The prospect of permanent death looms large over “Endgame,” yet ultimately, the only character who dies is the older version of Janeway. She chooses to use the transwarp technology to take down the Borg instead of using it as a method to bring the entire crew home early.

Janeway arrives at a Borg hive, pretending to offer up a technological trade in exchange for becoming a part of the cluster. The queen accepts this offer. However, allowing Kathryn to be assimilated into the collective results in their downfall. A virus the admiral carries in her bloodstream kills off the entire assemblage instead, and the admiral goes with it.

It’s no surprise that she chooses to go out in a blaze of glory, but it’s a controlled fate for a very in-control woman. Though Janeway’s story has been continued within the “Star Trek” universe thanks to her appearance in “Star Trek: Prodigy,” it’s still an incredibly heartfelt way for the older version to meet her fate — and it’s one that betters both the galaxy and the universe that she leaves behind.