Game The Most Disliked Exit Of A Regular

[Sakonna]

THE OBJECTIVE: A sudden-death elimination game in which we remove our personal favorite episodes from a themed list, until we arrive at the episode that is, if not the worst, at least the most disliked.

THE RULES: Below is a list of TOS, TNG, DS9, VOY, DIS, PIC, and SNW episodes in which a series regular departs.

Eliminate/save your favorite, or the one you deem the ‘best.’
Post something you love about the episode you are saving, and copy-and-paste the list with your choice removed.

You can use any standard you like to judge which option is "best." You can save episodes for being widely recognized “best Trek” classics, or for idiosyncratic qualities that no one appreciates but you.

You can also pick whichever lens you like to determine what your favorite is -- save the episode, the character, the exit of the character -- any way works.

But -- no tactical voting! You cannot remove an episode because you don’t think anyone else will, or because you feel it would threaten your preferred episode's chance to “win.”

You can take multiple turns. Leave at least 2 eliminations by other posters before you eliminate another episode.

New players are always welcome, you do not have to already be a "most disliked game" regular to dive in.

Much thanks to @Farscape One for helping me vet the list!

Enjoy!

TOS, Season 1: "Balance Of Terror" (Janice Rand)
TNG, Season 1: "Skin Of Evil" (Tasha Yar)
TNG, Season 1: "The Neutral Zone" (Beverly Crusher)
TNG, Season 2: "Shades Of Grey" (Katherine Pulaski)
TNG, Season 4: "Final Mission" (Wesley Crusher)
DS9, Season 6: "Tears Of The Prophets" (Jadzia Dax)
VOY, Season 4: "The Gift" (Kes)
DIS, Season 1: "What's Past Is Prologue" (Gabriel Lorca)
DIS, Season 2: "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2" (Christopher Pike, Ash Tyler/Voq)
DIS, Season 3: "Die Trying" (D. Nhan)
DIS, Season 3: "Terra Firma, Part 2" (Philippa Georgiou)
DIS, Season 4: "All Is Possible" (Sylvia Tilly)
PIC, Season 1: "Et In Arcadia Ego, Part 2" (Narek)
PIC, Season 2: "Farewell" (SPOILER)
SNW, Season 1: "All Those Who Wander" (SPOILER)

 

[Sakonna]

I recently rewatched "Skin Of Evil." Gets me every time!

The Tasha death is so effective. So often the character that doesn't go the distance is the one that isn't working, but Tasha was working as well as anyone else, and Denise Crosby meshed beautifully with TNG's famously great cast chemistry. Her death really does haunt the series.

TOS, Season 1: "Balance Of Terror" (Janice Rand)
TNG, Season 1: "The Neutral Zone" (Beverly Crusher)
TNG, Season 2: "Shades Of Grey" (Katherine Pulaski)
TNG, Season 4: "Final Mission" (Wesley Crusher)
DS9, Season 6: "Tears Of The Prophets" (Jadzia Dax)
VOY, Season 4: "The Gift" (Kes)
DIS, Season 1: "What's Past Is Prologue" (Gabriel Lorca)
DIS, Season 2: "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2" (Christopher Pike, Ash Tyler/Voq)
DIS, Season 3: "Die Trying" (D. Nhan)
DIS, Season 3: "Terra Firma, Part 2" (Philippa Georgiou)
DIS, Season 4: "All Is Possible" (Sylvia Tilly)
PIC, Season 1: "Et In Arcadia Ego, Part 2" (Narek)
PIC, Season 2: "Farewell" (SPOILER)
SNW, Season 1: "All Those Who Wander" (SPOILER)

 

[Oddish]

"Farewell", all the way. The last scenes with [REDACTED] and Picard are subdued but strangely heartwarming as these characters end a long and convoluted journey together.

