Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) is one of Starfleet's very best captains, as proved by her best Star Trek: Prodigy episodes. After making the difficult decision to strand her crew in the Delta Quadrant, Janeway was determined to return them home by any means necessary. Although she would largely stick by the rules of the Prime Directive, Janeway often took huge risks to shorten the USS Voyager's 75-year journey home. Her loyalty to her crew guaranteed the same in return, as they too would often risk everything to save their captain.
Janeway's crew of Starfleet officers and Maquis terrorists was evidence of her ability to see potential in anyone, regardless of their ideologies. Years later, she demonstrated this again both in holographic, and real-life form, when she recognized the potential in the young alien heroes who had acquired the USS Protostar in Star Trek: Prodigy. Vice iral Janeway lobbied Starfleet to allow the kids entry into the Academy, and she threatened to resign her commission when Starfleet refused to allow former Borg drone Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) to become an officer. Her ten best episodes show each facet of Janeway's character - her loyalty to her crew, her determination to get home, and her strong sense of justice.
10 Star Trek: Voyager Season 6, Episode 11, "Fair Haven"
Two of Voyager's main themes were the rights and agency of Star Trek's holograms and Janeway's professional distance from the crew. In "Fair Haven", these two themes collide when she falls for Michael Sullivan (Fintan McKeown), the bartender in the simulated Irish seaside town of the episode's title. Growing increasingly attached to the hologram, Janeway accessed Sullivan's behavioral subroutines to make him her perfect partner. Famously, Janeway also instructed the computer to "Delete the wife" so that she was free to romance Michael. "Fair Haven" is a Janeway episode that taps into her loneliness and isolation in the Alpha Quadrant, and Kate Mulgrew gives a nuanced and touching performance as someone who realizes with horror that they have too much control over their romantic partner.
9 Star Trek: Prodigy Season 1, Episode 18, "Mindwalk"
"Mindwalk" is a crucial episode in Star Trek: Prodigy season 1, as it's when Janeway realizes the Protostar crew aren't trying to escape arrest, and that they're actually trying to avert the launch of a devastating weapon. Swapping bodies with Protostar captain Dal R'El (Brett Gray), Janeway learns more about the situation the crew face, while Dal hilariously attempts to blend in as the Vice iral. It's a great Janeway episode because it's what she does best, seeing the potential in people that have been written off by Starfleet. It also gives Kate Mulgrew some fun material to work with, and she excels at mimicking Brett Gray's nervous cadence as Dal, including his finger guns sequence on the bridge of the USS Dauntless.
8 Star Trek: Voyager Season 2, Episode 25, "Resolutions"
As Kate Mulgrew requested that Janeway and Chakotay never become a couple, "Resolutions" is the closest that the two ever get. After being exposed to a deadly virus, Janeway and Chakotay have no choice but to stay on the planet, which they dub New Earth, where the atmosphere protects them from getting sicker. Janeway ordered Voyager to leave her and Chakotay behind and continue their journey to the Alpha Quadrant. However, Lt. Tuvok (Tim Russ) disobeyed this order and led a mission to find a cure. "Resolutions" is a great insight into Janeway and Chakotay's relationship, and affirms the loyalty the crew have to their two commanding officers. It's the distress that Janeway and Chakotay's absence creates aboard Voyager that convinces Tuvok that it would be logical to disobey orders, as the ship does not function as well without Janeway in command.
7 Star Trek: Voyager Season 5, Episode 1, "Night"
"Night" is a fascinating character study of Voyager's Captain Janeway, revealing her fears and doubts. Traveling through a desolate region of space without stars, Janeway has nothing but time to consider her decision to strand Voyager in the Delta Quadrant. In the midst of her depression, the crew discovers a vortex that can allow them to speed up their journey through the blackness of the region. Janeway plans to stay behind so that she can trigger the explosion needed to propel Voyager through to the other side. However, her crew, demonstrating their steadfast loyalty and proving they bear her no ill will for being stranded in the Delta Quadrant, offer an alternative solution. "Night" is another moving episode about how far Janeway is willing to go for her crew
6 Star Trek: Voyager Season 1, Episode 1, "Caretaker"
Captain Kathryn Janeway's very first scene in Star Trek: Voyager quickly defines one of her enduring character traits - her belief in people's potential despite their past. Reaching out to the disgraced Starfleet traitor and former Maquis Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill), Janeway establishes that she'll always select the right person for the job. Paris has knowledge of the Maquis, and he's an exceptional pilot, so to leave him to work in a penal colony would be foolish. Later in "Caretaker", Janeway makes the decision to strand Voyager in the Delta Quadrant to protect others from the Kazon, proving that she's a captain who will always do the right thing, regardless of the personal cost.
