THE PLOT
Voyager is hailed by the Sikarians, a race renowned in the Delta Quadrant for their hospitality. The Sikarians are "a well-traveled people," and have heard stories about this starship stranded far from home. Gath (Ronald Guttman), their leader, offers the ship an extended vacation on the Sikarian homeworld, an offer which Janeway eagerly accepts.
On Sikarias, Harry catches the eye of Eudana (Yvonne Suthor), a fellow scientist who is enchanted by Harry's story of how the ship came to the Delta Quadrant. Seeking some alone time with Harry, Eudana takes him through a platform to a planet roughly 40,000 light years away. Harry becomes extremely excited once he realizes what has happened. With this technology, they could potentially return home - or at the very least, shave decades off their journey!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Janeway: It would be an understatement to say that I disagree with Janeway's postion about dealing with Jaret (Andrew Hill Newman). Tuvok's position seems the correct one to me: Since Jaret is the one compromising his planet's laws, Janeway is not actually breaking any Starfleet regulations. It may not be fully above-board, but in an emergency situation (which, the light tone of most of this series notwithstanding, Voyager's situation is), it would have to be seen as an acceptable compromise. And I suspect Starfleet would be happy enough with intelligence about the Delta Quadrant to overlook a slight bending of the rules. In the same situation, Kirk or Sisko would barely hesitate, and I suspect even Picard would only spare a moment or two of angst before acting.
That said, Kate Mulgrew's performance is simply outstanding. This is the most emotional we've seen Janeway, and Mulgrew seems to enjoy the opportunity to really show the captain as a full human being. The pleasant flirting she enjoys with Gath early in the episode shows Janeway more relaxed than we've ever seen her. When she wrestles the dilemma of maintaining rigid Starfleet principles, even in the face of a chance to get home, there is genuine anguish in her face and voice. Her fury at Gath, when she realizes he's been manipulating her. The deep personal hurt she feels when the betrayal of her officers comes to light. There are a lot of emotional moments in this script for Janeway, and Mulgrew nails every single one of them, without once sacrificing her character's innate authority. It's great work, up there with some of the best performances by Patrick Stewart or Avery Brooks in their respective series.
Torres: An excellent episode for Roxann Biggs-Dawson, whose B'Elanna really comes to life here. I was happy to see that Torres was reluctant to really join in the conspiracy. She may still identify herself as Maquis, but she has reason to feel loyalty to Janeway. It's good to see that being a factor, as her sense of responsibility to the captain who has placed so much trust in her is tested by her old shipmates. It would have been nice to have had Chakotay in the mix somewhere, so that all of the major Maquis characters were involved in the plot. Then again, post-Parallax, Chakotay has arguably more of a walking mannequin than Harry Kim. Biggs-Dawson does an excellent job showing Torres, torn between loyalty to Janeway and to her desire to get people like Carey (Josh Clark) and Seska (Martha Hackett) back home. Her final confession to Janeway, in which she takes responsibility while refusing to name those who helped her, is a wonderful scene, with outstanding performances by every actor in the room.
Tuvok: Bringing us to the third actor in the room. Tim Russ' Tuvok has been presented as a confidante to Janeway, the person on the ship she most trusts. Yet while people like Tom Paris and Harry Kim retain full loyalty to Janeway (Paris insisting that all information be taken to the captain), Tuvok goes against her orders. He does this with full expectation of losing his Starfleet commission, but he considers the logic of the situation clear.
Voyager is hailed by the Sikarians, a race renowned in the Delta Quadrant for their hospitality. The Sikarians are "a well-traveled people," and have heard stories about this starship stranded far from home. Gath (Ronald Guttman), their leader, offers the ship an extended vacation on the Sikarian homeworld, an offer which Janeway eagerly accepts.
On Sikarias, Harry catches the eye of Eudana (Yvonne Suthor), a fellow scientist who is enchanted by Harry's story of how the ship came to the Delta Quadrant. Seeking some alone time with Harry, Eudana takes him through a platform to a planet roughly 40,000 light years away. Harry becomes extremely excited once he realizes what has happened. With this technology, they could potentially return home - or at the very least, shave decades off their journey!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Janeway: It would be an understatement to say that I disagree with Janeway's postion about dealing with Jaret (Andrew Hill Newman). Tuvok's position seems the correct one to me: Since Jaret is the one compromising his planet's laws, Janeway is not actually breaking any Starfleet regulations. It may not be fully above-board, but in an emergency situation (which, the light tone of most of this series notwithstanding, Voyager's situation is), it would have to be seen as an acceptable compromise. And I suspect Starfleet would be happy enough with intelligence about the Delta Quadrant to overlook a slight bending of the rules. In the same situation, Kirk or Sisko would barely hesitate, and I suspect even Picard would only spare a moment or two of angst before acting.
