had been encountered before. She had to deal with merging the crews of both the Voyager and the Maquis raider in a whole new, unexplored quadrant and had numerous encounters with xenophobic alien races. On top of that, she had to manage her way through the Year of Hell, the constant war between 8472 and the Borg, as well as numerous alliances that hunted her down.

There are specific instances that the video dives deeper into, but you can’t deny that she’s not at the least worthy of being in the conversation of greatest captain in Trek history.