# of episodes
episode average
26
3.59
series Top 20
series Flop 20
3 episodes
2 episodes
EPISODE SUMMARY
6.26-7.1 Unimatrix Zero, I-II
7.2 Imperfection
7.3 Drive
7.4 Repression
7.5 Critical Care
7.6 Inside Man
7.7 Body and Soul
7.8 Nightingale
7.9-7.10 Flesh & Blood, I-II
7.11 Shattered
7.12 Lineage
7.13 ...
7.14 ...
7.15 ...
7.16-7.17 Workforce, I-II
7.18 ...
7.19 ...
7.20 ...
7.21 ...
7.22 ...
7.23 ...
7.24 ...
7.25-7.26 Endgame, I-II
SKIPPABLE
6.26-7.1 UNIMATRIX ZERO, I-ii
Seven is contacted by Borg who can regain their individuality briefly during regeneration.
It is well-known that Star Trek: Voyager can’t do two-parters. With the exception of S4’s “Scorpion” and “Dark Frontier,” all other long-form stories are abject failures or, at best, decent disappointments. Perhaps this is because their main purpose is to draw in new audiences, so the plot takes a backseat to the special effects; here the plot is all the way inside the trunk. Once again, the premise is outstanding: a mutation allows some drones to regain individuality for a time while regenerating, a second life of sorts where they can exist as people, make friends, etc. So they decide to enlist Seven’s help to jumpstart a liberation movement. It would be a golden opportunity to write a new page of Borg history after the disappointment that was TNG’s “Descent” and DS9’s questionable choice to ignore the concept altogether. Instead, we get a half-baked romance poorly embedded in a schizoid action flick with unmotivated twists and fabricated drama.
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I love the idea of Unimatrix Zero. It’s consistent with the more cyberpunk aspects of Borg lore and it’s fertile ground to discuss the nature of individuality. However, for one, the actual place is remarkably lackluster: a generic forest set and a low-resolution matte background that make me wonder why the drones cherish it so. Moreover, the mechanics of UZ’s interactions with the real world are sketchy. It’s an interlink frequency, apparently, one that uses the same technology that allows the Borg instant communication across great distances, yet somehow the Queen has a very hard time “isolating the frequency.” The technobabble should help the story by explaining some of it, but it should not artificially motivate it in a way that is simply unbelievable. Add to all this that there’s no explanation for how the Borg manage to contact Seven in the first place, or for why Seven forgot all her time in UZ from the past, and we’ve got a plot that really strains credibility.
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But the episode’s worst fault is throwing away its premise through a series of bad choices that should be dramatic and momentous and that instead feel cheap and contrived. One among all is the decision to have three series regulars assimilated, but not really! People who complain that Vulcan mind melds used to be shrouded in mystery in TOS and TNG and have been cheapened by overuse in DS9 and VOY should blow a gasket at seeing assimilation reduced to a battle tactic. I am not so bothered by that as by the fact that what should be a big deal is little more than a cosmetic alteration. Tuvok’s own lack of resistance to the Queen’s advances has no reason to be, either, and it’s one of many aspects of this plot that seems to be introduced merely to create drama where none would be necessary. Janeway’s role is similarly annoying and ill-conceived. While S4’s “Dark Frontier” presented a great clash of titans among Janeway and the Queen vying for Seven’s soul, here any tension among these characters is shallow and mere window dressing for the action plot. If it was bad to cheapen assimilation, it’s downright criminal to waste the Borg Queen, arguably ST’s ultimate villain, on a generic-baddie plot.
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They Could Get Home #7: Voyager just helped liberate a bunch of Borg vessels, one of which is sitting right there, manned by a Klingon ally... and they still can’t find a way to get a damn transwarp coil?! Braga and Menosky must think we are really, really stupid.
MUST-SEE
7.2 IMPERFECTION
Seven's life is at stake after her Borg cortical implant malfunctions and cannot be replaced.
