1.11 — “State of Flux”
Plot: Voyager encounters a Kazon ship in distress following an accident which it determines was caused by experimenting with unauthorized Federation technology. An investigation reveals that there is a traitor on Voyager who has been secretly trafficking with this outrageously coiffed adversary.
Thoughts: Far better than last week’s episode, this smart, subtly-constructed episode had my full attention.
Let’s get the bad out of the way first. I could forgive anyone for not remembering who the Kazon are. Last seen in the premiere, “Caretaker,” their primary characteristic is having bad hair. Our memory might have been jogged if Kes had reacted, given her long imprisonment with them, but as she is just a background character this week no one thinks to ask her opinion. I personally think the Kazon have as much personality as cardboard cutouts in a shooting gallery. Apparently they also have bad phasers, because Chakotay takes a blast full in the chest and doesn’t even fall unconscious.
The story on board the Voyager is much better. Seska’s mushroom soup rebellion brings us back to thinking about blended crews with thinly papered over divisions. Chakotay is split against himself, his loyalty to the Maquis crew fighting against his Federation training, now forced to question past decisions and prior beliefs.
The traitor plot is a new flavor for Star Trek. Roddenberry would have disallowed such a plot on TNG. I want to say there were occasional villainous crew members on TOS. Remember “Court Martial?” And the near mutiny in “The Galileo Seven?” Seska’s revelation that she and Chakotay were lovers comes as just the right moment. Should we believe her when she says that she fell in love with Chakotay, that his secrets weren’t good enough to be worth the trouble, or is this just more masterful manipulation? Martha Hackett, who didn’t always strike the right chord in previous episodes, is spot on target here. I hope we see more of her (Internet sources say yes!).
Some other great moments must be mentioned–Janeway refusing to be intimidated and threatening the Kazon captain with “unique technologies.” B’Elanna Torres’ jab at Scotty, “When I say tomorrow, I mean tomorrow. I don’t exaggerate.” And Tuvok has a great episode playing the reserved, strangely compassionate but remorseless realist. I love this line: “I have always found you attention span to be adequate.” These are the ingredients of a great episode, and I have renewed hope for the series.
4 of 5 stealthy transporter escapes.
http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/State_of_Flux?title=State_of_Flux
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