An exciting, intelligent, engaging episode of Voyager: the best of the best, ruined by a single, final line of dialogue that redefines stupidity.
A Federation beacon turns out to be bait for a skillful robbery: a Kazon shuttle enters the ship, the invaders stealing a transporter module and beaming back to their own ship. It turns out traitor-at-large and absolute whore Seska has been feeding Starfleet secrets to her new Kazon buddies, allowing them access to technical information on a starship's inner workings.
After pulling off this immaculate appropriation she taunts her former lover and victim Chakotay on the view screen, in front of his bridge crew, with words akin to: Nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah, you can't catch me...
Chakotay and Co. decide to do just that, fully aware that Seska will be anticipating their arrival and attempting to take Voyager for its technology, which will empower the inferior Kazon-Nistrim, giving them firepower against their enemies and political sway over rival Kazon sects. Chakotay confides to B'Elanna that he feels personally responsible for this attack; Seska has broken his heart, betrayed his beliefs, attacked his ship and crew and is personally humiliating him in the process. The storyline here is so good that hideous trashbag Martha Hackett is actually rendered tolerable.
Next thing you know Chakotay has stolen a shuttlecraft from Voyager and taken off without permission. The scene in which B'Elanna makes a personal plea on his behalf to Captain Kate is wonderful, an example of what works in the show and keeps me watching. Roxanne Biggs-Dawson has an energy, an urgency, that is impossible to deny and absolutely perfect for the character of Torres. Kate Mulgrews angular features and strong jaw, the husky growl of her voice play well against the softness of her eyes, the emotion at work within. She never has to shout or act like a man in order to convince us she's a starship Captain. Sexy and strong, sweet and razor sharp, she is a joy to watch at work.
And the scene works perfectly: two strong woman fighting for what they believe in, the inner-disciplinarian in Torres' wild-woman persona emerging ever so slightly as Janeway tries to conceal not just her rage at Chakotay for breaking the rules but her sense of genuine betrayal and hurt at his actions, especially in this lonely universe of the stranded spacecraft. Nicely done, ladies...
Janeway considers her options as Tuvok's logic and Torres' emotion perch on her shoulder and debate the next move. Seska confides in prisoner Chakotay's ear that she's not a monster and wants to avoid the death of the Voyager crew if possible, and this little admission keeps the character from flying off into the realm of cartoon super-villain, and makes her more realistic, and even sympathetic.
The Voyager crew decides a transwarp beaming is the best method to recover their captive Commander, and although they eventually have to reverse their plan of attack they succeed in recovering Chakotay and destroying all stolen Starfleet technology taken by the Kazon. Janeway has a realistic discipline discussion with Chakotay, even wondering aloud whether formal punishment has any value in their situation.
Just as we're ready for a bridge laugh and exterior shot we see Seska on the view screen, speaking the sentence that destroys this episode. Seems she took advantage of Chakotay while he was captive on the Kazon ship, sampling his DNA while he was unconscious and impregnating herself. Yep, the bitch is gonna be a Mom, and the last-minute twist that Chakotay will be a Father to a woman he considers his mortal enemy raises so many questions and makes resolution impossible.
Is this Star Trek or Days Of Our Lives? What are we- and Chakotay- supposed to do between now and the inevitable follow-up episode? How can there be any satisfactory resolution to such an impossibly-muddied storyline, and why in God's name would the writers commit to bringing the dreadful Seska back for a mind-blowing FOURTH appearance on the show?
Producers, do me a favor. Don't do soap operas. Don't do fantasies. Don't do multi-episode story arcs. Don't do "To Be Continued..." Don't do Seska. Don't reinvent the warp drive. Just do Trek, and do it well. That's what we came for.
GRADE: (without final line of dialogue) A-
GRADE: (with final line of dialogue) C-
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