A well-written and mature drama supported by excellent performances by Ryan and Intiraymi. Unlike some other Borg-centered stories based on some obscure malfunction, like S4’s “Shattered Image,” this story sidelines the technobabble to focus on the psychology (although, to be honest, I wish that the malfunction was motivated more clearly, for example by ascribing it to Seven’s recent interactions with Unimatrix Zero... which would have also helped give that disastrous episode some consequence...). Alas, her cortical node breakdown is simply given as fact. But that’s okay, as so much emphasis rightfully rests on Seven grappling with her mortality and her role in the Voyager collective.
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I like that the option of rejoining the Collective to stabilize the cortical node is not even mentioned, unlike in the aforementioned “Shattered Image.” Surely it would have been dismissed out of hand, as returning to the Borg is no longer something that Seven pines for even on a subconscious level. Instead, prioritizing the human drama between Seven and Icheb is sensible. Since S6’s Collective, they’ve been developing a close bond based on Seven’s tutelage of Icheb’s future potential, so it makes for good drama that he would risk his own life to save hers by proposing to donate his own cortical implant. The conversation in sickbay tells it well: “he is a child,” says Seven to Janeway, to which she responds: “not anymore,” meaning that choosing to risk his life for hers entails that he’s ready to stand by his choices as an individual. This is excellent character development for Icheb, and it has the added plus of mirroring Seven’s own in S4-S6.
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The rest of the episode also works fairly well, though some sequences (especially the search for an implant in the Borg debris field) are contrived and feel like they were added merely so that the whole script wouldn’t feel like a soap opera. But despite these minor problems, this remains one of the strongest dramas in the show’s late run.
WORTH WATCHING
7.3 drive
Paris disappoints Torres by entering the Flyer in an obstacle course, while an alien pilot believes there may be a plot to disrupt the race.
Fun and funny, although none of the intertwining plot arcs are very interesting by themselves. The Paris-Torres relationship hits yet another snag when Tom forgets about their romantic getaway, which saddens B’Elanna because she spent a lot of time preparing it. It’s the same old dynamic that portrays a woman as “the ol’ ball and chain” who gets in the way of a man’s interests, and where the only solution is for her to take interest in his interests so that he doesn’t lose interest. BARF. If this were all that there was to this episode, it would be an abject failure. However, the conclusion does emphasize the fact that both Torres and Paris aren’t so good at communicating their needs, which is a real problem. Even this issue, though, is couched in language obviously written by a man, like when Paris says it’s hard for him to know what Torres wants because she is so temperamental. More barf. The eventual ending is better, although the rushed proposal and the wedding we never see are upsetting. They wasted the wedding scene on S5’s “Course: Oblivion,” so this is where it bites them in the ass. The rest of the episode is formulaic, although with a genuinely inventive setting and some good comedy bits.
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Harry Falls for the Wrong Woman #6: hologram, Borg, wrong twin, alien nymph, dead girl... and now the terrorist pilot who holds him hostage!
SKIPPABLE
7.4 REPRESSION
A series of unexplained attacks leave several former Maquis crewmen incapacitated, while Tuvok launches an investigation.
Yet one more member of the very populous club for promising plots that don’t turn out well. A Maquis holdout from the Alpha Quadrant brainwashes Tuvok to restart the rebellion aboard Voyager by conscripting former Maquis. Exciting! But instead it’s a confused and confusing mess of half-assed plot arcs and awkward dialogue. I really do think that the premise is valid. Once Voyager has access to semiregular Starfleet transmissions, it would only make sense that some ghosts from the past would come knocking, and this is pretty much the only way that the Maquis issue could come back to life. But, first of all, it makes no sense that the “messenger of death” would be Tuvok, whom Teero knows was a spy and thus far more likely to be discovered and/or override his conditioning, so I am guessing the only reason this is a Tuvok episode is that there hadn’t been a Tuvok episode in a while...
