10 Most Shocking Plot Twists In Star Trek: Voyager
2. Nemesis
History is full of stories of two hate-filled sides fighting one another and attempting to enlist the help of others, willing or not, to strengthen their forces. Nemesis takes this idea and ensures the plot is not as simple as one side recruiting help from Chakotay after his shuttle crashes on their planet in fighting the other. Both the audience and Chakotay are left in shock after the ultimate twist is revealed at the end of this intense episode.
The episode follows Chakotay as he becomes embroiled in a battle between the Vori and the Kradin and learns of the atrocities the Kradin have committed against the Vori. After experiencing an unpleasant act performed by the Kradin, his resolve hardens and he agrees to help the Vori fight the enemy.
Meanwhile, Voyager enlists the help of a Kradin ambassador to find Chakotay and he explains the battle from their perspective to Janeway. Viewers are left shouting at Janeway not to trust him as he's a bad guy, but as the episode gets closer to it’s end, it’s discovered everything the audience thought they knew was not quite true.
Chakotay's entire experience was part of a training and brainwashing program devised by the Vori to indoctrinate people into fighting with them against the Kradin. The intensity in which Chakotay is led to hate the Kradin and the audience is flooded with evidence they are enemies make the twist that more surprising when it is finally revealed.
The final conversation between Chakotay and Janeway in this episode provides an opportunity for writers to explore the extent of Chakotay's indoctrination in future episodes. However, once again the consequences of this revelation are never spoken about again, which is a shame, because it could have provided some character development that Chakotay needed.