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May 23, 2001 · Endgame: Directed by Allan Kroeker. With Kate Mulgrew, Robert Beltran, Roxann Dawson, Robert Duncan McNeill. Having long since made it home, an aged Admiral Janeway breaks Starfleet directives and temporal laws to take a last stab at an old enemy and shorten Voyager's journey home.
- (2.8K)
- Action, Adventure, Drama
- Allan Kroeker
- 2001-05-23
- Overview
- Summary
- Memorable quotes
- Background information
- Links and references
Years after Voyager's return to the Alpha Quadrant, Admiral Kathryn Janeway resolves to alter the past in order to help her crew get home sooner. (Series finale)
Teaser
Fireworks light up the San Francisco night. The long-lost Federation starship USS Voyager, now returned from its twenty-three years of travel in the Delta Quadrant, buzzes the Golden Gate Bridge spanning San Francisco Bay, then climbs and twirls like a dancer among the fireworks. Huge, watching crowds cheer. But the whole thing is revealed to be recorded footage in a news transmission celebrating the tenth anniversary of Voyager's return. In her apartment, with lights off, Vice Admiral Kathryn Janeway looks at the transmission. She has the computer end the transmission, and looks sadly out of her window, a dented coffee cup from Voyager sitting on a nearby table serving as a reminder of what happened during their long journey home.
Act One
A reunion of Voyager's crew takes place at Admiral Janeway's apartment. Present are several of her former senior officers, such as a graying Harry Kim, Voyager's former operations officer, now a captain. As Kim mingles, he encounters Sabrina, the daughter of Naomi Wildman, and greets her warmly. Janeway comes to him with two glasses of champagne. They go off together and begin talking. Kim asks Janeway about Tuvok, and is told he isn't well. Kim mentions that he plans to see Tuvok the next day. He apologizes for missing a funeral, but Janeway reassures him those who did attend understood as Kim was on a mission. The Doctor enters, with a blonde on his arm, to be greeted by Tom Paris, now a full-time holographic novel writer. The Doctor introduces the woman, a living Human, as his wife – Lana. And, he reveals, he has finally taken a name after thirty-three years: Joe, Lana's grandfather's name. B'Elanna Torres, now Federation liaison to Qo'noS, speaks with Janeway and asks her about assistance she has requested of her for a certain Klingon, one Korath, to try to get him a seat on the Klingon High Council. Torres asks her if her efforts to have this done have anything to do with the mission Janeway sent Torres' daughter, Ensign Miral Paris, on. Janeway avoids the question knowing that what she needs is a Chrono-deflector that is illegal. The guests are called to attention by Commander Reginald Barclay, one of the engineers who had been responsible for the Pathfinder Project, which succeeded in returning Voyager to Earth. They all raise their glasses and drink a toast to the success of the journey. Admiral Janeway includes another part to the toast: to those of the Voyager "family" not there to celebrate with them. Days later, Barclay is conducting a lecture on the Borg to a class of cadets at Starfleet Communications. He introduces Janeway as the guest lecturer. As the one Starfleet officer in the entire service who has had so much experience with the Borg, she is the natural choice for such a lecture. The class goes well, until a cadet asks Janeway about Seven of Nine's involvement in the Unimatrix Zero Borg Resistance Movement with Admiral Janeway. Janeway quietly responds that she would prefer not to discuss Seven of Nine. A message then comes in for Janeway; she has an incoming communication from Miral Paris. Janeway leaves to answer it. She takes the communication in her office. Miral informs her that she has seen "the thing" Janeway wants to acquire, and it does indeed work. Korath, she continues, is ready to hand it over, but wants to give it to Janeway personally. Janeway agrees and ends the communication, a somber look on her face. A dark room. Lit candles. Lieutenant Commander Tuvok is here, kneeling on the floor amid a sea of sheets of paper, uncrumpling and then writing on one furiously. Janeway enters. She greets him quietly. But he asserts that she cannot be who she claims to be: the day of her visit is wrong. Janeway informs him that she is going away and may not return. She gazes at him sadly, but also with a glint of determination. She leaves a picture of the senior staff while still on Voyager. Sometime later, Janeway is at home. The Doctor – Joe – visits her. He examines her, and pronounces her as healthy as she was when he examined her for the first time, thirty-three years before. He is curious as to why, after giving him so much difficulty every time she was due for a physical for thirty-three years, she asks for one ahead of schedule. She responds that she is leaving, and wanted to get the appointment over with before doing so. She invites the hologram to sit and chat, which he does, and she then proceeds to ask him about a certain drug: chronexaline. Joe tells her that it is being tested at Starfleet Medical to determine if it can protect biomatter from tachyon radiation and that the results so far have been promising. Janeway asks him to get 2,000 mg for her by the following afternoon. Shocked, Joe asks Janeway why she needs the chronexaline, but Janeway tells him that that information is classified. Joe's faith in his former captain leads him to acquiesce to her request. Janeway then meets Barclay at Starfleet Communications. He informs her that a shuttle is waiting for her, and gives her a PADD with certain downloaded information she has requested. He wishes to go with her, but she gently declines. She thanks him and leaves. In an outdoor area, Janeway speaks down to something on the ground. She kneels and rests her hands down on a gravestone: CHAKOTAY 2329 – 2394. "I know it wasn't easy living all these years without her, Chakotay," she says. "But when I'm through, things might be better for all of us. Trust me." She rises and leaves.
