State of Flux

DVD, Voyager S1 (State of Flux)

Shocker! Seska in double agent shock! Read all about it! It really was an episode to pull the rug from under your feet. Seska as a Cardassian, what a brilliant concept, seeing as they are the polar opposite of the Bajorans she was supposed to be a member of. It added a depth and complexity to the series that gave it something extra, to add a layer over the usual standalone episodes. One of the best things is the way she escapes out of Janeway's grasp at the last minute and a definite statement of intent comes out that they will have to deal with her another time!

It was a positive move to bring back a familiar race from the Delta Quadrant or the area can begin to seem shallow. The Kazon look pretty good and Cullah makes an effective debut. But the episode is really Chakotay's, his disbelief that Seska could be a traitor, hard to bear, but it shows the roots she had formed deep in his and our conciousness. She and Carey are the only two recurring characters seen thus far, so for one of them to so successfully manipulate events... she was a typical Cardassian. Efficient, ruthless and charming. She had always been a dissenting voice, and don't forget it was Seska who had talked them into trading for the Sikarians spatial trajector in the previous episode. She always had that disobedient tone to her, yet she was smart and professional enough to cover herself.

It is funny when Chakotay asks Tuvok if anyone on the Maquis ship was working for it's Captain at all, since the Vulcan was also a spy, and you get a feeling that the animosity over that has dissipated by the episode's end, when they talk together in the mess hall. All the characters are integrated, with Neelix having fun as a guide on the planet, Kes and the EMH discovering the details in sickbay and the others contributing in some way. It's a classic moment when Janeway tells Torres to get something done by the end of the day, and she responds with "no, Captain". Usually the engineer in Trek says their estimate, the Captain tells them to quarter the time, and they agree, but Torres bucks the trend, and it's a kind of in-joke to say that Voyager is different!

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