The Cardassians, led by Gul Evek, arrive ahead of schedule, and begin to assess the planet.
Eventually, Anthwara states that the colonists have decided to forgo their Federation citizenship, and Gul Evek affirms the Cardassians will allow them to remain on the planet as their citizens.
This episode expands the story within Star Trek: The Next Generation about Cardassians, a humanoid alien race that has just concluded a war with the Federation.
They are significantly expanded in Deep Space Nine (1993–1999), which began halfway through TNG's 6th season, and the events also provide a backstory to Star Trek: Voyager which ran from 1995 to 2001.
Screenrant criticized the heavy-handed moral lesson, as well as the ending, and wrote "that the show not only tripped over its feet, but fell flat on its face.
[2] "Journey's End" has been called by some critics ridiculous and non-genuine with respect to the character of Jean-Luc Picard.
[4] However, that same year they pointed out this was one of the bad character endings of Star Trek, and that his departure "seemed completely out of left field.
[6] This set included episodes from "Lower Decks" to Part II of "All Good Things", with English and Japanese audio tracks.