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| Chakotay is interrogated by Seska (Marth Hackett). |
THE PLOT
A Federation signal lures Voyager into a Kazon ambush. The attack has been meticulously planned. Voyager's shields are pierced to allow a Kazon boarding party to steal transporter technology before using the Starfleet ship's own transporter to escape. The plan was the brainchild of Seska (Martha Hackett), the former Voyager crew member who was revealed to be a Cardassian double-agent, and whose knowledge of Voyager's systems and security has helped to win her a place of influence alongside Culluh (Anthony de Longis), the leader of this Kazon sect.
Janeway cannot allow the transporter technology to remain with the Kazon. Even as Chakotay points out that Seska is leading Voyager into a trap, Janeway resolves to pursue as soon as the damage from the attack is repaired. So Chakotay takes matters into his own hands - stealing a shuttlecraft and pursuing Seska on his own. But Chakotay may not be as good at manipulating Seska as she is at manipulating him...
CHARACTERS
Capt. Janeway: Feels personally hurt by Chakotay's disregard for her authority. Torres manages to ease her anger, but she still expresses her disappointment to Chakotay in surprisingly emotional terms. Her hands remain tied with regard to discipline - as she observes, putting someone on report means little this far from home. But Chakotay assures her that it means something to him, apologizing for letting her down.
Chakotay: Another good episode for Chakotay. A few more like this, and I might stop thinking of him as one of the show's weak links. Chakotay's previous relationship with Seska clouds his judgment, as he makes personal issues that impact the entire ship. He does at least hatch a solid strategy to get the technology away from Seska and the Kazon, but he makes himself their prisoner in the bargain. His scenes opposite Seska show more to Chakotay than we've seen in most previous episodes - and do so with no Native American cliches thrown into the mix, a nice bonus.
Torres: Remains steadfast in her loyalty to Chakotay. In the early parts of the episode, she urges him to remain calm, reminding him that his inner turmoil is exactly what Seska wants. After he steals the shuttlecraft and leaves the ship, Torres pleads his case to Janeway. Her passionate defense does much to quell the captain's anger, without which Janeway might have leaned toward Tuvok's argument to leave Chakotay in Kazon hands.
Tuvok: A group of Kazon are in the midst of a violent, thus far all-too-successful raid on the ship. The Voyager crew not only are armed, but have weapons that will stun a person instead of just killing him. So exactly why does Tuvok warn the Kazon not to move, when he and his team could simply stun them where they stand and then interrogate them later? Oh, right. If Tuvok doesn't behave like an idiot, then he might actually stop the Kazon intrusion. If that happens, then there won't be an episode. That's not even mentioning Tuvok's failure to change any of the ship's security systems after Seska's betrayal was revealed roughly half a season ago! This is a good episode - but I still hate idiot plotting.
Seska: This episode marks the return of Martha Hackett's Seska. One of the most interesting characters from Season One, her previous episode represented one of the few genuine surprises the show has yet thrown our way. She then went all but unmentioned for a very long stretch of time. It is very good to see her back. Maneuvers raises the ante by presenting her off the Voyager leash. With her true identity revealed, she is free to taunt Chakotay and openly manipulate him, even as she manipulates Culluh. Hackett is marvelous, and I hope it's not too long before she appears again.
THOUGHTS
Maneuvers is another good episode, which at this point probably means that the early Season Two slump can be officially declared over. More importantly, it's the first episode in a while to strongly follow up on events of previous episodes. The return of Seska means the return of a lot of backstory that Season Two has mostly ignored up to this point. We get mentions of the Maquis, including an intriguing note by Torres that members of the Maquis often performed operations that would not be acceptable in Starfleet. That's an area this series should feel free to explore.
We also revisit the Kazon. Seska's influence is turning Culluh's Kazon tribe into an effective enemy. Culluh is himself a character with potential. It is clear that Seska is in control in their relationship - but it is clear to him, too, and he doesn't particularly like it. There are a few scenes indicating that Seska isn't entirely safe with him, notably the one in which she picks up on his ire and suddenly becomes very kittenish and submissive. Chakotay tells him flat-out that Seska will eventually kill him. I hope that's followed up on, and I even hope it's followed up in a way that's not entirely predictable.
The episode's effectiveness is blunted by a weak final Act in which Torres Technobabbles something with the transporter and a dampening field. Everything is resolved by transporting through raised shields - something that's been established as impossible in previous Trek series, which seems to have been forgotten here. As compensation, we have Seska's ending message to Chakotay, one which promises another return in which things will be even more personal.
Overall Rating: 7/10.
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