An early idea for Star Trek: Voyager episode gave Janeway and Chakotay a family together

One of the most favorite episodes of Star Trek: Voyager for fans of a potential romance between Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and Commander Chakotay (Robert Beltran) is "Resolutions." In the season two episode, Janeway and Chakotay are forced to remain behind on a planet after contracting a virus that would be deadly to the rest of the crew.

Viewers saw this as a chance for the couple to give into their feelings, especially since they were just Kathryn and Chakotay without any ranks. But, according to Whatculture, Jeri Taylor, who wrote this episode, wanted to let the viewers see that nothing was going to happen between the couple except for a friendship.

However, writer Ken Biller had another idea that he pitched to the Voyager team, and it's similar to Star Trek: The Next Generation's "The Inner Light." Biller wanted to include an essence of time travel that would have had Janeway and Chakotay aging across forty years and giving them an entire family as the years unfolded. So, in the space of one episode, we would have gotten the romance in its entirety.

Of course Biller's idea wasn't utilized, possibly because it was too similar to "The Inner Light." But that episode could have given those wanting a romance between the captain and her first officer some measure of closure. While "Resolutions" was meant to clarify that nothing was going to happen between the pair, it couldn't erase the chemistry between Janeway and Chakotay, and it didn't stop the fans from wanting what wasn't going to unfold.

Now, with both Janeway and Chakotay back on Star Trek: Prodigy, there is a slight chance, if the series gets renewed for a season three, something more will develop between the couple, even if it happens at the end of the series. So maybe it's a good thing we didn't see their entire romance in one episode!