Is reality getting too freaky for you? Never fear: to quote Hunter S. Thompson, “When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.” There are no better professionals in the field of “weird” than the crew on Star Trek: Voyager.
For this week’s Trek Tuesday, we’re sharing four freaky Star Trek: Voyager episodes. And yes, of course, we’re including “Threshold.” Did we include your freaky favorite? Be sure to let us know in the comment section or on our Bluesky page.
“The Thaw”
In Voyager Season 2’s “The Thaw,” the U.S.S. Voyager crew makes first contact with a species of aliens who are mentally linked directly to a computer. Due to a solar flare 19 years earlier, five members of the species were forced to retreat into stasis pods.
While two of them died before Voyager arrived, the other three are still in hibernation, in spite of having been meant to awaken years earlier. To wake the three surviving hibernators, B’Elanna Torres (Roxann Dawson) and Harry Kim (Garrett Wang) volunteer to be connected to the computer as well.
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Before you can say “The Matrix,” Torres and Kim find themselves inside a virtual world that resembles a disturbing circus. Presiding over this circus is an unsettling, demented clown (Michael McKean, who did not reprise the role in Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 4’s “Twovix”). In order to escape the sadistic clown, our crew must dismantle the very system that surrounds him.
Wow! Trapped under the rule of a violent, dangerous clown and the deadly system he’s built around himself. Imagine what that would be like. Yep. Just imagine.
“Deadlock”
Voyager Season 2’s “Deadlock” sees the birth of Naomi Wildman. But this is no straightforward delivery! It all begins when Samantha Wildman (Nancy Hower) goes into labor. Meanwhile, Voyager takes a detour through a plasma drift to avoid having the crew become unwilling organ donors for the Vidiians.
Despite the best efforts of The Doctor (Robert Picardo), and due to the ship being hit by disastrous proton bursts, Naomi dies shortly after birth. And this isn’t the only fatal disaster to befall the crew. Kim is sucked out into space, where he dies. Additionally, Kes (Jennifer Lien) vanishes from the ship.
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Soon, Kes awakens aboard a different version of Voyager. This Voyager is undamaged and includes a living Kim and Naomi. There is also another Kes, identical to the Kes who just awoke — save for a DNA phase shift. Eventually, the two Voyagers get in touch with one another. It turns out the ship was split by a phase separation: they’re both Voyager.
However, the Vidiian eventually catch up with the second Voyager and begin harvesting the crew’s organs. Many of the command crew fall prey to the Vidiian’s deadly machinations. But at the end of the episode, Kes, the second Kim and Naomi travel from the second Voyager to the first. The latter two replace their late counterparts. How’s that for freaky?
“Course: Oblivion”
Disturbing doppelgänger tales? They’re more common on Voyager than you might expect. For another example, consider Voyager Season 5’s “Course: Oblivion.”
This messed-up episode opens with the wedding of Torres and Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill). An additional celebration is also taking place. A new development means the ship will be able to reach the Alpha Quadrant in just two years. But soon, things begin to go awry. Voyager’s systems start breaking down. Furthermore, Torres is suddenly afflicted with a disease that breaks down her cellular structure and causes her to die.
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Before long, the crew uncovers the truth. They aren’t actually the crew of Voyager at all. They’re duplicates created in the Voyager Season 4 episode “Demon.” Furthermore, they were such precise duplicates that they believed they were the prime crew and began the journey to return to Earth. But now their only hope for avoiding total degradation is to return to the Y class planet that was their origin.
Over the course of the journey, the crew and the ship continue to degrade. Although they send out a distress signal, it is too late. The Voyager duplicate and all aboard literally fall to pieces. After they’re gone, the original Voyager arrives in an attempt to answer the distress call. However, the prime crew only discovers biometric fluid floating through space. Ignorant of the freaky drama that just unfolded, the prime Voyager continues its journey back home.
“Threshold”
Of course, no list of freaky Star Trek: Voyager episodes would be complete without Season 2’s “Threshold.” (Listen, Voyager Season 2 was really freaky.) In this infamous episode, Paris becomes the first pilot to exceed the titular Warp 10 threshold. Unfortunately, this achievement comes with consequences.
First, the shuttlecraft Paris is piloting disappears from sensors. When it reappears, Paris explains that during his journey, he saw every point in the universe at once. This could be a way for Voyager to instantaneously travel back to Earth. However, this seemingly viable solution ends up being undesirable. That’s because Paris begins undergoing a disturbing transformation. And we aren’t just talking about his unholy craving for pepperoni pizza.
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As time passes, Paris’s behavior grows increasingly erratic. Meanwhile, he undergoes a physical transformation that makes him appear less and less human as time goes on. According to the Doctor, this is actually an accelerated evolution brought on by crossing the Warp 10 threshold.
The situation is further complicated when the transforming Paris kidnaps Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew). He subjects her to a shuttlecraft voyage that crosses the Warp 10 threshold, as well. Soon, both Voyager crew members have transformed into giant salamander-like creatures. After their shuttlecraft has crashed on a planet, Paris-lizard and Janeway-lizard mate, resulting in offspring. Paris and Janeway are rescued and returned to their original forms. However, the baby lizards are left to fend for themselves in the Delta Quadrant. Those are some freaky family values.
All four of these freaky Star Trek: Voyager episodes are currently available to stream on Paramount+.
