Some Star Trek: Voyager episodes had trouble with exposition, so I'm happy that one season 4 episode jumped right into the action. Despite not being the most popular of the 1990s-era Star Trek shows, Voyager is by far my favorite series in the franchise. In my opinion, Voyager's cast of characters gelled extremely well together, and by and large, the show's storylines were enjoyable and interesting. That's not to say that Voyager didn't struggle with certain things though, and while I love the show, I'll be the first to admit that it had weaker moments.
One of the things Voyager often had trouble with was the pacing of certain episodes. I can think of numerous episodes throughout the show's seven seasons that suffered from pacing issues or too much exposition. Voyager's "Trilogy of Terror" in season 3 comes to mind, but there were certainly other episodes, especially early on, that would have benefitted from a rewrite. However, for as many times as they got it wrong, Voyager's creative team also got a lot of episodes exactly right, including one famous two-parter from season 4.
Star Trek: Voyager’s “The Killing Game” Was Smart To Jump Right To The Action
The episode benefitted from starting in media res
Rather than get bogged down in its first half, Voyager's season 4 two-part episode "The Killing Game" did a great job of keeping viewers engaged from the start. This was partially thanks to "The Killing Game's" action-packed plot, which featured Voyager's crew as prisoners of a Hirogen hunting party who had taken over the ship. The Hirogen had brainwashed the crew and set them up on the holodeck in various scenarios, making everyone think they were really a part of that particular setting so that the Hirogen could hunt and kill them for sport.
Voyager didn't show most of the holodeck programs the Hirogen were running, but Janeway did appear in one that was Klingon-themed at the start of the episode. The main program that the episode is focused on was World War II-inspired and set in Nazi-occupied France, with the crew posing as resistance leaders while the Hirogen donned Nazi uniforms.
With a premise like this, I think most people would expect Voyager to depict the initial Hirogen attack. However, the show skipped this entirely, picking up afterward 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 smart 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) being 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-parters, it isn't the most popular one in season 4. That's not to say the episode isn't impressive, but it was unquestionably overshadowed by season 4's other two-part episodes: "Year of Hell" and "Scorpion." "Year of Hell" is often considered one of Voyager's best episodes in general, and outdid "The Killing Game" with an even more harrowing storyline. Likewise, "Scorpion" was the first episode to feature Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), an extremely important character introduction that overshadowed anything revealed in "The Killing Game."
While I ultimately don't think "The Killing Game" is Star Trek: Voyager 's best two-parter, I really appreciate the episode's choices overall.
While 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 part of Voyager season 4. The use of the holodeck and the different scenarios the crew was placed in was inspired, and the show broke Star Trek tradition by releasing both episodes back-to-back on the same night, something that I'm sure must have been an exciting event at the time. While I ultimately don't think "The Killing Game" is Star Trek: Voyager's best two-parter, I really appreciate the episode's choices overall.
