Darkling

DVD, Voyager S3 (Darkling)

All about Kessing or Dr. Doctor and Mr. Doctor, that's the question? In other words are we dealing with a bona fide Kes growing up story, or the Doc and his evil personality? It's difficult to draw the line as we usually get a definite 'A' story and a lesser 'B' story, but both characters experience about equal exposure. The Doc, despite having received his ultimate springboard in the mobile emitter, still hadn't risen to take upon himself the stardom of the series as one of three characters that got the best stuff, and Kes, never a star figure, had been used pretty well in the season as a whole, but hadn't been overused to any degree, particularly in recent episodes, so it's a joy that both of these get the spotlight. I've got to make a choice, so I'll go with Kes and discuss her part in the narrative first: ever since 'Warlord' in which she broke out of her childish bounds, the result being her and Neelix no longer the couple on the ship, they'd struggled to come up with a good use for either of them. Previously their function, couched as it was in odd job roles round the ship, had been to meet and discuss life on board and what was happening from an outsider's perspective. It gave us, as viewers, a way in to the drama and adventure that wasn't from a well-versed space mariner of Starfleet, and provided comment on humanity and their way of doing things. The Doc came to lever himself into that role more and more, and with Neelix beyond his knowledge as a guide from 'Fair Trade' onwards, it's no surprise that his and Kes' roles had become a lot less defined than before.

It just shows that if you gave Jennifer Lien some meat in the script, she would sink her teeth into it, and I'm not talking about Kessing the alien wanderer, Zahir. It's interesting that throughout the episode we see the characters closest to her talk or respond to her growing interest in the man, but we never see Neelix. The pair haven't been seen alone together since the split, but it was at least good to hear it had been a definite split rather than leaving us hanging as they had for so many episodes. Maybe they didn't know how they were going to tackle it? Zahir coming on the scene invites Kes to reevaluate her life, reminding us of her criminally short lifespan and that she's a third of the way through it already! She's at least a teen, if not twenties or thirties by this point, demonstrated in her wardrobe which moves away from the innocent pastel shades and into a dark and plush catsuit that just a season ago we could never imagine her wearing. An overt sign of her growing up, if her talk with Captain Janeway in which she admits she's not sure she wants to spend the rest of her short life on Voyager, wasn't enough. And when she's practically won over to Zahir's idea for a private voyage to another area of space, in the full bloom of romance she's seen to be wearing a joyous red outfit. It's also notable that after the events of the episode where she makes the decision to stay with those she knows at a time when she's changing, she goes back to the muted, but daring material and colour of before.

It's still difficult at this point, perhaps because of so much hindsight on how the series progressed, to see where Kes was going to fit in now, especially after expressing the need for more excitement in her life - what, is Voyager's journey into unknown space, meeting unknown cultures, dealing with dangerous species, revealing the wonders of the galaxy on their adventure, not enough to satisfy? But then Kes was from a race of people eager to explore, never satisfied with the same old (I'm talking about her people's true sense, not suffocated by the Kazon and Caretaker), and unsurprising when you consider that nine years is all they got. It probably made them appreciate the new more and want to live each day to the fullest "because it'll never come again,'" to use Picard's words in 'Generations.' "I don't know sir, I plan to live forever," replies Riker. I think he was joking (unless he was considering the unending marketing empire Trek has spawned), but for Kes it proves to be less of a joke, more of a lifestyle choice. But we haven't got to 'The Gift' yet, and this could be seen as another pointer to future events, just as 'Unity' was prophetic in mentioning the possibility of a race that could destroy the Borg. Infatuation with a dashing space buccaneer could have been a natural point for Kes' departure, but I'm glad that when she did go it had more meaning.

