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Which of these season finales left your heart pumping, the tears flowing, or the tummy rumbling?
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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, ah, cut to black. That is not this list, although there will be entries that might seem
00:17like they fit on both, but we'll go into those in each of the entries, don't you worry. Now,
00:22what we're also not doing here is the final episodes of each particular show. Again, that's
00:30another list. So, what we're doing here is going through the season finales that absolutely smashed
00:38it. Right, does that make sense? Let's find out. I'm Sean Ferrick for Trek Culture and here are the
00:4410 greatest Star Trek season finales. Number 10, Hope and Fear, Voyager Season 4.
00:50The closing episode in one of Star Trek Voyager's Stronger Seasons sees a resolution of sorts of
00:55the antagonism between Seven of Nine and Captain Janeway. For the entire year Seven had struggled
00:59with the individuality that had been thrust upon her. Here, faced with the choice of returning to
01:04the Collective, she finally accepts her home among the Voyager crew. The introduction of Arturus may
01:09be a bit of a Ray Wisex Machina at this stage in the season, but the performance is solid and
01:13the
01:14Dauntless is a stellar design, one that returned in Star Trek Enterprise and was the basis for the new
01:19Dauntless in Prodigy. It also gave a slipstream drive, something that would serve as crucial plot
01:23points in future episodes. Despite the high stakes of the episode, it truly feels like a character
01:28piece, focusing on the two female leads of the show. Their chemistry is undeniable and without
01:33treading well-worn ground, it's all the more impressive when we know what was happening behind
01:38the scenes at the time. Hope and Fear firmly establishes Seven's choice to stay with her new
01:43family, her new Collective, and despite the tragedy of Arturus's position, one feels that Seven and
01:48Janeway's resolution is the true happy ending of the season. Number 9, The Neutral Zone, The Next
01:53Generation, Season 1. The first season of The Next Generation had more ambition than achievement,
01:59but 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 viewers
02:09would return to the sophomore year. Thankfully, The Neutral Zone manages this with gusto. The looming
02:14threat by the eponymous region of space, as well as the frozen humans thawing and causing hassle
02:19for the crew, combine to set the stage for a wonderfully dramatic return of the Romulan Empire.
02:24Mark Olimo, offering his second role in Trek, as well as his deliberate slow style of speech,
02:29simply oozes arrogance sitting aboard the enormous warbird. We are back. With that assurance,
02:35Starfleet's lives are about to get much more complicated, and the stage was set for
02:39many more encounters with these Vulcan offshoots, as well as the initial hints of the Borg storyline.
02:44While the season is often maligned, also by myself, the final episode is one of the true
02:50standout finales of the franchise. Number 8, Supernova Part 2, Prodigy, Season 1.
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 destroyed.
03:07It was a risky move, one that had the chance of falling flat with its main audience. While Prodigy
03:11is not a kids-only show, how might they react to Hologram Janeway going the way of the Dodo?
03:18The show's premise centred around belonging. Dal, Rock Tuck, Zero, Jankum, Gwyn, and Murph are all
03:24outsiders and outcasts in the beginning, then grow, with Hologram Janeway's help, to become a strong
03:29family unit by the season's close. The events of Supernova see them directly save Starfleet, earning them a special
03:35dispensation from Admiral Janeway to serve as Warrant Officers. While the fate of Season 2 remains
03:40largely unknown at the time of recording, the few clips that have been released suggest that they
03:45are set to serve aboard the Voyager A, accompanied by a very familiar hologram, which seems anathema to
03:51where they were in the beginning of the first season. For season arcs alone, Prodigy's debut year
03:57smashed it with that finale. Number 7, The Best of Both Worlds Part 1, The Next Generation Season 3.
