Episode Review - Death Wish (Voyager, Season 2)

For those who are new to my episode reviews, you can find the post where I establish my point criteria here

Overview – The crew of Voyager accidentally free a member of the Q Continuum from a unique comet that the rest of the Continuum had imprisoned him over three centuries ago. When Q, known to have caused much mischief to Picard on the Enterprise, arrives, Janeway becomes the arbiter for a hearing to determine if the newly released Q will be imprisoned again or be allowed his one true desire: death. 

Dueling Qs

Score: 9/10 – I really think that this episode is one of the strongest from Voyager’s second season. Since Voyager started, fans have been wanting the ever-popular Q to make an appearance. The issue at stake here was how to do so with a story that was worthy of this monumental occurrence. “Death Wish” gives us that. Creator Michael Piller was given the idea from his son, Shawn, and it provided a way for Q to come to voyager in a way that was not so contrived. By introducing Quinn (which is how I will refer to the suicidal Q from this point on), we are given a reason for Q (played once more with brilliance and wickedly impishness John de Lancie) to appear in the Delta Quadrant. Quinn is fascinating to me as a character. Played by Gerrit Graham (whom we saw previously in DS9’s first season episode “Captive Pursuit”), he is able to grab onto the mischievous quality common to most Q, but brought a bit down to Earth by his weariness with an immortal existence. Most of all, what works best in this episode is the superb on-screen chemistry between Q and Janeway. This is the third captain that Q has tangled with. Picard set the standard and his relationship with Q was always entertaining. Sisko only got one shot, and while he hadnled Q well, from a story point the fire just wasn’t there. With Janeway, Q takes things to a different place. The banter is there, but it is different. This refreshes the character of Q, and the theme of the story being the place of euthanasia in society gives Q an opportunity to change. While much of the rest of the cast is relegated to the background, we get some great scenes for Tuvok and Janeway.

Q(uinn) attempts to end his life...and causes all the men on the ship to vanish

Relevance – 2 points. One point for setting the stage for the rest of the Q-centered episodes that will follow on Voyager. Because of Quinn’s death, Q rethinks his attitude towards the Continuum, and causes him to go back to his rebel ways. Another point is scored for a quick list of Q’s previous antics (most notably introducing the Federation to the Borg).

The game of hide and seek continues

Continuity – 3 points. Story wise this works well. It would make sense that when Janeway hears that “Q” is on the ship, she declares red alert and braces herself for a tough go. Universe continuity also works well, and we get a rare glimpse as to what life in the Q continuum is like. Character continuity is good as well. I thought even Q was true to himself throughout the episode, despite the growth and change he underwent.

Everyone has been the scarecrow

Character Development – 2 points. Q gets the most treatment and growth here, and while he is not a main character on the show, he is a beloved character that now spans three series. While this may not score points in this category, it does deserve a mention. I also feel that Janeway gets some significant development and lays the foundation for what will be an entertaining rivalry between her and Q. Much of the main cast becomes glorified extras here, but Tuvok does get to tangle his logic as he advocates for Quinn.

Best double-face-palm in Trek. Vulcans.

Social Commentary – 3 points. Even today many governments in the world are conflicted by the debate around a person’s right to die. As much as we would like to think that all lives are important, what happens when one is overcome by the pains of life to the point that they want to end it? Does Quinn have a lot to contribute? Of course he does. He would have been invaluable to the Voyager crew. And yet he would have been miserable and therefor chose to end his life. Is this right? That is a hard question to answer and evokes much emotion, but that is what makes the social commentary so relevant. While we continue to grapple with this issue, this episode gives us a lot to consider and helps us better understand both sides of the argument.

The Q Continuum

Cool Stuff – 3 points. Of course we score a point for Q. The show is almost always a bit more special when this omnipotent rascal blips onto the screen. John de Lancie is true form and pulls off one of his better outings as Q. I enjoyed the exploration of the Q Continuum itself, with its whimsical portrayal of the long highway, with various Q playing the different parts, from the dog to the scarecrow. I also award a point for the appearance of Q’s witnesses. Issac Newton appears again (this time as a non-holographic entity) and we get to see William T. Riker again (it’s always nice to see Johnathan Frakes), but I love how the second witness, the hippy responsible for saving Woodstock, is named after the actor that plays him. The story goes that the character had a different name, but upon meeting actor Maury Ginsberg, the Michael Piller loved his name so much that they changed it in the script. This makes him the second character to share the same name as the character, but the first person to have that honor for a character that was not himself (Stephan Hawking played himself in a TNG episode). That’s a bit of obscure trivia for your day!

The witnesses are called

Rank – Admiral (22 points). This is definitely a must watch and shows some of the strength in Voyager. Q was such a popular character on TNG that fans had been clamoring for his return in every follow-up series. While his appearance on Deep Space Nine was not terrible, it was only decent at best. On Voyager, however, they were able to bring him into the show in a way that was more than just another Q running a muck episode. This episode is Star Trek at its best.

The comet where Quinn was found

If you would like to read other reviews from Star Trek: Voyager, click on the link here.

