Star Trek: Voyager

Summary

Star Trek : Voyagerintroduced a Starfleet nonparallel Orcinus orca as a recurring fictitious character in season 2 , but producer Michael Piller apologize how one of the crew could change by reversal out to be a killer in the first place . Voyagerhad its comely share of unsettling antagonists , from giant virus that infected the whole gang to the Vidiians , who glean foreign organic structure parts to keep themselves alive while being down by a deadly malady . However , one ofVoyager ’s most startling episode was season 2 , episode 16 , " Meld,“which introduce Lon Suder ( Brad Dourif ) toVoyager ’s cast of character .

Suder was a Betazoid and former Maquis who was found guilty of the slaying of Crewman Darwin ( Debbie David ) . Dourif played Suder to terrific perfection during " Meld , " bringing to life a case who kill plainly because he enjoyed it . Suder is a reasonably singular part intheStar Trektimelinebecausehe was a Starfleet officer who was also a serial slayer , something the franchise had never showcased before . However , one big contingent about Suder ’s yesteryear explain how he could be serving on a Starfleet ship while also harboring such fierce tendencies .

Star Trek : Voyager ’s dear characters have returned in Star Trek : Picard , Star Trek : Lower Decks , and peculiarly Star Trek : Prodigy .

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Star Trek: Voyager’s Serial Killer Had To Be A Maquis

No real Starfleet officer would have been a killer

InA Vision of the Future - Star Trek : Voyagerby Stephen Edward Poe , a reference account book forVoyager ’s early seasons , producer and showrunner Michael Piller explain how the originative team pay off off with introducing a sequential killer who was also a member of Starfleet into the franchise . Piller stated thatthe biggest loophole they exploited was the make Suder a former Maquis , and discussed why no previous Starfleet officers depicted on other show could have been in series killers . Read Piller ’s full quote below :

" The whole tarradiddle is base on the fact that nobody really knows about the backgrounds of these Maquis . Nobody have it away where they came from , nobody asks for resumes . The manslayer is a mankind who unite the Maquis because he really , really care to toss off . at long last he kill somebody aboard Voyager . If we had no Maquis on the ship you would never witness a Human Starfleet officer – one who ’s drop dead through the ended Starfleet grooming – who would do that . It just does n’t happen . "

give Starfleet ’s values , mission , and ideals , a killer like Suder would not be drawn to the organization because fighting and violence are n’t its chief objectives . This is rightful even though Starfleet is run like a armed services . MakingVoyager ’s resident consecutive slayer a former Maquis was the only logical move and a smart way to remind the audience that many phallus of the work party had not commence as Starfleet officer . The Maquis became Starfleet bunch very rapidly , but small monitor like this about their sordid past always made storylines more interesting .

Lon Suder (Brad Dourif) looks creepily towards the camera with the Star Trek: Voyager cast in the background.

Custom image by Simone Ashmoore

How Star Trek: Voyager Redeemed Lon Suder After His Crimes In “Meld”

Suder didn’t stay the bad guy on Voyager

Given the seriousness of his crimes in " Meld , " it ’s surprising thatVoyagermanaged to redeem Lon Suder afterward on in season 2 . However , " Meld " planted the seeds for Suder ’s repurchase thanks to the judgement meld he shared withLt . Commander Tuvok ( Tim Russ ) . Tuvok ’s mind meld with Suder was the focal degree of the episode , and while it had unintended consequences for the Vulcan , igniting his sleeping violent urges , Suder really gain from the meldand was show up to have acquired a gumption of calm and a lessening of his dangerous tendency .

This allowed Suder to become something of a hero in the season 2 finale " Basics , " where he was instrumental in thwart the Kazon mutiny and aid the bunch recapture the ship . It might seem unusual that such a reprehensible character reference would rick into a hoagy , butVoyagerhandled Suder ’s character transformation masterfully , turn over him into a tragic figure when he sacrificed his own life-time to bring through the ship . Suder ’s arc in " Meld " and " fundamental principle " is one of the more complicated and nuanced lineament arcsStar Trek : Voyagerever overstretch off , despite where he pop out in his first appearance .

All episodes ofStar Trek : Voyagerare available to stream on Paramount+ .

Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine and the Star Trek Voyager cast

Source : A Vision of the Future - Star Trek : Voyagerby Stephen Edward Poe

Cast

Lon Suder and Tuvok mind meld in the Star Trek: Voyager episode “Meld”

Lon Suder (Brad Dourif) sits and stares at someone off-screen in Star Trek: Voyager.

Headshot Of Kate Mulgrew

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Star Trek: Voyager