This Star Trek: Voyager Season 3 Episode Is The Best Place To Start Your Rewatch

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I first started watching Star Trek: Voyager as a kid, and, like a lot of people, I have seen every episode of the show several times over. There are more than 170 episodes of Voyager, adding up to over 120 hours of television. That is a lot of time spent watching Star Trek: Voyager's characters lost in the Delta Quadrant. At this point, I do not always want to start a rewatch with Voyager season 1, episode 1, "Caretaker," and I have figured out from which episode it is best to start watching.

Almost every Star Trek series has improved as its seasons progressed. The now ubiquitous television term, "grow the beard," refers to the massive jump in quality in Star Trek: The Next Generation, corresponding to Jonathan Frakes's character, Commander William T. Riker, growing a beard in TNG's second season. Similarly, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine improves in its third season as conflicts with the Dominion in the Gamma Quadrant began simmering. Starting with this episode in season 3 of Star Trek: Voyager is just the right entry point to see the best of what the show has to offer.

Star Trek: Voyager Season 3, Episode 16, "Blood Fever" Is The Best Place To Start Rewatching

It's A Great Episode With Some Great Followup

On the whole, "Blood Fever" is an excellent episode of Star Trek: Voyager. There are 26 episodes in the show's third season, and, coming about two thirds of the ways through, "Blood Fever" is one of Voyager season 3's best episodes. It sets up the relationship between Lieutenants Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill) and B'Elanna Torres (Roxann Dawson) excellently. And the fact that Ensign Vorik (Alexander Enberg) cannot get back to Vulcan for the Pon Farr perfectly sets up the consequences of the USS Voyager being stranded in the Delta Quadrant.

"Blood Fever" is a fun episode in and of itself, but it is the perfect place to start a rewatch of Star Trek: Voyager because of what comes afterwards. In the final 11 episodes of Voyager season 3, almost every member of the show's core cast gets an episode that serves as a perfect character introduction. "Unity" is great for Commander Chakotay (Robert Betran), "Favorite Son" is one of Ensign Harry Kim's (Garret Wang) most iconic episodes, and "Real Life" is basically a look into The Doctor's (Robert Picardo) psyche.

Season 3 is when Star Trek: Voyager really came into its own.

Each of these episodes are excellent in their own rights, and, taken together, they form a stretch of television that shows the true potential of Star Trek: Voyager. Season 3 is when Star Trek: Voyager really came into its own, exploring the ramifications of life in the Delta Quadrant in interesting new ways, and "Blood Fever" is the tipping point for the season as a whole.

It's OK To Skip The First Two Seasons Of Star Trek: Voyager

Watch Them The First Time, But You Don't Need To Rewatch

Maje Culluh (Anthony De Longis) stares off-screen in Star Trek: Voyager.

Of course, starting with "Blood Fever," in the middle of season 3, means skipping the first two seasons of Star Trek: Voyager. While I would recommend starting from the beginning when watching Voyager for the first time, those first two seasons aren't necessary viewing during a rewatch. If you have already seen Voyager, you don't need the setup that the ship is stranded in the Delta Quadrant. Episodes like "Blood Fever," where the crew being far from home is a core plot driver, do more than enough to refresh the stakes of the show.

The Kazon were originally intended to be a much larger threat on Star Trek: Voyager, but they were made into much smaller antagonists due to low popularity. They have returned in Star Trek: Prodigy, however.

Starting partway through season 3 lets you skip some of the more controversial aspects of Star Trek: Voyager's early seasons. The Kazon were Voyager's least popular villains and starting in the middle of season 3 means seeing the Kazon only three times (and one of those is as holograms). Furthermore, since Kes (Jennifer Lien) and Neelix (Ethan Phillips) broke up after Voyager season 3, episode 10, starting with "Blood Fever" means skipping over the more uncomfortable moments of their relationship. There are some genuinely banger episodes in Voyager's early seasons, but starting in season 3, the show gets more consistently excellent.

Starting With "Blood Fever" Sets Up Star Trek: Voyager's Most Iconic Character

Seven Of Nine Replaced Kes In Season 4

Jeri Ryan's Seven of Nine is one of the coolest characters in the entire Star Trek franchise, and all the groundwork for her character's introduction is laid in the back half of Voyager season 3. "Blood Fever" is the first episode where the Borg appear in Star Trek: Voyager, and the very next episode, "Unity," focuses on a community of former Borg drones. Most obviously, the two-part episode, "Scorpion," bridges the gap between Voyager seasons 3 and 4 and introduces Seven of Nine on Star Trek: Voyager. "Blood Fever" gives just the right amount of foreshadowing for the introduction of Voyager's former Borg drone.

Of course, Jeri Ryan was brought into Star Trek: Voyager because Jennifer Lien left her role as Kes. The young Ocampan Kes was an important part of Voyager's early seasons, but showrunners Rick Berman and Jeri Taylor were not happy with the character's development, and Jennifer Lien suffered from personal issues. But no Voyager rewatch would be complete without taking time to appreciate Kes at her best.

"Blood Fever" gives viewers the best of all possible worlds regarding Kes and Seven of Nine.

Luckily, episodes like "Darkling," "Before and After," and "Real Life" all give Kes a chance to shine. Watching the back half of Voyager season 3 offers an excellent farewell to the character. In the end, "Blood Fever" gives viewers the best of all possible worlds regarding Kes and Seven of Nine, and that is why it is the perfect place to start rewatching Star Trek: Voyager.

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