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| Janeway lets go of her responsibilities. |
THE PLOT
A bug bite on an Earth-like planet has left Janeway and Chakotay with a terminal disease. The Doctor is unable to cure it, but the planet itself has a Plot Filter which eliminates the disease for as long as the two stay on its surface. The Doctor advises contacting the Vidiians, whose medical knowledge could probably cure this, but Janeway refuses to expose the ship to such a risk. Instead, she and Chakotay are left on the planet with supplies and shelter. She puts Tuvok in command, orders him to avoid contact with the Vidiians, and orders Voyager to continue on its journey.
In the weeks that follow, Janeway and Chakotay adjust to life on the planet. Chakotay does so fairly quickly, while Janeway's acceptance of this new life is more gradual. But as time passes, the two become increasingly comfortable with the idea of living the rest of their lives on this single world.
Until Voyager accidentally comes into the proximity of a Vidiian ship, leading to pressure from the crew for Tuvok to violate orders and ask for help finding a cure...
CHARACTERS
Capt. Janeway: Another good performance by Kate Mulgrew. Her Janeway gradually softens through the course of the episode. It happens at a steady enough pace that it's not always noticeable, but by the time she and Chakotay are "rescued," she has stopped being "The Captain." Which makes the contrast of the final scene all the more striking and even poignant, as the brittle captain returns. Enough time passes for Janeway to accept and even begin to embrace the change in her life, which makes the ending not an entirely happy one for her.
Chakotay: For Janeway, he becomes quite literally the only man left on Earth. No wonder a tear runs down her face as the seemingly inevitable asserts itself - She's stuck with a man who can't have anything approximating a serious discussion without telling (or inventing) an "ancient legend of my people." I do think Robert Beltran's trying here, but he still comes across like an animated block of wood. More unfortunate still, he just doesn't have the chemistry with Kate Mulgrew that he had with Martha Hackett's Seska.
Tuvok: His version of The Galileo Seven, as he's put in command and can't quite bridge the gap between his logic and the crew's emotion. Unlike in the classic TOS episode, Tuvok is largely proved right in his initial refusal to contact the Vidiians. It's largely a matter of luck that they escape the trap with anything positive to show for it. Tim Russ, who is probably Season Two's most improved regular, does well with the role, and a nicely-written scene with Kes takes a moment to remember that Tuvok is not truly emotionless, and that Janeway is his friend.
Harry Kim: When Tuvok refuses to violate Janeway's orders and hail the Vidiians, Harry basically throws a tantrum in the middle of the bridge. This would be the same Harry who comes from the version of Voyager that was destroyed while under attack from the Vidiians, the same Harry who witnessed the Vidiians stalking through the ship's corridors zapping and extracting the organs of everyone in their path. I know character continuity isn't this show's strong suit - but this happened all of four episodes ago, and the events (minus any impact on Harry) are even referenced in the script! At least Harry's emotional reactions to Tuvok make him seem human this episode, and make a nice follow-through on the loyalty to Janeway that defined him in The Thaw.
Kes: Unlike Harry, she knows how to approach Tuvok in a way that will at least make him think about his decisions. By approaching him as a sort of daughter figure, she softens him up. When she does address the issue of the Vidiians, she doesn't try to argue with his decison-making. Instead, she points out the need for him to think about the morale of the crew. She gets him to see that the feelings of the crew are important and lets him know that people are waiting for him to speak, but she does not try to tell him what he should say.
THOUGHTS
Resolutions has a lot going for it. Kate Mulgrew is in wonderful form, and seeing Janeway gradually relax away from her command responsibilities is refreshing. I enjoyed the way the ending was played, with Janeway and Chakotay clearly less than enthusiastic to be returned to a world they had already emotionally let go of.
I also have hopes that the Janeway/Chakotay relationship of this episode will be remembered in Season Three. I have no desire to see a relationship subplot between the two (the actors have no romantic chemistry) - but I think there could be some interesting changes to the character dynamic, and would love to see the show explore that at least.
It is also another episode in which things happen because the plot needs them to. For all of Harry's loyalty to Janeway, he is literally the only member of the crew who has seen the ship devastated by the Vidiians. It would be more convincing, and more dramatically interesting, if he was arguing passionately against contacting them. Let B'Elanna or Tom - both of whom also have strong loyalty to Janeway - be the first to push Tuvok, and this would be a more interesting story.
That's not even mentioning the planet's never-explained Disease Immunity. Or the mysterious plasma storm, which hits exactly once in order to force Janeway to let go of her experiments and is barely referenced thereafter. If the plasma storms are a feature of the planet, let there be two or three such storms making life less idyllic and more unpredictable.
Still, this is a Voyager episode, a Jeri Taylor-scripted one at that. One could wish for more nuanced conflict, with some of the crew siding with Tuvok instead of everyone being against him. One could wish for the planet to be less "Garden of Eden" like. But within the confines of what's there, it does work. Performances are good, and there are some strong character scenes involving Janeway, Tuvok, and Kes. We even get a few welcome continuity nods.
It's another episode that could easily have been better and more interesting than it is. But it's still a pretty good show, and continues the improved quality of the last part of the season. It may be just "popcorn entertainment," but at least it is entertaining and absorbing.
Overall Rating: 7/10.
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