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| "Mirror, mirror, on the wall..." |
THE PLOT
Tom Paris, B'Elanna, and Crewman Durst (guess what happens to him?) fail to return from an Away Mission. When Chakotay and Tuvok investigate, they discover signs of the Vidiians - the disease-plagued organ harvesters that stole Neelix's lungs and nearly killed him on the ship's first encounter with them.
These Vidiians are running a work camp, using prisoners to perform forced labor they aren't strong enough to do themselves. When the prisoners become too weak to work, they are taken for organ harvesting. As Tom tries to keep his team alive in the caves, B'Elanna finds herself the subject of a Vidiian experiment by the twisted scientist, Sulan (Brian Markinson). She is made fully Klingon, in order to test possible Klingon resistance to the phage. Meanwhile, the leftover human genes are transformed into another B'Elanna - a fully human one!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Janeway: In the background in this episode. She is determined to help her kidnapped people if she can, but is also conscious of the risks of putting further crew members at risk.
Chakotay: Takes the lead in working to recover the kidnapped crew members. When Harry and Tuvok are able to come up with a risky way to potentially beam one person into the Vidiian compound without alerting them, Chakotay insists on being the one to go. All of this shows courage, and continues to demonstrate why Chakotay is a competent leader - but sadly, none of it makes him any more interesting.
Torres: A big spotlight episode for B'Elanna here, as the two sides of her nature are literally split apart. Roxann Biggs-Dawson does well as both the Klingon and the human B'Elanna, though it's as the human version that she shows real complexity. As she has to react to being truly human, suddenly bereft of the Klingon aggressiveness and strength and having to deal with real fear for the first time, Biggs-Dawson gets to play emotions usually denied her. She's terrific, particularly as the human B'Elanna gradually adjusts to the fear and begins to act in spite of it. In the end, she is forced to admit that she feels "incomplete" without the Klingon side of herself, though she still doesn't truly welcome the need for that side to be reintegrated.
Tom Paris: Shows courage and competence as a leader on an Away mission. When they are taken captive, he urges Durst to be cautious and not to take unnecessary risks, but also urges vigilance so that they might spot an opportunity when it comes. When the Vidiians come to take Durst, Tom tries to protect the crewman. He also does his best to protect the human B'Elanna, while at the same time listening to her worries at being diminished and providing what encouragement he can. Given that he's basically helpless in this situation - unable to save Durst, unable to protect B'Elanna, and having to be rescued by Chakotay - he conducts himself very well in spite of all that.
Vidiians: Given how successful an episode Phage was, it's no surprise the production team decided to bring the Vidiians back for a return appearance. Their introductory episode highlighted the pathetic state they were left in by the phage, ultimately emphasizing them as victims rather than as villains. Faces does the opposite. They are still driven by the ravages done to them by the disease. But now they are purely exploiters, not sympathetic at all. Using slave labor, then murdering the used up slaves for their organs, these Vidiians are pure evil. It does somewhat reduce their complexity as a race of individuals - there are no signs of decency among these Vidiians, as opposed to the decency displayed by the Vidiians at the end of Phage. Still, that is more than made up for by how genuinely creepy they are, particularly when the Dr. Mengele-like Sulan steps into the light wearing the face of a man he's just murdered.
ZAP THE REDSHIRT!
Durst becomes the first member of the Voyager crew since Caretaker to meet his maker (at least, the first to stay dead afterward). Apparently, Sulan really likes his face - because he decides to claim it as his own, in what may be the most effective Star Trek death reveal ever.
THOUGHTS
Faces is an impressive episode. On one level, it is the closest to an all-out horror episode that Voyager has yet attempted. The creepy atmosphere of the asteroid scenes in Phage is further polished here, with several moments seeming straight out of a Hellraiser film (one of the early, good ones). Director Winrich Kolbe squeezes every drop of atmosphere he can out of the situation, not only dimming the lighting but using different colors of light, along with a few tilted camera angles. Particularly in Sulan's laboratory, the effect often borders on the surreal, and this is one Star Trek episode that I could definitely see giving younger viewers nightmares.
The horrific atmosphere alone would have probably made Faces a solid episode. What makes it special, though, is that it's such a good character piece. This episode takes the fundamental split in B'Elanna Torres' nature and literally dissects that separation. We see the aggressive Klingon Torres, the woman who violently loses her temper but who also will stand by those to whom she is loyal no matter what. We also see the human B'Elanna, who is able to think clearly and plan ahead, but who also feels fear far too keenly. This isn't an original situation, with the split more than slightly recalling "Good Kirk" and "Evil Kirk" in TOS' The Enemy Within. But it's given an interesting spin when the two B'Elannas come together and argue over their differences. The human B'Elanna attempts to deny her Klingon half, while the Klingon simply points out that she saved the human's life, and that the human cannot escape without her help. It's a very good scene, splendidly acted by Roxann Biggs-Dawson.
The episode also offers some good character moments for Tom, and it at least attempts to do the same for Chakotay. Still, this is Biggs-Dawson's show, with everyone else decidedly in support this time out. With the actress rising to the challenge, and a script that holds together rather well and is directed with a maximum of atmosphere, the results are highly memorable. Certainly one of the Top 3 or 4 Voyager episodes to date.
...But is it just me, or did Voyager warp off and leave all the Vidiians' other prisoners to their gruesome fates? "We got our crew members back, so... sucks to be you!"
Overall Rating: 8/10.
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