VOY – Drone

 

Plot – We’re seeing the Seven of Nine story play out in a microcosm but this time she is the mentor and an innocent drone is the character we are studying. It has no right to be as affecting as it is but in 45 minutes they achieve the impossible. You fall for this character and want him to stick around, knowing that he won’t. The moment the Borg are summoned and One starts asking questions about the Hive and wanting to experience it, there is a sinking feeling that this episode is not going to end well for Seven.

Character – You’re essentially on the right track if the episode begins with Seven of Nine attempting to smile at her reflection and throwing an acidic barb when the Doctor enters the room. This is going to be about the freshest addition of the crew, and probably, realistically the most interesting one too.

Watch Drone very carefully. There’s no one character that is letting the side down. Each of the Voyager regulars is being written to their strengths. The Doctor is obsessed with photography and annoying the hell out of everybody (and proves to be a peeping Tom in Torres’ shower), Janeway is deeply suspicious of the Borg baby and enjoys some tense scenes with Seven, Torres takes the piss out of Neelix in the most spectacular of ways (see Great Dialogue) and Neelix attempting to integrate One is both sweet and a little irritating. I love how Torres is the most vocal and unsure about a new drone on the ship but she becomes the person that Seven opens up to and leans on for help. Their fractious but developing working relationship is low key one of my favourite things about Voyager.

Janeway is a scientist and somebody who embraces humanity. Those are two the reasons I believe she forced Seven (whether that was the right call or not) to regain her humanity and that is why she refuses to pull the plug on the Borg baby that is being grown in this episode. To see Janeway as a child murderer would have been bold for all the wrong reasons. Her role as a scientist is first and foremost through much of this shows run and she and Seven are as curious about this accidental experiment as each other. She’s smart enough to be sensible and take security precautions. But you can see the lust for information in her eyes. She admits that there were crewmembers that were anxious about having a Borg crewmember when Seven was first extracted from the Hive. I’m often critical of Janeway’s inconsistent management style on this show but this is a very responsible take on the character, and one I can entirely buy into.

Performance – Boehmer plays One with a real sense of innocence and charm, but without ever making it seem as though he is trying to play innocence or charm. It’s his lack of guile and pretence that appeals (the scene where he steps into the alcove is hilarious).. He states things exactly as they are. The moment he asked Janeway if he was sufficient my heart went out to him. It is like a child asking his mother if he is good enough. I have seen actors play roles in multiple episodes in Voyager (Cullah, Icheb) that haven’t made half of the impact that Boehmer does in 20 minutes of Drone. I would have loved for him to stick around and to watch this relationship with Seven develop but this show wasn’t invested in long term character arcs at the time. A shame because they decided to go down that route (to a lessen extent I’m afraid to say) in season six with the Borg kids.

Great Dialogue – ‘You must comply. You are hurting me,’ is a piece of dialogue that is repeated twice with very different emphasis each time. I don’t usually praise Voyager for its dialogue but this is great example of repeated phraseology with an emotional kick. The first time One is physically hurting Seven, the second he is breaking her heart. How Ryan delivers that line in the climax is one of Voyager’s emotional highs, or Seven’s emotional lows. It gives me goosebumps.

‘It will become whatever we help it to become’ ‘How Starfleet of you.’

Production – It’s worth talking about the direction of Les Landau, which is extremely good in this episode, because he has been on an incredible journey with the rebooted Trek franchise to this point. He was first assistant director in episodes as early as Encounter at Farpoint but the moment he started directed episodes himself he was delivering pieces as good as The Survivors, Deja Q and Sarek, which are absolute belters. Continuing through TNG he gave us Family, Ensign Ro, Chain of Command part II, Tapestry before moving onto DS9 and tackling some of the best character dramas that that series put out; Progress, The Forsaken, Whispers, The House of Quark, Accession. Just with those episodes named above (and there are more, trust me) Landau has brought to life some of the most memorable moments in the Trek canon. This a man who knows what he is doing and can deliver excellent work under the extreme conditions of the Berman era. Drone features some stunning, creepy imagery as the Bog child is being created (especially the freaky shot of the baby in the maturation chamber and the POV shot of the baby looking out at Janeway and co), and some fierce camera work once it has been activated to show Tuvok and his security team hunting it down. He remembers to give the actors their space because this is a character drama first so the impressive camera trickery calms down and pulls in close as we start to explore the Seven/One relationship. Landau also directed Counterpoint this season, and that ranks in my top five Voyager episodes of all time. He’s a master of his craft in terms of technicality but he can also work extremely well with and get the best out of his actors.

Best moment – The beautiful endorsement of the entire previous season of Voyager where Seven confesses to One that ‘Voyager us my collective.’ That is a very satisfying moment.

I wish they hadn’t done that – I always complained in later seasons that a Borg Cube (or Sphere) turned up in every other episode to add some excitement but it is absolutely vital in Drone to prove whether One can be trusted or not. And an exciting set piece to boot.

A reason to watch this episode again – Something happened in season five of Voyager that I just can’t put my finger on. The show was touched by magic for those 26 episodes and for what I consider its only real complete success as a season with more than the regular number of absolute stunners. Seven had integrated beautifully into the cast, there was an attempt to tell bigger, bolder episodes, the cast was really gelling well and the duds (of course there are duds, this is still Voyager) were ambitious failures rather than simply not trying to put out anything of worth. Drone comes after a character filled opening episode and it too takes the heavy character approach; being as brave as to give Seven a son who grows to maturity in 45 minutes and then dies before her eyes. That’s something you can only do in a science fiction series but just because it is Star Trek that doesn’t guarantee that a premise as mad and as tragic as this is going to work. Remember TNG’s The Child? I’d suggest DS9’s The Abandoned struggled in places too. What Drone gets so right is Seven’s intense relationship with the Drone; from rejecting him outright, to wanting to help him, to developing parental feelings for him and suffering her first real loss since regaining her humanity. That’s helped along by J. Paul Boehmer’s staggeringly good performance as One, who proves to be completely different to Hugh from TNG with much more depth and a constant question of whether he can be trusted or not.  Any chance to let Jeri Ryan emote is a worthwhile exercise but this has the weight of the Borg experience behind it, some stunning moments with Janeway (Mulgrew and Ryan were still at odds at this point and their scenes sizzle as a result) and a climax that really makes you feel. If Voyager’s entire run was as visually arresting, characterful and genuinely affecting as this I think I would be declaring it the best Star Trek show. That it can reach these heights proves that it had that potential all along.

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