TOS, Season 1: "Balance Of Terror"(Janice Rand)
TNG, Season 1: "The Neutral Zone" (Beverly Crusher)
TNG, Season 2: "Shades Of Grey"(Katherine Pulaski)
TNG, Season 4: "Final Mission"(Wesley Crusher)
DS9, Season 6: "Tears Of The Prophets" (Jadzia Dax)
VOY, Season 4: "The Gift" (Kes)
DIS, Season 1: "What's Past Is Prologue" (Gabriel Lorca)
DIS, Season 2: "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2" (Christopher Pike, Ash Tyler/Voq)
DIS, Season 3: "Die Trying" (D. Nhan)
DIS, Season 3: "Terra Firma, Part 2"(Philippa Georgiou)
DIS, Season 4: "All Is Possible"(Sylvia Tilly)
PIC, Season 1: "Et In Arcadia Ego, Part 2" (Narek)
SNW, Season 1: "All Those WhoWander" (SPOILER)

 

[Orac]

I've saved Final Mission, that's the one where Wesley and Picard are marooned with Alan Carter from Space: 1999 right?

TOS, Season 1: "Balance Of Terror"(Janice Rand)
TNG, Season 1: "The Neutral Zone" (Beverly Crusher)
TNG, Season 2: "Shades Of Grey"(Katherine Pulaski)
DS9, Season 6: "Tears Of The Prophets" (Jadzia Dax)
VOY, Season 4: "The Gift" (Kes)
DIS, Season 1: "What's Past Is Prologue" (Gabriel Lorca)
DIS, Season 2: "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2" (Christopher Pike, Ash Tyler/Voq)
DIS, Season 3: "Die Trying" (D. Nhan)
DIS, Season 3: "Terra Firma, Part 2"(Philippa Georgiou)
DIS, Season 4: "All Is Possible"(Sylvia Tilly)
PIC, Season 1: "Et In Arcadia Ego, Part 2" (Narek)
SNW, Season 1: "All Those Who Wander" (SPOILER)

 

[Farscape One]

Saving "BALANCE OF TERROR".

One of my two absolute favorites of TOS.


TNG, Season 1: "The Neutral Zone" (Beverly Crusher)
TNG, Season 2: "Shades Of Grey"(Katherine Pulaski)
DS9, Season 6: "Tears Of The Prophets" (Jadzia Dax)
VOY, Season 4: "The Gift" (Kes)
DIS, Season 1: "What's Past Is Prologue" (Gabriel Lorca)
DIS, Season 2: "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2" (Christopher Pike, Ash Tyler/Voq)
DIS, Season 3: "Die Trying" (D. Nhan)
DIS, Season 3: "Terra Firma, Part 2"(Philippa Georgiou)
DIS, Season 4: "All Is Possible"(Sylvia Tilly)
PIC, Season 1: "Et In Arcadia Ego, Part 2" (Narek)
SNW, Season 1: "All Those WhoWander" (SPOILER)

 

[Admiral Archer]

I have got to save SNW "All Those Who Wander".

Spoiler: SNW Character Exit

I will remain purposefully vague even behind spoiler tags, but this was a sucker punch of a character exit. You know the show is amazing when a character dies in such a massive twist that you just didn't see coming. Plus, it helps give context as to why Uhura stayed on the Enterprise for nearly 30 years! She was honoring his memory, by listening to his advice about staying in a place where she felt she belonged.

TNG, Season 1: "The Neutral Zone" (Beverly Crusher)
TNG, Season 2: "Shades Of Grey"(Katherine Pulaski)
DS9, Season 6: "Tears Of The Prophets" (Jadzia Dax)
VOY, Season 4: "The Gift" (Kes)
DIS, Season 1: "What's Past Is Prologue" (Gabriel Lorca)
DIS, Season 2: "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2" (Christopher Pike, Ash Tyler/Voq)
DIS, Season 3: "Die Trying" (D. Nhan)
DIS, Season 3: "Terra Firma, Part 2"(Philippa Georgiou)
DIS, Season 4: "All Is Possible"(Sylvia Tilly)
PIC, Season 1: "Et In Arcadia Ego, Part 2" (Narek)

 

[Captain's Coffee]

The Gift because it would have been a very good ending to Kes's story line, had fury not happened, and I like the beginning of Seven's journey back to humanity.