Act Two
Lieutenant Tom Paris is awakened by the urgent, insistent voice of his very pregnant wife, Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres, telling him "It's time." They are in their quarters aboard Voyager. He is at first reluctant to rise, but then realizes what she means: she is in labor. Immediately he is out of bed, fully awake, and contacts The Doctor. In his haste, he does not bother to dress, dashing hurriedly into a robe and accompanying his wife out the door and on the way to sickbay. But it is in vain. The Doctor informs them that the labor is false. They are extremely chagrined; this has happened several times before. The Doctor explains that false labor is common in Klingon pregnancies. Paris asks about inducing labor; these false ones are robbing them of their sleep. The Doctor responds that this is unwise. Frustrated, Torres' Klingon temper flares; she shouts at him that she wants the baby out "NOW!". The Doctor merely lists her misdirected rage as another feature of Klingon pregnancies. In her ready room, Captain Kathryn Janeway listens to First Officer Chakotay's report on ship's status. He reports Paris' and Torres' latest false labor and a request by Crewman Chell to take over the running of the mess hall, a position vacant since the departure of Neelix. They laugh about his proposed menu choices, such as "Plasma Leek Soup", "Chicken Warp Core-don Bleu", and "Red Alert Chili". She asks Chakotay to have lunch with her, but he responds that he already has plans. He goes to Cargo Bay 2, quarters of the former Borg drone Seven of Nine. The two have begun a romantic relationship. She has laid out a picnic on the floor. He joins her with pleasure. In the mess hall, Icheb is playing the Vulcan game of kal-toh with Lieutenant Commander Tuvok, while Harry Kim looks on. He tries to give surreptitious hints to Icheb, but Tuvok, aware of this, informs Icheb that Kim has never beaten him. He makes a move that half-wins the game, and then starts explaining the very patient nature of the game to Icheb. But then, to his great chagrin, Icheb makes a move and wins. Icheb humbly calls it beginners' luck. Kim is shocked and delighted. Icheb then leaves, as he is due in astrometrics. Kim then sits down at the table feeling lucky. Tuvok, unsettled by his loss, excuses himself. Kim is annoyed, thinking Tuvok is just being a bad loser, and says that it's just a game. Tuvok goes to sickbay where The Doctor examines him. The Doctor explains that Icheb is exceptionally bright and that he just may be a better player. But Tuvok attributes his loss to Icheb as a sign that a chronic Vulcan disease he has contracted has begun to affect his concentration. The Doctor concernedly confirms that the disease has begun to progress, and prescribes increased levels of medication that he has been administering to him. He suggests that Tuvok inform Captain Janeway, but Tuvok insists that he will do so only if and when his performance at his duties starts being affected. In the astrometrics lab, Seven of Nine is playing kadis-kot with Neelix over a subspace communication signal. The Talaxian informs her that Brax is well, modestly commenting he knows he can't replace his father. He informs Seven he plans to ask Dexa to marry him, which pleases Seven. Neelix asks her how her own relationship with Chakotay is going. When Seven evades the question, Neelix reminds her it was he who suggested the picnic as a date idea. She tells him it went well, that they both enjoyed it and thanks Neelix for the idea. But then her console starts to beep insistently. She informs him that long-range astrometric sensors have detected high neutrino emissions and intermittent graviton flux consistent with wormholes. Realizing the importance of this, Neelix offers to continue the game with her the next day. She agrees. After completing her analyses, Seven requests a meeting of the senior staff to deliver the results. All the readings are coming from the center of a nebula in Grid 986, with hundreds of distinct sources. Kim enthuses that this may equate to hundreds of possible wormholes. If confirmed to be wormholes, they've found the most densely concentrated source of them. Kim continues that one of these may lead to the Alpha Quadrant. Janeway orders Paris to take Voyager to the nebula.
"It's you who underestimated us."
- Admiral Janeway, to the Borg Queen
"My invitation must have gotten lost in subspace."
- Tom Paris, when The Doctor and his new wife Lana arrive at the party
"You wish to ensure the well-being of your collective. I can appreciate that."
