Star Trek: Voyager’s Trilogy Of Terror Explained

Star Trek: Voyager season 3 has a set of episodes that were deemed the "trilogy of terror" after their release. Like many Star Trek TV shows, Voyager struggled with episode quality in its first few seasons. For every episode that ended up becoming a hit, there were just as many that were misses, if not more. This was less true in season 3 as compared to seasons 1 and 2, but Voyager still seemed to have trouble finding its footing before the season 3 finale changed the show completely with the beginning of the Borg and Species 8472 arc.

That isn't to say that Voyager season 3 didn't have several hit episodes, surpassing previous seasons in quality overall. The two-part "Future's End" remains one of the show's best storylines, and episodes like "The Chute" or "Coda" beautifully highlighted individual people in Voyager's cast of characters and had interesting plots. However, season 3 is the only season with the distinction of being home to the "trilogy of terror," which has become infamous among audiences since the season's release.

Star Trek: Voyager’s “Trilogy Of Terror” Season 3 Episodes Explained

The "trilogy of terror" was aired at the end of season 3

Voyager's "trilogy of terror" was three back-to-back episodes towards the end of season 3: episodes 18, 19, and 20, "Darkling," "Rise," and "Favorite Son." The episodes had nothing in common with each other in terms of plot; all three focused on separate characters and had wildly differing storylines. However, all three were extremely low-rated in terms of quality, and according to the book Beyond the Final Frontier, by Lance Parkin and Mark Jones, some viewers took it upon themselves to give the episodes the moniker "trilogy or terror" in the years after their release.

When compared to some of Voyager's better episodes, it's easy to see why "Darkling," "Rise," and "Favorite Son" were given such a demeaning title. All three episodes have plots that range from vaguely unmemorable to downright bizarre, and each episode lacked something in the execution of its storyline, mainly in terms of pacing. However, while no one would call any of them a "classic" in the pantheon of Voyager's best episodes, none of the trilogy of terror should be written off entirely.

Voyager’s Trilogy Of Terror Isn’t As Bad As Fans Say

All three episodes have some redeeming qualities

"Darkling," "Rise," and "Favorite Son" all had aspects that made them more interesting than the name "trilogy of terror" gives them credit for. "Darkling" was a tour-de-force for the Doctor (Robert Picardo), delving into some interesting territory with its Jekyll and Hyde premise and allowing Picardo to really chew the scenery as the darker alternate version of his character. Although the plot of "Rise" was fairly forgettable, the episode's further exploration of the complicated friendship between Tuvok (Tim Russ) and Neelix (Ethan Phillips) pushed it into interesting territory.

"Favorite Son" is perhaps the hardest to find redeeming qualities for, as the episode with the least coherent storyline and numerous issues with plot execution. However, "Favorite Son" did put Harry Kim (Garrett Wang) into uncharted territory and gave Wang a chance to truly shine as the episode's main character, something that didn’t happen often enough on Star Trek: Voyager. Although the "trilogy of terror" undoubtedly deserves the moniker, none of the episodes are entirely unable to be redeemed on some front.