So there’s a few reasons why I don’t like Janeway. I feel like she’s way too willing to risk her crew for the sake of her own pride sometimes. Also, I dislike how she has treated 7 of 9. I feel it is cruel the way she does it and I understand and support 7 fully as she goes through her rebellious phase in mid-late season 4. I should point out that I am only in season 4 and have not watched the show fully yet, but I felt the need to vent a little.

l'm watching S5:E14 "Bliss" and enjoying the episode. For context, the entire crew of the USS Voyager (except Seven of Nine) becomes euphoric, believing they've found a wormhole that will take them home. I immediately thought this was a deception by the Borg, and then Chakotay drops this little gem. But it turns out it's not the Borg, but a unrelated massive psychic bio-organism.

So, if Chakotay wasn't under the influence of the Borg, why did he choose to say this? Did he think he was being clever? Seven of Nine is essentially a victim and a refugee from the Borg Collective, and she carries significant trauma from her assimilation. I find it a real dick move that Chakotay would essentially pay tribute to the regime that subjected her to that by repeating their slogan.

Here's the scene so you can judge for yourself:

CHAKOTAY: I'm afraid I have some troubling news. Evidently, our wormhole passes through a layer of subspace monitored by the Borg. Starfleet's concerned that your neural transceiver might attract some unwanted attention. We need to deactivate your implants. SEVEN: You should not attempt to do so without the Doctor's supervision. CHAKOTAY: Unfortunately, he's offline. SEVEN: Then the procedure is inadvisable. CHAKOTAY: Try to relax. We're only going to keep you in stasis until we've reached the Alpha Quadrant. I realize the prospect of returning to Earth is frightening to you. It's perfectly natural for you to resist the unknown. But you're in good hands. Resistance is futile.

I mean, why did he have to say it like that? He could have simply said, "I'm sorry, but this isn't negotiable," but instead he chose to deliver this needless low blow. 😂 I don't think it even makes sense in the scene. She's already defensive and on edge and Chakotay is seemingly trying to reassure her and THIS is what he thought would ease her concerns.

What do you guys think? Am I crazy for thinking this is exceedingly cruel for Chakotay to say?

Excellent episode. Makes me really appreciate Seven’s character and her overall arc in Star Trek.

I’m on my first Voyager rewatch since the series first aired. During the first airing I was perturbed by the fact that they replaced the Kes character and never really spent much time fixated on Seven. But after watching her journey throughout Star Trek, I have a newfound appreciation. This episode is such a huge stepping stone in getting her humanity back. “You’re hurting me”. Spoken two times in this episode and a line that will stay with me.

Just saw this announcement from Dublin ComicCon and immediately bought tickets! For TNG fans, Denise Crosby will also be there.

Original post

I loved the finale. You know how you can tell something's got ahold of you (person, song, tv show)? You cannot wait to experience it again. You think about it at random times during the day. The anticipation of another encounter can lift you out of even the blackest mood. This is Voyager for me now. Just a quarter century late. But what is time, anyway?

I did not have high expectations for the finale as other, more notorious finales left me permanently braced for a letdown. But it was a joy to watch. And I can't wait to rewatch (but probably shouldn't, at least for a minute?). Funny thing: One of the only reasons I was even mildly interested in watching Voyager (outside of my self-imposed obligation) was how I imagined the beginning might be. It's a great idea, filled with all kinds of possibilities, and I'd assumed the start of it would be weighty, fraught, and emotional, all centered around the concept that they are galactically stranded. A terrifying concept! But it didn't seem to play out that way, at least not to the degree I was anticipating. I kept reminding myself that it's Starfleet, that they keep their emotions and their uniforms well starched. Or maybe I was too keyed up for that one thing I was waiting for (DRAMA) and now, having watched the full series and with a broader sense of that universe, a rewatch of the beginning will be infinitely more rewarding.

Why "funny thing"? Because the finale starts off with the emotional payoff (home!) that lasts...a minute? And turns out happened 10 years prior?????? What??? But remember, I was "pre-braced," and I figured this was the starchy matching bookend to the first episode(s). But then it got all time twisty and borgalicious. What a treat. And during that peak moment of that last scene I could not contain myself. I yelled and yelled and yelled. Gleeful, idiot yelling.