- Borg Queen, to Admiral Janeway
Production timeline
•Filmed: 19 March 2001 – 9 April 2001 •26 March 2001 – Last day of shooting in the mess hall (Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 2, Issue 4, p. 69) •28 March 2001 – Filming in Rhode Island ready room (redressed Janeway's Quarters) (Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 2, Issue 4, p. 69) •9 April 2001 – Last day of shooting. Final scenes on the bridge (97C). (Coming Home: The Final Episode, VOY Season 7 DVD special features)
Story and script
•In the years prior to the writing of this episode, an ultimately undeveloped two-parter was to have seen Voyager apparently return to Earth with a fireworks display, as happens in the first few moments of this installment. It was Brannon Braga who thought up that idea. As the story proceeded, the vessel was to have been revealed as a biomimetic duplicate of the actual Voyager. (Cinefantastique, Vol. 31, No. 11, p. 49) One reason this story concept was abandoned was that the writing staff thought it would undermine the actual return of the real Voyager to Earth, which the creative team, even then, intended to eventually have happen. (Star Trek: Action!, p. 6) •Another early-proposed element of this outing was the birth of a baby parented by B'Elanna Torres and Tom Paris. Even before production on season 7 of Star Trek: Voyager commenced, the series' writing staff knew they wanted to feature this event prior to the series ending its run. (Star Trek Monthly issue 80, p. 68) •To prepare for the conclusion of Star Trek: Voyager, Executive Producers Rick Berman and Kenneth Biller started thinking about the finale right from the seventh season's beginning, as they knew it would be the series' last season. (Star Trek Magazine issue 179, p. 27) The episode was "based on a story that Rick Berman and I and our old pal Brannon Braga cooked up. Rick and I have been talking about the finale through the whole season, and we brought Brannon in to consult and he was extremely helpful. The three of us cooked up this story in meetings." (Star Trek: Communicator issue 133, p. 17) After seven long years, this episode represented, finally, an opportunity to establish whether Captain Janeway and her crew would return home after being stranded in the Delta Quadrant. (Star Trek Magazine issue 121, p. 77) Berman later stated, "There was a lot of thought that went into, 'Are we going to bring these people home or not?' and 'Who is going to live and who is going to die?'" (Star Trek Magazine issue 179, p. 27) There was never any doubt of whether they'd return to the Alpha Quadrant by the end of the show's run; still to be considered was how and when they would make the return trip, as opposed to if they would manage it. (Star Trek Magazine issue 164, p. 72) From the very start of the season, the writing staff and everyone else involved with the series hence contemplated how and when the ship might ultimately reach home. As regards this dilemma, the writing staffers wondered how to both satisfy and excite the audience while also surprising the viewers. (Cinefantastique, Vol. 33, No. 5, p. 38) •As had been the case with the previous two Star Trek series – Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – the Star Trek: Voyager creative team had the luxury of cancelling the show themselves. (Star Trek Magazine issue 121, p. 77) As had been the case with TNG, the decision was taken with Star Trek: Voyager to conclude the series with one final episode. Whereas DS9 had been granted the luxury of a multi-part ending, Voyager fans would have to be content, for better or worse, with this two-hour series finale. (Star Trek Monthly issue 89, p. 57) Unlike the previous two series finales, however, this episode was written as a two-parter rather than a single episode. Like its pair of predecessors, though, this series finale was given a single production number and was assigned one director for the entire project•One of the primary goals in crafting this episode's plot was to create a story which would be "epic" in scope. (Star Trek Magazine issue 121, p. 77) In fact, the installment's writers wanted it to at least match, if not exceed, the quality of previous Star Trek series enders. "I think we had some big shoes to fill," related Rick Berman. "If you look at the final episodes of ST:TNG and ST:DS9, they have a certain sweeping heroic quality to them. I think they focused not only on our characters, but also on an action/adventure story on the grander Human scale. We wanted the same thing to be true of the last episode of Voyager." The writers not only attempted to make this a very ambitious, epic adventure but also a summation of the series at large. Brannon Braga offered, "What we've tried to do is create an episode that taps into the core emotions that have been at play since the first episode, in terms of the crew getting home and what it means to them, how they might do it or not. We knew that we wanted a really great villain involved. We had to make sure it had scope. We've worked on a couple of these series finales now, so we kind of know the ingredients we want to put in there." (Star Trek Monthly issue 80, pp. 4, 40 & 78) Despite that, Ken Biller conceded, "No matter what story we chose, it would be hard [to avoid it resonating with the events of the series' pilot episode, 'Caretaker']. We always knew there were different directions to take." (Star Trek: Communicator issue 133, pp. 19 & 21) •One direction that the writers never seriously considered was revealing that the events of the series had actually been merely a dream. "Although we certainly joked about that: 'It's all a dream – they never left!'" remembered Ken Biller, laughing. (Star Trek: Communicator issue 133, p. 21) •For the antagonist in this episode, the writers definitely had one particular group in mind. "We always knew that the Borg would have something to do with it," Ken Biller recalled, "because they've been Voyager's nemesis throughout the series and we figured they should figure a role in the finale." (Star Trek: Communicator issue 133, p. 18) •It was Rick Berman who suggested this episode involve time travel, which invited analogies between "Endgame" and the final episode of TNG, "All Good Things...". The writers were mindful of the fact such comparisons would inevitably be made. Recalled Ken Biller, "I said, 'We don't have to shy away from that. It's a different set of characters, and a different show, and ultimately it is a different story. The only thing that it has in common is that they do involve time travel.'" (Cinefantastique, Vol. 34, No. 1, p. 40) The decision to use time travel as an essential aspect of this episode's plot was made very quickly. (Star Trek Magazine issue 121, p. 77) •Work proceeded on determining the destinies of Star Trek: Voyager's main characters. "We always knew we were going to resolve the Tom and B'Elanna pregnancy. We started to come up with storylines for the different people," Ken Biller remembered. "We decided that a big epic show could use some romance." The writer-producers realized this episode could be influenced, if they chose, by previous hints of a romance between Chakotay and Seven of Nine, earlier in the series run of Voyager. "Why not just go for it? That's what we did," Biller offered. (Cinefantastique, Vol. 34, No. 1, p. 40) The writers reused another character, Korath, from Star Trek: The Experience. (Star Trek Monthly issue 81, p. 10) •Robert Picardo had a hand in indirectly influencing how this episode depicted his own character of The Doctor. He explained, "The finale […] was really plotted out by Rick Berman and Ken Biller. But I think what happens specifically to The Doctor is a reflection of themes that I've been part of helping to suggest and establish [during the series]." (Star Trek Monthly issue 80, p. 61) •Kate Mulgrew was involved in selecting the story choices used in this episode. (Star Trek Magazine issue 169, p. 20; ) At a point when she was unaware what Janeway's fate would be, Mulgrew expressed her hopes for the series finale. "I think Rick Berman and Brannon Braga know where I stand, but ideally I'd like to see a very poignant ending," she explained. "I don't think this one should have a red ribbon on it. I think it should be unprecedented and bold, and rather stunning. What that means I do not know, but I don't think it should have a fluid ending." Mulgrew was specifically pleased to learn there was strong fan support for the possibility that Janeway would go down with her ship. "That's the truest to the entire story, and that's the way it should be," she opined. "I hope that we don't wuss out. It should have a very strong, stunning ending. The viewers have invested in the characters, and it's payoff time." (Star Trek Monthly issue 74, pp. 21-22) Mulgrew voiced at least some of these wishes to the show's creative personnel. "I said, 'I think Janeway has to go down with the ship, but not at the full cost of her being,'" Mulgrew recalled. "We had to figure out how to do that." (Star Trek Magazine issue 169, p. 20) •The way in which the writing staff tried to work Kate Mulgrew's sacrificial notion into the episode was originally somewhat different from how it turned out, involving a concept that went on to be cannibalized for the two-parter "Unimatrix Zero" and "Unimatrix Zero, Part II". (Star Trek Magazine issue 171, p. 52) This idea had Janeway boldly surrendering to the Borg, allowing them to assimilate a battle-damaged Voyager and its crew. (Star Trek Magazine issue 171, p. 52; Star Trek Magazine issue 114, p. 38) The Doctor would then activate a reverse assimilation virus. (Star Trek Magazine issue 114, p. 38) Bryan Fuller continued, "As we were assimilating the Borg ship from the inside, and re-assimilating ourselves, we would use a Borg trans-warp conduit to get back home. The idea was this great final image of the Borg armada approaching Earth, and then out of the belly of the beast of the lead ship came Voyager, destroying all of the other Borg in its trail. It felt like an epic conclusion to Janeway's journey with the Borg, and freeing Seven of Nine. That got abandoned somewhere along the road." (Star Trek Magazine issue 171, p. 52) •A complex quandary was whether to return Voyager and crew to their original setting. Brannon Braga remembered, "The biggest decision, of course, was whether or not we actually wanted them to get home. That was a decision that really came down to the wire." (Star Trek Monthly issue 80, p. 78) The writers made a determination pertaining to this issue, which was quickly reversed once the story developed. (Star Trek Magazine issue 121, p. 77) Only at the end of the writing process did the writer-producers realize the audience needed to see Voyager's return to the Alpha Quadrant, in a turn of events which wiped out the alternate timeline while also returning Captain Janeway and her crew