Janeway and Chakotay are stranded together on a planet for several months, and - unsurprisingly - nothing happens. There was never any serious attempt to give the two of them a romantic relationship through the show, and that was definitely the correct path to take. Here we have a heterosexual man and a woman of similar age stuck together potentially for the rest of their lives, so of course there's going to be some mutual need that develops eventually. But when it's happening on Star Trek: Voyager and you know that everything will be back to normal by the end of the episode, it only feels forced. Add to that the fact that the two of them have no real chemistry together. Hell, Janeway showed more affection towards the monkey than she did Chakotay.
Also, that monkey was supposed to be an alien? It was just a plain old fucking monkey. Somebody behind the scenes was feeling lazy.
Things back on the ship are better. Tuvok is placed in command, and that throws up all sorts of interesting dilemmas because he's a Vulcan. And Vulcan's just don't make very effective captains given their lack of flexibility, so any time we see one in charge there's a good chance that sparks will fly. That comes in the form of Harry who finally gets something to do this season, and it's quite exciting to watch.
Also, WOW, was that actually some continuity from an old episode?! Not only are the events of 'Deadlock' discussed, but Denara Pel returns and is quite a welcome sight, and the Doctor's previous relationship with her pays off.
Overall a repetitive episode that attempted to delve into the characters but only really worked for Harry Kim and Tuvok.
Review by LeftHandedGuitaristBlockedParent2017-11-28T15:42:56Z— updated 2018-02-26T13:25:09Z
Janeway and Chakotay are stranded together on a planet for several months, and - unsurprisingly - nothing happens. There was never any serious attempt to give the two of them a romantic relationship through the show, and that was definitely the correct path to take. Here we have a heterosexual man and a woman of similar age stuck together potentially for the rest of their lives, so of course there's going to be some mutual need that develops eventually. But when it's happening on Star Trek: Voyager and you know that everything will be back to normal by the end of the episode, it only feels forced. Add to that the fact that the two of them have no real chemistry together. Hell, Janeway showed more affection towards the monkey than she did Chakotay.
Also, that monkey was supposed to be an alien? It was just a plain old fucking monkey. Somebody behind the scenes was feeling lazy.
Things back on the ship are better. Tuvok is placed in command, and that throws up all sorts of interesting dilemmas because he's a Vulcan. And Vulcan's just don't make very effective captains given their lack of flexibility, so any time we see one in charge there's a good chance that sparks will fly. That comes in the form of Harry who finally gets something to do this season, and it's quite exciting to watch.
Also, WOW, was that actually some continuity from an old episode?! Not only are the events of 'Deadlock' discussed, but Denara Pel returns and is quite a welcome sight, and the Doctor's previous relationship with her pays off.
Overall a repetitive episode that attempted to delve into the characters but only really worked for Harry Kim and Tuvok.