Teleplay By: Kenneth Biller and Robert Doherty
Story By: Rick Berman, Kenneth Biller and Brannon Braga
Directed By: Allan Kroeker
Rating: **** (out of 5)
So �Endgame� is a final episode that embodies Voyager as a series, a finale that is fun to watch and very exciting, but really misses the point. For seven years it has been obvious that when Voyager returns to Earth there would be a great homecoming. And so we were wrong.
For my �Homestead� review I said that with only a few episodes left, the writers really seem not to care, so neither will I. And the same attitude is applied with �Endgame� although not quite as harshly. The story is really very clever and I think is the best way to bring the crew home. It has a very appropriate use of time travel and the Borg to make an action adventure with all the right characterization and conflict.
Ten years after Voyager reaches Earth from 23 years in the Delta Quadrant, Janeway from the future hatches a plan to get Voyager home sooner and thus making sure that Seven, Tuvok, Chakotay and a majority of the crew aren�t killed but make it back to Earth alive. Her plan is to go back in time and use a Borg Transwarp hub to speed them back to Earth, and using new technology there is no doubt that they will all be alive.
Janeway�s plan is all very well, but why couldn�t she just go back to a time just before �Caretaker� and stop the crew from entering the Badlands? No good reason is given. The other problem is Janeway�s motive. Okay, so she lost her dear friend Seven and has pretty much lost her friend Tuvok and while that�s tragic it is a rather small thing to happen to take such drastic actions. If everyone had died except Janeway and some Ensign or if Janeway had caused the deaths of a lot of people, then yes � but exploration in deep space is always dangerous and if Voyager starts to explore the Alpha Quadrant after their homecoming then any of them could still die. Does that mean Janeway will go back and stop everyone�s lives from deteriorating and make everything perfect? It�s not only a big can of worms, but it also seems like an unrealistic reason for Janeway�s actions. The motive is all very well, but the scope is not.
A flaw of Voyager is strongly evident here. Throughout all of Voyager we only concentrated on nine characters and even then predominately only on Janeway, Seven and the Doctor. We only got to know five or six of the crew and even then most of them appeared rarely or died. If we�d got to know the entire crew of Voyager a bit better then thet�d make better sense to the viewers that Janeway is doing the right thing.
And the Borg Transwarp Hub, why didn�t Seven know about it? Why was Seven so completely useless when it came to anything other then her romance with Chakotay? Even then � well, we�ll get to that later.
When Admiral Janeway reaches Voyager Captain Janeway is skeptical about the plan and Captain Janeway isn�t told about the Borg Transwarp Hub, just that there are a number of wormholes and that the Borg are around there. So when Captain Janeway discovers the truth she backs out of the plan and decided instead to try and destroy the Hub. Meanwhile the Borg Queen is watching Voyager�s movements and tells Seven to stay away from the Hub. The two Janeway�s then decide to destroy the hub, destroy the Queen and get home. They succeed and there�s Earth ready and waiting for them.
And there lies the only thing stopping �Endgame� from being six stars and one epic classic. �Endgame� ends as though it was to be continued, it ends so suddenly that as the credits rolled I sat there thinking, �Was that really the end? There has to be more.� �Endgame� shows a perfect way of getting to the crew home; but Voyager was also about what happens when the crew does get home. What about the Maquis? Paris and his sentence? Janeway�s actions and her ex-fianc�e? B�Elanna�s mother after �Barge of the Dead and her father since �Author, Author?� A reunion between the two Paris�s? Harry�s parents? Seven�s homecoming? Doc�s sentience and his father? That is the only thing that I actually hate about �Endgame.� Any other criticisms are irrelevant, I just wanted to see a good conclusion.
The ending just spoils the whole episode. Even though I would�ve loved an extensive homecoming etc there are a number of small possibilities within �Endgame� that would�ve been much more satisfying then what we got. Either we see the crew getting some kind of special reception on Earth or as a bookend to the start we see a future crew from this real timeline all together and then we zoom out to an exterior of Earth. Of course I would�ve loved the finale to be one big goodbye plotting proper directions for everyone but I would�ve been greatly satisfied with either one of those two scenes I mentioned. I mean, the last scene doesn�t even last for any reasonable length of time! It�s not even that good an SFX shot!
Even if all that Klingon stuff was forgotten and those four minutes where used to see everyone on Earth before the end I would�ve been much more satisfied. The Klingon stuff didn�t need to be there, it was for a bit of action really. I mean the story could have Janeway stealing the device from Starfleet and then it would make much better sense for Harry to come along in the Rhode Island. We don�t need to see her stealing it, we just need to get a brief mention of it.