TNG, Season 1: "The Neutral Zone" (Beverly Crusher)
TNG, Season 2: "Shades Of Grey"(Katherine Pulaski)
DS9, Season 6: "Tears Of The Prophets" (Jadzia Dax)
DIS, Season 1: "What's Past Is Prologue" (Gabriel Lorca)
DIS, Season 2: "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2" (Christopher Pike, Ash Tyler/Voq)
DIS, Season 3: "Die Trying" (D. Nhan)
DIS, Season 3: "Terra Firma, Part 2"(Philippa Georgiou)
DIS, Season 4: "All Is Possible"(Sylvia Tilly)
PIC, Season 1: "Et In Arcadia Ego, Part 2" (Narek)

 

[Farscape One]

Saving "TEARS OF THE PROPHETS".

It was rare to have a season finale end on such a down note. They won the Chin'toka battle, but at a high price personal price.



TNG, Season 1: "The Neutral Zone" (Beverly Crusher)
TNG, Season 2: "Shades Of Grey"(Katherine Pulaski)
DIS, Season 1: "What's Past Is Prologue" (Gabriel Lorca)
DIS, Season 2: "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2" (Christopher Pike, Ash Tyler/Voq)
DIS, Season 3: "Die Trying" (D. Nhan)
DIS, Season 3: "Terra Firma, Part 2"(Philippa Georgiou)
DIS, Season 4: "All Is Possible"(Sylvia Tilly)
PIC, Season 1: "Et In Arcadia Ego, Part 2" (Narek)

 

[Seven of Five]

I remember Tilly's last episode being pretty awesome, with her coming into her own when the cadets were in trouble.

TNG, Season 1: "The Neutral Zone" (Beverly Crusher)
TNG, Season 2: "Shades Of Grey"(Katherine Pulaski)
DIS, Season 1: "What's Past Is Prologue" (Gabriel Lorca)
DIS, Season 2: "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2" (Christopher Pike, Ash Tyler/Voq)
DIS, Season 3: "Die Trying" (D. Nhan)
DIS, Season 3: "Terra Firma, Part 2"(Philippa Georgiou)
PIC, Season 1: "Et In Arcadia Ego, Part 2" (Narek)

 

[Bynar0110]

Saving The Neutral Zone because it saw the return of The Romulans and the foreshadowing of the Borg.

TNG, Season 2: "Shades Of Grey"(Katherine Pulaski)
DIS, Season 1: "What's Past Is Prologue" (Gabriel Lorca)
DIS, Season 2: "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2" (Christopher Pike, Ash Tyler/Voq)
DIS, Season 3: "Die Trying" (D. Nhan)
DIS, Season 3: "Terra Firma, Part 2"(Philippa Georgiou)
PIC, Season 1: "Et In Arcadia Ego, Part 2" (Narek)

 

[Oddish]

I have a soft spot for both Pulaski and "Shades of Gray", so natural save for me.

DIS, Season 1: "What's Past Is Prologue" (Gabriel Lorca)
DIS, Season 2: "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2" (Christopher Pike, Ash Tyler/Voq)
DIS, Season 3: "Die Trying" (D. Nhan)
DIS, Season 3: "Terra Firma, Part 2"(Philippa Georgiou)
PIC, Season 1: "Et In Arcadia Ego, Part 2" (Narek)

 

[Sakonna]

Damn, what a survey of the streaming era's lowlights.

I'll save "Die Trying", which is a failure, but a less egregious one, simply because the stakes of writing out Trek's briefest-tenured series regular were so much lower than these other four, which were all huge culminations of long-running stories that dragged down their entire seasons when they failed. "Die Trying" is the only one up here that didn't retroactively trash much of what came before.