5 Star Trek: Voyager Season 2, Episode 12, "Resistance"
During an away mission gone wrong, an injured Janeway is taken in by Caylem (Joel Grey), a man who believes that she is his long-lost daughter. Caylem helps Janeway to break Tuvok and Voyager's Chief Engineer B'elanna Torres (Roxann Dawson) out of prison, because he will be able to free his wife. Tragically, it's revealed that Caylem's wife and daughter were killed long ago, but Caylem cannot accept his loss and repeatedly raids the prison, to the sick pleasure of the local regime. When Caylem is killed during the rescue mission, Janeway finally accepted the role of Ralkana to tell the dying man that he is forgiven and was loved. It's a heartbreaking performance by Kate Mulgrew, as is the final scene aboard Voyager when she begins sobbing while grasping the necklace gifted to her by Caylem.
4 Star Trek: Voyager Season 5, Episodes 15 & 16, "Dark Frontier"
"Dark Frontier" marked a turning point for Janeway and Seven of Nine in Star Trek: Voyager as the former Borg drone makes the decision to return to the Collective to save the lives of her crew mates. During a daring heist to steal a transwarp coil from a stricken Borg vessel, Seven stays aboard to re the Collective. Janeway again proves her loyalty to her crew by refusing to leave Seven behind, launching a rescue mission into the heart of the Borg unicomplex. This show of loyalty surprises Seven, who feels that she let everyone aboard Voyager down, but thanks to Janeway's determination, Seven begins to realize just how important she is to the Voyager crew.
3 Star Trek: Prodigy Season 1, Episodes 19 & 20, "Supernova"
Star Trek: Prodigy's season 1 finale is as much a celebration of Kathryn Janeway as it is a heroic finale for the Protostar crew. Hologram Janeway made a Spock-style heroic sacrifice, and the real Vice iral Janeway did what she does best - putting her trust in the right people, regardless of their background. Although Starfleet treated them like criminals, Janeway trusted the Protostar crew to save the day when the terrifying plans of the Diviner (John Noble) came to fruition. She rewarded their good work by defying Starfleet to enlist the youngsters as warrant officers for a mission to save Captain Chakotay from the alternate timeline he's been trapped inside. The season 1 finale set up the real Kathryn Janeway as a mentor for the Protostar crew in Prodigy season 2, and she has plenty to teach her young charges.
2 Star Trek: Voyager Season 5, Episode 10, "Counterpoint"
Kate Mulgrew's favorite Janeway Star Trek: Voyager episode is "Counterpoint", in which the Voyager crew desperately tries to smuggle telepathic refugees through a hostile region of space. It's a classic Star Trek allegory for the horrific treatment of marginalized groups across history. However, what makes it even more compelling is the sexually charged atmosphere between Janeway and Kashyk (Mark Harelik), the undercover Devore investigator who pursues a romantic relationship with her to get information to send back to his people. However, Janeway is well aware of Kashyk's true intentions and had been playing him all along, distracting him while the refugees escaped through a wormhole to a life free of persecution.
1 Star Trek: Voyager Season 4, Episodes 8 & 9, "Year Of Hell"
Captain Janeway regularly disregarded Star Trek's time travel laws for the benefit of her crew, and the best version of this is in the classic Star Trek: Voyager 2-parter "Year of Hell". After a warning from Kes (Jennifer Lien) in season 3, Voyager finally entered Krenim space and was locked in a devastating conflict with scientist Annorax (Kurtwood Smith), whose temporal weapon erased planets from history and critically damaged the USS Voyager. After a year of battles left Voyager a wreck, Janeway did what all good captain do, and went down with her ship, crashing the USS Voyager into the temporal core of Annorax's ship, thus aborting the dark timeline.
It's a sacrifice that perfectly sums up Janeway's selfless approach to command and her relationships with her crew. "Year of Hell" also foreshadowed Voyager's season 7 ending, in which an older iral Janeway from an alternate future sacrificed her life so that the USS Voyager could return home decades ahead of schedule. Janeway's determination and selflessness across seven seasons of Star Trek: Voyager continues in Star Trek: Prodigy, and it's hoped that there will be many more adventures for the legendary Voyager captain in Star Trek's future.