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| Staring into the face of perfection: Seven observes the dangerous but remarkable Omega molecule. |
Voyager is stopped dead, all of its control systems shutting down and its displays showing only the Greek letter "omega." The crew is confused, and becomes even more confused when Janeway marches onto the bridge, enters a command code that releases the ship, then orders the crew to hold position and to keep what they have seen confidential.
She locks herself away in her ready room, sending only for Seven of Nine. She asks if the ex-Borg knows of "The Omega Directive." Seven confirms that she does, the knowledge having been assimilated from Starfleet captains and vessels during the Borg assault on Federation space. Seven argues against Janeway's determination to follow the Starfleet directive, but the captain stands firm, insisting that "Omega" is a threat to the entire quadrant and must be destroyed. Seven reluctantly agrees to help prepare a shuttlecraft for this task.
Then Chakotay comes to Janeway, arguing that whatever this classified mission might be, she should make use of the full resources of ship and crew. He makes a good case, and she relents, calling the command staff to the briefing room to reveal what this "Omega Directive" is. The Omega molecule is an artificially engineered substance so unstable that a single molecule did enormous damage to an entire sector of subspace. Ever since, all Starfleet captains have standing orders to destroy any Omega particles their ships detect - a directive that overrides all other orders, including the Prime Directive.
When Voyager reaches the source, Janeway discovers that the situation is worse than she had imagined. A testing facility on the moon of an inhabited planet has been devastated by an explosion, an experiment gone wrong that has resulted in the creation of hundreds of millions of molecules - Enough to potentially rip apart subspace throughout the Delta Quadrant!
CHARACTERS:
Capt. Janeway: Her rigid sense of duty almost leads her into turning this into a suicide mission, her insistence on maintaining secrecy nearly proving her undoing. Fortunately, she recognizes good sense when Chakotay gives her just the right shove at just the right time, and relents enough to accept the help of her command staff. She rejects Seven's request to try to stabilize and study the molecules out of hand. As a scientist, she isn't uninterested in Omega... but she regards it as simply too dangerous to take the risk.
Seven of Nine: For her, attempting to understand Omega isn't really a matter of science - It's more a question of religion. "Omega is infinitely complex, yet harmonious. To the Borg, it represents perfection. I wish to understand that perfection." Seven may no longer be Borg, but her worldview remains shaped by her life with the Borg. Throughout her life, Omega has been - as Janeway puts it - a "Holy Grail," possessing a quality that the Collective itself still only aspires to. Still, she does not actually rebel against Janeway. She resents the captain's demand to destroy Omega, and even observes that she could have gone against Janeway's orders. Throughout the episode, however, she bows to the captain's authority, even managing to go through channels when she believes she has found a way to safely study the molecule.
Chakotay: His most critical scene comes at the halfway mark, when he reminds her that they are cut off from Starfleet, leaving her no backup at all, and that her chances of success will be much greater if she trusts her command crew and draws on the full resources of the ship. As the most spiritual member of the crew, he understands Seven's dilemma, and conveys her arguments about stabilizing the molecules to Janeway - Though he makes sure Seven knows that the captain's orders stand until she says otherwise.
Harry Kim: After Janeway tells Seven to use whatever personnel she needs to prepare Cargo Bay 2 for the Omega particles, Seven conscripts several crew members to act as her "drones," complete with Borg-like designations. When Harry protests, Seven punishes him by giving him a lower designation, leaving him aghast that she's demoted him. He complains to Chakotay, who brushes him off with clear amusement - amusement that we largely share, since this is happening to pitiful, hapless Harry Kim.
THOUGHTS
The Omega Directive is one of the more interesting scripts to come from the pen of writer Lisa Klink, whose Voyager output has been uneven at best. It moves at a strong pace, with very little dead space. It's an ambitious episode, brimming with ideas.
And that's the problem. It has too many ideas. Offered up in this 45 minutes are: a mysterious Starfleet directive that Janeway must keep secret from the crew; a molecule that, in any volume, can devastate the entire Delta Quadrant and render it impossible for the ship to get home; conflict between Janeway and Seven over whether to study or destroy Omega; and the revelation that the Alien Race of the Week is facing massive problems without Omega.
The heart of the episode is obviously meant to be the Janeway/Seven debate. Seven wants to understand this unknowable thing, for reasons both scientific and spiritual. Janeway can sympathize with both desires, but considers it too dangerous. When Janeway refuses to allow Seven to study the molecule at the end, even when Seven appears to have it stabilized, this could and should lead to another argument, one in which Janeway may not seem quite as transparently in the right as she does for the bulk of the show.
But with so many plot threads, there's no room for any real debate between the two characters. They share two scenes of any note prior to the tag - one early in the episode, the other at the climax. Both are good scenes, but with their entire interplay reduced to those two moments, there's no time for their debate to become anything other than Seven protesting before bowing to Janeway's edicts.
More time for developing this could have been made by clearing some clutter. For instance, why does the entire first half of the episode have to focus on Janeway being secretive? It may be dramatic to have her withholding information from the crew, but it doesn't actually serve any purpose in the story. The overall structure would be unaffected if, after unlocking the ship, Janeway had simply called the command crew to the briefing room to tell them what was happening... Thus leaving a lot more time to actually develop the rest of the story.
Also drawing attention away from the Janeway/Seven debate are the Generic Aliens of the Week. There is dramatic potential in their plight. They need the very thing Janeway must destroy, for the welfare of their planet. Of course, it imperils the entire Quadrant, which puts Janeway in the right... But that's cold comfort to a race which may well be doomed because of her actions. This could be powerful stuff... If it was given more than one scene to develop, and led to something (anything) more interesting than yet another round of Voyager being fired on by alien ships that can't really do any damage to it.
In the end, it's a muddle of too many ideas and not enough development of any of them. But I'll admit that it's an entertaining muddle, with some strong character scenes and a fast pace. An excellent episode could have been made out of this. It just required some decisions about what to focus on, and the will to cut away the bits that were extraneous to that.
Overall Rating: 5/10.
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