Scorpion

DVD, Voyager S3 (Scorpion)

The stakes are high in this, the series' equivalent of 'The Best of Both Worlds' as its previous Borg story, 'Unity,' was to 'Q Who.' Both were an introduction to the Borg on their respective series, as both of these were a big two-part, end of season cliffhanger that changed things forever. If the crew of Voyager could have had their wounds healed by the episode after, just as the Enterprise crew did in 'Family,' going back to Earth for recuperation, their troubles would all have been over. As it was, they weren't as personally troubled as Picard and his colleagues, but being alone, away from the Federation, they had to sort their own problems out without any assistance. Not that Picard felt any less alone since the fleet was decimated by one Borg Cube, and the way they deal with the Borg here may be one reason why on this viewing I didn't see it as quite the unassailable classic I used to think it was. It doesn't have the same qualities as 'Both Worlds,' instead relying on interpersonal conflict (and this isn't 'DS9' - score one up for 'Voyager'!), and a vast scope for the action, though one less immediately pressing for the Alpha Quadrant. They needed to play up the fact that Species 8472 wants to destroy everything in our galaxy, rather than it being a brief line of dialogue from Kes, and they also needed to have the crew display greater apprehension at the prospect of entering Borg space. After all, Wolf 359 was only about seven years ago, so all our characters would have been more than aware of the implications the Borg posed, from personal memory.

Instead, and there's a case to be made that these are trained Starfleet officers on a state of the art starship, so of course they're going to go into things confidently, they do seem overconfident at the prospect of a bust up with the Borg. This isn't just one Borg Cube any more though, this is the heart of their territory, and I'd have liked to hear some of the non-Starfleet characters' views on this most fearsome of enemies: what does Neelix, denizen of the Delta Quadrant, know of them, or Kes, and the Maquis members that didn't have as much training, how do they feel about this route? Another side question might be why would the Borg restrict themselves to an area of space, no matter how big, and why wouldn't they have continued assimilating races around their space, so extending their dominion forever and eventually enveloping the Delta Quadrant itself - 'space is big,' must be the answer, but even then, they have Transwarp capability, and how long does it take to assimilate a race, especially as each race adds more drones with which to assimilate others, which would increase the Borg's rate of assimilation exponentially over time. It must be that they have such a humungous infrastructure that millions of drones are needed to keep all the machinery and technology ticking along. But if that's so, how can it be that they only learn anything through assimilation as they'd need to be highly skilled to keep increasingly intricate technology of a thousand new races working together? And can they only have come into contact with 8,472 races in all that time of Transwarping around the galaxy?

These questions may never be answered (even when Trek returns to TV, though we already missed out on an origin story in 'Enterprise' Season 5, before that series was cancelled), but one vital and chilling inquiry was certainly solved in this episode: who could be more powerful than the Borg? While it would have been fantastic to have seen the Changelings of the Dominion take on the cybernetic force (and if the two series' writing teams had been closer, maybe we'd have got that if we'd seen the Jem'Hadar battle fleet that the Prophets conveniently disposed of, in the Delta Quadrant on an episode of 'Voyager,' but sadly not every great idea comes to fruition), we had to make do with Species 8472, or the Undine as they were later non-canonically monickered thanks to 'Star Trek Online.' They were undoubtedly a bold and impressive creation, the first fully computer-generated humanoid race (the macrovirus earlier in the season was the first fully CG creature, but they were nowhere near as detailed), and to date, the only one specifically made that way (excepting Xindi), as far as I can remember - you'd think their invention would have opened the floodgates to CGI races on Trek, but it wasn't so, and we still haven't seen a purely CG main character of a Trek TV series. Probably because it's still so much easier and cheaper to slap prosthetics on a suffering human than it is for a team of designers to build and operate a CG model, and for all the time and effort that goes into it, maybe the rewards of having something more alien aren't worth the hassle. Trek is about humanity, after all…

Species 8472 was a strong design, and perhaps the fact they were used so sparingly, with only a further three appearances, I believe, may have been one of the reasons they still seem a potent storytelling tool. Even they were to get the humanitarian understanding treatment that all Trek's villains get, down the line in Season 5's 'In The Flesh,' which does water down their threat to overrun our galaxy, but for now the stakes seem impossibly high, with streams of their bioships pouring into our space, forcing Janeway to be creative (with help from John Rhys-Davies as Leonardo Da Vinci - I really wanted to see Janeway go with him to the monks and pray in supplication over the problem!), for a solution: join forces with the Borg. We don't find out in this part of the story whether the Borg will go for it, or whether Voyager is just next on the menu, one of the most effective parts of the cliffhanger ending - I was so engrossed in the story I was surprised when events ended so abruptly, a planet exploding behind Voyager as it's towed away by a Borg ship, and this ain't no clamping fine, though whether they're captive or ally is left up in the air, with a headlong mad dash by the usually calm Borg, as fellow ships are caught in the shockwave and blasted apart. Such an image of chaos from the unstoppably strong almost giving the impression of panic in their haste to escape destruction, and absolutely thrilling - no wonder this episode is often thought of as one of the series' best.