(I do love big chunks of "Terra Firma, Part 2", but the last 20 minutes or so offers Discovery's worst and most self-indulgent writing to date)

DIS, Season 1: "What's Past Is Prologue" (Gabriel Lorca)
DIS, Season 2: "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2" (Christopher Pike, Ash Tyler/Voq)
DIS, Season 3: "Terra Firma, Part 2"(Philippa Georgiou)
PIC, Season 1: "Et In Arcadia Ego, Part 2" (Narek)

 

[BK613]

Terra Firma P2 simply better than the others

DIS, Season 1: "What's Past Is Prologue" (Gabriel Lorca)
DIS, Season 2: "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2" (Christopher Pike, Ash Tyler/Voq)

PIC, Season 1: "Et In Arcadia Ego, Part 2" (Narek)

 

[Seven of Five]

As much as the Red Angel arc had stopped making sense, at least Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2 felt like a big event episode. Saying goodbye to Pike after having a great season felt huge.

The cliffhanger felt huge as well as the crew all zipped off somewhere in the future.
DIS, Season 1: "What's Past Is Prologue" (Gabriel Lorca)
PIC, Season 1: "Et In Arcadia Ego, Part 2" (Narek)

 

[Farscape One]

Saving "Et In Arcadia Ego, Part 2" only because of the Picard and Data scene.

DISCO 'wins' this game.

 

[Sakonna]

A little surprised! But I really hate "Et In Arcadia Ego." There is no denying that "What's Past Is Prologue" makes a pretty disappointing end for the Lorca arc. He'd been pulling off an elaborate diabolical plan for years that required him to think hundreds of steps ahead of everyone else in the universe... only to be defeated by falling through a hole at the last minute.

I mean, sometimes in real life you do reach the ultimate pinnacle of achievement only to stupidly blow it all up at the last possible second (flashbacks to the last Oscars), but so unsatisfying dramatically!

I'm going to put the next one right up. And I was about to announce... a game we've already played in this cycle, but I forgot.

Fortunately, I realized before posting it again. Next up will be back to directors: "The Most Disliked Episode Directed By James L. Conway"

This list is new, so no prior winner.

