Season 7 starts with part two of “Unimatrix Zero” and although it is not as good as season 6’s “Equinox” or season 4’s “Scorpion”, it is a very solid opening. The Borg Queen is aware of Unimatrix Zero and wants this free haven of individuality gone. Note - We learn that Seven also was a frequent visitor in the past and that she even had a romantic relationship. Borg stories aren’t that interesting to me anymore but this one did entertain me. “Imperfection” Seven is experiencing headaches, appears that her cortical node is malfunctioning. Finding a new one fails. Itcheb wants to helps her, he can adapt without it, she will die without it. Itcheb forces Seven to accept his help. When he fully recovers, he sees tears on Seven’s cheeks, he thinks the node is damaged again, but the doctor says it is working perfectly. Note – A solid episode with some heartfelt emotional scenes. In “Drive” Tom and Harry enter a space race with the new Delta Flyer. Tom had forgotten about his romantic trip with B’Elanna but she lets him of the hook but is disappointed and is thinking if he and her still have a future together. Space race was organized for the first time after years and years of war in the region. Note - A simple comment from Seven about her relationship with Tom makes B’Elanna think and she decides to join Tom instead of Harry. Seven has a way of looking at people and relationships.

“Repression” was an okay episode but not much more, average. Maquis crew are being found unconscious, in a coma. Tuvok is investigating this and does not find logic in what happens. He finds out that he himself is responsible. He got a data stream from his son and this harbored a subliminal message from a former Maquis member. Maquis on Voyager rise up and imprison the Voyager crew with the intend of dropping them off on a plant. Luckily Tuvok begins to realize this and can stop this from happening. Note - A bit far fetched story, plus when the resistance starts, it is over before you can say: What?! I also wasn’t (and never have been) a fan of “Critical Care”, although the heart of the story is just of course. Doctor’s program has been stolen from Voyager, it is brought to a planet where they can use him as a doctor. However he soon realizes that not everyone gets the same treatment. People with aspiring jobs, who have a certain prestige, get much better care than people in the lower ranks of the society. The Doctor is determined to change that and he succeeds. Note – Still an okay story but far from a favorite of mine.

“Inside Man” is one of my favorite season 7 episodes, several ticks up from the previous two episodes. Having missed a previous transmission from Starfleet, Voyager receives a holographic program of Reginald Barclay bearing plans to get them home quickly. However, it is not the original hologram Barclay had sent, Ferengi are after Seven’s Borg nanoprobes which are very valuable. (Real) Barclay had a girlfriend, Leosa, to who he told everything about his work, she was a dabo girl and she used him. The Doctor is the only one who is suspicious of him after he shows his true face. Note - Great moments when the fake Barclay does a Janeway and a Tuvok impression. Also guest starring Marina Sirtis, love every episode she is in, she is not the ‘tv show Troi’ but the ‘movie Troi’, which I like much and much better. Kim is again disappointed, Tom told him so. “Body and Soul” is also a very entertaining and mostly fun episode, Seven, Kim and the doctor are being attacked by a ship because they carry photogenics, i.e. the Doctor. To save the doctor, Seven loads him up into her chronical node. The Doctor experiences his first taste of being human and indulges himself more than little, to the dismay of Seven. Meanwhile on Voyager, Tuvok is experiencing the early stages of the Pon Far. Paris has a way to solve this without Tuvok cheats on his wife. Note – As said, really fun and great performance of Jeri Ryan.

“Nightingale” is an okay episode where Kim gets to be a captain on a (allegedly) alien medical transport. Although he has trouble to delegate but Seven is there also to help him with that. Note - Kim still an ensign after 6 seasons is preposterous of course. Garrett Wang always disliked that Harry was never promoted beyond Ensign, despite several requests. He has stated that his character was not given the opportunity to grow as others were. This episode finally gave Harry a taste of command, if only briefly. Guest star: Ron Glass, Firefly (RIP). In “Flesh and Blood” the Hirogen return one final time. In my opinion one of the most interesting foes the Voyager crew had to deal with. Shame that they were served off so quickly with the holodeck program the Hirogen got in season 4’s “the Killing Game”. I didn’t really enjoy the first part, but I did like part two. It actually is a follow-up from “The Killing Game” where Hirogen have made their holographic prey more and more cunning up to a point they become self conscious and grow and learn and fight. The Doctor is kidnapped by these holographic people and they try convince him to go with them, he however tries to convince them to let Voyager help them. After Janeway rejects his proposal, the Doctor takes matters into is own hand, he gives the holographic people a helping hand in attacking the Hirogen as well as Voyager. Their leader promises not to hurt Voyager. Soon their leader expresses megalomanic thoughts. He sees himself as the messiah to his people and that he does not mind killing for it. When he kidnaps Torres the Doctor begins to realize what he has done. The Doctor expects punishment when he returns but Janeway blames herself perhaps even more for giving the Hirogen Federation technology and besides, she thinks that perhaps the Doctor is as fallible as us humans.

