Which of these season finales left your heart pumping, the tears flowing, or the tummy rumbling?
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00Now, let's get a couple of things clear from the off. First, we have already done a list of the
00:05greatest cliffhangers in Star Trek. You know, those ones where right at the end it's like,
00:10oh no, cut to black. That is not this list. Although there will be entries that might
00:17seem like they fit on both, but we'll go into those in each of the entries. Don't you worry.
00:21Now, what we're also not doing here is the final episodes of each particular show. Again,
00:29that's another list. So, what we're doing here is going through the season finales that absolutely
00:37smashed it. Right. Does that make sense? Let's find out. I'm Sean Ferrick for Trek Culture,
00:43and here are the 10 greatest Star Trek season finales. Number 10, Hope and Fear, Voyager Season
00:504. The closing episode in one of Star Trek Voyager's stronger seasons sees a resolution
00:54of sorts of the antagonism between Seven of Nine and Captain Janeway. For the entire year,
00:58Seven had struggled with the individuality that had been thrust upon her. Here, faced with the
01:03choice of returning to the Collective, she finally accepts her home among the Voyager crew. The
01:07introduction of Arturus may be a bit of a Raywise ex machina at this stage in the season, but the
01:12performance is solid and the Dauntless is a stellar design, one that returned in Star Trek
01:17Enterprise and was the basis for the new Dauntless in Prodigy. It also gave a slipstream drive,
01:22something that would serve as crucial plot points in future episodes. Despite the high stakes of
01:26the episode, it truly feels like a character piece, focusing on the two female leads of the
01:30show. Their chemistry is undeniable, and without treading well-worn ground, it's all the more
01:35impressive when we know what was happening behind the scenes at the time. Hope and Fear firmly
01:40establishes Seven's choice to stay with her new family, her new Collective, and despite the tragedy
01:45of Arturus's position, one feels that Seven and Janeway's resolution is the true happy ending of
01:51the season. The first season of The Next Generation had more ambition than achievement,
02:00but it did bring Star Trek back to TV for the first time in over a decade. Heading into 1988
02:05with a writer's strike looming, there needed to be a hook in the finale that would guarantee
02:09viewers would return to the sophomore year. Thankfully, The Neutral Zone manages this with
02:13gusto. The looming threat by the eponymous region of space, as well as the frozen humans thawing
02:18and causing hassle for the crew, combine to set the stage for a wonderfully dramatic return of
02:22the Romulan Empire. Marco Limo, offering his second role in Trek, as well as his deliberate
02:28slow style of speech, simply oozes arrogance, sitting aboard the enormous warbird, We Are Back.
02:34With that assurance, Starfleet's lives are about to get much more complicated, and the stage was
02:39set for many more encounters with these Vulcan offshoots, as well as the initial hints of the
02:43Borg storyline. While the season is often maligned, also by myself, the final episode
02:49is one of the true standout finales of the franchise.
02:56Star Trek Prodigy's first season came to a close with perhaps more catharsis than anticipated,
03:01as the show relocated from the Delta to Alpha Quadrants, and the USS Protostar itself was
03:06destroyed. It was a risky move, one that had the chance of falling flat with its main audience.
03:11While Prodigy is not a kids-only show, how might they react to Hologram Janeway going the way of
03:17the Dodo? The show's premise centred around belonging. Dal, Rocktuk, Zero, Jankum, Gwyn,
03:23and Murph are all outsiders and outcasts in the beginning, then grow, with Hologram Janeway's
03:28help, to become a strong family unit by the season's close. The events of Supernova see
03:33them directly save Starfleet, earning them a special dispensation from Admiral Janeway to
03:38serve as warrant officers. While the fate of season two remains largely unknown at the time
03:42of recording, the few clips that have been released suggest that they are set to serve
03:46aboard the Voyager A, accompanied by a very familiar hologram, which seems anathema to where
03:52they were in the beginning of the first season. For season arcs alone, Prodigy's debut year smashed
03:58it with that finale.
03:59Number seven, The Best of Both Worlds Part One, The Next Generation, Season Three.
