[7.4/10] I remembered liking Seska, but I didn’t remember why. Revisiting the show, I think it’s because her motivations are complicated. In a series where everything between the Starfleet officers and Maquis rebels is practically hunky dory from the jump, she bears genuine, legitimate resentment against Janeway for stranding them all in the Delta Quadrant, and she isn’t afraid to say so. In contrast to Federation citizens who populate the ship, she has a Cardassian view of things and is baffled and aghast at Starfleet nobility standing in the way of practical realities. And despite all that, she seems to genuinely love Chakotay, and to have forged personal connections with some of her fellow crew members.
That is the stuff interesting antagonists are made of. Genuine philosophical differences. Unique personal motivations. Complicating ties between different characters. It’s the sort of thing we didn’t see enough of on Voyager, and the kind that makes me glad this isn’t the last we’ll see of the Cardassian-turned-Maquis-turned-Starfleet officer-turned-turncoat.
So why didn’t the episode, centered on revealing her true intentions, warrant a higher grade from yours truly. Well there’s two reasons, one unfair, and one unfortunate.
The unfair one is that “State of Flux” is a whodunnit where I already know the “who”. It’s not Star Trek: Voyager’s fault that I watched the show when it was airing and remembered what Seska’s deal is. But it does make an outing like this one, which hinges on whether or not she’s the one who slipped the Kazon some Federation technology and what her true nature is, seem a little inert when you know the answer.
So much of the intrigue here is built around the mystery. Is Seska telling the truth? How about Lt. Carey? What caused the unique sci-fi explosion on a Kazon ship? What’s the deal with Seska’s blood? Etc. etc. etc. On an intellectual level, I can appreciate the hints “State of Flux” drops along the way, and how the script does a solid job of pulling the audience back and forth across the “Did She?/Didn’t She” meter. But when you know the solution, there’s just not as much oomph to an episode founded on suspense and surprise.
The unfortunate one is that, god bless him, Robert Beltran just isn’t very good as Chakotay here. What should elevate an installment like this one, even when you know the spoilers, is the character stakes involved. Even if we know Seska’s secrets, Chakotay’s tough dilemma over whether to trust someone he cares for or give into the senior officers’ justified suspicions, his inner turmoil over realizing too many people he thought were allies had hidden agendas, ought to carry the hour.
The script does its best to convey these things and root the story in his perspective. But Beltran just isn’t up to it. He is too stilted, too staid, too wooden in the episode. His stiff approach makes these shocking revelations come off like a mild irritation. You never get the sense of him being tortured over this, of his sense of self and friendships being rocked by the revelations. It’s on the page, but not the performance, which dampens the ability of the episode’s emotional thrust to succeed.
The good news is that Martha Hackett makes up for it as Seska. I’ll admit, the moment when Chakotay confronts her about the results from her blood test gave me pause. Her explanation that she had a Bajoran blood disease and received a Cardassian bone marrow donation, her shock and dismay that Chakotay would think ill of her, her protest that “You’re not worth spying on,” her sense of distress over the whole situation -- I halfway bought it. I knew Seska was one of the show’s villains, and I still bought it! I started to wonder if I’d remembered something wrong, and she actually didn’t know about her genetic transformation or something along those lines. It’s the sign of a good performance.
Beyond that, the elements outside the mystery plot are strong here too. I like the political angle with Janeway. Neelix warns her off of a particularly violent sect of the Kazon. She tries to render aid and forge an alliance anyway. Her altruism is repaid with the visiting Kazon dignitaries killing their countryman in Voyager’s sickbay and threats from warships if the Starfleet vessel doesn’t shove off. The crux of this episode is Seska’s critique of how Janeway’s approach to relations in the Delta Quadrant, and these exchanges reveal the ups and downs of it.
It’s also nice to see some of the less senior officers show their stuff. B’Elanna is by far not the focus of the episode, but I appreciate her clarification with the captain that when she gives a time for repair, she’s not spinning a Scotty-style “miracle worker” reputation, but providing an accurate estimate of the time she’ll need. The fact that she gets things done exactly on that schedule, if not sooner, is a nice win for the budding chief engineer. Likewise, I’m glad to see that Tuvok’s detective skills remain a feature in the early going here, as he’s able to smoke out Seska with a well-baited trap. Plus his line -- “Don’t mistake composure for ease” -- is an all-timer.
It’s when the trap is sprung and the scales fall that the real excitement happens. Seska’s criticisms are valid, if myopic. It would be understandably maddening for plenty of folks, be they Cardassian subjects or Federation citizens, to be stuck seventy light years from home out of a desire not to disrupt the balance of power in a species and quadrant they barely know. Frankly, it’s frustrating that there’s not more internal questioning about Janeway’s call, even if it’s the right thing to do.
Hearing Seska challenge the decisions made aboard the ship, question whether Voyager should resort to more realpolitik in an area where they’re ignorant and vulnerable, is honestly refreshing. Her complaints are one of the few times the show actually capitalizes on the internal conflicts practically guaranteed by its premise. The fact that she gets away, evades any arrest or punishment on the ship, only enhances her criticisms that a Starfleet crew is naive and overmatched in these unfamiliar environs.
