| While the Voyager is docked at a major spaceport (they made more friends!), three former Borg sneak aboard the ship and try to perform some sort of procedure on Seven. These three were formerly part of the same unimatrix as Seven, and she recalls crash-landing on a planet with them, but none of the four are able to remember details. Seven agrees to an experiment that will link the four and dredge up the memories, and we discover that on this planet, the four had regained their individuality. The three we've met here didn't want to go back, but Seven, having been assimilated as a child, feared individuality and reassimilated them herself, forging a permanent bond between the three that could not be severed, even after they later escaped from the collective. After the procedure, the three are in a coma, and Seven is faced with a choice: let the Doctor operate on them, which will separate them from each other but give them only a month to live with their new individuality, or send them back to the collective, where they could live out their lives, but as drones. She struggles with the decision, but eventually opts to set them free. |
I was kind of dreading this review: It is one of two with Ronald D Moore's name in the writing credits, and the only one with only his name, and it isn't a particularly highly ranked episode either on GEOS (49th place) or on any best of Voyager lists I've seen. And yet it is written by the god of DS9 and BSG; how could I not love his contribution to Voyager? And if I did love it, could I elaborate on why I loved it? Or worse, would it genuinely be non-awesome? The man certainly isn't infallible. Well, now I have answers: yes, I loved it, yes, I've got plenty to write about it, and no, it couldn't be non-awesome. This is RDM we're talking about. What was I thinking?
Remember when I was whining about lack of the banter that can be a source of character and relationship development back during Warhead? Yeah, it's all here. Now, DS9's banter is hardly an RDM-only trademark; even before he joined the show you could count on Odo-Quark or Bashir-Garak to elevate an otherwise floundering episode. But it is certainly something he has picked up and honed, and it pays off in this episode. Tuvok, Chakotay and Janeway get a good scene together, and Kim, Paris, and Janeway get a phenomenal, light-hearted scene together, with fantastic timing, talking about an incident that occurred on the station. Janeway gets to be a good mix between disciplinarian and proud captain, while Kim and Paris are in turns contrite, awkward, and perversely pleased with themselves. Seven and Naomi also get some time together, in a series of scenes spaced perfectly throughout the episode, eventually providing the sweet coda to an otherwise heavy episode.
If this episode has a weakness, it is that I wasn't completely engaged by the former Borg plot. It builds slowly, but by the flashback scene by the campfire wherein the three start reflecting on their past lives, with Seven looking on uncomfortably, I was all-in. Seven's reassimilation of the three others grows organically from her backstory as a nearly lifelong Borg, and that would have been plenty for a Voyager-scale 5/5 right there. As a special treat for me, this episode has about three more layers of awesome that blend together.
Not only do we have an interesting choice for Seven to make, one without an obvious solution, but we have even and honest discussions about the ramifications and motivations surrounding it, from people on both sides of it. Chakotay plays the advocate for freedom, and being the former Maquis he is the perfect person to do so. From that frame of reference, liberty is something worth living a truncated life for. The Doctor, on the other hand, cautions Seven; is she making this choice because it is right for them, or because it would make her feel better about causing the problem in the first place. Neither one is telling her what to do, and it isn't even clear that the Doctor actually has a side in the matter at all, he's just making sure that Seven is making the most informed decision possible. Love it love it love it.
And then there's the final scene with the triplets. Each has a unique approach to the next month of freedom. Lansor, otherwise stoic in the episode, is subtly tearful at the prospect of just living his life on the station without other voices in his head, greatly moved by his new freedom. P'Chan broaches the topic of blame, but says his people don't believe in holding grudges, and thanks Seven for his freedom before departing. Marika does harbor enmity towards Seven (well, she is Bajoran after all), but admits to understanding her motivations at the very least. Great scene.
Watchability: 5/5
Bottom Line: Fantastic dialogue, pacing, conflict, resolution. It all works with previously established character elements to create an excellent final product.
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