04:04Okay, so here's where we talk cliffhangers. Though this list is largely avoiding cliffhanger endings,
04:09we cannot in good conscience leave The Best of Both Worlds Part One off this list. While much
04:13of its brilliance is served from that incredible final scene, it would be too much of a disservice
04:18to the rest of the episode to say that that was its only powerful moment. The opening scene,
04:23the confirmation of the Borg, the first attack, the rising tension on board the Enterprise,
04:28Shelby, everything in this episode works, directed with Aipom by Cliff Ball and written
04:33by Michael Piller. There was much uncertainty behind the scenes as well, as both Piller and
04:36Patrick Stewart weren't officially signed on to return in the fourth season. Therefore,
04:41Piller wrote this as a bit of a challenge to whoever would have to write the second part.
04:44The joke was on him, he did return and had to wrap everything up. Stewart also signed on,
04:48so Locutus had to go. The Best of Both Worlds Part One has transcended Star Trek to become
04:53one of popular media's most discussed and analysed season finales of all time. There's a reason that
04:59every succeeding Star Trek cliffhanger is compared to this one. This is the one that broke the mould.
05:04Number 6, Tears of the Prophets, Deep Space Nine, Season 6. The sixth season of Deep Space Nine saw
05:10the Dominion War truly explode throughout the Federation. While the fifth season finale,
05:15more on that later, set the stage, Tears of the Prophets completed several arcs,
05:19offered the first true on-screen offensive by the Federation-Klingon-Romulan alliance,
05:24and saw the departure of Terry Farrell's Jadzia Dax. While the unfortunate details
05:29of the behind-the-scenes issues that led to her departure have since become clear,
05:33there is little doubt that the death of Jadzia ranks as one of the most shocking,
05:37upsetting scenes in the show's entire run. It's actually difficult to re-watch the episode
05:42without a growing sense of dread once she enters that Bajoran shrine, but Farrell's performance
05:47makes the effort worth every moment. Aside from this, the spectacular Battle of Chintoka,
05:52as well as the return of Gul Dukat, and Sisko's final scene scrubbing oysters in New Orleans,
05:57offer some of the most thrilling, affecting scenes, proving that a season that contained
06:02such greats as the sacrifice of angels far beyond the stars and in the pale moonlight could still go
06:07out with a bang. It may have been tinged with tragedy, but Tears of the Prophets was still,
06:11in its own way, very much a triumph. Number 5, The Expanse, Enterprise Season 2. The Expanse
06:17is a bit of an outlier on this list. While it absolutely deserves to be here, the episode has
06:21aged with a bit of controversy as the years have gone on. Airing in May of 2003, less than two years
06:28after the September 11th attacks, this story very obviously was Star Trek's take on these events.
06:34It set the stage for Season 3's Xindi arc, and while Enterprise's arrival in the Expanse probably
06:40can be called a cliffhanger, it's the reactions of the crew, and particularly Trip and Archer,
06:45which truly sell the episode. Trip's sister Elizabeth is killed in the attack, but this isn't
06:49confirmed for a few scenes. Therefore, Trip becomes the stand-in character for those who
06:54are desperately searching for news of their loved ones in the hours and days following the collapse
06:58of the Twin Towers. While there is much to be said about how the show handled the Xindi arc overall,
07:03The Expanse manages to capture that feeling of shock, panic, and devastation effectively. This,
07:08coupled with the rise of real-world xenophobia, jingoism, and anti-Muslim sentiment, was a stark
07:14departure from Gene Roddenberry's hope for the future, and it was a departure that was handled
07:18very, very well. Star Trek's Strange New Worlds brought the franchise away from the
07:27serialised storytelling of both Discovery and Picard, returning to the more familiar episodic
07:32adventure of the week. Therefore, when it came to the first season's finale, audiences weren't sure
07:37quite what to expect. It's safe to say that having two Pykes, one slightly older, greyer,
07:41and monster maroonier, was unexpected. The episode also served to introduce James T. Kirk
07:46as played by Paul Wesley. It would go on to serve as both a soft remake of Balance of Terror, while
07:51also solidifying the fact that, despite Pyke's affable nature, the Boy Scout-like charm, that
07:57he was exactly the wrong captain to be the one facing the Romulans. It serves to help Pyke and
08:01the audience come to accept the fact that Pyke's fate is sealed. However, it manages to balance
08:06that with the good that will come from it. We know that he will end up in the chair, as does he,
08:11what Pyke doesn't know is that, by the time of the Menagerie, he will return to Talos IV and live
