1.5 — “Phage”

1.5 — “Phage”

Plot: Voyager is searching for a source of dilithium crystals when an alien, in a sneak attack, steals Neelix’s lungs. While attending to Neelix, Kes bonds with the holographic Doctor.

Thoughts: The value of VOY so far is in the character interactions, not in the stories. The absurd “who stole Neelix’s lungs?” plot is like “Spock’s Brain” without the camp value.

The medical story and the mystery story seem weirdly out of sync. Janeway, leading the pursuit, doesn’t seem to know that Neelix’s condition has been stabilized, and so she no longer needs to put the ship at risk in to achieve a hasty rescue. Neelix and the Doctor don’t seem to know that Janeway is making rapid progress running the malefactors to ground, so they should maybe not freak out so much about the future during the first 30 minutes of Neelix’s immobility.

We see Janeway’s testiness emerge more clearly than ever in this episode. She yells, she snaps, and she is quite callous to Neelix about his kitchen project. This is perhaps more realistic that Captain Picard’s preternatural patience.

The best relationship is between Kes and The Doctor. The Doctor remains the most interesting character.

2 out of 5 holographic lungs.

http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Phage_(episode)