10 Greatest Star Trek Season Finales
Which of these season finales left your heart pumping, the tears flowing, or the tummy rumbling?
At the outset of this article, let us be clear. This is not a list of the best cliffhangers in Star Trek's history, as we have already covered that list specifically. While there are a couple of entries here that could certainly fall on either list, these are examples of those final episodes that truly wrapped up their respective seasons, even if that meant setting up the following one.
There are more stand-alone season finales in Star Trek than one might assume, as we as an audience have become quite used to the idea of a big TO BE CONTINUED card at the close of the show - looking at you, Hegemony! That does however neglect those shows that stand on their own quite nicely.
If there are any examples here that don't appear or aren't present on the cliffhangers list that you feel are egregiously missing, fear not! With more than forty examples to choose from, it's fairly safe to say that there may be a sequel list or two in the future on this topic. But for now, let's begin with collecting our thoughts.
10. Hope And Fear - Voyager Season Four
The closing episode in one of Star Trek: Voyager's stronger seasons sees a resolution, of sorts, of the antagonism between Seven of Nine and Captain Janeway. For the entire year, Seven had struggled with the individuality that had been thrust upon her. Here, faced with the choice of returning to the Collective, she finally accepts her home among the Voyager crew.
The introduction of Arturis may be a bit of a Ray Wise-Ex-Machina at this stage in the season, but the performance is solid, and the Dauntless is a stellar design, one that returned in Star Trek: Enterprise, and was the basis of the new Dauntless in Prodigy. It also gave us slipstream drive, something that would serve as crucial plot points in future episodes.
Despite the high stakes of the episode, it truly feels like a character piece, focusing on the two female leads of the show. Their chemistry is undeniable, which without treading well-worn ground, is all the more impressive with what was happening behind the scenes.
Hope And Fear firmly establishes Seven's choice to stay with her new family, her new Collective, and despite the tragedy of Arturis's position, one feels that Seven and Janeway's resolution is the true happy ending of the season.