I have always been a fan of the Doctor. He is probably the most distinctive character from all of VOY, but it feels like in the last season or so the writers have been desperate to make us like him less. Message in a Bottle was the high water mark and ever since it has felt like they are trying to make him unlikable. In this episode in particular he is super devious in how he works to carry out the evil alien plan, and totally flat footed when it came to coming up with a plan to stop them. He fell right into their trap too and it was only Janeway who was able to save the day. And again she forgives him for directly contravening her orders and almost stranding them forever in the Delta Quadrant. Probably the best part of this episode was seeing the other actors having to do their version of the Doctor pretending to be them.
We open with the Doctor piloting the Flyer while loudly singing opera. Janeway emerges from the back clearly pissed at his loud singing. He goes on to lecture her on how superior holograms are to people in his classically patronizing way. Cut to Voyager and there is a problem with the Flyer. They came under attack and as soon as Janeway is aboard she pulls Chakotay aside and tells him they are in hostile territory and the only option is to dump the warp core and maroon themselves on a planet. There is allegedly some sort of armada on the way. Chakotay doesn't like what he hears and starts investigating. The captain is always clearly acting odd talking to people no one else can hear. We quickly learn that the "captain" is actually the Doctor pretending to be her. After some digging Chakotay confronts her in her quarters but she pulls out a hypo and knocks him out. She gets B'Elanna working on a plan to tow the warp core with the Flyer. Along the way he calls the aliens directing him and they show him Janeway who directly orders him to not do what he is doing but he does it anyway.
People start figuring him out eventually and Tuvok struggles with him in sickbay. The Doctor escapes into the cooridors and eventually makes his way to the Flyer after ejecting the warp core. He takes it to the aliens who promptly lock him up along with the Captain breaking their word. Janeway is pissed but she starts working on the subordinate alien and eventually when the Flyer and a shuttle show up to rescue them the subordinate knocks his boss out with an engine part. The Doctors program destabilizes though and he rushes back to the ship. He is sure he is going to die and starts confessing things including his love to Seven. But of course B'Elanna saves the day and he is left embarrassed. Janeway decides he has punished himself enough after he stays in sickbay for a week and orders him to have coffee with her on the holodeck.
Review: I don't really like what they have done with the Doctors character, but at the same time it is fun to see him gradually replacing more crew while trying to hide the bodies along the way. Overall a fun episode with some questions raised about who the Doctor really is.
6 out of 10
No comments:
Post a Comment