5 Star Trek Episodes That Should Be Decanonized For the Good of the Franchise

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Every Star Trek fan has at least one episode – or maybe a whole bunch – that they’d rather forget. Since the very beginning with Gene Roddenberry’s The Original Series, Star Trek has been known for exciting adventures in space and peaceful negotiations. But not every story has been a winner. Over the years, the show has had its share of weak episodes – some that haven’t held up well, and others that were just plain bad from the start – and they can sometimes even damage a favorite character or spoil the ending of a series.

With so many Star Trek shows now available for streaming, it’s easy to notice the weaker episodes. But some aren’t just bad – they actually create problems with the established storyline. These five episodes either need to be rewritten to fit with what came before, or ideally, removed from official Star Trek history altogether.

5) Star Trek: Voyager, “Threshold”

Okay, so “Threshold” is legendary… but for all the wrong reasons. As a Trek fan, it’s the episode everyone loves to hate. Basically, Tom Paris tries to break the Warp 10 barrier, and things get weird. He somehow turns into a salamander, and then Captain Janeway starts mutating too! They end up as giant salamanders, have babies on a swamp planet… yeah, it’s as crazy as it sounds. It’s notorious for being genuinely creepy with the body horror stuff, and it totally messes with everything we know about how warp drive is supposed to work in Star Trek.

Fans have widely criticized the salamander storyline as being too strange and inconsistent with the established universe, leading many to believe it shouldn’t be considered part of the official timeline. While Lower Decks playfully acknowledged Paris’ transformation, this only solidified the episode’s place in canon for some. However, many still prefer the idea that Warp 10 remains unattainable, arguing it preserves the established rules of warp travel and avoids the bizarre outcome of Paris and Janeway having salamander offspring.

4) Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, “Let He Who Is Without Sin…”

The ‘Risa’ episode is notorious for its bizarre turn. It begins as a story about Worf and Jadzia’s relationship, but quickly devolves into Worf acting completely unlike himself – he joins a terrorist group and attempts to ruin a popular resort planet. The episode is difficult to watch, and it unfortunately portrays Worf as envious and rigid, essentially undoing much of his established character growth.

Many viewers and critics feel this episode severely damaged Worf’s established character. His actions are out of line with the honorable and principled warrior we’ve seen throughout The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine – they’re illegal, excessive, and don’t make sense for his personality. Some believe he should have faced immediate disciplinary action, and Jadzia’s willingness to forgive him makes her appear unusually vulnerable. Even the show’s creator, Ira Steven Behr, reportedly wasn’t happy with how it turned out, according to the online Star Trek encyclopedia, Memory Alpha.

3) Star Trek: Voyager, “Fury”

The sixth season episode “Fury” brought Kes back to Voyager, but it was poorly received by fans. The episode drastically changed her personality, showing her as erratic, aggressive, and intent on harming the ship and her old friends by going back in time. There wasn’t a good explanation for this change, and the plot relied on a weak idea – that her younger self could somehow reason with her – leading to a quick and unsatisfying ending.

Many fans feel the return of Kes in “Fury” was a disservice to both the character and Jennifer Lien, the actress who played her. Lien had previously stepped away from the show due to mental health challenges. Kes received what many considered a fitting farewell in “The Gift,” so turning her into a villain felt forced and unnecessary – a sentiment Lien herself echoed, stating she believed “The Gift” was the proper conclusion to Kes’s story.

2) Star Trek: The Next Generation, “Code of Honor”

“Code of Honor” is one of the early episodes of The Next Generation that didn’t quite work. It features the Enterprise crew visiting a planet where women are treated as possessions, leading to a forced duel for Tasha Yar involving the “ownership” of a local leader’s wife. The episode unfortunately relies on harmful racial stereotypes, featuring a mostly Black cast portraying an alien culture with costumes, customs, and social structures that reinforce offensive tropes. While intending to explore themes of sexism and cultural differences, the episode falls flat, oversimplifies complex issues, and is ultimately quite cringeworthy.

Although it doesn’t significantly impact the overall storyline, the episode “Code of Honor” should be removed from official canon because it’s widely considered to be a poor and irrelevant installment. For decades, those involved with the show – including Patrick Stewart, who described it as horrifying, and Jonathan Frakes, who labeled it racist – have expressed their disapproval. It was even taken off the air for years. While fans generally avoid or skip this episode already, it hasn’t been officially removed, and it should be as soon as possible.

1) Star Trek: Enterprise, “These Are the Voyages…”

The final episode of Enterprise is widely considered the worst by Star Trek fans. Instead of concluding the journey of Captain Archer and his crew after four seasons, the episode reveals the entire series was a holodeck simulation experienced by Riker and Troi in a Next Generation episode – a major storytelling mistake. This made the Enterprise cast feel like supporting characters in their own finale, and the death of Trip Tucker was particularly upsetting to viewers. The episode also skipped over a key moment that the show had been leading up to: Archer’s speech at the founding of the Federation.

The series finale immediately sparked strong negative reactions, with many viewers and even actors calling it disappointing and disrespectful to the show’s history. Later novels tried to undo the finale’s events, claiming Trip never actually died and that the episode was a fake holodeck simulation. While some fans accept this explanation as a way to preserve the show’s timeline, many who haven’t read the novels still see “These Are the Voyages” as a damaging mark on the show’s legacy.

If you could remove one episode from the show’s official storyline, which one would it be? Share your thoughts in the comments and join the discussion on the ComicBook Forum!

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2025-11-15 02:41