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| Kes and Neelix face a difficult choice. |
THE PLOT
Voyager encounters a swarm of protozoa-like creatures, swimming around in space. The ship moves in closer to study the phenomenon... only to find itself pulled into the mass of creatures, which seem to be attracted by the ship.
Meanwhile, through reasons never adequately addressed by the story, the creatures' proximity sparks a premature change in Kes. She enters the Elogium, the Ocampan mating cycle. There's a big catch: the mating cycle only happens once in a lifetime. If Kes doesn't have a child now, she will never be able to have one again!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Janeway: When Chakotay brings the issue of fraternization directly to Janeway, the captain finds herself mulling a thought that's probably been in her mind for a while. With a potential 70-year voyage in front of them, they may need to consider Voyager as a "generation ship." Janeway acknowledges to Chakotay that she fully expects the crew to "pair off" at some point. She exempts herself from that, but she does spare a moment to flirt with her first officer. Her dedication to not harming the space creatures is admirable at first, but passes into directly endangering the ship by the end. Someone really should point out to her that there's a line between respect for other life forms and simple pragmatism. Picard would have pulled the trigger a good twenty minutes before Janeway even starts contemplating doing so. Nevermind Kirk or Sisko, who would have probably blasted the creatures as soon as they presented an inconvenience.
Kes: Though Elogium is not a great episode, it is great to see an episode give some focus to Kes. Jennifer Lien seems to enjoy getting a full role here. Her ability to make the most of small scenes doesn't diminish when carrying a large portion of an episode, and her interactions with Neelix and her expression of doubt to the Doctor are both effectively portrayed.
Neelix: Continues to exhibit an irrational jealousy, which may become a self-fulfilling prophecy. If he continues to treat Kes the way he does in the teaser of this episode, how long will it take for him to actually drive her away? When presented with Kes' Elogium, Neelix behaves exactly as expected: He freaks out. In fairness, being told you have to decide whether or not to have a child right now would make any reasonable person do the same. But it's Neelix, so it's still annoying. Particularly after his jealousy at the top of the episode and his hysteria opposite the Doctor and then opposite Janeway right after. The writers really need to stop portraying him as a cartoon. If given a real character to play, Ethan Phillips can deliver the goods, but no one could play this role as written and make Neelix anything but annoying.
The Doctor: Doesn't even attempt to hide his disgust with Neelix when the latter relentlessly interferes with his attempts to treat Kes. It's nice to see one of the regulars able to lose his temper in a believable fashion. It's an irony that the most human character on the show is a hologram. Gets a nice scene with Kes in which she asks him for advice, as a daughter might a father. He is visibly flustered, but listens as she voices her own doubts. The scene gets a terrific end note when, instead of attempting a reply, the Doctor simply gives her a compassionate smile and places a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
Tuvok: Has a very good scene opposite Neelix. As Neelix discusses his doubts about fatherhood, Tuvok reveals that he has four children: three sons and one daughter. He tells Neelix that his children "occupy a significant portion of (his) thoughts, now more than ever," and that he wishes he were there to provide guidance to his daughter. Tuvok discusses the rewards of fatherhood, though he cautions that it is "overwhelming" and that if Neelix has serious doubts, then he is probably best advised not to enter into it. Tim Russ backs off his occasionally robotic Tuvok to show a hint of sadness, the separation the Vulcan must endure at this forced break from his family. More performances pitched at this level would be very welcome.
THOUGHTS
The ship is pulled by a swarm of strange life-forms in outer space, life forms which emit a field that affects one of the regulars. Hmmm... co-writer Jeri Taylor appears to have recycled one of early TNG episodes. In my review of TNG's The Loss, I commented that the episode seemed less like it belonged to that show and more like it belonged to Voyager. I would guess that Ms. Taylor and co-writer Kenneth Biller agreed.
I enjoyed Elogium a lot better than I did The Loss, in part because I find Kes more convincing and sympathetic a character than TNG's Troi. Also, this episode actually does a pretty good job with the character work. Kes' reactions feel convincing in-context, and Jennifer Lien's performance is very good. As is Ethan Phillips'. Neelix is his typical, annoying self, and by this point in the series I would gladly see him thrown out an airlock. But Phillips plays what he's given to the hilt, and both Neelix's doubts about fatherhood and his later enthusiasm are highly believable.
I also appreciated that this episode addresses an issue which frankly should have been addressed much earlier: Namely, that on a voyage of this potential duration, serious thought is going to have to be given to the idea of a future generation on Voyager. This should have happened within the first five episodes (and it is, at the very least, worth noting that this was shot as a Season One episode, where it would have fit much better), but at least it is addressed now. The final scene seems to indicate Janeway accepting the inevitable. Even if she attempted to ban "fraternization," such an order would not (could not) be obeyed long-term by the entire crew. Best not to give such an order to start with.
While the character material mostly works, the episode is dragged down by its recycled "B" plot. The material with the space creatures becoming sexually attracted to Voyager is largely dire, some decent effects notwithstanding. B'Elanna ends up being the only sensible one on the bridge. At the point at which the creatures are endangering the ship, self-defense is not an unreasonable option. By the time Tuvok and Paris are chiming in to agree with B'Elanna with Janeway still resisting, I was half-expecting a full-blown mutiny on the Voyager!
And of course, for no reasons that the writers ever even attempt to Technobabble away, the ending wipes away Kes' Elogium and magically makes it a "false" one, meaning that she can still have children later in life and that this entire story has no consequences. How very... Voyager of the script to do that.
Ultimately, though, it's watchable filler, with some good character scenes for Kes, Tuvok, and even Neelix. It very clearly belongs in Season One and never should have been moved back. That aside, this isn't really bad. Just... very expendable.
Overall Rating: 5/10.
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