[7.1/10[ “Prophecy” isn’t boring; I’ll give it that much. From the jump, we’re being attacked by Klingons, and then bunking with Klingons, and sparring with Klingons, and fending off a mutiny by Klingons. As silly as it is that Voyager keeps running into representatives from the Alpha Quadrant like this, the episode knows how to move, which honestly helps a good bit.
It’s also part of the problem. There are a ton of interesting ideas here! What does it mean to have to cohabitate with a culture that doesn't share your norms or values? (They dug into this a little bit just one episode prior in “Repentance”.) How much should you bend the truth in your interpretation of holy texts in the name of doing good for your people? What value can ritual and tradition and a connection to one’s heritage bring to those who may feel disconnected from it?
Most importantly, how much do you give in to something you don’t believe in or agree with for the greater good? The heart of “Prophecy” is the idea that a group of Klingon pilgrims, who’ve sojourned out to the Delta Quadrant to fulfill a scriptural prophecy, believe that B’Elanna’s baby is their messiah. What that means to B’Elanna, how much she’s willing to go along with the Klingon leader’s scheme, and whether the experience might awaken something in her, all raise thorny personal and cultural questions that could fuel the episode.
Strange New Worlds did an episode tackling a similar idea, about how much to allow for religious prophecy and culture differences when dealing with another civilization. And Deep Space Nine got multiple seasons’ worth of tension and meaning out of the, “These people think I’m their messiah, but I don’t necessarily want to be” game. Digging into what that means for B’Elanna in particular, who has a fraught history, to say the least, with Klingon culture and religion, could be a boon for Voyager.
Unfortunately, there’s just no time. No sooner do we run into the Klingons than they’ve destroyed their own ship and are aboard Voyager. No sooner do they arrive than they’re practically worshiping B’Elanna. No sooner does she become an object of adoration than it’s revealed that this is all a scheme by the sect’s leader, Kohlar, to get his people to stop wandering. No sooner does B’Elanna reluctantly agree to participate in that scheme, then Tom gets crosswise with the Klingon dissenter, T’Greth, and they’re duking it out in the holodeck.
No sooner are the two bros mixing it up with blunted bat’leths than it’s revealed that all these Klingons carry a deadly virus. No sooner does B’Elanna get the news that she and her child have been infected with the same than T’Greth stages a mutiny. And no sooner is phaser fire exchanged across Voyager then it turns out the fetus has special stem cells that can cure the Klingon sect of their maladies, and they agree to settle on the ship.
Frankly, you could take any pair of these plot points and build a good episode out of it. Klingons are forced to bunk on Voyager until intercultural tensions become too much and a mutiny breaks out? Could be great! B’Elanna grows closer to Klingon culture only to become wary when she catches an illness that threatens the life of her child? There’s a ton to explore there! Agreeing to help promote a prophecy you don’t believe for pragmatic reasons in only to discover that, in a roundabout way, it comes true? It’s a bit of a cliche, even limited to Star Trek, but you could do plenty with that idea.
But when you try to do all kajillion at once, the result is that every storyline feels underfed. There’s not enough time to really sit with the characters and see them process these experiences in a way that adds meaning to the story, because as soon as you hit one plot point, it’s off to the next. There’s disruptor blasters and fist fights and literal sparks flying to focus on instead!
And that's all before the pretty abominable and unnecessary B-plot in “Prophecy.” For starters, the episode promises us a Bert and Ernie routine between Tuvok and Neelix that we barely get to see! How dare you!
More to the point, I don’t derive a lot of laughs from poor Harry Kim being sexually harassed by a Klingon woman who won’t leave him alone, and the Doctor basically saying, “tough luck, you better go schtup her.” Context is everything, but geeze. Neelix finding Klingons unique and enchanting is worth something, but him playacting at roughing up Harry so he can garner the lust of Ch’Rega is more zany sitcom-level writing. Ethan Phillips plays it all well, but in an episode that's already struggling to find time for its legitimate storytelling, we didn't need a flop-sweat filled interspecies sex comedy in miniature to eat up real estate.
All of this in a shame, because when “Prophecy” isn’t racing from plot point to plot point, or devolving into American Pie-aping nonsense, it has moments that are downright lovely. My favorite scene in the whole damn episode comes when Kohlar asks her to join him in a prayer for the dead. She’s brushed most of this sect’s rigamarole off to this point, but suddenly she mouths along the words to this prayer, and you can see something wash over her: an appreciation, a fulfillment, a connection.
It capitalizes on the good work done in “Barge of the Dead” (and to a lesser extent, Lineage), to show B’Elanna coming to accept the Klingon side of her, and also to make peace with a culture she’s been resistant to up to this point. Becoming a parent, and feeling yourself more a part of that culture, a link in a chain, and getting comfort and meaning from it, is a beautiful thing.
Ultimately, I think that's what “Prophecy” wants to do the most. At the beginning of the episode, B’Elanna is a resistant tolerator of these people and their admiring gaze; by the end, she is bidding them farewell to their new home and hanging Kohlar’s family bat'leth in her home. The journey along the way -- of finding the value in a culture you rebelled from and using your place in it to do good for others -- is a moving one.
Or at least it would be, if the script gave it the time and space it deserved. For all the folderol over “Hey, the prophecy came true in an unorthodox way!” and “Oh no, the Klingons are being unruly somehow!” that makes up the bric-a-brac of the hour, there’s a real and compelling story to be told here. Five of them, frankly. I suppose it’s better to infuse your episode with too many good ideas than too few. Even so, despite the spirit of Klingon fierceness and bluster at play, in my culture (overly analytical nerds), a little more focus and balance remains highly valued.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2024-09-14T18:30:12Z
[7.1/10[ “Prophecy” isn’t boring; I’ll give it that much. From the jump, we’re being attacked by Klingons, and then bunking with Klingons, and sparring with Klingons, and fending off a mutiny by Klingons. As silly as it is that Voyager keeps running into representatives from the Alpha Quadrant like this, the episode knows how to move, which honestly helps a good bit.