It's missing the Borg Queen, that vocalisation of the Borg's means and motives, and after she was annihilated in the film 'First Contact,' it's no wonder. Though I don't think it's ever been confirmed onscreen, you have to assume that the Queen is ultimately as expendable as her drones - she returns after being burnt up and her mechanical spine snapped in two by the angry hands of Captain Picard, which means she must be taken from a specific race, another member of which is promoted to Queen whenever the current monarch is killed, so the Borg are never without their central voice. This also means that you can never truly destroy the Borg simply by getting rid of the Queen (and now I think about it, how fascinating it would have been if we could have seen two Queens fighting it out over who takes the position, maybe using factions of the Borg to attack each other. In a new Trek series, come on, you have to do it!), but I actually quite liked the return to the 'old' Borg, the faceless Borg, the Borg that were a hive mind, not controlled meekly by an imposing voice in total control. It makes it harder for Janeway to negotiate, but did she really have a leg to stand on anyway? It seems highly unlikely, with all their vast technological advancement, that the Borg wouldn't have been able to figure out what the Doctor did about their nanoprobes, or that deleting the Doc would have meant they were unable to retrieve the information to fight 8472!

The Doctor looks understandably perturbed at the prospect of being used as leverage against the Borg's good wishes. If they don't agree to the Captain's terms he'll be erased, but he needn't have been so worried since if that scenario came to pass the crew would all have been assimilated anyway and he'd be the last to go, which would have been a lonely end. He does face Janeway's plan without comment, stoically swallowing any pride he might usually display, just as everyone else on the crew has their jobs to do and steadfastly prepares for the tribulation ahead. Though I do find it disappointing that there wasn't more fear about the Borg on show, at the same time it's admirable to see them behind their Captain and unquestioningly following procedure and accepting that if she says they can do something, they'll do what they can to make it happen. Even more argumentative members of the crew such as the aforementioned Doc, or Torres, only look at what's possible rather than pointing out that if the entire Starfleet couldn't take out one Cube, how is their little ship going to face off against untold thousands of the things? That is, all but one voice of reason. And no, it's not Mr. Tuvok who used to be so good as Janeway's advisor and confidant. Her friendship with the Vulcan is one of the things that slowly got played down and never really reached the heights of the early seasons, which is a shame as their scene in 'Caretaker' was one of the best, allowing Janeway to show weakness and a vulnerability she couldn't show in front of the crew.

However, this Janeway has no weakness, she's tough as iron, hardening herself to the task ahead, steeling to do what no one else had done, and take her crew through Borg space, single-mindedly intent on one purpose: to control their future by destroying their past! Sorry, no, that's the trailer for 'First Contact'… But she is ruthlessly determined: if 'the weak will perish,' Janeway makes herself strong; the origins of the Janeway she became in later seasons. Most of the Captains go through this Season 3 baptism of fire, whether Sisko facing off the Dominion, Picard's Borg experience, and even Archer changing, through his mission against the Xindi, all are forged in extreme circumstances so that by Season 4 they've grown the beard, shaved the head, or whatever other growing up metaphor you want to stick in there. For Janeway, fortunately, it was cutting the hair rather than shaving it off (although that might have been an interesting look…), but that's to come next season and I'm sure there'll be something to say about it then. The point is, Tuvok wasn't seen to be the person she confides in any more, it's as if she's become a Borg herself, going without food and sleep as if to make herself more angry and fiery than her normally calm and measured self. She needs to do something to be big enough to do what needs to be done, and only Chakotay, still clearheaded, makes any opposition to her tunnel vision. If Tuvok had been seen with her that would have meant she wasn't alone as she claims to be, and might have lost some of the drama, plus I think he would have agreed with Chakotay that the odds were ridiculously stacked against them, since he's already pointed out security measures weren't going to last long.

Unfortunately, Janeway wasn't going to be reasonable, perhaps seeing this bizarre situation of the Borg running scared from a greater enemy as the perfect time to pass through the most dangerous region yet encountered. And you have to admit the timing of Species 8472's attack was incredibly useful to Voyager (maybe it was all a conspiracy, and secretly on Voyager there's a Section 31 operative in covert contact with home through alien technology, and 31 arranged for 8472 to keep the Borg busy in exchange for something - or maybe a 31 agent from the future came back to start this war between the Borg and 8472 in order for Voyager to pass through?), because otherwise they wouldn't have stood a chance, being outgunned, out-powered, out-everything-ed by the Borg who could chuck fifteen Cubes at them any moment. Of course it all makes more sense later on when we learn that the new Queen actually was active at this point (so why not show herself, was she on hiatus or was it deemed too close to the film?), because she wanted Seven of Nine to go aboard and integrate onto the ship, so when you consider that, it makes more sense that Voyager could last more than five minutes in Borg space. But Chakotay didn't know that, and all he could see was a risk too great. I would've agreed with him about not going that way, even if I felt he was too ready to suggest finding a nice little planet to settle (perhaps remembering fun times of building bathtubs and headboards from the end of last season, in 'Resolutions' - that's what he'd prefer to be doing, because he's a peaceful man).

