I really enjoyed the rant about the penultimate episode needing to mean something and Voyager in general.
Sure, TNG didn't 'need' it for plot reasons, but it still made it count. "Preemptive Strike" was one of the great episodes of TNG. You were crying hasperat tears for Ro Laren by the end of that one.
DS9's "Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges" did not focus on such a dear guest star (though "Badda Bing, Badda Bang" did) but it was likewise setting the show's doctor up against an intrigue plot - albeit one that wasn't braindead in its logic. It fit better with Bashir's overall character arc, and it gave Admiral Ross a dark edge that we didn't realize he had.
Enterprise's "Demons"/"Terra Prime" is already considered the 'real' finale and "In a Mirror Darkly" is too far from par to really seem like a penultimate ep.
I'm not sure if it's worth evaluating the other shows' second-to-last stories.
Yes, but that episode wasn't half bad. I think "Friendship One" could have been held back a few weeks and aired in this slot. It was already pretty late in Season 7 and it at least served a role as a funeral dirge for the very concept of continuity on Voyager.clearspira wrote: ↑Sat Apr 10, 2021 9:19 pm I just had a look through the season 7 episode list trying to find a more suitable episode than this one to be the penultimate and I think ''Shattered'' is a good contender.
Agreed. If they even had the slightest ability to pull a last second plot twist, they could have just left her there, only for her time-travelling future self show up next time and wave it all away. Tuvok's whole 'Remember that time Janeway got kidnapped?' plotline in "Endgame" could have been a real thing from the show.Rocketboy1313 wrote: ↑Sun Apr 11, 2021 1:18 pm What Janeway should have said is, "WE'RE IN A NAVY! Chakotay would be the Captain.