Star Trek: Voyager delivered a disappointing season 4 ending in comparison to its other finale episodes. Before the finale, season 4 delivered a well-rounded episode set and some shake-ups that made Voyager's cast of characters work better together. The season began with the departure of Kes (Jennifer Lein) and the introduction of Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), which helped cement the characters' dynamics more cohesively. Likewise, Voyager season 4 had some of the series' best episodes, including the two-part "Year of Hell" which is often considered the show's pinnacle.
After a season of highs, Voyager should have delivered an explosive season 4 finale to close things out. However, the actual finale, "Hope and Fear," ended up being a disappointment. The episode had a great guest start in the form of Ray Wise as Arturis, an alien with the power to seemingly get Voyager's crew home using quantum slipstream technology. "Hope and Fear" also brought back several storylines that the season had success with, such as the Borg and season 4 villain Species 8472. However, where season 4 had succeeded before, "Hope and Fear" ended up missing the mark.
Star Trek: Voyager’s “Hope And Fear” Fails As Season 4's Finale
The episode was lackluster at best
If "Hope and Fear" had aired mid-season 4, it might have done better, but the episode completely failed as a finale. For one thing, "Hope and Fear" broke Voyager's usual mold of ending the season with a two-parter. Voyager's usual two-part finale/openers not only provided a cliffhanger for the next season to resolve but generally created a much more interesting and involved storyline. "Hope and Fear" itself wouldn't have worked as a two-parter, but if Voyager had done a different storyline with the last episode of season 4, they might have been able to create something more engaging.
Likewise, "Hope and Fear" reusing plotlines that Voyager had already done made the episode feel tired. Season 4 extensively explored the fallout from the two-parter, "Scorpion," which dealt with Voyager's participation in the Borg's conflict with Species 8472. The Borg and Species 8472 had already been explored extensively throughout the season, so returning to the storyline one more time almost made it seem like Voyager was out of ideas. The attempt to show some of the conflict's consequences in the form of Arturis didn't hit the mark, even if Ray Wise turned in a creditable performance.
The One Exciting Thing That Star Trek: Voyager’s Season 4 Finale Introduced
"Hope and Fear" did introduce one good thing to the franchise
However, "Hope and Fear" did end up introducing one interesting concept to Star Trek: Voyager which was explored in later episodes. "Hope and Fear" was the first appearance of the quantum slipstream drive, a technology which, during the episode, propelled the USS Voyager 300 lightyears closer to its destination in a matter of minutes. Slipstream technology would go on to be a crucial part of Voyager's 100th episode "Timeless," an incredible episode with an engaging time-travel plot that showed the consequences of the technology beautifully.
While slipstream travel was only briefly referenced in Discovery 's third season, the slipstream drive made a bigger appearance in Prodigy season 1, with Admiral Janeway's USS Dauntless acting as another reference to "Hope and Fear."
Additionally, slipstream drives have become a small but important aspect of the modern Star Trek franchise, being referenced in shows like Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Prodigy. While slipstream travel was only briefly referenced in Discovery's third season, the slipstream drive made a bigger appearance in Prodigy season 1, with Admiral Janeway's USS Dauntless acting as another reference to "Hope and Fear," taking its name from Arturis's original ship. Despite Star Trek: Voyager delivering a less-than-stellar installment with "Hope and Fear," the franchise has still found ways to make the episode important.
