Star Trek: 10 Greatest Captain Janeway Speeches

2. I Made An Error In Judgement - Night

Captain Janeway Star Trek Voyager Night
CBS Media Ventures

A great speech doesn't necessarily have to come as a display of positive strength or power or authority. In fact, one of Captain Janeway's finest speeches comes when she is at her most vulnerable. 

Season 5 opener, Night, sees Voyager set to be travelling through a desolate region of space - labelled "The Void" - for the next two years and the crew are feeling the strain. Captain Janeway is suspiciously absent from the bridge and briefings, with it later revealed that she has isolated herself away from the crew since entering The Void. Chakotay attempts to, gently, confront her about it and is met with a sarcastic, yet deflated, response, as the captain dismisses his invitation to play Velocity and chastises her decision to destroy the Caretaker's array:

I made an error in judgment, Chakotay. It was short-sighted and it was selfish, and now all of us are paying for my mistake. 

Kate Mulgrew has always been vocal about the importance, to her, of imbuing Janeway with vulnerability as well as strength. But these two attributes can be synonymous. Vulnerable does not mean weak and strong does not mean inhuman. This speech, indeed this entire episode, serves to highlight that even the strongest and most confident of leaders have moments of uncertainty and doubt - that's what makes us human. 

Arguably, the fact that Captain Janeway was able to identify and express her vulnerability, only serves to emphasise her strength. It takes great courage to admit when one is struggling, and even greater courage to confront those struggles and accept help from others to do so.

In this post: 
Star Trek
 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

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.