It’s also part of the problem. There are a ton of interesting ideas here! What does it mean to have to cohabitate with a culture that doesn't share your norms or values? (They dug into this a little bit just one episode prior in “Repentance”.) How much should you bend the truth in your interpretation of holy texts in the name of doing good for your people? What value can ritual and tradition and a connection to one’s heritage bring to those who may feel disconnected from it?
Most importantly, how much do you give in to something you don’t believe in or agree with for the greater good? The heart of “Prophecy” is the idea that a group of Klingon pilgrims, who’ve sojourned out to the Delta Quadrant to fulfill a scriptural prophecy, believe that B’Elanna’s baby is their messiah. What that means to B’Elanna, how much she’s willing to go along with the Klingon leader’s scheme, and whether the experience might awaken something in her, all raise thorny personal and cultural questions that could fuel the episode.
Strange New Worlds did an episode tackling a similar idea, about how much to allow for religious prophecy and culture differences when dealing with another civilization. And Deep Space Nine got multiple seasons’ worth of tension and meaning out of the, “These people think I’m their messiah, but I don’t necessarily want to be” game. Digging into what that means for B’Elanna in particular, who has a fraught history, to say the least, with Klingon culture and religion, could be a boon for Voyager.
Unfortunately, there’s just no time. No sooner do we run into the Klingons than they’ve destroyed their own ship and are aboard Voyager. No sooner do they arrive than they’re practically worshiping B’Elanna. No sooner does she become an object of adoration than it’s revealed that this is all a scheme by the sect’s leader, Kohlar, to get his people to stop wandering. No sooner does B’Elanna reluctantly agree to participate in that scheme, then Tom gets crosswise with the Klingon dissenter, T’Greth, and they’re duking it out in the holodeck.
No sooner are the two bros mixing it up with blunted bat’leths than it’s revealed that all these Klingons carry a deadly virus. No sooner does B’Elanna get the news that she and her child have been infected with the same than T’Greth stages a mutiny. And no sooner is phaser fire exchanged across Voyager then it turns out the fetus has special stem cells that can cure the Klingon sect of their maladies, and they agree to settle on the ship.
Frankly, you could take any pair of these plot points and build a good episode out of it. Klingons are forced to bunk on Voyager until intercultural tensions become too much and a mutiny breaks out? Could be great! B’Elanna grows closer to Klingon culture only to become wary when she catches an illness that threatens the life of her child? There’s a ton to explore there! Agreeing to help promote a prophecy you don’t believe for pragmatic reasons in only to discover that, in a roundabout way, it comes true? It’s a bit of a cliche, even limited to Star Trek, but you could do plenty with that idea.
But when you try to do all kajillion at once, the result is that every storyline feels underfed. There’s not enough time to really sit with the characters and see them process these experiences in a way that adds meaning to the story, because as soon as you hit one plot point, it’s off to the next. There’s disruptor blasters and fist fights and literal sparks flying to focus on instead!
And that's all before the pretty abominable and unnecessary B-plot in “Prophecy.” For starters, the episode promises us a Bert and Ernie routine between Tuvok and Neelix that we barely get to see! How dare you!
More to the point, I don’t derive a lot of laughs from poor Harry Kim being sexually harassed by a Klingon woman who won’t leave him alone, and the Doctor basically saying, “tough luck, you better go schtup her.” Context is everything, but geeze. Neelix finding Klingons unique and enchanting is worth something, but him playacting at roughing up Harry so he can garner the lust of Ch’Rega is more zany sitcom-level writing. Ethan Phillips plays it all well, but in an episode that's already struggling to find time for its legitimate storytelling, we didn't need a flop-sweat filled interspecies sex comedy in miniature to eat up real estate.
All of this in a shame, because when “Prophecy” isn’t racing from plot point to plot point, or devolving into American Pie-aping nonsense, it has moments that are downright lovely. My favorite scene in the whole damn episode comes when Kohlar asks her to join him in a prayer for the dead. She’s brushed most of this sect’s rigamarole off to this point, but suddenly she mouths along the words to this prayer, and you can see something wash over her: an appreciation, a fulfillment, a connection.
It capitalizes on the good work done in “Barge of the Dead” (and to a lesser extent, Lineage), to show B’Elanna coming to accept the Klingon side of her, and also to make peace with a culture she’s been resistant to up to this point. Becoming a parent, and feeling yourself more a part of that culture, a link in a chain, and getting comfort and meaning from it, is a beautiful thing.
Ultimately, I think that's what “Prophecy” wants to do the most. At the beginning of the episode, B’Elanna is a resistant tolerator of these people and their admiring gaze; by the end, she is bidding them farewell to their new home and hanging Kohlar’s family bat'leth in her home. The journey along the way -- of finding the value in a culture you rebelled from and using your place in it to do good for others -- is a moving one.
Or at least it would be, if the script gave it the time and space it deserved. For all the folderol over “Hey, the prophecy came true in an unorthodox way!” and “Oh no, the Klingons are being unruly somehow!” that makes up the bric-a-brac of the hour, there’s a real and compelling story to be told here. Five of them, frankly. I suppose it’s better to infuse your episode with too many good ideas than too few. Even so, despite the spirit of Klingon fierceness and bluster at play, in my culture (overly analytical nerds), a little more focus and balance remains highly valued.