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Moreover, the dynamics of the investigation are botched. It’s an interesting idea to discover the identity of the perpetrator halfway through and go from there, but it’d have been better if the audience had discovered this along with Tuvok himself as a result of his investigation instead of by fiat. Not to mention that his involvement is immediately obvious the moment the Doctor says he found shoulder bruising on the first victim, so we immediately think “Vulcan nerve pinch” and the surprise is gone. Surely there is some creative filmmaking, including a long series of upward shots a la Hitchcock that indicate... what? It is quite unclear what their purpose is, so here too I’m guessing that it’s just window dressing.
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But perhaps the most disappointing outcome is that a Maquis rebellion does end up taking place, and that it​’s the mildest shit you’ve ever seen. A few phaser rifle shots, a bridge takeover, and a pathetic “kill her to prove your loyalty” scene that feels fresh out of a 1970s gangster B-movie. The final act is seriously awkward to watch, which is a pity, as some of the buildup is valid and the premise worthy.
WORTH WATCHING
7.5 CRITICAL CARE
Doc's program is stolen and sold to an alien hospital where patients are treated according to their value to society.
An insightful apology of universal healthcare access that starts off great but gets mired in too many minutiae, eventually losing sight of the big picture. It’s difficult to capture all the nuances of complex sociological issues in the TV drama format, and while this episode does falter in the end, it frames the discussion quite well. It portrays a system ruled by a “treatment coefficient” based on a person’s utility to society as calculated by an AI. That’s fertile ground for the script’s anti-utilitarian argument that one cannot put a price tag on a life and that care is a basic right. I think that point is well-taken, although it’s a bit of a straw man to argue against a social credit system the likes of which we can see in 21st-century China. It would be even better if universal care were juxtaposed to socioeconomic class and if the more privileged patients were those that could afford to pay. While surely the T.C. is a proxy for class, I wish the script referenced more directly the U.S. healthcare system that serves most of the show’s viewers (although, to be fair, a script that did so may not have made it through the heavy hand of corporate censorship).
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Even within these boundaries, the episode brings up relevant talking points. Does everyone have a right to receive medical care no matter what? How should good people act when they’re forced to work within a bad system? Plus, of course, the episode’s eventual resolution is forcing the architect of that system to experience first-hand the suffering it inflicts on the worst-off, which is a nice turn of events, if predictable. Reducing the systemic conflict to a personal conflict may be effective from a dramatic standpoint, but it’s disappointing philosophically. Other elements in the episode also have a mixed record. Doc’s characterization is excellent, and Picardo does a great job as usual. On the other hand, the scenes where Voyager search for the trader who stole Doc’s program are a total waste of time and feel like they were added merely so that the other regulars would have something to do. This, too, is understandable dramatically, but so very annoying to watch.
WORTH WATCHING
7.6 INSIDE MAN
Starfleet's latest data stream contains a hologram of Lt. Barclay, who promises to bring Voyager home within a few days.
Given the success of previous installments, it’s not surprising that VOY would have another Barclay and Troi episode in it. This one, too, is based on a premise that is at once outrageous and creative: what if Barclay were trying to send a hologram to Voyager, a perfectly reasonable assumption given the fellow, and the Ferengi stole it? (I can count on one hand the Ferengi episodes that I don’t hate, and this is one, probably because their screen time is limited). Of course, in order to create adequate drama, the Ferengi must be actually able to open a passageway to the Delta Quadrant, which is where the script requires a big suspension of disbelief. Technologies that enable long-distance galactic travel should be used sparingly, and yet it seems that VOY authors became more and more comfortable with them as time went on, which of course led to many a “They Could Get Home” moment. Here, at least, Janeway remarks that the crew had already toyed with the idea of a geodesic fold in the past but that they dropped it when they realized it would be too dangerous because of the radiation, and to be fair this concern does play a big role in the eventual plot, so at least there’s some consistency throughout. It also doesn’t help that the crew gets its hopes up and is let down yet again, seemingly with no lasting emotional consequences, but I suppose they’ve got to be pretty much used to it by now...