And despite my beefs with Beltran’s performance, the script does well to engage with how shaken Chakotay would be by the reveal that another person he thought he could trust has betrayed him. His line of “Was anyone working for me?” is funny, but also kind of sad. Who wouldn’t question their own judgment if it turned out two of their most senior allies were actually spies for the other side? The commander’s conversation with Tuvok at the end is a highlight, one of reassurance that his judgment wasn’t especially flawed, paired with the realization that it’s hard to truly know someone, even someone who seems to love you.
That love helps make Seska one of the most interesting characters in Voyager’s early seasons. My overall complaint about this era of the show is that all too often it glides over the rough edges that would come from two crews, opposed in their worldviews, being forced to work together when thrown seventy years’ journey from home. Seska is one of the few counterweights to that criticism, someone whose perspective challenges and complicates the vantage point and principles we know, even when the show struggles to capitalize on that.`
Quote of the day
Captain: How long will it take to set this up?
Chief engineer: [...] by tomorrow.
Captain: I want it done by the end of the day.
Chief engineer: No captain. When I say tomorrow, I mean tomorrow.
Finally. Someone said it. Scotty, Geordie, Miles - they never had the guts to say the obvious. This silly running joke had to stop eventually.
One remark about Tuvok: last episode Tuvok won some depth as his logic made him clandestinely aquire this teleportation device. Good. But in general it's hard to like Vulcans. This includes Tuvok. Tuvok is really only interesting when he starts to investigate crimes or conundrums and uses his logic to lay out alternatives. He could be sort of a Sherlock with pointy ears but this show never really capitalized on this natural character trait (well, not until Seven came into the picture and took over this part). If they had not this big reset button after each episode, Tuvok would of course had included himself as a suspect since he has proven that he's open to that sort of illicit give and take bargains. Given all what happens in this episode and what happened last episode, tensions and mistrust among the crew should rise. But the show isn't "Dark Star Trek" (a term coined for DS9) - everybody always behaves well and controlled and is one happy crew. And when there's a traitor - like in this episode - that's mostly depicted as a conflict between two former Marquis members. If there's never serious conflict between both groups what's the whole point then of the whole Marquis story element?
That's a mediocre episode. It had potential but it never was existential, consequential or contributed to a season regular's depth or character (betrayed Chakotay couldn't care less). The only person that gained depth, got an intriguing (but not new - compare that Kira Nerys story of DS9) background story as a Cardassian in disguise and a secret love affair with a senior officer - that would be Seska - beamed off the board. Just like that.
Plus, who thought it was a good to model the Kazon Nistrim after Bob Marley?
The first truly "Spicy" episode of Voyager. Delightful! 'Twas also delightful to see recognisable food going by alien designations - the "poisonous" Mammy Apple ensign Cary found and "crunchy" Ginger roots they dug from the ground reminded me of home! Got a good chuckle out of that.
This episode began an arch that I really learned to hate down the road because it became so ridiculous.
Now, the idea of a collaborateur on board Voyager was only natural. And the suspects we were presented with did made sense. They both had motive. Nevertheless the episode is at best average. Since it was so early and the culprit was at this time a secondary character there was little weight in the betrayal. The fact that Seska is indeed a Cardassian would have made more sense over at DS9. Here it doesn't add anything. In fact It would have been more dramatic had she been Bajoran because - let's face it - knowing Star Trek lore you can't be surprised by the actions from a Cardassian. And Chakotay, who behaves like a love-struck teenager, had more than one eye rolling scene. And why all of a sudden reveal a romance between them just now where it was nothing more than a tool to add drama.
Finally the Kazon were never a good enemy, they are not intimidating by any means.
Review by LeftHandedGuitaristBlockedParent2017-09-24T11:28:32Z
Again, this shows the potential that Voyager had. The divide between the Starfleet and Maquis crews should have been a big issue throughout the entire series, because it lead to really enjoyable stories like this.
To be fair, there's a lot going on here. And it also makes a big difference that the story is centred around a character as good as Seska. She's been more interesting than any of the main characters since she first appeared, and the reveal we get about her here is a real knockout that feels like its been earned. I'm almost sad that I remembered this was coming because I think it would have really taken me by surprise. My only real complaint is that maybe it came a bit too early in the season.
It's a shame that the Kazon are such crap bad guys. I wondered if I had missed something when both Janeway and Tuvok recognised the Kazon-Nistrim ship, since we haven't seen them since the pilot, but I guess that Neelix gave them some information since then. It also really highlights what a weak character Chakotay is; he goes through this horrible emotional crisis and has his self-belief shaken but barely any of it comes through. It's so hard to care about him. He's Commander Bland. He also gets the award for most cliched line delivery with, "the only thing I don't understand is... [dramatic pause] why?"
Janeway, on the other hand, is really intimidating throughout.