My Voyager Rewatch: S4E09

My #StarTrekVoyager rewatch S4E09 “Year of Hell, Part 2”

Here we go. Hiding out in a nebula. Quintessential Star Trek since 1982. But I’m pretty sure the science here is nuts. The gas in a nebula can’t possibly be very dense. Janeway refusing treatment is also nuts.

Red isn’t an idiot though. Paris is “intransigent.” Serving delicacies that have been deleted from time is too ostentatious, but offering to fix Voyager’s timeline is a decent strategy. And now Red explains the obvious for us. He’s palpably smart though and I like that.

There are parallels developing between Janeway’s single-mindedness and Red’s. I’m sure Chakotay is planning something; meanwhile, his discussions with Red about temporal mechanics are fascinating.

There’s a line between brave and self-destructive. Janeway’s crossed it. In a great scene the Doctor, correctly, calls Janeway on her recklessness & Janeway, perfectly, goes all Andrew Jackson on his ass.

There’s probably a freshman comp paper to be written about that watch within the episode’s context. Janeway finding it is a hopeful moment.

There are lots of great little character moments as things unfold with good and even above-average performances from the cast. We learn about Red’s white whale. There were explicit comparisons to Nemo and Bligh. Why not Ahab? Too on point?

The climax is satisfying even if it hinges on being a “Hail Mary.” Happy endings all around are a nice change of pace. Another good episode. Part 2 is maybe even a little stronger than part 1. Few two-parters hold up this well.