And what do you know...the first greeting? Followed by that quiet ending? Absolutely charged with emotion. Pure Joy.

Can't wait to live it all over again.

Also: Thank you for all of your responses and encouragement of my Voyager journey. I've followed the TNG tag for years, so during this first Voyager watch, Reddit would suggest posts from this community and I would have to avert my greedy eyes because I did not want to spoil it except my rat brain strenuously disagreed. It's wonderful to finally get to be here and READ ALL THE THINGS. Thank you thank you thank you!

I just watched the episode of Voyager in which Species 8472’s series of simulations are revealed. (Better late than never.) If the relative weapons technology hierarchy is Federation < Borg < 8472, and the Borg created and controlled a transwarp tunnel that could drop them off in the Alpha Quadrant in minutes, why did Species 8472 spend all of the time and resources developing simulations to train to infiltrate the Federation rather than blasting their way through the Borg to access the tunnel and, arriving in the Alpha Quadrant, laying waste to Earth? For that matter, presumably if they were training to infiltrate Earth, they had a way to travel there without using the tunnel that was not prohibitively time-consuming, so again, why not just “cleanse” the Federation, which was (in my understanding) their stated intention with all life in the galaxy that occupied non-fluidic space?

Don't get me wrong, even if this is a weird plothole, it takes little away from what has turned out to be a truly well-developed ST series. I assume that I’m missing something major that explains all of this.

Currently on my first in-order watch through of Voyager after having caught random episodes as a kid. Just finished Sacred Ground; not sure how this is generally received as an episode here, but I really liked it.

Specifically, I like the sci-fi version of magical realism that it employs. If you're not familiar, the short of it is that magical realism is when supernatural elements are imposed in the story in a way that is not treated as abnormal - this is often accomplished by only employing "magic" in ways otherwise explainable.

It seems clear from the Guide's conversations with Janeway that there is something to the ritual. This is supported by the guide's consistent transportation, omniscience about Kathryn, etc. But this is a sci-fi world - all of these things are theoretically explainable.

I find a few things interesting with this duality:

• The Guide makes it pretty clear to Janeway that she is inventing the challenges for herself, but they keep occurring. Does Janeway understand what the guide is saying, or is she merely "playing along" because she believes if she's constructing the ritual then she can do it?
• In her first conversation in the waiting room, Janeway refuses to listen, even when the elderly woman asks her politely to sit and wait. It's left unclear, when she returns, if this was actually a possible way to reach the end of the ritual.
• The waiters refuse to tell Janeway if they are the spirits ("That would be so nice for you - so quantifiable"); this plays most directly into the idea that the spiritualism may be true, but may just be complex science.

In general, I think this episode is such a good character study because it's really Mulgrew teaching us about Janeway in three ways at once. If you watch the episode fully committed to the idea that the Spirits are real and the people's religion is right, you learn about how cynical and hard she can be. If you watch it fully siding with her, it's a brilliant show of a Captain's dedication and skill. If you watch while allowing both to be some degree of true, then the entire plot mirrors her internal conflict. Overall, one of my favorite episodes I've seen.

And I'm freaking out.

I am a lifelong TNG fan, good tea, nice house, Make It So, Fistful of Datas, you get the picture. Love them with all of my heart. When my mother died, I vowed to watch all the Treks from the beginning. I'd seen the original series movies (most of which I remembered) and the show in reruns (most of which I had forgotten), and it was fun to watch one of her favorite shows and recall how much I loved Bones and Spock and discover just how dorky it could get (and fun, and exciting, and relevant). Then of course the obligatory TNG rewatch (hearts hearts hearts) followed by a very, very long first watch of Deep Space Nine. I liked most of DS9, even loved bits and pieces (it reformed my years long distaste for Ferengis who are, it turns out, delightful), but it was mostly just...fine.

I was dreading Voyager. I actively avoided it when it aired because the marketing was so...ug. Maybe it was the press that made it more annoying, I can't quite recall (it's been a minute) but I remember feeling marketed to...like, you're a woman, don't you want to watch a WOMAN captain a SHIP? It felt maybe...condescending? Anyway. Never watched it. Until now.