That said, Kate Mulgrew's performance is simply outstanding. This is the most emotional we've seen Janeway, and Mulgrew seems to enjoy the opportunity to really show the captain as a full human being. The pleasant flirting she enjoys with Gath early in the episode shows Janeway more relaxed than we've ever seen her. When she wrestles the dilemma of maintaining rigid Starfleet principles, even in the face of a chance to get home, there is genuine anguish in her face and voice. Her fury at Gath, when she realizes he's been manipulating her. The deep personal hurt she feels when the betrayal of her officers comes to light. There are a lot of emotional moments in this script for Janeway, and Mulgrew nails every single one of them, without once sacrificing her character's innate authority. It's great work, up there with some of the best performances by Patrick Stewart or Avery Brooks in their respective series.
Torres: An excellent episode for Roxann Biggs-Dawson, whose B'Elanna really comes to life here. I was happy to see that Torres was reluctant to really join in the conspiracy. She may still identify herself as Maquis, but she has reason to feel loyalty to Janeway. It's good to see that being a factor, as her sense of responsibility to the captain who has placed so much trust in her is tested by her old shipmates. It would have been nice to have had Chakotay in the mix somewhere, so that all of the major Maquis characters were involved in the plot. Then again, post-Parallax, Chakotay has arguably more of a walking mannequin than Harry Kim. Biggs-Dawson does an excellent job showing Torres, torn between loyalty to Janeway and to her desire to get people like Carey (Josh Clark) and Seska (Martha Hackett) back home. Her final confession to Janeway, in which she takes responsibility while refusing to name those who helped her, is a wonderful scene, with outstanding performances by every actor in the room.
Tuvok: Bringing us to the third actor in the room. Tim Russ' Tuvok has been presented as a confidante to Janeway, the person on the ship she most trusts. Yet while people like Tom Paris and Harry Kim retain full loyalty to Janeway (Paris insisting that all information be taken to the captain), Tuvok goes against her orders. He does this with full expectation of losing his Starfleet commission, but he considers the logic of the situation clear.
He has dual motivations. He genuinely disagrees with Janeway, feeling that since they aren't actively breaking any Starfleet regulations by dealing with Jaret, that it makes sense to take advantage of what he has to offer. At the same time, he sees Janeway's anguish as she wrestles with this decision, knows how much getting the crew home means to her, and wants to get that chance for her even when she doesn't approve of the method. The final scene between Janeway and Tuvok is probably the episode's best out of many good scenes, as Janeway reprimands Tuvok by observing that logic can be used "to justify anything. That's its power and its flaw," and makes clear to him that he should not use logic to justify disobeying orders ever again.
Harry Kim: Harry, Harry... Give the very pretty girl a good time on Alastria first, then ask her all those questions about the platform. It's not like she'll forget the answers in the meanwhile, and she'll be a whole lot happier. Then again, Harry Kim is the guy who managed to fall out of a gondola in the holodeck. Garrett Wang does better in this episode than previous ones at least, a lot less wooden. His friendship with Tom shows again, when Tom firmly tells Harry to go straight to the captain with Jaret's illicit offer, not giving Seska, Carey, and B'Elanna a chance to pull Harry into their subterfuge.
THOUGHTS
Prime Factors is the first episode since Parallax in which this crew actually feels fragmented. The Maquis officers want to get back home to rejoin the fight, particularly the Bajoran Seska. The Starfleet officers just want to get back to their families. "I have a wife and two kids," Carey complains. "I don't want them to grow up without a father." Faced with the opportunity to get home - or at least, far closer to home than they've been - they are willing to act, even without Janeway's approval.
Which points to one of the reasons this episode works so well. Even though it's the second "Voyager might have a chance to get home" show in ten episodes, it has the crew reacting as people in a genuinely desperate situation should react. Janeway refuses to bend the rules for the technology... but she doesn't do so easily, genuinely wrestling over the decision. Faced with such an opportunity, the crew doesn't simply accept Janeway's orders, with several crew members - including Janeway's closest friend on the ship - acting against her will.
