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| Neelix experiences a flashback of an alien massacre. |
Original Air Date: Feb. 2, 2000. Teleplay by: Robin Burger. Story by: Brannon Braga. Directed by: Allan Kroeker.
THE PLOT:
Chakotay, Tom Paris, Harry Kim, and Neelix return from an extended mission on The Delta Flyer, having spent two weeks charting planets and collecting dilithium ore. All four are happy to be back. Their relief doesn't last long, though, as they begin suffering traumatic nightmares in which they find themselves in an alien battle.
The Doctor determines that these are not hallucinations, but genuine memories. Worse, they point to the four crewmen having assisted in an alien evacuation - only for the operation to turn into a massacre, with them as full participants!
Could the four actually be guilty? Or is some alien influence at work?
CHARACTERS:
Capt. Janeway: She refuses to take the situation at face value, observing that the crew's memories have been tampered with before. She insists on reviewing the Delta Flyer's logs, retracing each step of the mission until she finds an answer.
Chakotay: Though he's affected by the memories, he keeps it together better than the other members of the mission. When Neelix has a full PTSD episode in the mess hall, he is able to defuse the situation and bring the Talaxian back to reality. He also provides useful assistance to Janeway when she reconstructs their route, even managing to find humor as he recalls a shady space trader who promised a cure for aging only to deliver shoe polish.
Tom Paris: He's initially willing to dismiss his memory as a particularly disturbing nightmare. His flashback shows him being shot in the shoulder - an injury that has somehow left no trace. Despite this, he soon fully believes the events were real, his guilt leading him to lash out B'Elanna when she tries to comfort him.
Neelix: His memory strikes while he's in the mess hall with Naomi Wildman. She lightly burns herself on a boiling pot - prompting a full-blown PTSD flashback, with Neelix grabbing a phaser to "protect" the terrified young girl from the ship's crew while he just sees enemies. Later, wracked with guilt not only at the massacre but also at having frightened Naomi, he asks Seven how she deals with the memories of the things she did when she was part of the Borg Collective.
Harry Kim: I regularly lay into Harry as a character, and with good reason: He's usually as interesting and relatable as plywood. This episode actually makes good use of him, though. He has a panic attack while working inside a Jeffries tube, which prompts a memory of crawling through a narrow tunnel while trying to escape the battle. Garrett Wang is very good here - proving, not for the first time, that Harry could have worked as a character had any consistent effort been made to actually write him well.
THOUGHTS:
Memorial is a good episode, but not because of the attempts to make us wonder whether the characters actually participated in an atrocity. Not to put too fine a point on it, but this is Star Trek: Voyager, arguably the least adventurous Trek series. And it's based on a story idea by Brannon Braga, so it's clear right away that these memories will be from an alien source.
No, what makes the episode work is that the four characters' reactions feel true. Neelix shuts himself away from Naomi, worried that he'll do something to frighten her again. Tom resists B'Elanna's attempts to make him feel better. Harry has an anxiety attack. Chakotay is also disturbed, but he forces himself to hold it together. All of this feels correct for the characters, and all four actors play their scenes well.
I also like the way the flashbacks are utilized. Each of the four sees a fragment of the massacre, but none of them sees the whole. Later, another fragment is experienced by another character - but again, we see just one piece, one viewpoint, one person's story within a messy and horrible situation.
I have issues with the ending. Not only is it very easy to see coming, it also seems as if something additional is needed to make it (and the crew's choice at the end) fully work. However, this is outweighed by several good dramatic scenes and very strong performances.
Overall Rating: 8/10.
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