Summary

• Star Trek: Voyager almost ended season 3 with "Year of Hell," delaying Seven of Nine's debut.
• The creative team also considered a doppelgänger storyline for the season 3 finale, which later became the episodes "Demon" and "Course: Oblivion."
• Seven of Nine's introduction in "Scorpion" was crucial, so delaying "Year of Hell" and the doppelgängers made more sense.

The original plan for Star Trek: Voyager's season 3 ending would have delayed Seven of Nine's (Jeri Ryan) introduction. Voyager's season 3 finale/season 4 premiere, "Scorpion, Parts 1 and 2," was a huge episode for the show. Although they had been introduced earlier in season 3, "Scorpion" officially cemented the Borg as the main villain for Voyager's cast of characters, and kicked off a Borg storyline that would continue for the next four seasons. The Borg became extremely important on Voyager starting in "Scorpion" thanks to the debut of one of the show's more beloved characters: Seven of Nine.

Seven was created to replace Kes (Jennifer Lein), who bowed out of her role in the Star Trek timeline at the start of season 4. Although she was initially brought on for sex appeal, Seven's journey to rediscovering her humanity and coping with the trauma of her time as a Borg turned her into a complex character that became much more than her initial premise. Seven was one of Voyager's best characters and remains important in the franchise thanks to her time on Star Trek: Picard. However, Seven's first appearance almost didn't happen at the start of season 4.

Star Trek: Voyager's Original Season 3 Finale Plan Almost Delayed Seven of Nine's Introduction

Voyager's season 3 finale was almost a different episode

Voyager originally intended another two-parter, "Year of Hell," to end season 3 and begin season 4, and the change would have seriously delayed Seven's debut. "Yeah of Hell" is considered the best of Voyager's two-part episodes, focusing on Voyager's crew in a brutal year-long fight against Annorax (Kurtwood Smith) of the Kremin Imperium. The episode aired in season 4, but was teased as early as season 3, episode 21, "Before and After." Given that the creative team had already conceived of and foreshadowed "Year of Hell," it would have made some sense to use the storyline as season 3's ending.

The storyline in "Scorpion" was necessary to tell before "Year of Hell" could make its entry.

However, the fact that the cast was being shaken up at the start of Voyager season 4 seemingly took precedence over including "Year of Hell" earlier in the series. Voyager's writers needed to find a way to introduce Seven at the beginning of season 4 so that Kes could depart the show, and ultimately, "Scorpion" was the right way to do this. Although it delayed "Year of Hell," the episode made more sense where it ended up midway through season 4. The storyline in "Scorpion" was necessary to tell before "Year of Hell" could make its entry.

Another Voyager Episode Also Almost Led To Seven of Nine's Intro Being Delayed

Voyager's creative team had a lot of ideas for the season 3 finale

Interestingly, "Year of Hell" wasn't the only future Voyager episode that almost delayed Seven's introduction. Another initial idea for the season 3 finale was a storyline involving a set of Star Trek: Voyager character doppelgängers reaching Earth before the actual ship and causing chaos when it was discovered that they weren't Voyager's real crew. The idea was put aside when it became clear that "Scorpion" would be necessary, but with a few tweaks, it was brought back and became the episodes "Demon" and "Course: Oblivion" in seasons 4 and 5.

It's a good thing that both "Year of Hell" and the crew's doppelgänger storylines still got their day in the sun. Both plots were great additions to Voyager's later seasons and fleshed out the show in a lot of interesting ways. However, "Scorpion" and Seven's first appearance had to happen at the start of season 4. If Star Trek: Voyager had pushed Seven any later in the series, it would have risked her inclusion feeling rushed and less important than the other main characters, which in turn would have hurt the status she has since gained as a franchise icon.

Source: Star Trek Monthly, issue 34, Cinefantastique, Vol. 31