home. "I think that was a clear, thematic decision," Ken Biller reflected. (Cinefantastique, Vol. 34, No. 1, p. 40) Kate Mulgrew's idea that Janeway make a partial sacrifice, to save Voyager, in this installment led to the concept of Admiral Janeway making such a sacrifice whereas the usual version of the character persisted. (Star Trek Magazine issue 169, p. 20) •All things considered, working out this series finale's story took a huge amount of time. Shortly after the episode was written, Rick Berman recalled, "Ken Biller, Rob Doherty, Brannon [Braga] and myself have worked for weeks on a very complex storyline." (Star Trek Monthly issue 80, p. 4) Biller, speaking in March 2001, stated that the meetings to devise the narrative had taken place "over the course of the last several months." He proceeded to comment, "The actual specifics of the story for the finale were still in play and in flux, I would say, up until (early February). And then we pretty much locked down what we wanted to do. But we bandied it about throughout the year […] We've gone back and forth about certain things, how we are going to solve them." Indeed, the entire episode was still able to be radically altered right up until the end of the scripting process. (Star Trek: Communicator issue 133, pp. 17 & 18) •Rob Dougherty, a story editor on the series, was brought into the process by Ken Biller, because he "wanted a collaborator to write the teleplay with," in Biller's words. (Star Trek: Communicator issue 133, p. 17) This episode marked the final Star Trek contributions from not only Biller and Doherty, but also from fellow writer-producer Michael Taylor. •The details of this episode's story were kept under tight wraps. Eager to retain the episode's multiple surprise aspects, the creative staff didn't want any of the big events depicted to be publicly revealed too quickly. (Star Trek Monthly issue 80, p. 39) "They [the producers] wanted to keep the storyline a secret, so it was all done on a need-to-know basis," Richard Herd analyzed. (Star Trek Monthly issue 81, p. 49) Ken Biller admitted, "I'm sure there are images in the promos that will tantalize people, but I'd like to keep as much of it secret as long as I can." (Star Trek: Communicator issue 133, p. 17) One plot point the episode's writers wanted to keep secret, if possible, is that Voyager returns home. (Star Trek Monthly issue 80, p. 78) •On Tuesday 13 March 2001, Ken Biller was still working on the script (the episode was intended to enter production on the following Monday) and was interviewed by Larry Nemecek for Star Trek: Communicator issue 133, p. 17. "Actually, the only reason [the script]'s not finished yet," Biller explained, "is it's a two-hour script and we're trying to prep (design and plan) both hours at the same time […] Since we have the same director for the entire finale – Allan Kroeker – once he starts shooting he has no more prep time!" On the other hand, the remaining scenes were not massive, and the various departments had been given enough time to prepare for the start of production to go ahead as per scheduled. •When Director Allan Kroeker arrived to commence his pre-production work on this installment, he was surprised no script was yet available, even though Ken Biller usually paid a lot of attention to delivering scripts on time. "This one was delayed because it had to be decided how the series would end," explained Kroeker. During lunch, Biller relayed the episode's story to Kroeker and the First Assistant Director, Jerry Fleck. "When the script arrived, we were duly impressed," Kroeker pronounced, "because the script followed – down to a tee – every beat Ken had described to us [during the episode's production meeting]." (Star Trek Magazine issue 121, p. 78)
Cast and characters
•Though the entire cast and crew usually received a copy of each Star Trek: Voyager script before the making of its related episode, the drastic security measures to maintain the secrecy of the events meant only the cast of "Endgame" had its script. Secrecy was so tight, in fact, that even the actors didn't receive full copies of this episode's teleplay. "We were getting pages sent out piece by piece in top-secret envelopes," divulged Tom Paris actor Robert Duncan McNeill. (Star Trek Monthly issue 80, p. 22) •Mere weeks before participating in the making of this series finale, Kate Mulgrew was still uncertain if Voyager would finally reach Earth. (Star Trek Monthly issue 80, p. 30) She was happy with this episode while acting in it. During a break in the filming, Mulgrew stated she expected viewers to be "unsettled by what the writers have come up with," but characterized the series' outcome as "profoundly clever and very moving." (Star Trek Monthly issue 80, p. 4) In this episode, she loved playing both Captain Janeway and Admiral Janeway. (Star Trek Monthly issue 94, p. 41) Mulgrew enjoyed this episode in general. She said, "The sharp edges of loneliness, I think, were very much in play for Janeway [generally]. And that made the ultimate sacrifice that much more delicious. The admiral sacrificed her life so that the captain could persevere. That's who I really was as Janeway […] I was very proud of 'Endgame', partly because I had a hand in the choices, the story. I loved it. There's no way you're going to satisfy everyone after a seven-year investment […] It's heartbreaking, an ending of any kind. But I thought our finale was a pretty good way to say