Favourite Son

DVD, Voyager S3 (Favourite Son)

Harry Kim is a Trill. That could be the high concept one-liner for this episode. It would be erroneous, but it sells the story: that Harry Kim, the most human of the humans, the inexperienced, green, excitable ensign out on his first assignment (from the start of the series), suddenly acts out of character, earning Janeway's wrath, but saving the ship from a devious enemy. And all because he's going through a physical transformation into the member of another race. Just as we would later see a member of the crew brought back from the dead as a means for a species to procreate in 'Ashes To Ashes,' here we find out that the Taresians supposedly send out their menfolk with the order to pass on the DNA of the species into other species who will one day feel the urge to return home to Taresia. That's what they want you to think, anyway, and in some ways it's disappointing to find out that Harry Kim is plain, simple Harry, not an exotic alien that we could have learned all about in the succeeding seasons and could have shaken the very foundations of the series! Actually it would have been unlikely to cause that much of a stir in larger terms, but it would have held great fascination for a human character to change into an alien and observe the metamorphosis of identity as had originally been conceived of in the original idea.

Identity is the central pillar of the story, and if it doesn't play out proudly and triumphantly as some messages do, it's there for the taking if you want it, the culmination being in the scene at the end in which Harry shows signs of regret at not being someone 'special' as the Taresians had claimed. Rather than go for the obvious speech that everyone is special we get a far more direct and personal vindication of Harry as a person: from his best buddy, Tom Paris, formerly the rogue of the crew, who admits when Kim says he wishes he was more like his bold, adventurous friend, that Tom has taken Harry as his inspiration on how to live life, making for a touching, character-driven ending. The thing with this episode is that everyone is used well, and the characters are the drivers of the story, not the other way around. Harry experiences guilt at B'Elanna's injury in engineering, even though at the time he instigated the attack on a seemingly friendly vessel he was sure of their nefarious and deadly intentions. Kes is the one whose calming influence permeates his gloom. Or Chakotay, when he does his dramatic hurdle of the bridge railing to take over Kim's position. Or Neelix at the end, complimenting Kim on the distinguished spots he had sported - almost everyone features in a worthwhile role, not just set decoration or to say, "Yes, Captain."

Spots are a good thing to look at - not generally, but in this context. In the Trek universe the first thing that jumps to mind are the Trill, the race of which Jadzia Dax is the most famous member. Kim isn't a Trill, obviously, and I like that though they use a similar facial differentiation from human, it's also different to the Trill, being more asymmetrical in positioning and lighter in colour. It's enough to mark the change in Harry (and not spoil the faces of the female guest stars, the reason Trill spots originally came to be invented when the Trill had previously been shown as bumpy-forehead aliens and they didn't want to hide Terry Farrell's face with prosthetics), and give him a physical sign to go with all the thoughts, feelings and internal alterations that are being wrought upon him, without doing something radical like growing an extra arm or two.

Visually the episode works well, even if the inviting women of Taresia are much more formally attired than, say, similar occupants of Risa. It turns out that things are very much in the Risan way of thinking, with males in high demand and polygamy a common practice, something that tempts Kim to stay, though as it turns out his duty to Voyager and wish to continue on the great voyage with his friends keeps him from rushing into a hasty decision he would have regretted! If identity is one message, and being content to be who you are, not dreaming in a fantasy world where you're more highly regarded than others, then denial is another, perhaps stronger one: the moral of the story is that if you give in to the urging of hedonistic pleasure and allow yourself to be immersed in it, just as in false merit, you'll end up as dead as the grave, a striking image shown to Harry when he discovers Taymon, another new arrival, shrivelled and drawn of all his vitality by these vampire women. Unlike vampires (blood, or creativity-devouring as seen in 'The Muse' of 'DS9'), their goal is to continue their species through this (or maybe that is the vampiric motive also - I'm not up on my classical horror mythology). Taymon had been the greatest exponent of the life Harry had been offered, and he ended up the deadest, if that be a word…

Harry isn't the character you'd most naturally expect to be at home with a planet full of women seeking his attention, but on the other hand maybe he was just the right person to be put through this particular trial. Harry may be young, he may be inexperienced, and he may not be the best equipped to deal with demanding alien races, but he's also had Starfleet rules drummed into him most recently, has a Captain he respectfully looks up to as almost a Mother figure (I can't imagine Janeway containing her outrage at the unauthorised attack on the Nasari ship if it had been someone less innocent, but she's willing to hear Harry out, even if it is a shock to the system, because he's like a son to her), and knows right from wrong. He's lulled into happy moods by all the female attention, but as soon as his wish to return to the ship or even contact Voyager is challenged that ignites a spark of stubbornness in him that has always served him well (as he said to Paris in the pilot, he doesn't need anyone to choose his friends for him, and because he went against the grain, giving someone a chance, he found a lifelong friend). It takes a few moments for him to realise the precariousness of the situation he's in when his two potential wives throw up blocks to his questions and wishes, but he thinks on his feet and soon tricks them by playing their own permissiveness against them - I can't see Tom lamping the fairer sex on the back of the head with a candlestick, but somehow, when innocent Harry does it, it doesn't seem quite so bad…

