monkee's mini-reviews: Repression
First Impression: A good episode nearly ruined by an abrupt, pat ending.
The Maquis: I like to be reminded that there are Maquis on this ship from time to time. It's a nice nod to the show's roots. And it doesn't bother me that this episode appeared in Season 7, rather than earlier. To me, it makes sense that after an initial period of adjustment, the two crews would merge almost seamlessly. After all, the Maquis' cause was a lifetime away, and both crews had the shared goals of exploration and getting home. Now that they're closer to the Alpha Quadrant, however, and communicating regularly with Starfleet, it makes sense that those differences might crop up again. I was surprised that the Maquis made up such a large percentage of the crew nearly 25%. I enjoyed seeing them all in the meeting with Chakotay, and there were even a few familiar faces Chell ('Learning Curve'), Tabor (Nothing Human'), and was that Ayala that I saw a couple of times? AND, was that a Vulcan woman walking with Chakotay through the corridor? Now that's interesting! (If it was, though, and this is a nit, shouldn't she have been one of the telepathic crewmembers hiding in 'Counterpoint?')
The Vedek: Vedek Teero, the mastermind behind the 'uprising' didn't really have a lot to do, but it was kind of cool to see a Bajoran Vedek again. It brought back fond memories of DS9. And it was interesting to think that the Maquis might actually throw people out of the movement for being too extreme. I find it completely far-fetched that he'd be able to send a message in Starfleet's data stream (I mean really, can't they run the thing through some anti-virus software first?), but I can let that go.
Janeway and Tuvok: This was a fine outing for Tuvok it's always nice to see Tim Russ get a chance to stretch a little. I thought he was outstanding this week. From the very beginning of the episode, he was disturbed and discombobulated. Sure, it was a dead give-away that he was the attacker, but it was still nice acting. His scenes with Mulgrew were particularly good. I love that Janeway is not afraid of him, no matter what frame of mind he's in, and that he always manages not to hurt her. It shows a deep friendship that is very appealing one that we don't get to see enough of. I like the idea that Tuvok has helped her to meditate in the past, and that she tries to help him now. And I love that last shot of the two of them in 3-d glasses.
Continuity: Hooray for continuity! There was continuity built into this episode's very premise, since they were bringing up the Maquis issue again. And they used Maquis that we've already seen at least a few instead of inventing all new ones. And there was even some continuity in the details. Tuvok's musically inclined son was also mentioned in 'Innocence!'
The Clothes: And of course the BEST thing about any Maquis episode is always the clothes. All that leather, all those earth tones! Yum! And I liked Paris and Torres' civvies in the movie theater, too a sexy black tank dress for Torres, and an attractive blue shirt for Paris. Too often in the world of Star Trek, the off-duty attire looks like pajamas, so I like to make note of it when they're actually nice instead.
The Movie Theater: Chicago's 'Old Palace Theater' was wonderful, and it was so like Paris to come up with it. I just love the idea of our crew sitting around an art deco theater watching bad B movies. I even liked the gum.
Character Interactions: See, now I liked Paris and Torres better in this episode. I'm not sure why, since they were still doing 'mushy stuff,' but I think Torres' lines just sounded more like Torres this week. And her complete disregard for her fallen husband (after she came under mind control, and Chakotay shot him) really didn't bother me. In fact, I found it rather amusing, and it was a good indication of how serious the mind control was. What else? Oh, I liked the Harry/Tuvok scene, 'Sure, I've been shooting all the Maquis with my Captain Proton coma-tizer ' And I loved the little interaction between Torres and the extremely paranoid (and consistently in character) Chell. "Could be her " and then, "Oh, please."
The Ending: The ending of this episode came very close to ruining it for me, and that's too bad, because there was a lot to like here. I'll tell you what happened. When Janeway brushed past Chakotay and said 'No more rebellion?' I was convinced that a) the rebellion wasn't over and b) she was onto them, somehow. The rest of the episode had been so tight and suspenseful I was waiting for more! But then I realized that quite a lot of time had gone by, and we were surely approaching the end of the hour and only then, with a sinking feeling, did I understand that THAT WAS IT! As much as I like the notion that Janeway finally got through to her friend Tuvok, it made no sense at all! From complete anguish to complete control just from a few encouraging words from Janeway? Give me a break! I can't begin to tell you how much this sort of thing aggravates me. Why must they always do this wait until the last 4 minutes and tie up everything in the most hideously ridiculous way? It was just awful, and I don't know what they could have done differently, short of making it a two-parter, but they should have thought of something. A story needs an ENDING, for crying out loud, especially a story with so much nice build-up! And it goes without saying that there should be far-reaching repercussions from the events of this week and there won't be. It's such a SHAME! ARGH!
J/C: This is what I mean about far-reaching repercussions. Janeway may know, logically, that Chakotay was not to blame for his actions, but I could certainly understand it if she had a difficult time forgiving and forgetting this. He hurled her into her brig, convincingly spouting off Maquis rhetoric all the way, then tested Tuvok's loyalty by having him fire a phaser at her head. Even though she knew it was Teero, it's going to have to impact the way that she looks at him for a while. I loved the way she shouldered past him after he said "I thought you might like your ship back." And what a LOOK she gave him! And I loved that they didn't sit together at the movies. Of course, I would have loved a follow-up conversation best of all, but alas, I'll never see that. More disturbing, almost, than the mutiny, was Chakotay's bitter-sounding "Maybe someone on your crew couldn't put the past behind them." Her response to that the deathly quiet "MY crew?" was perfect. As the ship gets closer to home, and continues to get the monthly data stream from Starfleet, it will be nice to see Chakotay and Janeway get a little edgy. After all, they just don't know what to expect, from Starfleet or even each other. It may seem strange to some that I actually liked the tension between them this week, but I did. It belonged there.
Janeway Watch: Well, you have to overlook the fact that she commands a ship on which a dozen crewmembers can stage an effective mutiny with so little trouble. It's not HER fault the writers are clueless, after all. Heck that's a worst case scenario that even Tuvok at his most paranoid wouldn't come up with! Still, I hated seeing her being led into the brig so powerless. I know that sometimes you just can't fight and win, but it was depressing. I can only hope that while she was off-screen, she was studiously manipulating any system she could get her hands on in the brig to try to escape. (I also liked that Paris and Kim managed a brief off-screen break-out ). And, to be fair, Chakotay was lucky he caught her just exiting the brig. Might have been a different story if she'd been closer to a key system or a weapons locker. Otherwise, I thought she was fine a concerned and effective Captain initially, a supportive friend to Tuvok, and she was at least trying to fight the rebellion with the only weapon she had words and logic.
Rating: It could have been a contender, but I have to drop it a full point for the horrid ending. Final score 8.0/10.
Next Week: A non-funny Doc episode. Oh dear. Doc is almost as overused as Seven, so I can't say I'm really looking forward to it, but I'll keep an open mind.
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