The way the conspiracy builds is extremely well-portrayed. B'Elanna doesn't want to act against Janeway, but Seska and Carey's initial suggestions to examine the problem "theoretically" seem innocent. If Janeway succeeds in gaining the technology, it gets them a head start; if she fails, then there's at least no harm in the exercise. When the offer from Jaret comes, and Janeway's negotiations with Gath fail, it becomes a relatively short step to move from theory to action. And in the face of Seska's worries about the Cardassians and Carey's concerns about his family, it becomes impossible for B'Elanna to stand up for a (fairly dubious) principle over their lives.
Characterization, which is generally this series' weakness, is excellent in this episode. Janeway, Torres, Tuvok, Seska, and Carey all are shown in three dimensions. Even Harry is easier to take than usual, and Tom - though barely in the episode - gets a nice moment with Harry. More scripts like this one, and I'll have to recosider naming Voyager as my least favorite Trek show. Put another way: I may disagree with Janeway here, but at least I can see her position - as opposed to Time and Again, in which her pro-genocidal argument was the stuff of pure nonsense.
A very good episode all around. That said, if there's another "the crew might gain real progress toward home" episode anytime soon, it should be one that at least ends with them having made some progress. There's only so many times they can be presented with chances that turn into nothing before that becomes an exhausted story prospect, and in my opinion the writers are already treading close to that line. It works here because of the character work and performances... but it should be a while before we see it trotted out again.
Overall Rating: 9/10.
Previous Episode: Emanations
Harry Kim: Harry, Harry... Give the very pretty girl a good time on Alastria first, then ask her all those questions about the platform. It's not like she'll forget the answers in the meanwhile, and she'll be a whole lot happier. Then again, Harry Kim is the guy who managed to fall out of a gondola in the holodeck. Garrett Wang does better in this episode than previous ones at least, a lot less wooden. His friendship with Tom shows again, when Tom firmly tells Harry to go straight to the captain with Jaret's illicit offer, not giving Seska, Carey, and B'Elanna a chance to pull Harry into their subterfuge.
THOUGHTS
Prime Factors is the first episode since Parallax in which this crew actually feels fragmented. The Maquis officers want to get back home to rejoin the fight, particularly the Bajoran Seska. The Starfleet officers just want to get back to their families. "I have a wife and two kids," Carey complains. "I don't want them to grow up without a father." Faced with the opportunity to get home - or at least, far closer to home than they've been - they are willing to act, even without Janeway's approval.
Which points to one of the reasons this episode works so well. Even though it's the second "Voyager might have a chance to get home" show in ten episodes, it has the crew reacting as people in a genuinely desperate situation should react. Janeway refuses to bend the rules for the technology... but she doesn't do so easily, genuinely wrestling over the decision. Faced with such an opportunity, the crew doesn't simply accept Janeway's orders, with several crew members - including Janeway's closest friend on the ship - acting against her will.
The way the conspiracy builds is extremely well-portrayed. B'Elanna doesn't want to act against Janeway, but Seska and Carey's initial suggestions to examine the problem "theoretically" seem innocent. If Janeway succeeds in gaining the technology, it gets them a head start; if she fails, then there's at least no harm in the exercise. When the offer from Jaret comes, and Janeway's negotiations with Gath fail, it becomes a relatively short step to move from theory to action. And in the face of Seska's worries about the Cardassians and Carey's concerns about his family, it becomes impossible for B'Elanna to stand up for a (fairly dubious) principle over their lives.
Characterization, which is generally this series' weakness, is excellent in this episode. Janeway, Torres, Tuvok, Seska, and Carey all are shown in three dimensions. Even Harry is easier to take than usual, and Tom - though barely in the episode - gets a nice moment with Harry. More scripts like this one, and I'll have to recosider naming Voyager as my least favorite Trek show. Put another way: I may disagree with Janeway here, but at least I can see her position - as opposed to Time and Again, in which her pro-genocidal argument was the stuff of pure nonsense.
A very good episode all around. That said, if there's another "the crew might gain real progress toward home" episode anytime soon, it should be one that at least ends with them having made some progress. There's only so many times they can be presented with chances that turn into nothing before that becomes an exhausted story prospect, and in my opinion the writers are already treading close to that line. It works here because of the character work and performances... but it should be a while before we see it trotted out again.
Overall Rating: 9/10.
Previous Episode: Emanations
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