Having seen this episode many times before, it being one of the videos I had, it's easy to become jaded by the concept at the heart of the story - that of the Doctor developing a dark side that becomes a personality in its own right and takes over. You know what's going to happen so you're waiting for it, although unlike the similar story 'The Passenger' on 'DS9,' in which Bashir is the evil bad guy, we're not left guessing for long who's who. I wouldn't have minded a bit more mystery (like the much later Tuvok story, 'Repression'), but it's not fully concentrated on the EMH, as I said. They've certainly had good use out of the Resort Holodeck program this season! We get to see some recreations of well known figures, including T'Pau, the famous Vulcan from 'TOS' - even after thirty years learning something new about her (that she was ruthless in her application of logic), though it wouldn't be the last we heard of her thanks to 'Enterprise.' It's all due to the Doc's designs on 'improving' his bedside manner, something he's done very successfully before, which makes me think this was purely a vanity project for him - like Kes he wanted change, and grew from it, but unlike Kes who irradiates any scene she's in with an angelic glow of happiness, he becomes the opposite. The story even goes as far as having the opposing points of view in argument, the Doc claiming evil is stronger or has more right to exist, and Kes striking up for the side of compassion and empathy.

The blunt nature of right versus wrong is, in some ways, refreshing on Trek as they often like to dabble with the grey. Undeniably this can be more dramatic, as 'DS9' shows with so many of the rights and wrongs those characters performed, but Kes has always been a pretty pure kind of person, and being faced with such negative feeling really activates her fervour against it. Even then, she has great compassion on the new version of the Doctor, making us genuinely believe that she wants to find a way for him to exist as well, not just to protect herself and the real Doctor. It's this that turns the episode from an okay, slightly dull romantic shuffle-along, into something more powerful, the second half in which the Doc fully changes and he and Kes go on the run, the deciding factor (was that leaves from the planet on the Transporter platform when he kidnaps her, or the actors' marks?). At first there are humorous elements to the evil Doc, whether it's his chilling display of unconcern for Torres and how close to torture she was (unable to oppose the strength of a computer - it made me think of Odo in 'The Alternate' or Data in 'Brothers,' and how dangerous these non-humans can be when out of control or operating against their crewmates' purposes), though that wasn't exactly a laugh a minute. I'm thinking more of the turbolift ride in which evil Doc lurks behind that woman, prevented from who-knows-what when Paris enters full of cheery chattiness and is met by sullen moodiness!

Then when Kes is held captive in a sequence that recalled the end of 'The Last of The Mohicans' film, where Tuvok, Zahir and Chakotay pursue the Doctor and Kes along a mountain path, and she tumbles out her words, showing the kidnapper that he actually means well, confusing him because his inner self still wants to protect her, and it becomes a great ending made even better by the moment he hurls himself and Kes off the cliff, pre-empting 'Star Trek 11' by about twelve years in beaming them out before they plummet to their deaths. Would the Doc have died, or to be more accurate, damaged his program? If he'd landed badly and the holo-emitter had been ruined it could well have meant the end for him, but otherwise he should have merely come to a halt when hitting the ground. Kes on the other hand, was doomed, so it's fortunate for her that beaming someone falling at such a speed proved possible for Voyager's advanced technology! What makes the episode even better (apart from Kes not leaving with someone we don't entirely approve of, or that's how I came to see it), is the restored Doctor reciting to himself the Hippocratic Oath, which ends the episode on a poetic and reflective note, the perfect final minutes for the story.

What must be applauded is Robert Picardo's performance as the horror Doc as opposed to the holo-Doc, making the most of appliances, vocal changes (which we'd heard before when he infected himself with a devastating virus - we'd also heard Torres' paralysed speech when she was made a full Klingon by the Vidiians), and body language to create an unkempt, slouching, shambling creature motivated by its passions. Remind you of anyone we know? Yes, it's like a completely unrestrained version of the EMH's creator, Dr. Zimmerman, the roughed-up hair a real callback to that rather scruffy and selfish man, only totally evil. But Jennifer Lien deserves credit for her performance, too, always at her best when she has to act desperate or gabble her words out in a crisis, not cowering or repressing her personality, but projecting it with renewed vigour. It was nice to see those closest to her reacting to her thoughts and potential involvement with Zahir, whether that was Janeway's understanding chat in the Ready Room, Tuvok's Fatherly talking-to of Zahir, or the Doc's wistfulness (I half expected him to break out into 'Someone To Watch Over Me,' but that was a different mentored to come). Certain other characters were overlooked; Neelix; Kim; Paris got a good walk-on, but Chakotay was reduced to a walking stick for Zahir! But this was a good one for those the spotlight did fall on, reminding us why we love the Doc and Kes, a good opening with an alien storyteller, and an affirming experience for Kes, because this ship is her home, is all their homes, no matter where or how far it travels.

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