Plot – I think there is something of a misconception about early Voyager that I would like to dispel here, as far as I can see. Not all of the content of the first three seasons was rot and Seven of Nine was not the only reason that Voyager deserved any attention. She’s a great character that gave the show a new character focus for a few years but this show already had a ready-made, engaging cast who were perfectly capable of bringing decently written tales to life. Not only that but even though the Kazon have gone down in history as a bit of a misfire, that’s not to say that all the episodes that feature them are appalling. For the record I find Caretaker, State of Flux, Manuveres, Alliances and Basics Part One to all be terrific episodes. Yes, the Kazon do often come across as cut-price Klingons but there was a real effort made to make the stories that feature them into some kind of narrative (it was the only time this really happened on Voyager over a sustained period) and at their best it upped the action content of the show, which made for fun viewing. Alliances is over halfway through the second season of Voyager (a season that has an unfair reputation in my book) and is probably the most competent portrayal of the Kazon (it dares to make them victims rather than villains) and the most interesting step in Voyager’s journey through their narrative.
The episode opens on Voyager under Kazon attack, with manic activity, potential technological disaster and death. It’s certainly an episode that grabs you by the throat from the off.
The negotiations between the Federation and the Kazon were never going to get off the ground because Janeway walks into them with a look of disgust on her face and Cullah was always going to ask for more than he can get.
Character – Fascinating to see the Federation/Maquis debate rear its ugly head in this episode because by this point it felt as though those differences had been long forgotten. I applaud the Janeway/Chakotay conversation at the beginning of the episode with Chakotay suggesting they need more Maquis stance (using their wits, taking a more aggressive stance) and Janeway clinging onto her Federation principles (that of friendship, exploration and diplomacy). One of those approaches is failing the crew at the moment and I’m not surprised that they are vocal about it. I really like the idea of dissent amongst the crew like this because it adds a great deal of suspense to the idea of Voyager’s sustainability in the Delta Quadrant. If they are tearing themselves apart internally then how on earth are they going to deal with threats externally?
Janeway deserves a lot of kudos for daring to consider an alliance. If I were Seska I would be seething with rage because that is exactly what she was suggesting in season one. Chakotay outright asks Janeway is she is doing the best thing for the sake of her crew and she looks physically struck by the suggestion, hence seeking an alliance with a race that might bring stability to the quadrant.
The Janeway/Tuvok scenes were the bedrock of the early seasons and I really missed this relationship when the show essentially became the Janeway and Seven show. The warmth and humour that exists between them is palpable and rather than using him to sit each cast member in front of a candle and meditate, he dishes out some very pertinent advice about the current situation. Lucky, he had an orchid that was going through the same situation as the ship, otherwise he wouldn’t have a Trek-appropriate metaphor to hand.
At this point Voyager is gaining a large number of secondary characters that don’t get a huge amount of focus (like a whole episode) but help to flesh out the Ship. Michael Jonas, Hogan, the Irish engineer whose name I have forgotten. It means for episodes like this there are people who can voice opinions who aren’t complete nobodies. Here Hogan is the loudest anti-Janeway mouthpiece and Jonas begins his traitorous communications with Seska. I like Voyager when there is stuff bubbling below decks like this.
The Kazon scenes might be a bit of a bore (even though Cullah does chew the scenery very well) if it weren’t for Seska, who makes them terrifically watchable. She manipulates Cullah in such a forceful way, using her guile and her sexuality as a weapon.
Great Dialogue: ‘I don’t think we can afford to keep doing business as usual…’ Chakotay throws some cold water in Janeway’s face.
Production – Very, very rarely did Voyager venture into particularly exotic climes (that was something that Enterprise did surprisingly often) and so a trip to a seedy bar with whacko lighting and a sexy dancer is about as far as they are willing to push it. I’ll take what I can get.
Best moment – It’s very clever how this episode explores both the possibility of Janeway forming and alliance with the Kazon and then their more likable enemies. It goes some way to tricking you into thinking that the latter will be the better option before the awesome twist moment when Janeway realises she has been tricked into bringing all the leaders of the Kazon together by the Trabe to massacre them. Voyager went for the action jugular like this far more in its latter years but this has real impact because it is entirely unexpected. I like how Seska instructs Cullah to use the negotiations to execute the Trabe once and for all because that is what we are looking out for. When the complete opposite happens, I was slack jawed. It leaves an already violent situation in even more disarray.
Worst moment – It’s very odd that we haven’t heard from the Trabe before given their important place in Kazon history.
The final scene rankles because Janeway decides that because this alliance hasn’t worked out that she was right all along and that no alliance will be possible. The ideals of the Federation are paramount and no argument will be allowed. Seek Heil. Even Jeri Taylor regrets putting these words into her mouth.
I wish they hadn’t done that – This is the last time we get any real exploration of the potentially awesome conflict at the heart of this crew. This feels like Jeri Taylor’s attempt to put it to bed once and for all. That’s squandering a wealth of dramatic possibilities. DS9 made better use of the Maquis threat in its Eddington trilogy and that is wrong because the tools were there for Voyager to use throughout its entire run.
A reason to watch this episode again – One of my favourite Jeri Taylor penned Voyager episodes…and it’s a Kazon episode too! There is far more substance here than you have been led to believe by the naysayers, it is a dense episode with a lot of interesting discussion, development and even a shocking twist at the climax. The character work is razor sharp too, with some pertinent questions being asked about Janeway’s command decisions and approach, some lovely scenes with Chakotay and Tuvok and promising arc developments that suggest this show is venturing into serialisation. There’s no real right or wrong here, which is a grey area that DS9 likes to pay about in and it feels pleasingly unusual for Voyager to venture there. It comes back to the central premise of a ship alone and under threat and a crew that are scared and vulnerable. My biggest regret is that this did not lead to any further developments down the line – the ideas of an alliance are touted here and go spectacularly wrong and it is never brought up again. But without this episode then none of these huge ideas would have been brought up at all and that would have been a crime. This is Voyager playing politics and doing it rather well. Only Janeway’s speech at the end mars.
****1/2 out of *****
Clue for tomorrow's episode:
