I understand why people like Star Trek: Voyager’s “Year of Hell” so much, but to me, it’s never been the show’s best episode. “Year of Hell” was Voyager’s second two-part episode in season 4 after “Scorpion, Part 2” kicked off the season. The episode featured an interesting premise that played with the nature of time travel and pushed Voyager’s cast of characters to the limit as they struggled to keep the ship and themselves intact while enduring devastating attacks by the episode’s villain, Annorax (Kurtwood Smith).
On the surface, I can agree that “Year of Hell” had a lot going for it. The plot was ambitious, tying many threads together, and the episodes feature some of great acting and character arcs for the series, especially from characters like Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and Tuvok (Tim Russ). Additionally, the praise heaped on Annorax as one of Voyager’s best villains is well-deserved. However, none of these change the fact that, in my opinion, “Year of Hell” is nowhere near Voyager’s best two-part episode.
Everyone Loves “Year Of Hell,” But It’s Not Star Trek: Voyager’s Best Two-Part Episode
“Year of Hell” has some problems that people sometimes overlook
Despite everything I’ve already discussed, “Year of Hell” has more cons than pros when looked at as a whole. The complicated time travel premise could be seen as convoluted in spots, and the second half of the episode dragged a bit after all the action that was packed into the first part. However, both of these things are a matter of opinion and subject to interpretation. What is not a matter of opinion is “Year of Hell’s” fairly egregious ending, which for me, puts a damper on the entire episode.
Captain Janeway resetting the timeline so that none of the events ever happened was arguably Voyager ‘s laziest ending in one of its most iconic episodes.
“Year of Hell’s” ending is the worst use of the “reset button” in Voyager history, which is saying something given that the show often employed it. Captain Janeway resetting the timeline so that none of the events ever happened was arguably Voyager’s laziest ending in one of its most iconic episodes. Hand-waving the conclusion to basically say “it was all a dream” is massively disappointing for an episode of “Year of Hell’s” caliber, and to me, tanks the episode altogether. A bad ending can ruin even the best episodes, and luckily, Voyager had other two-parters with much more cohesive storylines.
Which Star Trek: Voyager Two-Parters Are Better Than “Year Of Hell”?
Voyager has a lot of great two-part episodes
Voyager had a lot of two-part episodes, and while not all of them hit the mark, many are better than “Year of Hell.” One of my personal favorites is the season 3 two-parter “Future’s End,” which I feel often doesn’t get the love it deserves. Reminiscent of the plot of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, “Future’s End” featured Voyager’s crew pulled back in time to 1990s Los Angeles to stop a corrupt billionaire from destroying the timeline with stolen future technology. The episode had some incredible guest stars and is one of the funniest, most entertaining storylines in any season.
However, the episode that I feel is the pinnacle of Voyager’s two-parters is season 6’s “Equinox.” The plot is just as brutal as “Year of Hell,” but more interesting with the addition of another Starfleet crew as its villains. “Equinox” is wonderfully suspenseful, with much of its premise devolving into classic Star Trek horror, and pushes Star Trek: Voyager’s crew to the limit in similar ways to “Year of Hell.” Likewise, “Equinox” has a much more cohesive narrative, sacrificing nothing in entertainment value from start to finish. When stood up against “Year of Hell,” it measures up better every time.