08:16a life, though illusory, but one of love. If one of the main themes of the show's first season was
08:21Pyke coming to terms with his fate, then this episode manages to achieve that perfectly,
08:25setting the stage for a second season where Pyke was free to explore other storylines,
08:30free of that weight. Number three, Such Sweet Sorrow, part two, Discovery, season two. Star Trek
08:36Discovery is a show that has been free from any drama or furious backlash or even discussion,
08:40end of entry. Now, once the laughing is finished, there is very much a reason that Such Sweet
08:44Sorrow, part two ranks so highly on this list. The show, closing out its second year, was faced
08:49with how to resolve the story of Burnham and Spock's relationship, Pyke's return to the
08:53Enterprise, Control's threat to the galaxy, and so many, many little niggling issues with historical
08:58canon. The fact that it largely succeeds with all of these points, sets up a sidewall series,
09:03closes much of the larger canon complaints, and still offers a fantastic light show to boot,
09:08is a testament to the skills behind the camera and the acting in front. Sonequa Martin-Green,
09:12Michelle Yeoh, Anson Mount, and Doug Jones all stand out in particular here, with not one of
09:17them breaking the high tension of events. The fact that Yeoh, in fact, offers some grim humour to the
09:22story in her showdown with Leland, offers us some of the most uncomfortable smiles of enjoyment of
09:27the season. The third season would then become a soft reboot of Discovery, so if this is both
09:31the end of the second season and the spiritual end of the first iteration of the show, then it
09:36fires on all thrusters, and Jeff Russo's score deserves a special mention as well for that
09:40wonderful soaring tribute to the ship as it blasts into the 32nd century. Number two, No Small Parts,
09:46Lower Decks, Season One. To completely change the mood, No Small Parts is one of the most fun
09:52finales to make this list, with all of the humour that Lower Decks injects into its episodes, along
09:56with the arrival of the USS Titan Luna-class on screen for the very first time. That moment,
10:01with the Next Generation theme blaring, only adds to the excitement of hearing Jonathan Frakes
10:06and Marina Sirtis reprising the roles of Riker and Troy, respectively. The episode is not without a
10:10mix of emotions, as there is a genuine threat in the form of the pack-led clumpships, extreme
10:15frustration in the form of Peanut Hamper, and the tragedy of the loss of Shaxx. Sure, he returned in
10:20the second season, but we weren't to know that as he disappeared into a cloud of vapour while
10:24Rutherford floated away. What is most impressive, however, is the ability of the episode, in barely
10:29twenty-three minutes, to cram all of these moments in, yet it never feels rushed or too
10:34clumped. Instead, the audience is treated to both a tease for the second season, Lieutenant Boimler
10:38aboard the USS Titan, and a cheeky, knowing wink to the audience as Riker discusses visiting the
10:43holodeck to spend time with the crew of the NX-01. For a show that, in our opinion, was a massive
10:48success on all fronts, its first season went out on the highest of highs, which was a sign of the
10:53quality to come. Number one, Call to Arms, Deep Space Nine, Season Five. This episode has
11:00everything. From the opening scenes of Sisko watching the latest Jem'Hadar convoy erupt from
11:05the wormhole, to the decision to mine the entrance, the standoff with Weyoun, and the eventual attack
11:10on the station, there's barely a moment to breathe. On top of that, there is even time at the end to
11:14get a sense of the aftermath. The station is crippled, Kira, Odo, and Quark are still aboard,
11:19as is Rom and Jake Sisko, the Defiant and the Rataran are rushing to meet the Federation task
11:24force, while Dukat smugly settles himself into Sisko's office. The actual final shot, one of the
11:29enormous Starfleet Klingon fleet heading toward the Bajoran sector, was a heart-stopping moment.
11:34While yes, this does in fact feel like another cliffhanger, the amount of time that passes
11:39between this shot and the opening moments of A Time to Stand serve to truly hammer home the
11:44threat of the Dominion. For sheer tension, action, exhilaration, and payoff, there is no
11:49season finale of Star Trek quite like Call to Arms. Now, that's everything for our list. Obviously,
11:54we can do sequel after sequel, because there's something like 40-plus seasons of Star Trek,
11:59so let us know what is your favourite Star Trek season finale in the comments below,
12:04and don't forget to get in touch over on social media. You can catch us at Trek Culture on Twitter,
12:08at Trek Culture YT on Instagram, you can catch myself, at Sean Ferrick on the various socials
12:13as well, and of course you can catch our editor Mel on the socials too. You are wonderful, you are
12:18awesome, you are brilliant, make sure that you live long and prosper, and we will see you soon.