THE PLOT
Voyager encounters debris from an unmanned ship. Analysis shows that the ship was destroyed by Cardassian weaponry. When Janeway orders further investigation, Torres is shocked to recognize the weapons signature. It belongs to Dreadnought, a Cardassian weapon that she personally reprogrammed two years earlier. She had sent Dreadnought to attack a Cardassian base, but the weapon disappeared. It's now clear that it was caught by the Caretaker before it could reach its destination.
It is on course to an inhabited world, which it has mistaken for its target. Torres beams over to disarm the device. The Dreadnought, however, decides that Torres is acting under Cardassian influence, and takes off at Warp 9. If Voyager can't find a way to stop the weapon from reaching its target, then the cost will be millions of innocent lives, all on Torres' conscience!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Janeway: As soon as it's clear Dreadnought has targeted an inhabited world, Janeway works tirelessly to stop it. She doesn't hesitate to contact the planet to give them time to prepare a defense and an evacuation. Finally, when all options appear exhausted, she determines to destroy Voyager to prevent the weapon from reaching its destination - though she makes sure her crew are evacuated from the ship first.
Torres: Roxann Biggs-Dawson continues to impress, and this time she gets a much better script than was the case in Prototype. From the moment she recognizes Dreadnought, B'Elanna feels immense guilt. She considers that anything that happens from here is here fault, because she made the choice to reprogram the weapon. This lends a note of desperation to her actions, particularly as the episode approaches its climax. There's some genuine tension and cleverness to the scripting as Torres and the Dreadnought computer attempt to outwit each other, and the episode's final minutes are some of the most suspenseful this series has seen to date.
Tom Paris: What I had assumed was simply a minor subplot in Meld actually gets some follow up, as Tom continues to behave in a way that more closely resembles his reputation rather than his normal behavior. At this point, I'm guessing he and Chakotay are collaborating on some kind of undercover scheme. Tom's misbehavior is a little too rapid for me to really put it down to anything else. Besides, every instance we have seen has been minor: a betting pool, arriving a few minutes late and disheveled to a meeting, showing a bad attitude. It's behavior designed to draw attention. In terms of actually doing his job, he continues to perform with his usual competence. A trap for Seska's spy, perhaps? I'm guessing we'll have to wait until the season's end to find out.
THOUGHTS
OK, I think at this point that Voyager's second season is finally recovering from its dismal start. This makes three of the last four episodes that have been substantially above the series' average. After a long period of finding Voyager wanting, I'm starting to feel optimistic again.
I appreciate the recurring threads that appear in this script. Michael Jonas (Raphael Sbarge) continues to surreptitiously work with the Kazon, though he is clearly growing frustrated at being blocked from direct communication with Seska. Voyager's poor reputation in the Delta Quadrant is raised again, with the people of the planet Dreadnought has targeted initially convinced this is an attack by the Federation ship. And, of course, the Tom subplot is emerging as a running element. All of these create a more unified show. The second season has suffered from a feeling that none of the episodes are building to anything, that the series isn't actually going anywhere. These running plots, however, have the potential to fix that problem. As the season nears its end, the show is again starting to seem like it might actually build to something - which is starting to make me interested again, instead of just watching an episode every so often out of sense of duty.
Dreadnought is principally a suspense/action episode. A good one, with a driving pace and an increasing sense of urgency. The script makes sure to let us know how high the stakes are, while Janeway's communications with First Minister Kellan (Dan Kern) on the planet put a likable face to the potential victims of the Dreadnought. It's directed with polish by Levar Burton, who uses varied lighting and close-ups to heighten the most suspenseful dramatic moments.
I do think the episode misses a trick in the ending - Imagine how much of a gut punch it would be to the characters if they had failed. B'Elanna would have suffered devastating guilt, as would Janeway, while Voyager's reputation in the Delta Quadrant would have been dealt an unrecoverable blow. Still, asking Voyager to go to such places is not realistic. This is a very strong episode. I just hope the series is able to continue in this vein, rather than returning to the bland formula that has made up far too much of this season.
