We return to our intrepid roundtable with Ryan kicking off the next discussion point:
Ryan – How did you guys feel about the sci-fi elements they used in this episode? Everything from the holographic lungs to the mirror room and the Phage itself.
Tim – I thought the Phage introduced a pretty interesting dilemma from a plot standpoint. Here you have an alien species that’s inflicted by this disease that requires them to do something that even they think is terrible, but what are they supposed to do? Die off as a species? That doesn’t change the fact that what they were doing (when the needs arose and they couldn’t get corpses) was terrible, but at the very least it created a sympathetic situation.
Ryan – It was, and Janeway’s response to it was pretty gripping, even if the logic didn’t quite work with me.
Tim – To me, at least, Janeway’s reaction to this story was what jarred me the most, in comparison with the first episode. Arguably, the Vidiians were far more sympathetic than the Caretaker, and yet for the most part the only reason she lets them go was purely because nothing else would work as well. Not to keep beating that horse at all.
Ryan – The Caretaker horse? Nonsense if there are spots left to beat, beat away.
Seth – It’s a good point to raise. I think if nothing else, Janeway’s dilemma introduces more concretely the idea that they’re going to have trouble living up to Starfleet’s ideals without that support structure.
Tim – But it made me happy that we have the…well, would it be a deus ex machina? That the Vidiians can do exactly the thing to make most everyone happy by the end?
Ryan – Yeah, for me, that had the exact opposite effect to endearment. If the Voyager’s medical techniques were so primitive and their technology so advanced, the fact that they did just beam out a man’s lungs and leave him for dead in an asteroid makes them seem much more like murderers.
Seth – Yeah, it’s hard to accept that their medical technology is so good but they don’t have any ability to make artificial organs or contain the phage. One has to wonder if they didn’t hit upon the idea of stealing organs and then ignore other avenues because it presented a clear solution. Maybe they thought “We’ll just steal organs for a while to keep going until we have a permanent fix,” and then all their resources ended up in organ stealing.
Tim – That does seem how most bad ideas happen, when you get right down to it.
Seth – Going back to the holographic lungs, I thought that worked surprisingly well. I mean, it shows that the writers are going to be leaning hard on holographic tech, but they kept the disadvantages severe enough to keep things believable (as well as enable that pathos).
Ryan – The Doctor slapping Paris was a nice way to illustrate the “physicality” of holograms. The holographic lungs solution was like the episode’s premise to me: initial incredulity followed by “okay, I think this actually works.”
Tim – It’s something that I could have imagined being a possibility in the future. Especially considering they’d established that the Doctor can pick things up and interact with the physical world around him….
Ryan – True! That fact had gone pretty well unquestioned by me so far.
Seth – It was yet another detail that people who had watched previous Trek series already knew, but had to be established for any new viewers. Considering the pacing issues they’ve had, I think it was smart not to address it until now.
Seth provided another solid point of comparison between the characterization of Janeway and the characterization of Picard:
Seth– What do people think of how often Janeway is going on away missions? This might just be me, since I’ve been watching TNG (where they emphasize that Picard should not be going on away missions as a matter of course and send Riker most of the time), but it strikes me as an intriguing reversion to a more Kirk-esque way of doing things.
Ryan – I did find that interesting. She’s a very take charge captain, much like Kirk, as you mentioned. It’s occurred to me that it might belie some deeper insecurity, either with herself or with the capabilities of her crew. Or maybe it indicates an earlier traumatic experience where her orders sent people on a fatal mission. Though this is reading a lot into it.
Seth – I was thinking it might be a reflection of her being a brilliant scientist who wants to be in the field to make observations first hand
Ryan – That is also a really good reading.
As the discussion wrapped up, Ryan decided to point out the Elephant which was in the room (yet hidden from Tim) this whole time:
Ryan – I hate to make this comparison (she is, in fact, a person) but I can’t help but feel like Kes is the metaphorical puppy of the Voyager group. Her enthusiasm is incredibly endearing and yet, doesn’t she have a lifespan of like 5 or 6 years? Isn’t she just a ticking timebomb counting down to everyone being sad?
Tim – Yeah, you know, I don’t remember her being in the show when I was watching, but that could just be my memory.
Seth – Yeah, she’s all set to be the emotional core of the show, but when they were writing they must have considered that the show would outlive her.
Tim – …wait, was it established in the show that she dies quickly?
Ryan – I believe they mentioned the Ocampa having rather brief lifespans?
Seth – Yeah, it’s what, seven years?
Ryan – Something like that, yeah.
Tim – Oh God. I didn’t…I missed that.
Ryan – Hahaha. See? Sad bomb.
Join us next week for another installment of Roundtable Voyager! We’ll be discussing Star Trek: Voyager s01e06 “The Cloud” if you would like to watch the episode ahead of time and contribute your own thoughts in the comments of this post. We’d love to have you help shape our discussion! Or, if you’re more interested in “Phage”, was there anything you feel we missed, or theories about the episode that you would like to share? Feel free to share your own thoughts in the comments section below!
If you enjoyed this roundtable, please consider donating to Team Acagameia’s Extra Life charity page, where 100% of all funds raised go to support Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.Simply click on the name of the participant you prefer (Dave, Tim, or Seth) and, once at their page, click “Support Me!” All donations are tax deductible and go to support Hurley Children’s Hospital.
This entire season thus far is one circumstance after another showing us that the Federation policies are only as strong as the fleet that backs them up. I have said before, Starfleet is all about peace, yet they scream war as they crank out the most destructive weapons and put them on their ships. Without the Federation firepower,superior Warp Nacel and ship design, and shielding, the Federation policies start to look a lot less secure.
The threat of more Federation ships to help enforce the policies only holds weight if there is another ship to be found.
(via the neutral zone). When you look at it, the Romulans and the Federation are the two most destructive supper powers in the galaxy held in check only by each other and their own mutually assured destruction. In theory the Klingon kill rates pale in comparison to the Federation Romulan war. In one reference 3 million Denobulans alone were killed by orbital attacks.
Out here Janeway has to temper her moral compass and federation policy in order to get her crew home as safely as possible. This is the first instance of Janeway starting to question her actions and if she can look at herself in the mirror after what she needs to do to survive.