“Shattered” is also a solid episode, after an accident, Chakotay is able to pass through the distortions that are scattered about the ship after Voyager goes through a temporal rift. In various sections of the ship, its past and future exist side by side, and Chakotay must convince its crew, past and present, to work together to save Voyager. Note - This episode also makes it clear that Chakotay and the Captain should have ended up together. Shame we see those annoying Kazon again. And Seska, so glad we’ve got rid of her. As said, solid episode, so far the season is very entertaining, which has me confused a bit because I remember it as being a bit bland. I also enjoyed “Lineage” more than anticipated! Tom and B’Elanna are going to have a baby. When the Doctor shows them what their baby could look like, B’Elanna sees the same ridges she has and this bothers her greatly. As a child she was teased a lot about it, she always felt like an outsider and she even is convinced her dad left her and her mother because B’Elanna, as a child, told him to leave them, because she heard of a conversation of her dad with her uncle, telling him that it’s been hard these last few years living with two Klingon women. She proposes some modifications, suggesting they are for medical reasons but Paris sees right through it. She even changes the Doctor programming so he’d agree with her. Ultimately she tells Tom the whole reason why she wanted this and he reassures her that he is not her father and that he will never leave her, B’Elanna finally can make peace with it and be happy with her daughter, with ridges. Note -  Really am enjoying this season, always convinced myself it was a mediocre season and no, it is not the same quality as the 4^th and 5^th season, but till now, it is a solid season with only a few weaker episodes.

I wasn’t really fond of “Repentance”, where Voyager helps a damaged prison ship with eight prisoners stated for execution. When the doctor treats one, he inadvertently cures him of his violent sociopathic tendencies. Now he is wracked with guilt. Note – First of all, Where are the prison cells coming from suddenly? The victims who judge over them, kind of like it. Nowadays, offenders of heinous crimes get off with so little jail time, that is a criminal act in itself if you ask me. Something bothered me about the episode, because the Federation has different laws, they aliens’ law system automatically is wrong. “Prophecy” is tad better, enjoyable but just above average. Voyager finds a multi-generational Klingon ship that left the Alpha Quadrant more than 100 years before. When they hear of B'Elanna's child, they claim it as their savior. They self destruct their own ship to follow the child, meaning they have to come onboard Voyager. Kim is running from a large Klingon female, Neelix ‘sacrifices’ himself 😊. Ultimately the child saves all Klingons because the child’s DNA helps cure a sickness which is carried by every Klingon from that ship. As the scrolls say, the Klingons find a suitable home with the help of Voyager. Note - some fun moments with Neelix and his Klingon lover and Tuvok finding them in his quarters where they’ve just had sex and destroyed his apartment while doing it. In “The Void” Voyager slips into a pocket of subspace where many other ships are trapped and must steal from each other to survive. Only with the help of other star ships can they all escape the void. Note - Another enjoyable episode, Janeway keeps holding on to the federation principles which pans out.

I never really liked “Workforce”, it does remind me of Stargate SG-1’s “Beneath the Surface” which I also do not consider one of my favorite episodes. Upon returning from a mission, Chakotay, Kim and Neelix find Voyager abandoned and the Doctor the only crew member aboard. The entire crew have been kidnapped, their memories erased and they are now working in an alien industrial complex. Chakotay and Neelix infiltrate the complex and have to make Captain Janeway remember. Note - I still didn’t like part one that much but I have to admit I did like part two, perhaps because of the fact that the story was going to be concluded and that means more exciting storytelling than the set up in part one. It was a big conspiracy to kidnap and alter people from all species, Janeway’s realization that it felt like home, if Chakotay hadn’t come, knowing that she loved Jaffen, was interesting.

