Star Trek: Voyager (TV Series) Jetrel (1995) User Reviews

Neelix meets the man who killed his family

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 24 June 2010]

When a ship approaches Voyager and asks to talk to Neelix he is mortified to learn that the person sending the message was the man responsible for the death of his family as he invented the weapon that killed everybody on their home world. This man, Dr. Jetrel has some bad news; as Neelix went home shortly after the attack he may be suffering from a fatal disease and after a check up he confirms that Neelix is indeed infected. As a form of atonement for his part in the attack Jetrel claims to be trying to find a cure at to this end he says they need to go to the Telaxian moon where he plans to extract particles from the atmosphere. Once he has the particles it becomes apparent that Jetrel has not been telling the entire truth, if he had been he wouldn't have deactivated the Doctor or tranquillised Neelix... the only question is what exactly is he planning to do that he couldn't tell anybody about. Jetrel's arrival on Voyager also makes Neelix confront his own demons; he had been keen to blame Jetrel for his family's death but also feels guilty as he lied when he told people he was away fighting with the Telaxian military, in reality he refused to serve believing it was an unjustified war.

This was a pretty good episode which examined some of the moralities of war, was Jetrel evil for making this weapon when we don't know if his race started the war or were just defending themselves, watching it I was sure that his cascade weapon was a metaphor for the atomic bomb. Ethan Phillips did a good job as Neelix, The situation gave him a chance to portray a greater acting range as Neelix was understandable not his usual jovial self. Without spoiling it I will say that I thought the episode had a good ending.

Can you ever or forgive a mass murderer? Probably not...

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 5 February 2015]

When this episode begins, Voyager is being hailed by a ship. No biggie. However, when it turns out that the being contacting them is Jetrel, things get interesting. This is because the Talaxians consider him a war criminal and he's responsible for vaporizing 300,000 of these folks--including Neelix's family. This evil doctor requests to see Neelix--and not surprisingly, Neelix has no interest in seeing the guy. But Jetrel insists--saying that Neelix might be dying of Metremia and he needs to test him to be certain. However, there is DEFINITELY more to this than Jetrel is saying--and he has an underhanded agenda. But what is he up to?!

This episode has lots of philosophical and existential ramifications, that's for sure. And, the parallel to the makers of the atomic bomb clearly are present. Overall, worth seeing and pretty interesting stuff.

A thought-provoking episode

[Paularoc · 8/10 · 27 July 2012]

This is one of those episodes that requires one to think about things that one would probably rather not think about. Voyager receives a message from a scientist named Jetrel who says that he would like to meet with Neelix. When he does, Neelix is devastated to learn that this was the man who developed and set off a weapon (cascade) during a war between the Talaxians and Haakonians that destroyed a colonized moon and killed hundreds of thousands of people including Neelix's entire family. Jetrel says that Neelix may be ill from the lingering aftermath of the cascade and that he wants to cure this disease if Neelix has it. The parallels between this story and America's dropping atomic bombs on Japan are obvious and a bit overdone but still thought provoking. The anguish, pain and guilt Neelix displays shows us a much more serious side to Neelix and Ethan Phillips does a good job conveying these feelings. James Sloyan as Jetrel also delivers an excellent portrayal of someone in incredible emotional pain. As reviewer Tweekums has said, the ending is very moving. The questions this episode pose have no easy answers - and perhaps no answer at all.

Character assassination by the writers on Neelix

[snoozejonc · 6/10 · 16 June 2022]

Voyager encounters a scientist seeking redemption for creating a weapon that destroyed many lives.

Whether or not you like this, I think, depends on your feelings about Neelix. He is a character that has generated some negative reaction, not always justified, but this episode's portrayal does not work for me.

The story has a good, thought-provoking premise, but I do not think it translates as well on the screen as it should. Mainly because it takes a very serious subject which parallels real life people and events, puts one of the lighter characters at the centre of it and subjects you to forty minutes of antagonism that you know will be resolved eventually.

Some of the exchanges between Neelix and Jetrel work, such as when Jetrel talks about his wife and family, but for the majority of the episode it is Neelix acting hostile as you wait for a relatively predictable explanation from Kes about the root cause of Neelix's anger. This also further cements my unwillingness to accept her character having any romantic inclination towards him.

I think Ethan Phillips is a good actor, but does not have the best material to work with. Some of the dialogue is overly poetic and feels almost unintentionally funny at times. James Sloyan, a dependable Star Trek character actor, is great as always.

