10 Most Intense Star Trek Scenes

The episodic nature of Star Trek allows writers and performers room to flex their muscles. Comedy, drama, horror, action - any episode can contain any combination of themes, taking the audience on a wild ride of emotions.

When it comes to intensity, several scenes stand out. For this list, there is simply no avoiding some of the more famous scenes, while we have attempted to include some that have received a little less recognition. Almost every iteration has been represented, though this is by no means a comprehensive list either.

As with so much of Star Trek, we could easily craft multiple lists on a theme, so don't fret if your favourite isn't here - something tells me nothing that's deleted ever stays deleted, at least not in the world of Star Trek. 

Intense scenes, in any show, may not be the most action-packed, nor the most upsetting. While character deaths would seem to be an easy choice, sometimes it is simple line delivery that sells a scene as intense. Such is the case with this entry. The Thaw, featuring a demented and chaotic Michael McKean as Fear, offers the audience a new version of Captain Janeway.

She was the explorer. She was a scientist. She was the Captain, one tasked with keeping her crew safe, no matter how much it cost her personally. So when B'Elanna and Harry are taken captive by Fear, she nobly sacrifices herself to get them home. 

Or does she?

The final moments of the episode, having been marked already by McKean's erratic clown, are a stark change to everything that had come before. Janeway quietly watches Fear begin to die, while the lights come down, his world starts to spin, and he whispers how afraid he is.

I know, she whispers in return.

This scene was a total direction change from the rest of the episode and also served as yet another example of Janeway's ice-cool resolve under pressure.