As I'm fond of saying, I laughed, I cried (or at least was closer to crying than during graduation a few days earlier), I was briefly shocked, was awed by some shots, irked by some scenes, and generally enjoyed the two hours. At least Seven didn't save the day.
GENERAL THOUGHTS:
Next Generation's final episode is quite possibly my favorite episode ever. It so beautifully brings together the past, present and future while keeping true to the basic tenants of the Star Trek universe and even harkening back to it's premiere. It pulled together so many different things while still staying one cohesive unit and sticking to a fairly simple plot. It is unfair to expect so much from Voyager's finale. Going in, I personally was hoping that they at least didn't screw up anything major. And with the exception of the poorly thought out C/7 development, they didn't. I enjoyed "Endgame" far more than I did the DS9 finale, which only had a plot for roughly half of the two hours. This episode had a far more engaging plot than I expected. And while I didn't (and still don't really) relish the thought of a 'get home quick' solution in the final episode, it is quite apropos for the Borg to be Voyager's eventual way home. Let's get real, this episode did not wrap up every last question involving the show and ship and crew. We're still left to wonder what's to become of the Maquis -- will they be charged for past crimes? Or what about Janeway: she did some pretty questionable things out there -- will she face a court-martial for any of them? Will Harry ever get a promotion? They hint at the fact that the Maquis will go free, everything will turn out rosy for 'that couple,' Janeway becomes a top admiral, Harry becomes a captain, etc. But that was all in the alternate future -- who's to say any of it will happen now that they're home sixteen years earlier? All in all, however, I enjoyed this episode, thought it was a quite good end to the series and actually had a hard time coming up with things I disliked about it (other than the obvious).
LIKES:
I loved the opening shots of Voyager flying over San Francisco and the Golden Gate bridge. Wow! Very, very cool effects.
For perhaps the first time in the history of Voyager, I liked the clothes from the future. Unlike usual, people weren't relaxing in their uniforms. They actually own casual clothes! And in case you missed it, the future uniforms -- with the slight exception of that of an admiral -- were almost identical to those of the future from TNG's end. That was a very nice, subtle touch.
As with TNG (sorry to keep referring to it so much), it was easy to tell the two time frames apart -- which we need to be able to do in the first half. Kudos to writers and director for that.
Characters! Oh, there were such wonderful character moments throughout the episode.
Janeway/Kim -- This has long been an underused relationship, IMHO. At the party, on his ship, saying good-bye -- most of the best moments came in the future scenes, but even some of the joking in the present was great. Since the first episode, Janeway has felt responsible for Harry, mothering him along, and that aspect of their relationship really comes home in this episode.
Janeway/Tuvok -- When she said good-bye to him and kissed him on the head, I just about lost it. Like her relationship with Harry, Janeway's ties with Tuvok are only brought up when it's convenient to the weekly plot, which is a shame. But it was so poignant and beautifully done here.
Paris/Kim -- These two have been best friends almost since the start, and it's fitting that they get a nice scene together here at the end. While it's not quite as funny as usual between these two, you can see how far they've come, both together and separately.
Paris/Torres -- It was pretty obvious that the baby was going to be born this week, but seeing them dealing with the life-changing event was nice. From the middle of the night false alarm to the Sickbay scenes -- that's how it goes when you're having a baby. And the scene in Engineering with B'Elanna voicing her concerns (covered up by indifference) was great as well.
Torres/Doctor -- For as much as these two fight, there's great affection underneath it all. She doesn't trust anyone else to deliver her baby, after all. And the banter back and forth in Sickbay with them was terrific.
Captain Janeway/Admiral Janeway -- Fascinating, fascinating power play going on between these two throughout the whole second half. I'll get to acting in a moment, but all the scenes with these two together were just dynamite. The character's always been written a little bit out in left field, so I could see how either of them could be right in this case. It's nice to know that in the end, my faith in Janeway as a captain is justified.
Admiral Janeway/Borg Queen -- I loved the banter and repartee between these two. They represent perhaps the two strongest female characters certainly in the Star Trek franchise, but perhaps in all of TV as well. Intelligent, strong willed, passionate characters butting heads ... incredible scene, I thought. Janeway (especially in her old age) is perhaps the only person not to shrink back in fear at the sight of the Borg queen.
It's nice to know that the Doc's taste in women doesn't change in the future. Tall, buxom blonde ... sounds kind of like the prototypical Chakotay ABOTW as well.
Some nice sly references to past episodes tossed in there. I caught at least three, some more subtle than others.
I loved the false alarm with the baby. Tom and B'Elanna were so cute waking up in the middle of the night and rushing to Sickbay.
Harry Kim! For once they gave Garrett Wang a chance to shine! From his scenes with Janeway in the future, to his face throughout the kal-toh game with Tuvok and Icheb, to his enthusiasm about going home, to his speech in the briefing room, he did a magnificent job this week. I'm just sorry we never got the chance to see more of him on a weekly basis. Too often he was just stuck behind the Ops console on the bridge.
The reappearance of Neelix, if only briefly. It's nice to know he isn't forgotten.
Kate Mulgrew must have spent every waking hour at work during the two or so weeks that they taped this episode. I would estimate close to seventy-five percent of the episode had her in it, in one form or another. And many scenes had both. Not only that, but she was fabulous throughout the episode. Her face, her voice, her actions, all the subtle little things that go in to a performance to make it great were there. In both versions of Janeway.
I have to admit, the Borg transwarp hub is a pretty cool idea. Far better than just a plain old wormhole to get them home. And it's quite fitting that the Borg represent their way home. So much of this show has revolved around the Borg and learning more about them. From "Scorpion" through the Seven of Nine years, "Dark Frontier" and "Unimatrix Zero" and many more episodes with a Borg flavor, we've learned more and seen more of the Borg than even TNG who introduced the Borg.