Overall Rating: 8/10.
 |
| B'Elanna tries to de-activate the Dreadnought. |
THE PLOT
Voyager encounters debris from an unmanned ship. Analysis shows that the ship was destroyed by Cardassian weaponry. When Janeway orders further investigation, Torres is shocked to recognize the weapons signature. It belongs to Dreadnought, a Cardassian weapon that she personally reprogrammed two years earlier. She had sent Dreadnought to attack a Cardassian base, but the weapon disappeared. It's now clear that it was caught by the Caretaker before it could reach its destination.
It is on course to an inhabited world, which it has mistaken for its target. Torres beams over to disarm the device. The Dreadnought, however, decides that Torres is acting under Cardassian influence, and takes off at Warp 9. If Voyager can't find a way to stop the weapon from reaching its target, then the cost will be millions of innocent lives, all on Torres' conscience!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Janeway: As soon as it's clear Dreadnought has targeted an inhabited world, Janeway works tirelessly to stop it. She doesn't hesitate to contact the planet to give them time to prepare a defense and an evacuation. Finally, when all options appear exhausted, she determines to destroy Voyager to prevent the weapon from reaching its destination - though she makes sure her crew are evacuated from the ship first.
Torres: Roxann Biggs-Dawson continues to impress, and this time she gets a much better script than was the case in Prototype. From the moment she recognizes Dreadnought, B'Elanna feels immense guilt. She considers that anything that happens from here is here fault, because she made the choice to reprogram the weapon. This lends a note of desperation to her actions, particularly as the episode approaches its climax. There's some genuine tension and cleverness to the scripting as Torres and the Dreadnought computer attempt to outwit each other, and the episode's final minutes are some of the most suspenseful this series has seen to date.
Tom Paris: What I had assumed was simply a minor subplot in Meld actually gets some follow up, as Tom continues to behave in a way that more closely resembles his reputation rather than his normal behavior. At this point, I'm guessing he and Chakotay are collaborating on some kind of undercover scheme. Tom's misbehavior is a little too rapid for me to really put it down to anything else. Besides, every instance we have seen has been minor: a betting pool, arriving a few minutes late and disheveled to a meeting, showing a bad attitude. It's behavior designed to draw attention. In terms of actually doing his job, he continues to perform with his usual competence. A trap for Seska's spy, perhaps? I'm guessing we'll have to wait until the season's end to find out.
THOUGHTS
OK, I think at this point that Voyager's second season is finally recovering from its dismal start. This makes three of the last four episodes that have been substantially above the series' average. After a long period of finding Voyager wanting, I'm starting to feel optimistic again.
I appreciate the recurring threads that appear in this script. Michael Jonas (Raphael Sbarge) continues to surreptitiously work with the Kazon, though he is clearly growing frustrated at being blocked from direct communication with Seska. Voyager's poor reputation in the Delta Quadrant is raised again, with the people of the planet Dreadnought has targeted initially convinced this is an attack by the Federation ship. And, of course, the Tom subplot is emerging as a running element. All of these create a more unified show. The second season has suffered from a feeling that none of the episodes are building to anything, that the series isn't actually going anywhere. These running plots, however, have the potential to fix that problem. As the season nears its end, the show is again starting to seem like it might actually build to something - which is starting to make me interested again, instead of just watching an episode every so often out of sense of duty.
Dreadnought is principally a suspense/action episode. A good one, with a driving pace and an increasing sense of urgency. The script makes sure to let us know how high the stakes are, while Janeway's communications with First Minister Kellan (Dan Kern) on the planet put a likable face to the potential victims of the Dreadnought. It's directed with polish by Levar Burton, who uses varied lighting and close-ups to heighten the most suspenseful dramatic moments.
I do think the episode misses a trick in the ending - Imagine how much of a gut punch it would be to the characters if they had failed. B'Elanna would have suffered devastating guilt, as would Janeway, while Voyager's reputation in the Delta Quadrant would have been dealt an unrecoverable blow. Still, asking Voyager to go to such places is not realistic. This is a very strong episode. I just hope the series is able to continue in this vein, rather than returning to the bland formula that has made up far too much of this season.
Overall Rating: 8/10.
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