You have angered the space cheetah!

[thevacinstaller · 8/10 · 28 March 2020]

The odds are that you are not going to get a clunker of an episode when you have James Sloyan as a guest star.

I enjoy this episode quite a bit. It's nice to get some added layering on everyone's favorite space chef --- well --- except Tuvok of course. I am not trying to be a contrarian but I enjoy the character of Neelix and his arc on Voyager. He's just a guy trying to survive and through happenstance he finds himself on this luxurious space cruise. He has a way to go from his starting point as a space pirate.

I enjoyed the scenes of Neelix beginning to understand how his rage at his own perceived cowardice twisted his mind and amplified his rage towards Jetrel. To be fair --- Part of that fury is justified ---- The story about Palaxia was devastating. Nelix was apparently a Talaxian space hippie and felt this war campaign was unjustified and deserted on moral grounds. The episode is largely about Neelix processing his survivors guilt and being rational enough to see within Jetrel's soul that he is not a truly evil man but is a man who did an evil thing.

The ending scene of Neelix wanting to tell Jetrel something and Jetrel assuming it was to pour salt in his wounds is turned upside down when Neelix earnestly says, "I forgive you". I look it at as a mirror for Neelix who is essentially also forgiving himself ... for being alive.

It's a touching scene.

From punishment to redemption

[the_oak · 7/10 · 9 November 2023]

Some hate this episode because how can Janeway welcome a mass murderer, an evil man? They argue it flies in the face of everything we know today of justice. I don't agree with that. I live in Scandinavia, and one of the principles of our justice system is that the victim's families should not decide the punishment. It is believable that Janeway keeps an open mind and actually sees a man who tries to undo some of the damage he has caused. In my mind this is the future I would like to see. I call it progress to move away from punishment to redemption. The end scene is powerful. I think this is a good episode.

Star Trek: Voyager - Jetrel

[Scarecrow-88 · 8/10 · 21 January 2017]

Terrific Neelix episode has a "war scientist", responsible for heading the science team which created a devastating weapon that mass murdered hundred thousands of Talaxians resulting in their surrender to Haakonian forces, arrives in a ship hoping to board the Voyager with a request…to test Neelix to see if he has Metremia, a cellular deterioration due to the poisoned cloud covering the moon that killed his family! But there is more to this than meets the eye and it could be associated with the scientist, Jetrel (James Sloyan), himself. Obvious ties to the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and Oppenheimer specifically, this episode takes a serious look at the cost of war, those who suffered the effects and the loss that results from any weapon that annihilates a large swath of people. But even further this episode speaks about the enduring toll of carrying around shame and guilt, as Neelix admits to being a coward, going away to hide instead of joining the Talaxian defense force. He must forgive himself before he could ever contemplate forgiving Jetrel…if that could even be possible. Kes, there as moral support for Neelix, provides a comforting support to her beloved. Janeway allows Jetrel to board and check Neelix's vitals, informing him he does have Metremia while she tries to contemplate it all. Jetrel is a fascinating character in that he is nearly all scientist, later revealing that with science comes both achievement and consequence, returning to his home planet with a wife and family moving away from him because she considered him as much a monster like almost all Talaxians. The later revelation of using the transporter as a means to possibly return those who were eviscerated by the doomsday device, and their bio-matter existing in a state of suspended animation is quite incredible to wrap one's head around. You can see why Tuvok and Janeway are not convinced Jetrel's belief that he can bring the Talaxians back; it is all just so fantastic. Then the transporter is used to try and you can see the faint bodily form of a Talaxian emerge, as Neelix draws in closer in amazement…only for it to all be unsuccessful and seemingly impossible. And then Jetrel tells Neelix the truth and admitted that he's considered a Talaxian sympathizer, banished by his own kind, left to die in the sickbay of the Voyager. You could only hope that his research and experiments are catalogued and don't die with him…that his last fifteen years of work aren't in vain. Phillips gets some meat on the bones with his character and some dramatic back story, powerful and chilling, so Neelix goes beyond the skeleton of comedy relief…that is what Trek can do so well. That Jetrel is not presented as just a monster, some cartoonish villain, with Neelix confronting him, the two discussing the past and addressing the future, as science comes under investigation, with a ton of emotionally potent subject matter powerfully elaborated.