goodbye." Of how Janeway's sacrifice was finally executed in the script, Mulgrew also noted, "I thought it was splendid." Mulgrew's most lasting memories from the final days of filming were "mostly how hard it was to say goodbye." Towards the end of the shooting period, she recalled some very memorable advice which Patrick Stewart had given her in the first week of production on Voyager's first season. "He said, 'If you do this well and approach it with vigor and discipline, this will be the work that will make you the proudest of any work you will do.' And that's exactly how I felt the last days, with tears running down my cheeks […] I remember thinking how foolish Human beings are. We think it's long, but it's nothing. It's a moment. I was very proud." (Star Trek Magazine issue 169, p. 20) In retrospect, Mulgrew enthused about the finale, "Every aspect of it pleased me. It's beautiful […] I just loved the story, and was really determined to do it well. I feel certain that we did. I would be so disappointed if it were less than great." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 34, No. 1, p. 29) Mulgrew cited this episode as the one which "most exemplified Janeway as a captain." (Star Trek Magazine issue 128, p. 27) She concluded, "I think in the end it was just about as excellent as it could have been under those extraordinary circumstances." (Star Trek Monthly issue 85, p. 23) •Whereas Susanna Thompson had previously portrayed the Borg Queen on Voyager, this episode features a return of Alice Krige to the role, she having originally established the part in the film Star Trek: First Contact. "When they asked me to do the finale," Krige explained, "I believe it was because Susanna was doing something else. I was very happy to go back and join everyone." (Star Trek Magazine issue 169, p. 52) Though she chose not to be influenced by Thompson's portrayal of the role (none of which she watched), Krige did take some inspiration from the Voyager scripts which the Borg Queen had been written into, including the new teleplay for "Endgame". •With numerous years having passed between the production of First Contact and her work on this episode, Alice Krige found that appearing in this installment differed vastly from her previous Star Trek appearance. The amount of difference actually led Krige to unexpectedly become panic stricken, very shortly before reprising the role of the Borg Queen. (Star Trek Magazine issue 169, p. 52) "It was very different in that this time (on Voyager) I was actually working with two women (Kate Mulgrew and Jeri Ryan)," she said. "There's a very different energy to that; delightful and just as interesting and just as challenging, but quite different." Krige also stated, "I was thinking, 'Oh goodness. That kind of sexual tension that existed between Data and the Borg Queen, and indeed Picard and the Borg Queen, I am now doing it with two women!' I called one of the producers and said, 'Now what?' And the producer, with good insight, said, 'Don't worry. Just think of the Borg Queen as omni-sexual.' Well, it just became very interesting. The thing about the Borg Queen, Data, and Picard is it's all about power. There really was no reason why she wouldn't use the same energy on Seven of Nine, to manipulate her. With Janeway, it was two fairly formidable opponents coming up against each other." (Star Trek Magazine issue 169, p. 52) •Richard Herd, who portrayed Admiral Paris, was delighted to have been written into this series finale. "I had always hoped to be in the final episode," he said, "but I didn't know anything for sure until just before we shot it [owing to the project's secrecy] […] I feel very fortunate to have been a part of it, especially if you think about how many other guest stars have been in the show before […] And now, thanks to 'Endgame', I'm a part of Star Trek: Voyager history." Herd expected this outing would "gratify and satisfy" long-time viewers. (Star Trek Monthly issue 81, p. 49) He admitted that his "only frustration with Voyager" was with the episode's conclusion. The actor went on to explain, "I was hoping […] when I finally had a chance to see my son, that we'd have had a few sentences. I was hoping to say, 'It's been so long' or 'Welcome home, son.' But we never had that opportunity to talk, just to stare at each other." However, regarding the fatherly bond, Herd concluded, "You'll find other things in the finale that offer a wonderful resolution." (Star Trek Monthly issue 81, p. 49) •Robert Beltran speculated that he may have inspired the romantic storyline between his character of Chakotay and Seven of Nine. "Because Jeri Ryan and Brannon Braga were going out together, and the fact that Chakotay never really had a romantic interest, I challenged Brannon through Jeri to get our characters together. I said, 'Jeri, I know there's no way that we'll ever get a scene together where we kiss, because Brannon would never allow that.' She laughed and said, 'I'm gonna tell him you said that,' and I said, 'Yeah, you do that.' So I think that was his way of saying, 'You think I'm jealous?' you know." (Star Trek Monthly issue 98, p. 40) A noted critic of the writing and characterizations on the show, Beltran had several gripes about the final episode. He complained that the episode was written with a lack of care, too quickly wrapping up some well-established story arcs. Additionally, Beltran theorized that the episode was written out of frustration