Unimatrix Zero, part II

DVD, Voyager S7 (Unimatrix Zero, part II)

There's no hanging about with part two, and the episode is mostly action, though there is also time for some quieter, reflective moments, such as the conversations between Seven and Axum, and the Borg Queen talking to the young boy, and of course Janeway and Seven's little talk at the end (I wonder if all the Doc had to do was put a steaming mug of coffee in front of the Captain for her to turn back into her normal self!).

As usual, the Borg's usage in the series throws up the issue of whether they were de-fanged a bit more each time. I think this is so, mainly for Janeway, Tuvok and Torres' escapades on the cube, but the story is really not about the Borg in the traditional villainous sense, as it is about the real people held captive in their cybernetic bondage. The 'dream' world created was an outgrowing of the concept of freedom, and it's with crushing disappointment that Unimatrix Zero is destroyed at the end. Just think what it would mean to enemies of the Borg to have access to spies within every ship that could report back each regeneration period, not to mention the wrench of Axum and Seven's distance - the entire galaxy between them. In that world they missed a trick because although we get General Kurok, the Klingon leader, we don't really get any other famous Alpha Quadrant races that otherwise wouldn't be likely to appear. Imagine an Andorian, an Orion and a Ferengi (on the other hand, maybe don't - it sounds like the beginning of a joke...).

So another aspect of the Borg is weakened - now it doesn't matter if you're assimiliated, and Janeway makes Picard look like a wimp for having all those problems after his assimilation, but in fact he was violated against his will, and Janeway and co. did it deliberately, so there are significant differences. They managed to throw up a new threat even so, when Tuvok caves in and becomes an enemy agent, so it showed the process was not without risk. I suppose it just doesn't help that people seem to beam on and off Borg ships, outwit them and all that each time, without much consequence. So it was a good thing the 'dream' world bit the dust after all, as it's something bad that came out of dealing with the Borg. We were almost thinking there were no dangers to poking your finger in a hornet's nest now...

Love the bit where the Queen gets angry and on impulse reaches for Janeway only to remember she's a hologram - it shows the Borg are far from perfect in that little gesture. In a way they were a lot more menacing when they were cold, efficient and never spoke. In some ways the Queen has been useful, by giving the Borg a voice, but in others it's another weakness as they seem mere playthings in her hands. It was a nice touch to leave Kurok as a roving mercenary kitted out in a Borg sphere, as you can imagine the adventures he had, but maybe they could have had the two ships travel together for a few episodes and share the adventures. But that would have been too frightening for the writers no doubt!

At first I though Chakotay trusted the hologram of Janeway too easily. This is the hologram sent BY THE BORG. It would have been easy for them to fake it, and okay, so Chakotay twigs the real message, but even so it seemed he accepted her for the real thing without question. I noticed the Doctor seemed to have gotten over his interest in Seven from back in Season Five, but there was still an air of wistful sadness as he spoke to her. And Tom Paris got to sit in the big chair! As an opener for the last season it's pretty good, if not awe-inspiring these days. It tidies up the events of part one as any good two-parter should, while leaving a few things dangling so they could come back to them if need be (but I don't think they did).

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