VOY: Basics, Part I

         The idea of stranding the crew of Voyager on a hostile planet without their ship is a cool one. Having the Doctor and Suder be the only ones left behind plus I am pretty sure Paris somewhere on a shuttle is a great set up. Especially the parts setting up that Suder feels betrayed by the captain by not being immediately trusted on the matter of his genetic experiments sets up the idea that maybe he will turn against them, but I am pretty sure he is going to turn out to save the day, possibly sacrificing his own life for his crew mates. But all that seems petty compared to how dumb it is that they totally walk into an obvious trap that they know is a trap and are being told by the dude leading them into it is a trap.
         We open with Suder showing off his orchids to Tuvok. It seems the mindmeld passed on the vulcan's passion for plants in addition to the calming effects. Suder asks Tuvok if he can contribute to the ship by genetically engineering crops for the aeroponics lab and Tuvok promises to pass his request to the captain. On the bridge they run into a Kazon beacon with a message from Chakotay. It is a video of his newborn son and a narrator who claims Seska has been killed and his son is being taken to be raised as a servant. Chakotay talks about it with Janeway and he is torn, but she offers to help with a rescue which is dumb because it is obviously a trap and they are way out gunned. They come up with a plan to project holographic ships to act as distractions and then run into a Kazon shuttle. There is one badly hurt Kazon on board who claims to have escaped from the Nistrim by bribing his executioner but there is something wrong with his physiology and I immediately knew he was a living bomb but none of them figure it out.
         The bomb gives them info on how to get in but also tells them it is a trap but they of course are determined to go in anyway. As they approach they keep getting hit in a seemingly unimportant area of the ship. Eventually the main group shows up including a very much alive Seska, of course it was all a trick as any child could have told you. They overwhelm Voyager but Paris escapes on a shuttle. Bomb guy explodes which allows Suder to hide as the rest of the crew are captured and marooned. We conclude with the Doctor showing up in sickbay and Suder hiding in his bomb wrecked quarters.

         Review: A solid cliffhanger of a season finale. I still have problems which how obviously Janeway just walked into a trap and how Chakotay knew he was being manipulated but fell for it anyway, but at least the rest of the episode worked. 

6 out of 10