This episode manages to pull off two fake outs rather successfully, although that is at least partly because I don't remember Voyager as well as the other series. After last nights rather successful holodeck episode I was kinda worried when this one opened on the holodeck at all, but it turned out to just be an early set up for something down the line. Second I was kinda annoyed when they "blew the mystery" by having the camera fly around obviously from the perspective on the allegedly hostile alien. But fortunately this was the second fake out as it turned out Tuvok had been under the actual aliens control the entire time. I guess the pan flutes in sickbay should be been a clue that things were going all mystical for Chakotay, but I guess I was a little slow today.
As mentioned above we begin on the holodeck where Janeway has just been hired as the governess of an English household. She meets the widower lord who after telling her about his children admonishes her to never set foot on the fourth floor of the estate. Just then she is called to the bridge. The shuttlecraft with Tuvok and Chakotay aboard is returning badly damaged. The two are beamed to sickbay and while Tuvok has a minor concussion Chakotay is totally braindead. Tuvok explains that they were charting a dark matter nebula when they encountered a ship. It hit them with some sort of energy and he was only barely able to set the shuttle to return before losing consciousness. Later in sickbay Torres is surprised to the doctor recognizes and understand the medicine wheel she sets up to try and draw Chakotay back to his body. The pan flute music I believe is our cue that something mysterious is happening. In her quarters Kes feels a presence as well.
On the bridge they set a course for the nebula to try and find the ship that attacked the shuttle but suddenly they aren't going that way any more and it seems Paris is responsible. But he has no memory of doing so. He goes to investigate and soon they have changed course again and the controls are locked out. It seems Paris was responsible again so he is sent to sickbay to be checked out. Tuvok confirms he is the one who did it but the doctor has discovered that Paris' mind was taken over briefly both times he changed course and they realize they have some form of intruder. Janeway realizes the only person who can't be tampered with is the doctor and transfers the ships command codes to him. Torres comes up with a plan to scan the ship for the alien but it will take several hours to set up. Tuvok shows up in sickbay to do something to the sensors but after he leaves the doctor is no longer operational.
Kes tells the captain she can sense the aliens and Tuvok offers to mindmeld with her to help focus her powers but they are both found unconscious in the turbolift soon after. The doctor is unavailable to treat them though so Paris takes over. The warp core gets ejected as they approach the nebula but Torres doesn't remember doing it. As they prepare to enter under impulse power there is a power struggle on the bridge with the alien jumping around until Tuvok stuns them all. Torres found something in the shuttle and gets to Janeway in private. It seems there never was an alien ship and Tuvok has been lying. She returns to the bridge and orders them to stop going into the nebula, but Tuvok pulls has phaser and declares she is under the influence of the alien. The crew follow her, but he sets his phaser on kill and they do what he says. He flies them in but Janeway manages to activate the pulse of energy to find the aliens and Tuvok collapses and we see the energy creature leave his body. They realize the possessing alien was actually Chakotay and after reactivating the doctor they revive Chakotay.
Review: One of Trek's more successful mystery episode which manages to avoid the problems many have run into. For some reason most other series either have the villain be someone who is only introduced at the end and we therefore don't care about or they give the whole thing away too early. This is the best of VOY so far and a good Trek episode in any series.
8 out of 10
No comments:
Post a Comment