MOST DISLIKED WINNERS, 2022
WRITER GENE RODDENBERRY: TOS, Season 1: "Mudd's Women"
MAJEL BARRETT APPEARANCE: TOS, Season 3: "And The Children Shall Lead"
3RD SEASON: TOS, Season 3: "And The Children Shall Lead"
'HEY, THIS PLANET IS JUST LIKE EARTH!': TOS, Season 3: "Plato's Stepchildren"
ANIMATED: TAS, Season 1: "The Eye Of The Beholder"
ROMULAN: TAS, Season 2: "The Practical Joker"
WRITER D.C. FONTANA: TNG, Season 1: "Lonely Among Us"
WEDDING: TNG, Season 2: "The Outrageous Okona"
WRITER JERI TAYLOR: TNG, Season 4: "Suddenly Human"
DIRECTOR WINRICH KOLBE: TNG, Season 5: "The Masterpiece Society"
WRITER MICHAEL PILLER: TNG, Season 5: "The Masterpiece Society"
5TH SEASON: TNG, Season 5: "The Perfect Mate"
ROMANCE-OF-THE-WEEK: TNG, Season 6: "Aquiel"
KLINGON: TNG, Season 6: "Birthright, Part II"
DIRECTOR CLIFF BOLE: TNG, Season 7: "Liaisons"
DIRECTOR LES LANDAU: TNG, Season 7: "Dark Page"
DIRECTOR ALEXANDER SINGER: TNG, Season 7: "Homeward"
WRITER RONALD D. MOORE: TNG, Season 7: "Journey's End"
7TH SEASON: TNG, Season 7: "Firstborn"
HOLIDAY: DS9, Season 3: "Meridian"
CARDASSIAN: DS9, Season 6: "Sons & Daughters"
MIRROR UNIVERSE: DS9, Season 6: "Resurrection"
BAJORAN: DS9, Season 6: "The Reckoning"
FERENGI: DS9, Season 6: "Profit And Lace"
COMEDIC/LIGHT-HEARTED: DS9, Season 6: "Profit And Lace"
6TH SEASON: DS9, Season 6: "Profit And Lace"
JEFFREY COMBS APPEARANCE: DS9, Season 7: "The Emperor's New Cloak"
WRITER JOE MENOSKY: VOY, Season 5: "The Fight"
HOLODECK: VOY, Season 6: "Spirit Folk"
MAQUIS: VOY, Season 7: "Repression"
BARCLAY: VOY, Season 7: "Inside Man"
2-PART/DOUBLE EPISODE: VOY, Season 7: "Flesh And Blood"
RECYCLED TITLE: ENT, Season 1: "Terra Nova"
VAUGHN ARMSTRONG APPEARANCE: ENT, Season 2: "Shockwave, Part II"
2ND SEASON: ENT, Season 2: "Shockwave, Part II"
DIRECTOR LEVAR BURTON: ENT, Season 3: "Extinction"
DIRECTOR MIKE VEJAR: ENT, Season 3: "Rajiin"
NAMED FOR CHARACTER: ENT, Season 3: "Rajiin"
DIRECTOR DAVID LIVINGSTON: ENT, Season 3: "Harbinger"
SEASON PREMIERE: ENT, Season 4: "Storm Front, Part I"
EVERY 47TH RELEASE: ENT, Season 4: "Storm Front, Part I"
"I'M AGING WRONG!": ENT, Season 4: "Storm Front, Part I"
VISIT TO EARTH'S PAST: ENT, Season 4: "Storm Front, Part II"
HOLLYWOOD REPORTER'S 100 BEST EPS: ENT, Season 4: "Home"
J.G. HERTZLER APPEARANCE: ENT, Season 4: "Borderland"
DIRECTOR ALLAN KROEKER: ENT, Season 4: "These Are The Voyages..."
1ST SEASON: DIS, Season 1: "Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum"
EXIT OF A REGULAR: DIS, Season 1: "What's Past Is Prologue"
TIME TRAVEL/TRAVELER/LOOP/ANOMALY: DIS, Season 2: "Perpetual Infinity"
FEMALE DIRECTOR: DIS, Season 2: "Perpetual Infinity"
SEASON FINALE ANTAGONIST: DIS, Season 2: Control
DIRECTOR JONATHAN FRAKES: DIS, Season 3: "There Is A Tide..."
47TH EPISODES: DIS, Season 4: "The Examples"
4TH SEASON: DIS, Season 4: "The Galactic Barrier"
4TH & 7TH EPISODES: ST, Season 2: "Ask Not"
TREK NOIR: PIC, Season 1: "Broken Pieces"
CAST CROSSOVER: PIC, Season 1: "Et In Arcardia Ego, Part 1"
GUINAN: PIC, Season 2: "Monsters"
BORG/XB: PIC, Season 2: "Mercy"
Q: PIC, Season 2: "Mercy"
COUPLE: LD, Carol Freeman/Alonzo Freeman
REGULAR CHARACTER: PRO, Drednok

TRIPLE WINNERS
DS9, Season 6: "Profit And Lace"
ENT, Season 4: "Storm Front, Part I"

DOUBLE WINNERS
TOS, Season 3: "And The Children Shall Lead"
TNG, Season 5: "The Masterpiece Society"
ENT, Season 2: "Shockwave, Part II"
ENT, Season 3: "Rajiin"
DIS, Season 2: "Perpetual Infinity"
PIC, Season 2: "Mercy"

TOTAL SHOW WINS
SNW & Movies: 0 wins
ST, LD & PRO: 1 win each
TAS: 2 wins
TOS: 4 wins
VOY & PIC: 5 wins each
DS9 & DIS: 8 wins each
TNG: 13 wins
ENT: 14 wins