S3 E03: The Chute

Kim and Paris are falsely accused of a terrorist act while on shore leave, and are sentenced to life imprisonment in a dark, overcrowded hole with chips in their heads that increase their aggressive tendencies. Paris is grievously wounded in a knife fight, and Kim must keep him alive while he fights the effects of his implant, negotiates with a messianic prisoner, and tries to find a way out (only to find that they are stuck on a space station). Meanwhile, Janeway negotiates for their release, only to find that the Akritirians are so serious about their brutal justice system that they won't even release them after Voyager returns with the actual culprits. With no other alternative, Voyager stages a prison-break and slinks off.

The prison parts of this episode are dark, and I don't mean just the lighting. Everything is grimy and dank and full of despair. The half-crazed prisoner who starts talking to Kim about his manifesto on the implants and prison life is surreal. In particular, there's the scene where he's looking slightly up into a white light, preaching to Kim about turning his aggressions into fuel, while the red light surrounding the chute (through which new prisoners and food enters) forms a halo above his head. Kim, finally shorting out the forcefield and climbing to the top of the chute, only to find that there is no escape except into the vacuum of space makes me feel like I'm watching Cube. It is all artfully done, with careful attention to detail.

The rescue elements of the show leave me dissatisfied, though. I don't need Janeway to get all righteous on the Akritirians, and intervening to fix this broken society is (a) against the prime directive and (b) not really a luxury that Voyager has time for. Yet she also, oddly, shows almost no compassion for the captured fugitives. I agree that this is a gray area for the prime directive: non-human societies cannot be expected to function the same way that human ones do. Say, for example, that it turns out that Akritirians are just inherently evil, that Akritirian science has proven beyond a doubt that without constant fear of severe punishment, the populace would instantly devolve into a Lord of the Flies-esque anarchy, from which it would take centuries to recover. Unlikely, perhaps, but that's why the Federation spies on people before making first contacts. In a universe of infinite possibilities, a lot of those possibilities are bad.

Still though, even agreeing with the non-involvement of Voyager, the ending feels hollow. Maybe it should. But the final scene, when Kim approaches Paris, I was expecting him to say something, anything, about the remorse he must feel for leaving all those other prisoners in such a hellhole. Sure, apologizing for almost killing Paris in a rage is something that needs to happen too, but it leaves the Voyager crew feeling a bit too cold-hearted about the suffering of others.

Watchability: 4/5

Bottom Line: Despite my misgivings, I still liked it overall. Given the scope of Trek's canon, even if you block out the parts you don't like you're still left with plenty to appreciate.