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What the episode does choose to focus on is more successful, namely the Barclay hologram’s interactions with the crew and the real Barclay’s and Troi’s attempts to uncover the truth back on Earth. Here, as usual, the script lives and dies with Schultz, and thankfully by now he’s got Reg Barclay down. In a universe of space-traveling superhumans with very few defects, it’s nice to see that even in a utopia there’s room for the talented everyman. So while the premise is a tad overused, it is still daring and creative; and while the resolution is procedural and more than a little predictable, it is still quite enjoyable. Overall, the episode turns out fun, which is more than can be said about other S7 installments.
WORTH WATCHING
7.7 BODY AND SOUL
After being kidnapped by aliens, Doc is forced to "hide" inside Seven's implants and commandeer her body.
While this episode could have been a disaster or a masterpiece, surprisingly it is neither. It would have been easy to give in to some low-brow comedy about sex-swapping, or pseudo-astute observations about gender roles, but the script sails right past all that and straight to the obvious comedy value of the Doctor being in control of Seven’s body. These two provide perfect comic relief because they’re so obviously antithetic, so it’s a fun and imaginative crossover with lots of potential. Some of it is amply fulfilled, like when Doc takes a liking to eating and drinking and Seven’s body bears the brunt of his pleasures. Others are more misguided, like the love triangle with the alien officers, which is full of awkward scenes and borderline homophobic humor. In fact, the Doc-Seven switcheroo could have been played against pretty much any backdrop, so it’s a bit disappointing that this one was chosen: a nondescript alien species dealing with an insurgence of holograms and a crew that is supposedly struggling but that seems hell-bent on secuding the first sexy alien that flies into their space... not exactly a great premise.
Still, the episode turns out not to need one, because the emphasis is firmly on Jeri Ryan’s theatrics. I cannot stress enough how fine a performer she really is. While playing Seven, she faces the usual difficulties of actors who must play deadpan or straight-up emotionless characters with nuance, like Nimoy, Spiner, and Russ, and she passes with flying colors. And although she can let loose here, she never over-acts, and instead provides a hilarious and believable impersonation of Picardo’s inflection and body language. This, more than any plot-related devices, drives the episode scene after scene. It’s a Jim Carrey-like humor, where you know you are watching a clown but you realize how much work there is in making the clown be funny. Clearly, this episode was designed with the sole purpose of putting Ryan at its core, and on that front it is a resounding succe
SKIPPABLE
7.8 nightingale
The Delta Flyer aid an alien medical transport in distress, whose surviving passengers convince Kim to take command and complete their mission.
A recurring joke in VOY is that Kim never gets a promotion and neither does his character, as he and Chakotay have the least amount of development over the whole show. That’s disappointing, as there was a lot of potential there... although if this is the narrative level of the Kim stories that we could expect, then I take it all back: just demote him to crewman. This is a trite coming-of-age tale set against a derivative background of unsympathetic alien characters we do not care about. The worst part is that Kim doesn’t seem to care, either: he’s merely pursuing an opportunity for advancement, the Starfleet equivalent of thrill-seeking, which isn’t exactly the sort of personality trait that we want to see.
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To be fair, some char-dev does exist here. Kim makes an awful first-time captain, as he has no idea about how to delegate, and he learns a few valuable lessons. However, it’s regrettable that he learns them from people like Neelix and Seven. It would have been better to write a good Janeway-Kim story. She’s overprotective and he looks up to her, so that’d be a fun episode, in the vein of TNG’s great “Final Mission.” Alas, instead we get this half-baked adventure without a real moral core, garnished by a side plot that has to rank among ST’s worst: Icheb believing that Torres is pursuing him, and making an ass of himself in the process, is as cringe-worthy as Doc trying to teach Seven how to date. Absolute junk.