10 Times Janeway Was The Best Captain In Star Trek
Lost in the Delta Quadrant, the crew turned to their Captain for strength. She delivered!
With the news that Kate Mulgrew will be reprising the role of Captain Kathryn Janeway in Star Trek: Prodigy having broken at NYCC 2020, the internet is buzzing with excitement comparable to the announcement of the return of Patrick Stewart. Star Trek audiences are spoiled for choice at this stage, with season 3 of Star Trek: Discovery about to drop, season 1 of the fantastic Star Trek: Lower Decks having just wrapped up and Star Trek: Picard season 2 and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds on the horizon as well.
Star Trek: Prodigy promises to expand the universe to something a little more child friendly, something that Discovery, Picard and Lower Decks most certainly are not. Having Janeway return as a guide and mentor for this show is an excellent move on the producers' parts, as it links the new series to the rest of the franchise while also bringing the wonderful Kate Mulgrew back into the Trek fold.
With that in mind, it is an excellent time to revisit all of the times that Janeway shone bright in Star Trek: Voyager. For seven years, she led the ship with tenacity and courage, dealing with the unknown in a way that had barely been seen since Kirk's day. These are ten times when she was truly the greatest captain of them all.
10. Reason Will Out
Janeway was, perhaps more than any of the other captains in the Star Trek franchise, the greatest scientist of them all. Very soon after becoming stranded in the Delta Quadrant, she is faced with a barrage of decisions to better ensure the running of her ship - including finding a new Chief Engineer.
B'Elanna Torres had distinguished herself at this point by breaking Lt. Carey's nose - but she was a brilliant engineer. Janeway was hesitant about giving her the top spot, based on the previous nose-breaking incident, yet when she picks Torres to accompany her to investigate a singularity, she develops a better understanding of the former Maquis.
Janeway can clearly see that, behind Torres's heat and anger, there is a fantastic engineer there who truly knows their craft. She is unafraid to challenge the captain, but only in so far as she tries to do the right thing.
Janeway promotes Torres to Chief Engineer, showing not just confidence in her abilities, but also offering her faith in someone who needs that most.