Jonathan Frakes laments Star Trek: Enterprise’s finale despite it being “a good episode”

Jonathan Frakes believes the Star Trek: Enterprise finale was a good episode but admits it didn’t fit.

Jonathan Frakes is the face of the franchise, in the eyes of many. Not only has he been in or directed at least one episode of every show that Star Trek has done since his arrival as William Riker on Star Trek: The Next Generation, but he’s been one of the biggest supporters of the brand in the media.

He directed episodes on Discovery, Strange New Worlds, and more, plus he returned to acting for Star Trek: Picard. He’s gone beyond a typical series icon, being associated with a show, and is seen as many as the face of the brand. And a name many want to see take over the reins of the series going forward.

But despite his success, not everything he’s touched has turned to gold, with one of his biggest flops being Star Trek: Enterprise and its finale, “These Are the Voyages…” The show’s final was lambasted by fans, and while the show’s audience has grown since its cancelation and many fans praise its direction and story-telling, the finale has never been forgiven.

Frakes knows that, and wishes it would’ve gone differently, telling Variety;

"We didn’t quite fit. It was sold as, ‘Oh, come on and do the episode, it will be a Valentine to the fans’ — it wasn’t a Valentine to the fans. The fans didn’t want to see us. Scott Bakula was such a mensch about it, but all these other ‘Trek’ shows went seven seasons. Nobody wanted to be on a ‘Star Trek’ show that didn’t get to go to seven. And the inherent insult in having characters from another series that had done well come in to essentially close the books on his episode — it just felt so wrong to me. I mean, it was a good episode. We had a blast doing it in many ways. The more I think about it, the more I hear from fans about it in particular, it may not have been the best choice we’ve made on ‘Star Trek.’ Again, they’re not all home runs. It’s just unfortunate that that was the last episode of that show."

Star Trek: Enterprise fans will never give the finale a break

Fans who watched the series for four years had to sit through one of the most insulting episodes ever. Despite building up to the Romulan War and the formation of the United Federation of Planets, the show instead focused on Frakes’ Will Riker and his wife Deanna Troi.

It was also the episode that killed off Charles “Trip” Tucker needlessly, all for shock value. To say that the fandom has wholly rejected the episode would be a fair and honest statement and unlike some other shows and episodes that look better in the light of day many years later, this is one episode that fans will never truly forgive.