Imperfection

DVD, Voyager S7 (Imperfection)

Where was Naomi Wildman in all this? She was always Seven's special friend, so why wasn't she visiting her or there to see off the Borg children, her friends? Maybe she had measles... or perhaps was in the brig for playing a practical joke on Neelix... or, surely it couldn't be... that the writers forgot about her? I never much liked the Borg children, or Icheb for that matter, but it was somehow a little sad to see the kids leave, because they were special to Seven. And Icheb was well used, risking his life for her.

I'm not sure it was advisable for them to do another Borg-centred story right after a two-parter featuring them, and the weakest part was in that attempt to take a dead Borg brain. The alien attackers look like Kazon who've had a haircut, and though the Flyer's escape was daring and fast, the sequence looked heavily CGI, as did that early shot of Voyager and the ship which came to take the Borg children, showing that the computer effects don't always hit the mark even with some amazing sequences in the past.

Thankfully the episode concentrates on what Trek does best: character studies. The interactions between various crewmembers as Seven prepares to die, has plenty of drama, and though you might expect a tragic outcome (set up by the other Borg moving on), it all ends happily, which, sometimes is a good thing. I'm probably forgetting something, but I had the feeling the Delta Flyer went boom-boom, but they must have mentioned a replacement at some time. It's too early to say how this season measures up to the last, as Janeway, the Doctor and Seven are characters the writers usually get right. At least they're getting the usual good stuff flowing, but let's see the other characters shine.

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