“Human Error” is another Seven episode and although entertaining, I do have some issues with it. Seven is exploring her humanity on the holodeck. She is testing herself with social gatherings and intimate relationships. She finds Chakotay a suitable mate. However, in doing this, she is neglecting her duties once too often, at one point the ship is almost destroyed because of it. Doctor finds out her cortical node is breaking down because of her social experiments, Borg probably designed it this way so that a Borg would malfunction if that happened. Surgery is the only option if she wants to continue with the social experiments, but Seven is done with it. Note – an okay episode I guess, still Seven neglecting her duties is hard to accept as a viewer, plus, here I go again, as I said before, Janeway and Chakotay would be a much better fit, especially since we’re almost at the finale.

The final Q episode is called “Q2” where Q drops his teenage child into Janeway’s lap because he hopes she can straighten the boy out a little bit. This of course becomes disastrous and the boy is given an ultimatum by Q and the continuum, either he becomes a respectable member of the Q continuum or he will be changed into an ameba. Note – well it’s always nice to see Q interacting with Janeway and it does have its moments but not thé farewell Q story you and I were hoping for I guess. “Author, Author” is probably one of the best episodes this season. The Doctor has written a holo-novel which is to show a struggle of a hologram in world of organics. The holo-novel is very similar to his life on Voyager except for different names of the characters and of the ship. What is also different is that the characters aren’t that likeable. When the crew explains this to the Doctor he at first isn’t ready to change anything but when Mr. Paris shows it from the crew’s perspective, he begins to realize he should change the setting, the characters. The publisher however does not want to wait for the revised version and releases the holo-novel. He refuses to retract it because the Doctor is in fact not human and therefore has no rights. A judge has to decide over it. Note – Really enjoyed the episode, a good Doctor story and nice that the crew is in contact again with Earth and Lt. Barclay.

In “Friendship One” Voyager gets its first Starfleet Mission since 7 years. They need to find a probe, Friendship one, launched in 2067, which has been reported missing in the neighborhood where Voyager is now. The crew finds it but they also find a world with it, which is in nuclear winter because of that probe. They take 3 people hostage from the delta flyer and demand to be relocated. Because this would take 3 years, this is not an option. One of these inhabitants has been captured, brought to Voyager, a scientist, he has an idea how to make their home planet livable again. Note - Good episode, last and final episode for character Joe Carey (Josh Clark), he was a recurring character mainly in the first few seasons.

In “Natural Law” Chakotay and Seven of Nine's shuttle is crippled by an energy field and they crash on a planet inhabited by a primitive species. There is a barrier which makes sure that these primitive species cannot be harmed by outsiders and by the Ledosians who apparently were at war with them long ago. Another alien species has put up this barrier. To escape, Seven shots the barrier down temporarily but Ledosians do not want it back up. Chakotay and Seven argue that it’s best to do so because otherwise their (the primitive species) habitat will no longer be the same and who knows what the Ledosians will do with them. Voyager puts up the barrier again much to the dismay of the Ledosians. B-story, Tom has to take flying lessons because he flew too frivolously in Ledosian space. Note - It is not a great episode, but still very watchable. This is the first season that Voyager’s episodes do not drop below average! At least, no duds! It is still possible though. (and it did happen! 😊)

“Homestead” is a farewell episode for Neelix and I have to say, well executed! Although we do see Neelix one more time in the series finale. Voyager finds a colony of Talaxians in an asteroid field. Neelix very much would like to visit, but because of heavy charges, the Delta flyer needs to crash land on their asteroid. These people are wary of outsiders but because they have had many bad experiences. Tuvok convinces Neelix that he can help them which he does. They manage to shield the asteroid from the miners. Neelix goes back to Voyager and they resume their course to earth, but Neelix feels uneasy, he wants to go back to them, Captain helps him in his decision by stating that it would be wise for them to have an ambassador in the Delta Quadrant. So he goes back to the colony. Note – I admit, I wasn’t really fond of him in the beginning, but the character really grew on me. At least Neelix got a better farewell episode than Kes!