With DS9�s �What You Leave Behind� I was a bit disappointed with the Dukat stuff and that Bajor didn�t enter the Federation, but that�s nothing compared to this! We�ve waited seven years for payoff on the crew returning to Earth and all we see is a two second look at it. There was no real worthy payoff to the conclusion and I was left with a very disappointed feeling. It was even worse that throughout the whole episode we had the crew pondering about what it would be like to get home. My emotions where high with climax and then along came the homecoming and it just � stops. All we need is just two extra minutes with the crew all together, on Earth, one final time. And now we�ll never get it. Funny how Neelix got the best conclusion in �Homestead� a few episodes ago!
With that major rant out of the way; there was still plenty more about �Endgame that I have to say. The Seven and Chakotay romance was a bit late coming in the season but at least Chakotay had something to do. I guess it wasn�t too bad, even if it was unrealistic. The Doc�s a much better partner for Seven. And speaking of the Doc, I loved his reactions to being turned down by Seven when he offers assistance in her romantic endeavors. Doc still has the hots for Seven!
The Borg Queen was fitting to have in this final episode. It seems Unimatrix Zero lead nowhere for the collective. The Queen seemed a bit more daunting here, in fact the Borg in general seemed a bit more daunting. But it doesn�t make up for the damage previously done. This is the last time we�ll see the Borg and it could possibly be the last of the Borg full stop! Their major Transwarp Network for the area is obliterated, another Borg Queen dead and an entire complex destroyed; not to mention the damage Unimatrix Zero would be doing. So maybe the Borg has finally been destroyed. I liked the Borg here, there weren�t the focus of the episode and they played well into the plot.
I enjoyed seeing Icheb one last time although ultimately his character lead absolutely nowhere. Considering the development he�s had, and the two great episodes he was centered in �Child�s Play� and �Imperfection,� I would�ve thought that we�d at least see him in the future timeline. Same goes for Naomi, where was she at the reunion? We also didn�t see Naomi�s Mum nor the three dropouts from �Good Shepherd� or any of the Eqionox crew or even that security guard that popped up sporadically during Voyager�s run (specifically in �Counterpoint� and �Course: Oblivion�). I also noticed that little bit of name dropping of Spock there. Nice try but I doubt many fans tuned in just for that. At least we saw Neelix one last time and even he got a bit more closure with his plans to marry.
The CGI in �Endgame� was beautiful. The opening shot was very well done, the Rhode Island was just as good as the rendition of LaForges ship in �Timeless,� that beautiful shot of people working on Voyager�s hull was a classic and the Borg Queen dying was so cool! OK, so the final shot wasn�t too bad either. Janeway and Janeway were perfectly done. Much better then in �Deadlock� but not as revolutionary as �Life Line,� we had the two Rob Picardo�s interacting physically there. I loved the Voyager shots (notice how there were hardly no old shots used in the entire episode?) and overall the SFX was of the same excellent quality as it always has been. Nothing really new or revolutionary but impressive nonetheless.
While Mike Vejar seems to have taken a turn for the worst with his directing, Allan Kroeker doesn�t disappoint at all. He�s done some of Trek�s best work including the DS9 finale �What You Leave Behind� and he does an excellent job here too. I particularly like his sweeping shots during many of the briefing scenes and during the reunion, it made the episode seem fresh and exciting providing us with final group shots and look at the sets. Together with all the normal Voyager production values the directing makes �Endgame� visually stunning from start to finish.
And the acting � boy, if the writing isn�t 100% perfect then at least we can count on the great cast. Kate Mulgrew pulled two of her best performances with herself, Rob Beltran did quite well with the little bits he did have, Rob Picardo did an excellent job with the little bit he had, Jeri Ryan did a very good job with her scenes even if the writing for her wasn�t that good, Garret Wang also had very little to do but he does do a very touching final speech in the Briefing room, Tim Russ was excellent as the older Tuvok, Robert Duncan McNeil did a fantastic job as father and one of the truly standout performances goes to Roxanne Dawson for her pregnant Klingon scenes!
The guest cast; Alice Krige does an excellent Borg Queen since her role in Star Trek: First Contact, Vaugn Armstrong does exceptional with his Klingon role, Lisa Locicero was a fantastic Miral, Ashley Sierra Hughes was a very cute addition as Naomi�s daughter, Richard Herd was normal and got very little to do, and Dwight Shultz was his ever perfect and fun self to watch.
All the acting was standout and really holds the episode together, that�s one thing Voyager has on par with Deep Space Nine. But it really is a thing to behold seeing this great cast together doing superb jobs. There were no bad points with the acting, it really is something that must be seen to be truly appreciated because the chemistry between everyone was perfect.
�Endgame� would be the best Trek finale made if only the ending wasn�t as sudden. Even two more minutes would make it five stars and an instant classic. But even then there is a lot to like in Voyager�s Series Finale and as Janeway makes her final words �Set a course � for home,� I can�t help but feel that I�m going to miss this great series despite its flaws.