S6 E14: Memorial

After returning from what seemed like an uneventful survey mission, Paris, Chakotay, Kim, and Neelix begin reliving parts from a brutal massacre of some alien colonists. When Neelix pulls out a phaser and starts shooting at anyone who comes near Naomi in the mess hall, they start putting the pieces together and Voyager retraces the Flyer's path. More and more of the crew begin experiencing the same resurfacing memories, until Voyager arrives at an uninhabited planet that has an active but ailing 300 year old device, intended to serve as a memorial for the dead colonists. Once the Doctor learns how to suppress the memories, Janeway orders a repair effort, so the device can continue to serve as a warning to those who would engage in the same actions as the aggressors from the memories.

Like many Voyager episodes (like, say, the previous episode, Virtuoso), this one is completely predictable. On the face of it, it is yet another "weird alien device alters the crews thoughts" episode. Yet, unlike Virtuoso, this episode manages to be very engaging despite the predictability. We knew that the Doctor wasn't really going to leave Voyager, so the whole episode was an exercise in waiting from something to go wrong with the aliens of the week; but here, even though I found it likely that the relived events were acquired second-hand, there remained the questions of how, why, and from whom?

Additionally, the characters seem genuinely affected by the memories, and that helps maintain the momentum as well. Even if the idea of the episode wasn't completely inventive, Braga (that's right, I'm praising a Braga episode) managed to keep me interested by exploring the emotional responses of the characters. Neelix seems to feel more guilty than many, which is consistent with the guilt he revealed in Jetrel over not taking up arms to defend his homeworld. In contrast, Kim's role, as the most naive of the group, was to defend their "actions" as best he could. And, get this, Tuvok's Vulcan control finally gives him some immunity to alien mental influence. I've been hoping for that for seasons and seasons, but the writers have always been more interested in using the Doctor or Kes or Seven. Moreso than a lot of recent episodes, this is definitely an ensemble episode, and I'm happy to reward that.

Janeway reprises her role as the decisive captain again; you know, that thing I like about her. She weighs the options, hears everyone out, then ends the deteriorating debate and makes her choice to repair the memorial. We've been seeing this Janeway less often again, and I think it helps that this is an ensemble episode. If it were Janeway-centric, we would have had more screen time to fill with Janeway being mad that someone doesn't agree with her, or for Kate Mulgrew to twist some innocuous line into being condescending. Instead, it is Janeway making a choice, even if it is unpopular - it is just icing that I happen to agree with that choice.

Watchability: 5/5

Bottom Line: As predictable as it was, Memorial managed to remain engaging throughout by rooting itself in the emotional reactions of the characters - reactions that are consistent with their behavior throughout the series without being a retreading of old ground.