over Voyager's audience ratings, stating about the writers, "They took it out on us by saying, 'This show's no good. Let's get it over with as quickly as possible so we can fix it for the next one.'" Beltran also rhetorically asked about the installment, "This is what we're going out with?" and claimed the episode made him feel vindicated about his belief that the writers were "idiots," saying it was unfortunate that the fans were "going to have to sit through it." On the other hand, Beltran also cited this episode as a highlight for showing some personal aspects of Chakotay's life, particularly the relationship with Seven of Nine. Moreover, the actor remarked about this romance, "I'm glad they've done it […] What you get in the finale is pretty sudden, but it's good stuff. I just wish they'd done it earlier, so we could have had more time to explore the relationship between them." (Star Trek Monthly issue 81, p. 20) Beltran also considered it "just unfortunate" that the romance wasn't gradually developed and critiqued, "It's just too bad they [the producers] just sort of threw it together at the end." (Star Trek Monthly issue 98, p. 40) •Garrett Wang had mixed feelings about this feature-length episode. "I think the first hour of the finale was fantastic, very exciting, well written, good pacing," he commented. "Everything was great about the first hour, but then the second hour it just seemed like it tied up all of the loose ends very quickly. So, the second half of the finale I was not happy about, and I especially didn't like the fact that we ended the series in Earth's orbit. We don't even step foot on Earth. Hello! After seven years, I think the fans wanted to see us actually step foot on terra firma." Wang went on to say that, if he had been running Star Trek: Voyager, he would have kept the series finale's first half exactly as it is but ended the series with a caption reading, "To be continued at a theater near you," an advertisement for a two-hour Voyager movie that he would then have done. In addition, Wang once joked that the series finale of Voyager should have included his character of Ensign Kim having a passionate affair with Captain Janeway. (Star Trek Magazine issue 175, p. 65) •Roughly six months after appearing herein, Roxann Dawson expressed satisfaction with how this episode wrapped up the series. "My only criticism, if I have one, is that I wish we had started to deal with the ending a little bit earlier, instead of just in that last two-hour episode," she commented. "I thought that would have been nice, but I think the producers dealt with it very well. I liked the ending." (Star Trek Monthly issue 87, p. 23) In a 2015 interview, Dawson commented that – even though she could see merit in the idea of at least part of an episode dealing with the Voyager crew being home again – she considered the absence of such footage as "not really a regret." (Star Trek Magazine issue 180, p. 26) •While working on this installment, Robert Picardo was pleased to discuss and promote the series finale. He specified this was "because I want a lot of people to see it and I want it to be a gratifying conclusion to something I've enjoyed a great deal." Picardo felt that thinking about the possibility of him later appearing in the Star Trek franchise helped him to prepare himself for his final day before the cameras. He reckoned, "I think the fans of The Doctor in particular will smile." (Star Trek Monthly issue 80, pp. 59 & 61) As well as appreciating this episode, Picardo observed that Admiral Janeway's alteration of the timeline left uncertainties about what eventually happens to The Doctor, such as the potentialities of his relationship with Lana and other characters. "Whether or not The Doctor really gets that particular blonde babe remains unclear," Picardo pointed out. "Who knows, maybe in the new possible future he'll wind up with Seven of Nine." Thinking further about the fact the timeline was altered, the actor remarked, "That was OK. This is science fiction." Picardo, who had experience of interacting with himself by playing The Doctor and Dr. Lewis Zimmerman, went on to enthuse, "I really liked the finale. Kate just did a superb job talking to herself […] I thought Kate was absolutely seamless. You really bought the different versions of her. I thought the two hours were very exciting […] The moment of emotional payoff was a little truncated. Other than that, the finale was a nice pay-off to the series." (Star Trek Monthly issue 90, p. 22) •Tuvok actor Tim Russ regarded the end of Voyager with calm calculation, doing his utmost not to let any emotion or sentiment cloud his judgment. "I feel it's time to wrap the show," he said, during a break from filming "Endgame". "Better to go out while you're still strong […] It feels like the end of a long journey, not unlike the show's concept." He thought this series ender was indeed strong. "I think it's going to be a great final two-part show," Russ commented. (Star Trek Monthly issue 80, p. 71) Even though some of his fellow cast members were somewhat dissatisfied with the focus of "Endgame", Russ didn't share their feelings, instead retaining his optimism about the episode. "I thought [it] […] was brilliantly done," he remarked, "because the writers did it in a non-linear fashion. It wasn't what people expected in terms of a plot sequence. They did it in reverse, basically." Because it was told in a way he believed to have been unexpected, Russ considered this episode's plot as being "consistent with the way the writing is on Star Trek." The actor was not overly concerned that the series finale didn't especially concentrate on the ensemble, focusing more on the two Janeways. Russ treasured the unusual way in which the Tuvok of the future was depicted and the fact that the Vulcan's mental downfall was a motivating factor for Admiral Janeway's attempt to return Voyager earlier than in the two characters' own timeline. "That was a great twist. It was something totally unexpected, and I thought it was really brilliantly done." Russ was also of the opinion that, due to the admiral's actions, Tuvok's fate was likely changed. "So again, true to form, everything comes out positive in the end." (Star Trek Monthly issue 85, p. 32) •By the time of filming, Jeri Ryan understood the requirement of and reasoning for the secrecy which surrounded the making of this installment. (Star Trek Monthly issue 80, p. 39) Ryan took a long time to watch "Endgame". She considered the episode "bittersweet." (Star Trek Monthly issue 85, p. 19) The actress found the romance between her Seven of Nine character and Chakotay "frustrating." Ryan stated, "I don't think it was a bad idea. Just the way they did it came out of left field. I think Robert [Beltran] and I had kind of a hard time with that." (Star Trek Magazine issue 143, p. 51) •Robert Duncan McNeill changed his opinion of the intense secrecy. "At first, I was annoyed," McNeill professed, "but then I realised as I was getting the [script] pages that I was more excited about getting this script than any other script I've had in a while. I thought, 'If I'm getting so excited reading it, it's going to work with the audience.'" (Star Trek Monthly issue 80, p. 22) As it turned out, McNeill deemed this installment a fitting end to the series. "I think the last episode is very bittersweet," he proclaimed. "It's got a lot of action and a lot of surprises, but I also think it honours every character in the show in their own special way and gives us a chance to kind of peek into the future and see what kind of directions they will be heading in their lives. It kinda bookends our journey in many ways. And I think it resolves the show for everybody in a really heartfelt way. Also, it's a sci-fi show, so there are a lot of surprises and a lot of action and a lot of twists and turns. It's not all tears and goodbyes and end of show. There's a lot of heart, but there's also a lot of surprises and a lot of action." (Star Trek Monthly issue 80, pp. 67-68) •During filming of this episode, the cast members frantically sought each other's autographs. They did this so they could later auction signed items for charities. (Star Trek Monthly issue 80, p. 61) •There were mixed emotions among the cast members during the making of "Endgame". "There was a sense of sadness that something very good was ending," observed Richard Herd. "I think the actors also felt very fortunate to have been a part of a series that lasted seven years, and were pleased with the growth of their characters over that time. But there was also a feeling that it was time to move on and pick up their lives. So I don't think people were too upset, but at the same time, they certainly weren't jumping for joy." (Star Trek Monthly issue 81, p. 49) •One performer in this series finale, Jessie, was suffering from cystic fibrosis when he featured in this installment. He was provided the opportunity to appear as a "wish" from the charity Make-A-Wish Foundation. (info from Lisa Vanasco)
Starring
•Kate Mulgrew as Captain Kathryn Janeway
Also starring
•Robert Beltran as Chakotay •Roxann Dawson as B'Elanna Torres •Robert Duncan McNeill as Tom Paris •Ethan Phillips as Neelix •Robert Picardo as The Doctor •Tim Russ as Tuvok •Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine •Garrett Wang as Harry Kim
Special guest star
•Dwight Schultz as "Barclay"
Endgame. Season 7 Episode 25. May 23, 2001 87m TV-PG. 88% Add Show to Watchlist. Stardate: 54973.4 - After a decades-long journey to reach the Alpha Quadrant, Admiral Kathryn Janeway makes a bold decision to change the past in an attempt to undo the toll taken on the crew during their arduous journey home. Directed By. Allan Kroeker. Written By.
- Kate Mulgrew, Jeri Ryan, Robert Picardo
- TV-PG
- Star Trek: Voyager
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Summary. Read More. Action. Adventure. Drama. Sci-Fi. Directed By: Allan Kroeker. Written By: Gene Roddenberry, Rick Berman, Michael Piller, Jeri Taylor, Phyllis Strong, Mike Sussman, Michael Taylor, Brannon Braga, Robert Doherty. Star Trek: Voyager. S7 • Episode 24. Endgame. Air Date: May 23, 2001. User Score Available after 4 ratings. tbd.
"Endgame" is the series finale of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager, episodes 25 and 26 of the seventh season and 171 and 172 in the overall series. It was originally shown May 23, 2001, on the UPN network as a double-length episode and later presented as such in DVD collections, but it is shown in syndicated ...
Endgame Parts 1 and 2. Help. S7 E25 1H 26M TV-PG. Voyager's quest to return home is aided by a visitor from the future - Admiral Kathryn Janeway. However, Janeway decides to risk Voyager's shortcut home in order to destroy the Borg and save millions of lives.
English. Seven's long-lost love lures Janeway into a deadly encounter with the Borg Queen. Watch with Prime.
