First time viewer: 5 things I loved about Voyager’s Endgame

After spending the last few months watching Star Trek: Voyager for the first time, I finally watched the series finale yesterday, and it was a bittersweet. Of course I knew the crew would get home as as the finale did air many, many years ago. It would have been difficult not to have seen the articles and reviews by now. But we all look at things differently so here are the top five things I loved the most about Voyager’s Endgame.

Harry Kim’s speech about family

Kim has always been one of the most outspoken crew members to want to go home so I thought having him be the one to give the speech about family when Captain Janeway wanted the crew’s input on a difficult decision was perfect. It gave him a moment to show how far he’d grown.

"Maybe it’s not the destination that matters. Maybe it’s the journey."

The humor with Tom, B’Elanna, and the Doctor

B’Elanna was in the final stages of her pregnancy at the beginning of the episode, and The Doctor,  added a great bit of humor, especially when Tom first called him to tell him B’Elanna was in labor. She was cranky, Tom was sleep-deprived, and the Doctor was his usual sarcastic self with the dry one-liners.

Tuvok in the future

It was heartbreaking to see Tuvok’s mental deterioration, but Tim Russ played the part beautifully. It wasn’t that I loved seeing him that way, but I did enjoy seeing him out of the emotionless comfort zone he’d spent the better part of seven years end.

When Captain Janeway asked the crew to help make the decision

Seven years prior, Captain Janeway had made the decision that resulted in the crew being stranded in the Delta Quadrant. She didn’t want to make that same mistake again. So when there was a choice to be made between delivering a crippling blow to the Borg or just heading for home, she asked for their input. This time around, she wanted this to be a family decision.

Harry Kim’s promotion to captain in the future

Though the timeline might change since Admiral Janeway made some adjustments, in the original future we first see, Harry Kim is the captain of the Rhode Island. He’d been an ensign for seven years aboard Voyager, and he’d previously told Captain Janeway that he would have been promoted by then normally. So I feel like this was Voyager’s nod to the ensign, and even though his future might have changed, odds are good he still would have become a captain.

Overall, Endgame had some great moments and some not-so-great moments (which you’ll see in tomorrow’s post). The ending wasn’t quite what I expected and maybe even not what I’d hoped for, but I was happy to see the ship as it approached Earth. The loose ends, for the most part, were wrapped up, and we got a glimpse of the potential future for everyone.