In the briefing room, that is the first time Janeway has admitted to resolving all her doubts and misgivings and regrets about her decision in "Caretaker." For most of the fifth season she struggled with this topic -- "Night," "11:59," and "Equinox" especially come to mind -- and I for one am very glad that she managed to resolve that conflict within herself by the end. I think it would have been wrong for her to end the journey and show without doing so.
"...Unless everyone in this room agrees." There was a time Janeway would not have left this decision up to everyone. Sure, she'd have listened to everyone's opinions, but in the end it would have been her decision -- as in "Caretaker." But she realizes (and states) how much this decision impacts the whole crew, and I like that. It's the mark of a good captain.
Harry's speech in the briefing room -- simply awesome! That thirty seconds sums up the heart of this show perfectly. To the journey! (And on a side note, Janeway's speech just before Harry's is quite nice as well.)
I selfishly enjoyed seeing the Borg queen falling apart at the end. I had this strange desire to belt out "I'm melting," like the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz.
Finally, the baby's appearance at the very end was quite fitting as well. A new beginning as life goes on, whether we see the new life or not.
DISLIKES:
Overall, the make-up department did a pretty good job aging everyone. There were only two problems I have to pick at -- Janeway and Paris. First, Paris should have had far less hair than he did. For crying out loud, he has less hair now than he did seven years ago -- he's going to keep losing it. And second, all they did with Janeway is give her gray hair. But her face is exactly the same! Twenty-six years go by and everyone is going to have more wrinkles, much as we hate to admit it. Even Harry aged in the face. I know it's probably depressing for an actor to put on make-up like that, but if you're going to go that far, you might as well go all the way.
While I kind of like Janeway's new 'to hell with it' theory on the Temporal Prime Directive, I'm sure Starfleet won't. Janeway has long taken a devil-may-care attitude with both Prime Directives, but the fact is that they were created for a reason. We saw part of that reason a few weeks ago with "Friendship One" as well as numerous other times over the years. To just simply bow to temptation and take the easy road and ignore it is not necessarily what she should do (even if it does help alleviate both her headache and mine). It works for her here, but if you get too cavalier with the rules, it can easily come back and bite you in the butt.
Obviously, my biggest complaint of the week is going to be ... Chakotay/Seven. Why oh why must we be tortured with this so late in the game? There was nothing so far as any sort of buildup of the relationship, and moreover, they ruined two pairs of very interesting relationships to do this. I know, we got a slight hint at it with "Nothing Human," but that was completely one sided. "Natural Law" had nothing, and neither did any other episodes. Ever. I would have complained, but less so had they slowly built this up rather than just dropping it on us at the last moment. Chakotay has never paid Seven more than just passing attention over the years. And what the hell happened to "I fail to see the benefit of monogamous relationships...remain open to social situations with a wide variety of individuals...I do not wish to be dependent on anyone. By marrying, one limits ones romantic interactions to a single individual -- a circumstance which implies extreme monotony" ("Course: Oblivion")? This all represents a major shift in characterization for both of them, and if you're going to do something like that you don't wait until the last freaking episode! The second part of my concerns is the ruination of some really nice pairings that they have been hinting at for years now, namely Janeway/Chakotay and Doctor/Seven. Hell, even if they officially dropped J/C back around season four (though you could argue against that assessment), Doc/Seven has been seen as recently as "Body and Soul." The Doctor is still very obviously in love with her, but she's so blind and selfish as to completely ignore every overture he's ever made with her. From "Someone to Watch Over Me" all the way up to last week's hurried 'good-bye' by the Doc in "Renaissance Man." Both of these other relationships have so much more of a solid basis than this rushed and hardly believable one. All season long we've seen such positive steps on the relationship front (any and all relationship) brought on by Kenneth Biller that I was really starting to believe that someone out there was listening to we puny viewers. Guess I was wrong. Teenage Male Demographic strikes again. Just as a side note, however, within an hour of watching the episode, I had at least three plots forming in my mind to break up Chakotay and Seven. Bwahahahaha!
GREAT QUOTES:
"I am home, Harry." -- Tom Paris
"Our chances would be good with one Kathryn Janeway on the bridge, but with two ... I'd bet on this ship any day." -- Chakotay
"A long time ago, I made a decision that stranded this crew in the Delta Quadrant. I don't regret that decision but I didn't know all of you then and Voyager was just a starship. It's much more than that now. It's become our home. I know I could order you to carry out this plan and none of you would hesitate for a second, but I'm not going to do that. You know the crewmen who work under you and you know what your own hearts are telling you. So we're not going to attempt this unless everyone in this room agrees. No one will think less of you if you don't." -- Kathryn Janeway
"I think it's safe to say that no one on this crew has been more ... obsessed with getting home than I have. But ... when I think about everything we've been through together maybe it's not the destination that matters, maybe it's the journey and if that journey takes a little longer so we can do something we all believe in, I can't think of anyplace I'd rather be or any people I'd rather be with....To the journey!" -- Harry Kim
J/C QUOTIENT: I've already ranted about C/7 enough, but there were some J/C moments as well -- if only in my head.
"...Marriage is for the young..." -- Could Janeway be lamenting her treatment of Chakotay over the years? Regretting never taking the chance while she had it?
I of course loved the scene with her talking to Chakotay's grave. Whether he ends up married to another woman or not, they are still best friends, and I'd like to think his death is one of her major motivations in changing history. Not to mention the look on her face in that scene.
Chakotay's vote of confidence in Janeway. "Our chances would be good with one Kathryn Janeway on the bridge, but with two ... I'd bet on this ship any day." Somehow I don't think he'd have that much confidence in Seven and her abilities (though the writers would).
