VOY – Repentance

 

Plot – You can’t accuse Repentance of not getting to the point straight away. It is an episode that hits the ground running with the story already well within progress, a ship about to be destroyed, its crew beamed aboard Voyager and a Seven of Nine attacked in sickbay. I wish more Voyager episodes had this kind of succinctness. 

The premise of Voyager being the temporary prison to a number of convicted prisoners that are due to be executed is a strong one, and one where you can immediately see the chance to indulge in the kind of moral debate that Star Trek excels at. Janeway is discomforted by the idea of taking eight men to their deaths but (as ever) sticks by the Prime Directive. Seven is objective about the situation (she doesn’t understand why they would save the life of somebody who is going to be executed) and the Doctor finds the murder of criminals to be barbaric. The ‘favour the victims’ justice system that allows the family of the man murdered to choose what happens to the perpetrator of the crime is barbaric. How could they walk away with anything but a death sentence?

Character – Good grief, an episode that gives Neelix something to do that isn’t perving over his underage girlfriend or forcing the crew to indulge in their culture. This is an ideal use of this character who used to be a bit of a rogue in the past and probably saw the inside of a prison cell or two himself. He’s empathetic and sweet, refusing to accept that somebody is simply good or evil. He knows that there is a story for each of these prisoners and he takes the time to talk to them and try and find out what it is. I really like the scene at the climax where Neelix realises that he has been had and confronts the man he thought he was trying to help. Neelix stops short of saying he is disgusted but it is written all over his face. His empathy was exploited.

Performance – Jeff Kober often plays these disreputable types in television shows and he does a fine job of bringing an element of ambiguity to Iko who often comes across as a psychopath but the episode takes the time to peel away layers and find that things are far more complicated than that. He makes the transition from cold killer to repentant victim swiftly and believably. It must be the kind of acting gig that most actors cry out for, one that really allows them to show their range.

FJ Rio (who has already played a very memorable role on DS9 as Muniz) has a harder job because he is a playing the victim of an unfair legal system. I really liked how he refused to play the part in an obvious way. This is a man who has been hardered by prison life, even if he was innocent and he still seems quite distrustful.

Production – The cells that they create to house the prisoners on Voyager are surprisingly cramped and ugly. It genuinely feels like a prison and the scenes that take place there are harshly lit and unpleasant to look at. For Voyager this is a huge step in a new direction because this show often likes to look pretty and stylish. I could have done with a lot more of this kind of thing – think The Chute.

Best moment – I love it when Janeway gets angry. There’s always fireworks to be had and I don’t think Kate Mulgrew has given a performance quite this passionate for some time.

The conversation between Neelix, Torres and Paris in the mess hall is far more subtle that you might think. Neelix has been investigating the felonious situation and is convinced that the Bantakans are being unfairly mistreated by a system that is convinced they are all criminals. It’s Torres and Paris’ reactions that compel me, because they are happy to believe in the word of law and to accept the ‘truth’ of the situation. As long as it doesn’t affect them, they are happy to overlook the fact that man have been unlawfully convicted. They’re us. It’s easy to judge from afar and dismiss the fate of men that the law has decided are criminals. Using Neelix as an advocate for justice is quite frankly the best use of him in years.

Worst moment – The unfortunate action sequence. That’s Voyager not trusting its audience to watch an issue show and be engaged with the ideas and performance alone. This isn’t an episode of Prison Break, it’s Star Trek.

I wish they hadn’t done that – The nanoprobes are once again being used a s a catch-all plot device. It might be an interesting avenue if it hasn’t been used ad nauseum before.

There’s an interesting angle that this episode takes at the 11th hour regarding Seven fighting for Iko because she is trying make amends for the crimes that she committed as a Borg. It’s beautifully played and well written but it adds another element to the mix of this episode and it is one too many. If that was what this episode was supposed to be about then they should have found a way to explore it much sooner. Personally, I would have given this episode over to Neelix and his investigations and as a exploration of his past, because Seven has been explored to death at this point. Like I said this isn’t bad material (quite the opposite) but it is a very obvious route to go down.

A reason to watch this episode again – It’s a shame that Repentance doesn’t get more attention because it is exactly the sort of episode I would have liked Voyager to have done more of during its run time. A powerful little story featuring Trek morality, and one that allows us to look at the journey home in a completely different way (turning the ship into a prison for prisoners on death row). How interesting would it have been if this had taken place during season four or five and the prisoners had been forced to stay on the ship for the rest of the shows run? The direction and design are surprisingly brutal for Voyager but that doesn’t surprise me with Mike Vejar at the helm. I’m not sure that Repentance is especially likable (which is probably why most people have chosen to forget about it) but it is thoughtful and it has some interesting things to say about capital punishment. Pleasingly it doesn’t force an opinion down the viewers throat, it presents all of the characters and the situation they are in, shows us the different crews’ reactions and then asks you to decide for yourself. I’ve heard the complaint that because this episode puts its premise through a fantasy lens (of course it does, it’s sci-fi) that it guts the situation of reality but you could aim that at pretty much any Star Trek episode (does Far Beyond the Stars becomes any less powerful when it is revealed that it is merely a false vision delivered to Sisko from the Prophets?). The subject matter is dark enough and the morality is ambiguous that this could have been a DS9 episode and I cannot think of a higher compliment. Excellent scenes for Neelix, Seven and Janeway.

***1/2 out of *****