Almost done with the season, hoping there would be no dud, but for me, “Renaissance Man” definitely was a dud! The Doctor abducts and impersonates various members of the crew when the Captain is kidnapped. The Malon have kidnapped the captain and order the doctor to get them Voyager’s warp core. Even though captain gives him a direct order, the doctor is okay with stranding the whole crew. Note - First off, the crew has been in worse situations, he definitely could have handled this differently, he also was able to code that music piece for Voyager to follow, he could have done something similar earlier in the episode to Tuvok or something. The doctor does some very questionable things to keep his keep his cover in tact. He hides several crew members in the morgue, also Chakotay, which means he and the captain are gone from the bridge for hours perhaps days at the time, which apparently doesn’t find anybody suspicious. Shame, I really thought with 23 episodes under my belt this season Voyager with stay above the average line, sadly it didn’t, this one is below average in my opinion. Was annoyed most of the episode. Even the confessions at the end did annoy me because of this. And because all ends well, the doctor isn’t being seriously reprimanded while in other cases a crew member would have. Second time (Flesh and Blood 1^st time) this season the Doctor does things that a normal officer would at least be severely reprimanded for. The Doctor only gets a stern look and sympathy.

The series finale “Endgame” is a decent one, enjoyed it. Ten years after Voyager's return from a 23 year journey across the galaxy, Admiral Janeway breaks all the temporal rules and journeys back in time to change a decision she made that prolonged their journey by 16 years. Bringing technology that will help fight the Borg, the Admiral wants her younger self to fight the Borg and use their trans warp hub to go home. Current Janeway however sees things differently, the hub the BORG are using to easily go anywhere in the universe, must be destroyed. Luckily both Janeway’s devise a plan which entails the destruction  of the hub and getting them home, killing the Queen too. When they arrive in the Alpha quadrant, Tom Paris is notified he has a daughter! To the Journey! Note - Certainly a more than okay series finale, still, I enjoyed it but was not marveled by it. Why didn’t we see 5-10 more minutes of them actually coming home, this feels quite empty. Another series finale where heavy prosthetics and make-up is necessary because the story initially is set far in the future. As I also said before, I believe Janeway and Chakotay should have ended up together.

Addendum:

 I recently listened to Dave Cullen’s thoughts on the finale, and I have to say, it changed my view of the finale quite a bit! It already bothered me that the ended the way it did, just Voyager arriving at earth, but he also made some points which I didn’t realize while watching it but it makes perfect sense. I am a bit disappointed in myself for not realizing this during my last rewatch of the series finale. The fact that Janeway is prepared to change the lives of all these people, crew mates who have had kids, have married and so on. Remember, they were already home 10 years. Another curious thing is that she felt guilt, mainly for losing Seven and Chakotay and also Tuvok, who is ill and would not have become ill had they come home earlier. Not so much for those other crew members that have died in those 7 years of the series. Why didn’t she go back to the time of the pilot, with the knowledge she now has, the array could send them back, she could destroy the array with explosives, set it on a timer. Why don’t we see Ensign Kim reunite with his parents? We heard him talking about them so many times, he so wanted to see them again in the flesh. Trust me, if you listen to Dave’s thoughts about this you will say f*ck yeah, he’s right! And these are only a few thoughts I have written down, just go watch the video. I guess you can only blame this on the laziness of the writers. These people suppose to have such imaginary minds but they totally overlooked this. This gives me a different view of the series finale.

Final Word:

Before I started to rewatch Star Trek: Voyager, I was fairly certain that this was going to be my last rewatch of the show. But having seen the whole series again, I realized that I did enjoyed most of it. Even the episodes that are below average, usually still have important, intriguing and fun scenes you don’t want to miss. Best example I can give you is season two episode “Tattoo”, an otherwise below average episode, but the B-story, where the Doctor has given himself the flu, is just hilarious. So, even if Voyager’s seasons are uneven in terms of quality, I still enjoyed most of it and I know for sure I will do another rewatch eventually! I have said this before also, I do repeat myself on many occasions 😊: these characters have come into my home for 30 years now, they have become family to me. In January 2025 Voyager will turn 30, you can expect a big anniversary blog! Finally I would grade the 7^th season an 7.5/10, a very decent grade and after watching all seasons, I know for sure season 4 is my favorite! Next up: Star Trek: The Next Generation.

With help of IMdB / Screencaps taken from: Trekcore