Star Trek: Voyager's Endgame Failed But The Alternate Endings Could Have Saved It

For any franchise that spans decades, there are going to be high and low points. And many "Star Trek" fans still bemoan the anticlimactic ending of "Star Trek: Voyager." Much of the series was well-received with Kate Mulgrew serving as a splendid Admiral Kathryn Janeway. However, the finale, titled "Endgame," left on a sour note. The show followed the Voyager crew journeying through the Delta Quadrant, hoping one day to make it back home. After all that time, they finally make it, but only about three minutes of screen time is devoted to capturing the emotional climax, making it feel as though something is missing. 

In an alternate timeline, fans may have rejoiced at the ending of "Star Trek: Voyager" had the creative team pursued a different path. And many avenues were open to them, as showrunner Brannon Braga said in a 2001 interview with "Star Trek Monthly," "The biggest decision was whether or not we actually wanted them to get home. That was a decision that really came down to the wire." But while they did get home, the way it happened felt like a cheat. Perhaps they could've gotten back home an episode or two earlier so that audiences could see them assimilate back to their normal lives. Many felt like there needed to be a greater catharsis, and several ideas were on the table for making the finale work.

It isn't easy to end a long-running series, as the "Star Trek: Voyager" "Endgame" episode shows all too well. Many of the people who worked on the episode have pondered on what could've been had they pursued a different route. In 2013, Brannon Braga was interviewed by Trek Core where he opened up another possibility for the finale, "I think Seven of Nine should have bit the dust. I think there had to be a real sacrifice for this crew getting home; a real blood sacrifice. Seven of Nine was, for me, designed to be a character that was gonna die tragically. I planned that."

It would've been similar to how Spock (Leonard Nimoy) sacrificed himself, and even though he wasn't human, he made a very human sacrifice. Braga continues that he wrote "Human Error" to set up this plot point where Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) almost dies when she attempts to feel emotions and learns that if she becomes too human, she'll perish. If Seven of Nine had sacrificed herself to bring her found family home, it could've added a much-needed sense of pathos to the finale, and perhaps "Endgame" would be remembered more fondly. 

Then again, maybe it's for the best Seven of Nine survived, or else she wouldn't have appeared in "Star Trek: Picard." Plus, the "Star Trek: Voyager" "Endgame" episode does have some bright spots. It gives Kate Mulgrew a chance to really flex her acting muscles, as she portrays two different versions of Janeway. And any "Star Trek" episode with the Borg is going to be fun. The good thing with "Star Trek" is that a new show is never too far behind if the previous one ends on a bad note.