The reaction to Star Trek: Voyager among the Trekker fandom is always a visceral one. It seems that it's deeply loved or viciously hated with little space for anyone who preferred The Next Generation or Deep Space Nine. In the crowded field of the late 1990s when Star Trek shows seemed to be everywhere, this series might have fallen by the wayside.
Several Voyager episodes stand out as classics, and plenty of fans give Janeway the credit she's due when it comes to being the Captain of a starship. On the other hand, a lot of these episodes never got the credit they deserved in their own time. Now that we've entered another era where Star Trek is everywhere, even back in cartoon form, these underrated episodes are worth another look.
6 Warlord, Season Three
"Warlord" is a one-and-done episode, a phenomenon that doesn't happen in a world of streaming and shows in a miniseries format, as opposed to a narrative that lasts several seasons. It's fun to watch Kes, a character known for being gentle and demure, turn into a full-on, four-alarm screaming tyrant.
This was years before characters like Philippa Georgiou and Sylvia Tilly went through a similar transformation because of the Mirror Universe, but in this case, Kes was possessed by an actual disembodied dictator. Jennifer Lien, the actor who played Kes, puts on a convincing performance.
5 Projections, Season Two
Barclay always stole the show with his brilliant yet understated intelligence, and his chemistry with the Doctor in this episode is one of the best things about it. The story is a surprisingly complex one about the nature of existence and foreshadows a later time when the Doctor, supported by his peers in Starfleet, lobbies for the rights of holographic entities like himself.
In this case, a few strange incidents prompt the Doctor to ask who he really is and Voyager's true nature. What if he is real and the ship is a hologram? The themes here are about consciousness self-awareness and the nature of human existence, and the Doctor returns to them again in later episodes.
4 Bride Of Chaotica! Season Five
This is worth it just for the unique design, and that includes the old-timey steampunk sets, the black and white photography, and Kate Mulgrew vamping it up as a film noir femme fatale. This could be one of the few episodes that focus on Paris but isn't tacked on or silly, which is another plus.
The trope of villains coming to life because of some kind of Holodeck malfunction is a tired one, but this episode gives the whole idea new life and it's a refreshing take. It's satisfying to watch Janeway giving her all as Queen Arachnia after being so reluctant to join the fun in the first place. There could have been a while series of The Adventures of Captain Proton and it would have been preferable to those cringe-worthy Holodeck episodes about the quaint Irish village stereotype.
3 The Q And The Grey, Season Five
Everyone knows the classic "Death Wish," a fan favorite that includes a crossover with the Q Continuum, a mysterious race of omnipotent beings from The Next Generation. Nobody remembers the equally interesting episode that described the aftermath, and it as just as good but not half as serious.
With a Q dead, there needs to be a replacement, and Q from TNG returns to lavish his affection, along with some creative and endearing gifts, to Janeway, his chosen mate. Granted, there's not a lot of depth to this episode, and Q falls for another Q in the end, but Janeway does eventually stand has his son's godmother. The story continues in another episode when Q returns with his belligerent teenage spawn hoping the militant Janeway can show him some discipline.
2 Barge of The Dead, Season Six
For Star Trek fans who wanted to see more of the Klingon-human conflict and were disappointed that Warf got so little to do in TNG, there's the story of B'Elanna Torres. Half human and half Klingon, her internal conflict and its eventual resolution are one of the longest and best character arcs in the series.
It starts with "Faces" an early episode when her human and Klingon sides are separated, and continues with this journey into the Klingon afterlife. Fans of the video games will recognize some distinct locations from Klingon lore and galactic mythology. For those that are interested in the resolution of Torres' story, the episode "Lineage" is the final chapter in this narrative, and although Torres herself has moved past some issues, she now has to deal with them again when she discovers that she's pregnant.
1 Caretaker, Season One
It could have been one of the best pilots of any show ever, but there was so much controversy swirling around female captains, African-American Vulcans, and one of history's first indigenous characters when it was released that nobody seemed to appreciate how great it was.
The episode wasn't just creative and thrilling science fiction that told the story of a ship being transported light years away from home. It also had horror, survivalist, and even political elements with the addition of the Maquis ship and their backstory. The relationship that Janeway and Tuvok cultivated, a structure of command that also had an element of espionage, was also a brilliant addition.