Neelix is tough to watch

[Hughmanity · 6/10 · 15 October 2020]

A decently written homage to the WWII atomic bomb debate with some survivors guilt thrown in. It's just tough watching Ethan Philips and the cartoonish Neelix try to deliver it, with the equally ugly Dr Jetrel as the counterpoint.

Also some annoying plot holes such as Jetrel's ability to turn the doctor off and otherwise being left alone while experimenting with a poisonous gas cloud. Star Trek has a knack for 19th century security procedures in the 24th century.

Finally, "taking a safety" in pool still requires one to hit one's own ball with the cue ball, otherwise it's a scratch!

A reflection of Hiroshima

[satoshi-oota-133-846176 · 8/10 · 6 August 2020]

I cannot help feeling that the creators subtly but deliberately inserted a reflection of the atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki to this episode. Considering so, each line that Neelix spoke has suddenly turned to harbor deeper and somewhat twisted meanings. For example, the Haakonian Ma'Bor Jetrel created deadly mass destruction weapon that vaporized the Talaxian people and left toxic aftereffects. Neeflix blamed him that the Haakonians could use the Metreon Cascade in inhabitable areas instead of over a populated city to warn the Talaxians and make them surrender. This reminds me of one of the persistent arguments to evaluate the rationale of the atomic bombings in Japan. At the very end of this episode, Neelix mentioned demonic hatred that existed between the Talaxians and Haakonians. And he concluded that the two nations were victims of the hate. I feel that this is a common sentiment that ordinary Japanese people have today. Anyway, the tragedy in Hiroshima and Nagasaki is too big to accept for humanity. I hope it will never happen again.

Good plot, but ... more Neelix

[eauzone · 6/10 · 26 March 2020]

Still unclear to me why they keep giving Neelix so much screentime when he's been justifiably called the Jar-Jar of Star Trek. Great episode almost ruined by moment after moment of the script carrying Ethan Philips, instead of the other way around.

A Human Story About Two Non-humans

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 13 August 2018]

This was refreshing. I have had trouble watching Neelix cavort around the ship. I know he is often comic relief, but he often gets so tiresome. Here an alien from the planet Neelix warred with shows up and is brought on board. It turns out that he invented a cascade that killed Neelix's entire family. But there are other issues. Of course, our colorful guy is outraged, even though the other guy is there to check him for a disease he may have. But in the process, there are secrets that are revealed. It is pretty touching, maybe a bit too much to believe. There is one thing that bugged me. In most pool games, when one "plays it safe," he is required to strike an acceptable ball. You can't just put it where you want it. That is a scratch.

Jetrel

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 10 December 2023]

With talk of weapons of mass destruction. I noted how near this episode is to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The allied forces never found any WMDs but they certainly left a lot of destruction and displaced people about.

So Jetrel is more than a discussion of the morality of nuclear warfare as intended by the producers of Voyager.

Ma'bor Jetrel is the scientist who invented the destructive weapon that did untold damage to Neelix's home world and killed his family.

So Neelix is not pleased when Jetrel steps on board on Voyager. He tells Neelix that the survivors of the blast are terminally ill and Neelix needs to be tested, as he might be one of them.

Only Jetrel has an agenda of his own, one where he himself could find redemption.

The philosophical musings does no really work. It might explain that underneath the bonhomie and cheerfulness, Neelix has been hiding a lot of trauma. No wonder he joined up with a bunch of strangers to get the hell out of this quadrant.

Boring and tiresome

[zombiemockingbird · 1/10 · 13 May 2023]

Not sure what the point of this episode is other than trying to elicit sympathy? An emotional response? It did neither for me. It was the same old tired trope about the horrors of war. Others assume it is paralleling the bombing of Hiroshima, which may be the case, but it just doesn't work for me. Maybe because I don't particularly like the character of Neelix. I guess he's supposed to provide comic relief, but I just find him really annoying and honestly kind of repulsive. I also really don't buy the "romance" between he and Kes. Appearance aside, I don't see her liking him for his personality either. Honestly, neither of them has much in the way of personality, and there is zero chemistry between them. I shut it off about halfway through.

Skip it...

[werroderro · 2/10 · 6 July 2022]

Typical moral posturing by the writers of Voyager at the sake of a decent storyline. Tired tropes regarding the dropping of the bomb on Hiroshima you already know how the story ends. Skip this one.