04:04Okay, so here's where we talk cliffhangers. Though this list is largely avoiding cliffhanger
04:09endings, we cannot in good conscience leave The Best of Both Worlds Part 1 off this list. While much of
04:14its brilliance is served from that incredible final scene, it would be too much of a disservice to the
04:19rest of the episode to say that that was its only powerful moment. The opening scene, the confirmation
04:24of the Borg, the first attack, the rising tension on board the Enterprise, Shelby, everything in this
04:29episode works, directed with Apom by Cliff Bull and written by Michael Piller. There was much uncertainty
04:34behind the scenes as well, as both Piller and Patrick Stewart weren't officially signed on to return
04:39in the fourth season. Therefore, Piller wrote this as a bit of a challenge to whoever would have to
04:43write the second part. The joke was on him, he did return and had to wrap everything up. Stewart also
04:48signed on, so Locutus had to go. The Best of Both Worlds Part 1 has transcended Star Trek to become
04:53one of popular media's most discussed and analyzed 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.
05:05Number 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, more on that later,
05:16set the stage, Tears of the Prophets completed several arcs, offered the first true on-screen
05:21offensive by the Federation Klingon Romulan Alliance and saw the departure of Terry Farrell's Jadzia Dax.
05:28While the unfortunate details of the behind the scenes issues that led to her departure have since
05:32become clear, there 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 without
05:42a growing sense of dread once she enters that Bajoran shrine, but Farrell's performance makes the effort
05:48worth every moment. Aside from this, the spectacular Battle of Chintaka as well as the return of Gul Dukat
05:54and Sisko's final scenes scrubbing oysters in New Orleans offer some of the most thrilling, affecting
05:59scenes, proving that a season that contained such greats as the sacrifice of angels far beyond the
06:04stars and in the pale moonlight could still go out with a bang. It may have been tinged with tragedy,
06:09but Tears of the Prophets was still in its own way very much a triumph.
06:13Number 5, The Expanse Enterprise Season 2. The Expanse is a bit of an outlier on this list.
06:19While it absolutely deserves to be here, the episode has aged with a bit of controversy as
06:23the years have gone on. Airing in May of 2003, less than two years after the September 11th attacks,
06:30this story very obviously was Star Trek's take on these events. It set the stage for Season 3's
06:36Xindi arc, and while Enterprise's arrival in The Expanse probably can be called a cliffhanger,
06:41it's the reactions of the crew, and particularly Trip and Archer, which truly sell the episode.
06:47Trip's sister Elizabeth is killed in the attack, but this isn't confirmed for a few scenes. Therefore,
06:51Trip becomes the stand-in character for those who are desperately searching for news of their loved
06:56ones in the hours and days following the collapse of the Twin Towers. While there is much to be said
07:00about how the show handled the Xindi arc overall, The Expanse manages to capture that feeling of shock,
07:06panic and devastation effectively. This, coupled with the rise of real-world xenophobia, jingoism
07:12and anti-Muslim sentiment, was a stark departure from Gene Roddenberry's hope for the future,
07:16and it was a departure that was handled very, very well.
07:20Number 4. A Quality of Mercy Strange New Worlds Season 1
07:24Star Trek Strange New Worlds brought the franchise away from the serialised storytelling of both Discovery
07:29and Picard returning to the more familiar episodic adventure of the week. Therefore, when it came to the
07:34first season's finale, audiences weren't sure quite what to expect. It's safe to say that having two
07:39Pykes, one slightly older, greyer and monster maroonier, was unexpected. The episode also served
07:44to introduce James T. Kirk as played by Paul Wesley. It would go on to serve as both a soft
07:49remake of
07:50Balance of Terror, while also solidifying the fact that, despite Pike's affable nature, the Boy Scout-like
07:56charm, that he was exactly the wrong captain to be the one facing the Romulans. It serves to help Pike
08:01and the audience come to accept the fact that Pike'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
08:11does he. What Pike
08:12doesn't know is that, by the time of the menagerie, he will return to Talos IV and live a life,
08:17though
08:17illusory, but one of love. If one of the main themes of the show's first season was Pike coming to
08:22terms
08:22with his fate, then this episode manages to achieve that perfectly, setting the stage for a second season
08:27where Pike was free to explore other storylines free of that weight. Number 3, Such Sweet Sorrow Part 2
08:34Discovery Season 2. Star Trek Discovery is a show that has been free from any drama or furious
08:39backlash or even discussion. End of entry. Now, once the laughing is finished, there is very much a reason
08:43that Such Sweet Sorrow Part 2 ranks so highly on this list. The show, closing out its second year,
08:49was faced with how to resolve the story of Burnham and Spock's relationship, Pike's return to the
08:53Enterprise, controls 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 them
09:17breaking the high tension of events. The fact that Yeoh, in fact, offers some grim humour to the story in
09:22her
09:23showdown with Leland, offers us some of the most uncomfortable smiles of enjoyment of the season.
