It’s been over a year since I thought I’d get this rewatch going again, and nearly a year since I’ve had any significant presence on the interwebs whatsoever. Hopefully it will take this time. Live posts of upcoming episodes on BlueSky (@kolacinski.bsky.social), starting with S1, E6.
My #StarTrekVoyager rewatch S4E03 “Parallax”
We get right into the story; many things happen just in the teaser. Integrating the Maquis into the Starfleet crew is a story that needs to be told. Done right, it should take quite a while. This time we’re focused on B’Elanna.
The “senior officers” include the greenest ensign and the recent parolee. That alone should have taken longer to sort out. Is that what they’re going for by having Neelix and Kes crash the party? It seems sloppy. And Kes’ “good idea” about the hydroponics bay is too obvious.
The B story has potential. Neelix “explains” an event horizon. Somebody needs to buy him a damn dictionary. But the tension surrounding the issue is well-formed. A throwaway line explains why the Doctor seems to have emotions. It doesn’t explain why he’s so caustic, though.
There are many interesting things to explore about the Doctor. Can he grow into the position? Even he doesn’t know, as he literally starts to shrink. Kim’s dismissiveness and Kes asking his name put a fine point on it. A lot is going on in this episode… perhaps too much.
The episode gets better when the B’Elanna & singularity plot lines merge; the focus helps. B’Elanna proves herself and shows some growth along the way. It’s nice that Carey acts like a mensch after being passed over for Chief Engineer, even as Janeway mentions other concerns.
An ultimately decent episode with better-than-expected performances from some of the cast. It’s weakened by trying to address everything. Are they trying to shortcut the drama of merging the crews? The Doctor’s dilemma is one casualty; it’s mainly played for laughs.
#StarTrek #StarTrekVoyager #StarTrekVoyagerRewatch
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