If you would like to read an episode review from any of the Trek series, click the following link to get to the series catalog. If the episode you want reviewed has not been done yet, then feel free to request it in the comments and I will see what I can do.

Episode Review - Revulsion (Voyager, Season 4)

For those who are new to my episode reviews, you can find the post where I establish my point criteria here

Overview – The EMH and Lieutenant Torres respond to a distress call from an alien starship’s holographic crewmember. When they arrive at the ship, they soon learn that the hologram they are helping is hiding something dark and sinister. Meanwhile, on Voyager, Harry Kim has been ordered to set up an astrometrics lab with Seven of Nine. Seven notices that Harry is displaying a romantic interest in her, and things get out of hand very quickly.

Score: 7/10 – This episode has two dueling storylines. One, the main story, is a dark thriller that has Torres and the Doctor struggling to survive against a malfunctioning hologram that has psychotic tendencies. The suspense is huge in this episode, and skilled actor Leland Orser, in one of his four Trek roles, delivers the creepy in a big way with the character of Dejaren. The other story balances out the darkness of the first with a more comical romantic failure of Harry Kim that gives us the almost obligatory Seven of Nine angle. This being early in Season 4, Seven has to be a prominent fixture in one way or another. I think that was the eleventh commandment at the time. While the two stories balance each other quite well, the Kim-Seven angle fell a bit flat. There is definitely some chemistry, but the writers almost intentionally caused it to blow up in Harry’s face, and he never seems to even try to recover from it. Plus, I was not sure of when Seven gives the now infamous line of “take off your clothes” if she was joking or being matter-of-fact. If it was meant to be humorous, it did so in an awkward way. This episode also seemed to be used as filler for a lot of stuff that may be significant later, but for this particular episode didn’t seem to be relevant to the episode’s main stories. Examples of this are Tuvok’s promotion and Tom and B’Ellana’s first kiss. Still, it is an enjoyable episode that gives us some good chuckles and a couple jumps.

Relevance - 3 points. One point is scored for Torres and Paris taking their relationship to the next level. Two episodes prior to this (“Day of Honor”), the two had admitted feelings for each other. Well, those feelings were embraced when B’Elanna initially thought to just sweep it under the rug. Another point is scored for Paris bringing up Harry’s past failed love interest, including the hologram he fell for in “Alter Ego”. A final point is scored for the beginning of the astrometrics lab that will become Seven of Nine’s main work area. If that was not enough, Tuvok gets promoted (finally) to Lieutenant Commander.

Continuity - 2 points. The story continuity works for this episode. If you are a stickler for time sequencing, when you consider the events of the previous two episodes (“Day of Honor” and “Nemesis”), it seems that these three episodes all occurred within a week’s worth of time. Universe continuity also checks out here. I am deducting a point for Seven of Nine’s attempt at humor when she propositions Harry Kim. It is almost as if Seven is joking when she tells Harry to take off is clothes. It seemed a bit early for Seven to try to be funny, a sentiment that actress Jeri Ran has stated.

Character Development – 3 points. Obviously, the Doctor gets some attention as he interacts with Dejaren and first help and later stop him. He also learns to loosen up a little as he saw how unstable Dejaren’s obsession with cleanliness became. Torres also gets some attention as she tries to deal with the unstable hologram, and the events of this episode bring her and the Doctor closer together. She also moves her relationship with Tom to the next level, which also adds to his character development. Harry and Seven also progress their characters along, making the evil hologram story almost as footnote to moving along at least five of the core characters. While some of the development may have zero to do with the central story, there are many significant things that happen for many of the characters.

Social Commentary – 2 points. So much happened, but what message does it give us? Perhaps we can learn to always be mindful of our biases. The Doctor wanted to be a part of the away mission to help a fellow holographic lifeform. He wanted to help Dejaren achieve what he achieved. However, we are a bit limited as to how we can help someone who is “broken”. It also gives us some insight into the dangers associated with obsessive behaviors if they are left unchecked. As few things to think on.

Cool Stuff – 2 points. I give a point here for the character of Dejaren. Leland Orser gives a convincing performance as the eerie holographic psychopath, and the character is straight out of a nightmare (in a good way). I also liked how he used his holographic nature when he tried to kill Torres. For a second point, we look to Tuvok. Even though it really added nothing to the story or the episode, I must say that it is about time that our Vulcan security chief receive his promotion. If there was one thing that bugged me about voyager’s command structure, it was the lack of Lt. Commanders.

Rank – Captain (19 points). This is definitely an episode to watch, in spite of a bit of clutter. If the fun, sometimes scary story of a neat-freak psychotic hologram is not enough, consider this. By not watching this episode, you will miss out on Tom and B’Elanna’s first kiss, Tuvok’s promotion, and Harry totally embarrassing himself in front of Seven of Nine. 

If you would like to read other reviews from Star Trek: Voyager, click on the link here.

If you would like to read an episode review from any of the Trek series, click the following link to get to the series catalog. If the episode you want reviewed has not been done yet, then feel free to request it in the comments and I will see what I can do.