Star Trek: Best Two-Part Episodes In The Franchise, Ranked

Highlights

• Two-part episodes in Star Trek add depth and complexity to the lore, making them compelling and memorable chapters.
• From shocking accidents to psychological horror, these episodes explore themes of terrorism, betrayal, and intergalactic conflict.
• Iconic characters and powerful enemies make these episodes standout in Star Trek history, shaping the future of the series.

Plenty of television shows use the two-part episode to tell a longer, more complex story, and the Star Trek universe has plenty of lore to draw from if the writers need more material. There are several two-part episodes in the Star Trek franchise, and they’re some of the more compelling and memorable chapters in the lore.

Two-part episodes have often been used to start a new show, bring a series to its conclusion, or explain a complicated or obscure event in Star Trek history. They’re an excellent reference for viewers interested in learning about the characters and plotlines that form the basis for future Star Trek stories.

6 Star Trek Enterprise: Shockwave

A Devastating Accident And A Tense Investigation

• Director: Allan Kroeker (Parts 1 and 2)
• Starring: Scott Bakula, John Billingsley, Jolene Blalock
• Writers: Gene Roddenberry, Rick Berman, Brannon Braga
• Release Date: May 22, 2002

Details about the Temporal War emerged in later Trek shows, but its first chronological appearance was in Enterprise. The first episode started in a normal, almost dull manner, with Archer and his crew planning a visit to a Paraagan mining colony. But then, a tragic accident occurs, wiping out the colony, and at first glance, it seems the Enterprise crew is to blame.

An incident like this would certainly put an end to Archer’s mission, but as the story unfolds, it’s revealed that this was a deliberate act of terrorism that was connected to the Temporal War. There’s some great action and suspense in these episodes as the characters try to search the logs, records, and forensic evidence to find the real culprits and, if possible, reverse the damage.

5 Star Trek The Next Generation: Best of Both Worlds

Picard Meets The Enemy, And It Is Him

• Director: Cliff Bole (Parts 1 and 2)
• Starring: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton
• Writers: Gene Roddenberry, Michael Piller, Ronald D. Moore
• Release Date: June 16, 1990

These two episodes formed a connection between seasons three and four of The Next Generation, and the storyline brought the shadowy Borg into the foreground. Previously, Starfleet had only had limited contact with the mysterious aliens. This time, though, they got up close and personal, and humans were able to see their cruelty firsthand.

These episodes are among some of the most famous in Star Trek history. Not only did it give certain popular characters a chance to fill out their roles and show their strengths, but it also fleshed out the lore of the dangerous and self-interested Borg as they finally reached Federation space.

4 Star Trek Deep Space 9: The Maquis

An Exciting Setup For A Multi-Show Story

• Director: David Livingston (Part 1), Corey Allen (Part 2)
• Starring: Avery Brooks, Rene Auberjonois, Alexander Siddig
• Writers: Gene Roddenberry, Rick Berman, Michael Piller
• Release Date: April 24, 1994

Starfleet viewed the conflict between the Cardassians and the Maquis as more of a terrorist organization rebelling against a ruling power than an official war, although that’s how the Maquis saw it. The Maquis were a faction that was displaced when the Cardassians made peace with the Federation. They would make future appearances in other Star Trek shows, most notably Voyager.

The deal that Starfleet made to convince the Cardassians to sign a peace treaty remains a point of contention in every Star Trek show, and these episodes explain the finer details of the controversy. Sisko believes the treaty is reasonable, but his friend Hudson believes otherwise. It takes two episodes for Sisko to figure out how to keep an intergalactic war from breaking out again.

3 Star Trek The Next Generation: Chain of Command

There Are Four Lights

• Director: Robert Scheerer (Part 1), Les Landau (Part 2)
• Starring: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Ronny Cox
• Writers: Gene Roddenberry, Michael Piller, Frank Abatemarco
• Release Date: December 12, 1992

Psychological horror is often the best kind, which is one of the reasons these episodes are popular with both critics and fans. Picard’s treatment at the hands of the Cardassian authorities is unapologetically brutal, and might even be worse than what the Borg did to him.

These episodes are named not only as a reference to the torture that Picard endures at the hands of his captors, but also to the politics that are connected to Starfleet’s chain of command. Picard is captured by the Cardassians, and while he endures their torture, Captain Jellicoe replaces him.

This leads to a whole other set of complications. Jellicoe has a management style entirely different from Picard’s, and some gossip swirls around as to why First Officer Riker didn’t take over instead. With Worf and Crusher absent on another assignment, the crew is even more fragmented.

2 Star Trek The Original Series: The Menagerie, Parts 1 And 2

The First Two-Part Episode In The Franchise

• Director: Marc Daniels (Part 1), Robert Butler (Part 2)
• Starring: Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, Jeffrey Hunter
• Writers: Gene Roddenberry
• Release Date: November 17, 1966

“The Cage” was the pilot episode of Star Trek, which is why the next one had so many changes, especially regarding the cast. In the same year, a sequel to “The Cage” aired, and it was a two-parter that wrapped up the story’s loose ends. “The Menagerie” used scenes from the pilot along with new footage that featured Kirk and the other updated characters.

Captain Pike is now a resident of an assisted living facility after an accident that rendered him a quadriplegic with limited communication skills. His years in Starfleet seem to have reached a tragic and helpless end, which is even sadder to modern viewers who know the character so well from Discovery and Strange New Worlds.

But not all hope is lost for Kirk’s predecessor. His former first officer Spock, one of the few characters to survive into the show past the pilot, has a complicated plan to return him to Talos 4 and give him a peaceful retirement complete with all of his faculties.

1 Star Trek Voyager: Scorpion

Exposes The Most Dangerous Beings In The Universe

• Director: David Livingston (Part 1), Winrich Kolbe (Part 2)
• Starring: Kate Mulgrew, Robert Beltran, Jeri Ryan
• Writers: Gene Roddenberry, Jeri Taylor, Brannon Braga
• Release Date: May 21, 1997

The title of this episode refers to the parable about the Frog and the Scorpion, and throughout both episodes, the viewer takes it for granted that the Borg are the Scorpion. The Borg have some powerful enemies, and they’re so desperate that they’re willing to make a deal with Captain Janeway to defeat them.

Of course, the humans know the Borg plan to betray them. Janeway, however, comes up with a plan to betray them first, which is a twist that only a human with a wild imagination and a hunger for petty revenge would create. The reward for this double-cross is not only some valuable Borg tech to help get them home, but a whole new character, Seven of Nine. Her appearance put the Borg in a new light and, for the first time, restoring a human who had been assimilated by the Borg became a possibility.