It was still pretty shocking that this woman gets knocked out in such a violent manner, even though the impact happens below frame! But what could Kim do when she'd grown suspicious and wasn't going to go along with being tied to a chair like her friend? When Kim goes on the run we have the creepiest moments of the episode, finding dead Taymon, bravely using one of the guy's wives as hostage (even braver considering Kristanna Loken went on to be the unstoppable female cyborg villain of 'Terminator 3: Rise of The Machines'!). If Kim had had a level playing field, say the Taresian women didn't have honking great wooden rods with which to clonk him, he might have stood a better chance, but as it was seeing the poor lad pinballing between these heavy clubs makes you feel genuinely fearful for his life. With such moral messages behind the action (you can add drugs to the pleasures on offer, which Kim turns down, not needing it), you can also see theological imagery if you look for it: Kim surrounded by the objects of temptation, caught in a deadly snare, has no way out in his own strength and, in a perfectly directed shot, looks up to the heavens as we look down on him, saved by an external power that beams him away! Or you could use the analogy of a cult where it at first seems attractive, full of new experiences and somewhere you're understood and seen for who you 'really are' as you never have been before, then at the moment you start to question or want to leave, the portcullis comes down and the real nature of what you've gotten yourself into hits home.

The episode has other bright things of note beyond a good story: we see Kim's Mother, for example. It's only in a dream, and just as in other dream-like meetings crewmembers have gone through with members of their family (Tom with his Dad, Janeway with hers, and to a lesser extent, Chakotay with his), she's chiding him or making him feel bad rather than being the true to life figure we imagine from previous comments (Janeway spoke of her in the pilot, saying she'd called to ask if it was too late to send Kim's clarinet). The dream sequences were, as usual, accomplished well. This time they had a sharper look than we tend to see, the indistinctness played out in echoey sound and positioning of people Kim knew - if it had been a bit more vibrant on the colours, and a bit misty, it could have been a vision from the Prophets! If we're talking 'DS9' inspiration then we could also point to the Taresians' story about how Kim could be one of them, that his Father was sent out into the galaxy and reached Earth, then Kim was drawn to go into space and eventually to their homeworld. Sounds a bit like the shapeshifters of the Dominion who sent out their infants to explore for them, with the implanted urge to find their way back. And look out for Deborah May as Lyris (Lie-ris, more like!), who played Haneek in 'Sanctuary' on 'DS9,' another matriarchal role as head of an alien race. And the title must have been so good that 'Enterprise' had to use a similar one in 'Fortunate Son.'

The Taresians must be one of the few races of the series to know of and mention the Alpha Quadrant. Usually denizens of the Delta Quadrant have no concern beyond their own borders, and don't think about other parts of the galaxy, so it was refreshing to hear it spoken of by nonhumans - they must have done more than implant Kim with alien DNA, spying and hacking would need to be involved in order to get such information to be able to set up this plausible backstory. But there were remarkably few problems with the episode, except I did find the Doctor's comment that Harry would soon be indistinguishable from the Taresians a bit ironic considering he looked exactly like them as soon as the spots broke out on his face - he could have been talking medically, perhaps the internal organs and such identifying characteristics were the object of his comment. Also, note that Kim doesn't wear the blindfold he always sleeps in - an oversight or has he changed his habits? It could even have been a side effect of his encroaching Taresian DNA. I couldn't help thinking it was a bit uncomfortable for Torres to wake up in the brightly lit sickbay with three people looking at her, as opposed to the muted gloom of Bashir's Infirmary which also had the advantage of a bit more privacy!

The approach to ship battles was another part of the package that succeeded, giving us some tense moments that are less common in this and other Treks when compared to, yes, 'DS9' (sorry). You feel the relief and joy as the Taresian vessel tears past Voyager to lay into the attacking Nasari, and the shipboard action is integrated perfectly in pace and direction. It's a wonder Voyager could survive though, considering they were taking on the Nerada! Except, fortunately for their little ship this wasn't the massive and terrifying Borg-technology boosted Romulan mining vessel of 'Star Trek XI,' but it is funny that such a similar name was used - I guess the makers of the new films aren't avid 'Voyager' viewers… Or they didn't care… But don't get me started down that avenue! The sparse, pale sets with those beautiful teardrop doors were a work of great production, but strangely consolidated the impression of a convent environment, subconsciously arrived at by the formal dress of the inhabitants and lack of males, though this couldn't be much farther from the truth. Harry even gets in a story about the Sirens of myth just to add an extra layer to the piece, even if these messages and layers are pretty much unconnected. That's why it's so important that the characters are at the forefront, something 'Enterprise' too often eschewed, and a big point in this series' favour. Most of all, the story works because it's Harry this is happening to, and no one wants to see the good guy lose. At the same time it's inspiring to see that good guy deal with problems, and Harry certainly did that!

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