Star Trek: 10 Greatest Captain Janeway Speeches

3. The Best Allies We Could Have - Alliances

Captain Janeway Star Trek Voyager Alliances
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As established, Captain Janeway is steadfast in her belief and commitment to the Federation, but those rules can often create conflict when dealing with an unprecedented situation in the Delta Quadrant.

Season 2's Alliances opens with Voyager under attack by the Kazon which ends in the death of Crewman Bendera. The Maquis portion of the crew begins to question and criticise Janeway's stubborn upholding of the rules and challenge her to abandon the Prime Directive and simply give the Kazon the technology they desire. Unwilling to break those rules, the captain does, begrudgingly, agree to propose an alliance with a faction of the Kazon. This proves unsuccessful but opens the door for an alliance with the Trabe - enemies to the Kazon - which ultimately ends in betrayal and deceit. 

Janeway is outraged by the actions of the Trabe and Voyager continues its journey under even more threat than it was before. The closing scene of this episode sees the captain address her senior staff, delivering the greatest "I told you so" speech:

In a part of space where there are few rules, it's more important than ever that we hold fast to our own. In a region where shifting allegiances are commonplace we have to have something stable to rely on. And we do. The principles and ideals of the Federation. As far as I'm concerned, those are the best allies we could have.

Kate Mulgrew's delivery of this dialogue is so powerful. Without raising her voice or losing her temper, Janeway chastises both her crew and herself for even entertaining the idea of abandoning their values and reinforces the stance that Voyager will hold for the remainder of their journey.

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Ellie has been part of the WhatCulture team since 2021 where she began as a freelance presenter for the WhoCulture channel. As a diehard Whovian with a BA (hons) degree in Drama and Acting, this role was the perfect opportunity for her to combine her screen presence training with her extensive Doctor Who knowledge. From there, she branched out to various other WhatCulture channels, including TrekCulture, and became a full time Content Producer/Video Presenter in 2023. Ellie is now a regular fixture on both WhoCulture and TrekCulture and has become a well respected public figure within both fandoms, building up a substantial following across her social media platforms and being given the opportunity to represent the channels and the wider communities at several industry events. Her favourite Doctor Who character is River Song and her favourite Star Trek character is Captain Janeway - which tells you everything you need to know about how she approaches her role within a generally male dominated field.