Some Star Trek: Voyager Episodes struggle with exposition, so I’m glad one season 4 episode jumped right into the action. Despite not being the most popular of the 1990s era Star Trek show, Voyager is by far my favorite series in the franchise. In my opinion, Voyagers cast of characters gel extremely well together, and in general, the show’s storylines are enjoyable and interesting. This is not to say that Voyager But did not struggle with certain things, and While I love the show, I’ll be the first to admit that it has weak moments.
One of these things Voyager Often have trouble with the pacing of certain episodes. I can think of many episodes over the seven seasons of the show that suffered from pacing issues Or too much exposure. Voyager‘s “trilogy of terror” in season 3 comes to mind, but there are certainly other episodes, especially early ones, that would have benefited from a rewrite. But, for as many times as they got it wrong, weighs creative team also got a lot of episodes just right, including one famous two-parter from season 4.
Star Trek: Voyager’s “The Killing Game” was smart to jump right into the action
The episode benefited from starting in media res
Rather than being bogged down in the first half, VoyagerSeason 4’s two-part episode “The Killing Game” did a great job of keeping viewers engaged from the start. This was thanks in part to “The Killing Game’s” action-packed plot, which featured Voyagers crew as prisoners of a Hirogen hunting party that had taken over the ship. The Hirogen brainwashed the crew and put them up on the holodeck in various scenarios, making everyone think they were really part of the particular setting so that the Hirogen could hunt and kill them for sport.
With a premise like this, I think most people would expect Voyager To depict the initial Hirogen attack. However, the show skips this entirely, picking up afterwards and explaining the attack with some well-placed dialogue. Doing this ensured that “The Killing Game” cut out unnecessary filler and jumped into its most interesting storyline without wasting time. This was an incredibly clever strategy and provided the first episode with a hook that never fails to draw me in. Every time I watch it: The teaser of a brainwashed Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) is seemingly killed by the Hirogen Alpha (Danny Goldring).
Why “The Killing Game” Isn’t a More Popular Star Trek: Voyager Season 4 Two-Parter
Other season 4 two-parters are better remembered
Unfortunately, while “The Killing Game” is a memorable addition to Star Trek: Voyager’s Two-parter, it wasn’t the most popular of season 4. That’s not to say the episode wasn’t impressive, but The other two-part episodes of season 4 were overshadowed: “Year of Hell” and “Scorpion.” “Year of Hell” is often considered one of Voyagers best episodes overall, and surpassed “The Killing Game” with an even more harrowing storyline. Likewise, “Scorpion” was the first episode with Seven of Nine (Jerry Ryan), an extremely important character introduction that overshadowed anything revealed in “The Killing Game.”
Although I ultimately don’t think “The Killing Game” is Star Trek: Voyager‘s best two-parter, I really appreciate the choices of the episode overall.
Although I also think “Year of Hell” and “Scorpion” are impressive episodes, It’s a little disappointing to me that “The Killing Game” doesn’t get more love as a part of Voyager Season 4. The use of the holodeck and the different scenarios in the crew was inspired, and the show broke Star Trek tradition by releasing both episodes back-to-back on the same night, something I’m sure must have been an exciting event at the time. Although I ultimately don’t think “The Killing Game” is Star Trek: Voyager‘s best two-parter, I really appreciate the choices of the episode overall.