S4E16: “Prey.”
That Hirogen is @TonyTodd54! Even under all that make-up the voice gives it away. The hunting other sentient creatures motif remains distasteful to me but the EMH teaching Seven social graces on the other hand is nicely comedic and sets up the core of the episode.
The crew gets a big data dump on the Hirogen, stuff that was already obvious. They remain One-dimensional cookie-cutter villains. Meanwhile, we learn more about Species 8472, intriguing mainly because the show has the sense not to tell us too much. Trek should leave things mysterious more frequently.
The heart of “Prey” is Janeway’s interactions with Seven. Janeway’s initial stand on helping the Hirogen is odd, more
about the learning than the compassion. When the conversation shifts to saving the member of 8472 she remains dispassionate while Seven is intense. That’s a nice inversion, especially when coupled with Seven’s defense of her own individuality.
Todd is great but after “the Visitor” I wish there had been more to this character. It still isn’t enough to make the Hirogen interesting. There are some dubious (distracting) decisions along the way but overall this was a fun and enthralling episode.
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