09:28The third season would then become a soft reboot of Discovery, so if this is both the end of the
09:32second season and the spiritual end of the first iteration of the show, then it fires on all thrusters,
09:37and Geoff Russo's score deserves a special mention as well for that wonderful soaring tribute to the
09:42ship as it blasts into the 32nd century. Number 2. No Small Parts, Lower Decks, Season 1.
09:48To completely change the mood, No Small Parts is one of the most fun finales to make this list,
09:53with all of the humour that Lower Decks injects into its episodes, along with the arrival of the
09:57USS Titan, Luna Class, on screen for the very first time. That moment, with the next generation theme
10:03blaring, only adds to the excitement of hearing Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis revising the roles
10:08of Riker and Troi respectively. The episode is not without a mix of emotions, as there is a genuine
10:12threat in the form of the pack-led clump ships, extreme frustration in the form of Peanut Hamper,
10:17and the tragedy of the loss of Shaxx. Sure, he returned in the second season, but we weren't
10:21to know that as he disappeared into a cloud of vapour while Rutherford floated away. What is most
10:26impressive however, is the ability of the episode, in barely 23 minutes, to cram all of these moments
10:31in, yet it never feels rushed or too clumped. Instead, the audience is treated to both a tease
10:36for the second season, Lieutenant Boimler aboard the USS Titan, and a cheeky knowing wink to the audience,
10:42as Riker discusses visiting the holodeck to spend time with the crew of the NX-01. For a show that,
10:47in our opinion, was a massive success on all fronts, its first season went out on the highest of highs,
10:52which was a sign of the quality to come. Number 1, Call to Arms Deep Space Nine Season 5. This
10:59episode
10:59has everything. From the opening scenes of Sisko watching the latest Jem'Hadar convoy erupt from the
11:05wormhole, to the decision to mind the entrance, the standoff with Weyoun, and the eventual attack on the
11:10station, there's barely a moment to breathe. On top of that, there is even time at the end to get
11:15a
11:15sense of the aftermath. The station is crippled, Kira, Odo, and Quark are still aboard, as is Rom
11:20and Jake Sisko. The Defiant and the Rataran are rushing to meet the Federation task force, while
11:25Dukat smugly settles himself into Sisko's office. The actual final shot, one of the enormous Starfleet
11:31Klingon fleet heading toward the Bajoran sector, was a heart-stopping moment. While yes, this does in fact
11:36feel like another cliffhanger, the amount of time that passes between this shot and the opening
11:40moments of a time to stand, serve to truly hammer home the threat of the Dominion. For sheer tension,
11:46action, exhilaration, and payoff, there is no season finale of Star Trek quite like Call to Arms. Now
11:52that's everything for our list. Obviously we can do sequel after sequel, because there's something
11:57like 40 plus seasons of Star Trek. So let us know what is your favorite Star Trek season finale in
12:03the
12:03comments below, and don't forget to get in touch over on social media. You can catch us at
12:07TrekCulture on Twitter at TrekCultureYT on Instagram, you can catch myself at Sean Ferrick on the various
12:13socials as well, and of course you can catch our editor Mel on the socials too. You are wonderful,
12:18you are awesome, you are brilliant, make sure that you live long and prosper, and we will see you soon.
12:22Thanks!
12:22Thanks!
12:22Thanks!
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