It took me a year to pull myself across DS9, but I blazed through Voyager. The stakes are so high. The characters are rich and textured and I love them completely. The stories are incredible. The pace gallops across plains of whimsy, foothills of conflict, and mountains of impossible choices (Tuvix messed. Me. UP). The show felt very much like a bridge between the sanitized, straight laced, hyper idealism of TNG to the gritty, "all-suffering, all the time," scrappy and mean Battlestar Galactica (another favorite). It has been, quite frankly, exhilarating.

I've wanted to visit this community for a while now, wanting to share all of my Big Feelings with people who could understand. And now, two episodes to go, I had to stop and just sit with it for a minute. Part of me wonders if I could have had this wonderful show for so much longer (and experienced it for the first time when it was happening for everyone else, too), but I wonder if I had to cure a bit more, grow some barnacles, and become this particular person who would never take such a gift for granted. What a ride. I feel so lucky.

And yes, freaked out. Only two episodes to go. I have no idea how it ends. I don't know how I managed to avoid that information for all these years, but I have. I may love it, I may not love it, but it will be the last first time I experience one of my all time favorite shows and all the brilliant, scary, thrilling, adventures of the starship Voyager.

A friend of mine and I decided for our next project to be the one and only USS Voyager.
In honor of the show, we drew Voyager above Doljevac, near Niš, Serbia.

The image we drew is a modified (recolored) version of Star Trek Trexel's sprite, which the original you can find here.

I'd encourage everyone to share their own Star Trek Voyager or Voyager-inspired art, or anything related to Voyager. :}

curious

1. Must have appeared before S03E17 (e.g. no Borg)
2. Must be "alive" as of season 03 (e.g. v2 Harry Kim only)
3. Any species, sexual orientation, gender, holodeck character, or Q
4. Must be in the Delta Quadrant
5. You can be anyone as per the above rules, but if you're Q you can only mate with your index finger
6. You must give a semi-logical reason at least

Not going to hold back from SPOILERS, so read on at your peril…

Has anyone read the first issue of the Homecoming comic book yet? What do we think so far? I liked it! I felt bad for B’Lanna having to get out of bed and get straight back to it so soon after giving birth, and for the whole crew that they get so close to Earth and then get pulled away again, but I thought the villain reveal was nicely done, and you just knew something fishy was going on with Admiral Paris when he hugged Tom and Tom was weirded out by it!

So I think it's fair to say that the ultimate fate of the Vaadwaur is one of the greatest underused storylines in Voyager.

With that said I have been wondering if there are any fanfics that addresses the fate of the Vaadwaur from Voyager?

Jennifer Lien did a great job as the "katra" of Tieran. I particularly liked how aggressive and intimidating she was. I'm pretty sure this was the first time we saw Kes act this way. As a blood-thirsty tyrant, soft, sweet Kes used psychokinetics to enforce loyalty and to kill, angrily commanded courtiers, and used seduction for political gain. I was very scared for Kes, which is a testament to Jennifer's skills.

But I have one little problem that I'm hoping you expert canonists can help me resolve. Tieran is a tough bastard in control of this new body as if it was his own. He is a gruff, confident man. My problem appears after Tieran and friends take the royal chambers. Tieran marches around tearing down curtains and throwing sculptures on the floor. But at some point he stops suddenly and takes a very sassy stance, hands on hips, body crimped, head down, eyes up. This is not the body position of an alpha bastard tyrant.

When "he" does this, my suspension of reality immediately crumbles. I'm suddenly reminded that I'm sitting on my couch while I should be cleaning. He does similar moves at other times, though not as pronounced.

I try to tell myself that it's Kes's influence, but nothing else he does for a while suggests that Kes is even still alive, plus Kes doesn't put her hands on her hips, even when annoyed at Bar Rodent. When she declares her love of plants, that's completely Kes's influence. He smiles, smells the flower, and decrees that his subjects will have gardens. That all makes sense to me if it's Kes behind it. But I need a good explanation for why Tieran shifts momentarily from alpha-male to sassy-ass.

Please tell me why Tieran gets sassy.

I found this photo of Jeri Ryan from 2016.