Settling down wasn't an option, their mission statement was to get home, and that's what they were going to do until it became impossible to do so, but I'm sure they could have found another route around Borg space - the series might even have gone on a few seasons longer! As good as the tension between Captain and First Officer was, it was sad to see them go from close friends, supporting each other and preparing for trouble, to a wedge driving between them because Janeway can't accept Chakotay thinking differently, their interactions turning frosty and strained (though this Chakotay wasn't going to mutiny like his holographic counterpart did in the previous episode!). He still supports her by doing his duty, though it's against his will and conscience, but this was her flexing her reckless muscle, gambling and finding that it paid off. This would be the change, perhaps for the worse, in the calm, scientific Captain she'd begun as, to someone that took chances. But perhaps this situation, ship and crew demanded someone who could be that, and she was just stepping up to the task in the only way she could see, becoming the hard woman. It would be a strategy that would pay off, but perhaps she could have done with a harder First Officer, one that was able to stand up to her and bring her down on regulations more strongly rather than wanting to support her whatever happened? Who knows what would have been the perfect combination, except that it seemed to work, as uncomfortable as it was.

One thing that works very well in this episode is the lighting. Not ordinarily something to look to in making an episode great (except perhaps for the occasional episode, such as 'Empok Nor' on 'DS9'), but when it's done right it can elevate an episode, or solidify the mood. There are some closeups that are quite different to what we usually see - an extreme one of Janeway showing only her eyes down to her mouth, set resolute and eyes glittering with danger. There are also the scenes aboard the Cube, with great shots such as Chakotay's face, eyes hidden in deep sockets of shadow with Tuvok and Kim behind him. The mood is evocative and serves to heighten the dread of 8472 when they know something's aboard and fast approaching from the shadows. When even the Borg are scurrying away from approaching danger, like rats in a mine that's about to collapse, you know things are bleak. Having Harry, the young member of the crew, be the victim of 8472 and suffering severe pain and injury from the attack, makes things seem worse - an innocent caught in a war zone. When Janeway goes to order him to fight as he lies in sickbay it reminded me of the agitated Sisko in 'The Ship' when he orders the dying Muniz to stay alive, both effective demonstrations of a Captain's ultimate lack of power.

I'd forgotten that we actually got to see aboard a bioship, reminiscent of Gomtuu in 'Tin Man' on 'TNG' (also Lord Jabu-Jabu's belly in 'The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time,' something I always associate with large biological entities to be entered!), though as far as I know their ships weren't sentient like that or the ship in 'Farscape.' We're also treated to another titbit about the Mysterious Breen, as are scattered throughout the various series', though this one remains unproven as we see their ships in 'DS9' Season 7 and they don't look particularly organic. More misinformation from the secretive ones? Might not have been the best choice to show a member of 8472 using what looked like a touch screen, just like any race from our galaxy would, as they'd been built up as this far more alien alien, and to see this hoof, or claw tapping away in Kes' vision made them seem more relatable. At least Kes' powers were well-used in this one, making her character invaluable in having an understanding of what was going on that no other character (Tuvok, at a push, if they really had no other option, might have served in the same capacity), could, and without her the story might have been more difficult to explain. They were using their resources, it's just a shame she didn't get this treatment more often, having been allowed to fall down the back of the story sofa too much, because when used correctly she was unique to the series, like Deanna Troi to hers, she had this specific role that could be tapped when appropriate, but had much more potential because we knew so little about her race.

She would leave after only two more episodes, though for what reason remains unknown (I thought the long-haired look she changed to in this half of the season had been to hide her ears so she didn't have to go through the discomfort of the makeup, but I could distinctly make out the Ocampan ears in one shot, at least, so now I'm not sure how often she wore them or not!). I'll go into this more when I review 'The Gift,' but when I first watched the series I didn't really mind her going as I didn't much enjoy her character - only on subsequent viewings did I come to appreciate her so much more. If it came down to choosing one character to leave, I really don't know who I would have gone for since I like them all, but there are suggestions Harry Kim might have been killed off, and I can see the series doing okay without him (though who would be the O'Brien-type to be killed or put through the wringer on a regular basis?!), as he was probably the least developed over the series, in the same vein as other young characters, Wesley Crusher and Jake Sisko. But there was a good friendship between him and Tom Paris, and if he had died this episode really would have lacked an essential scene of Tom visiting his buddy in his hour of need. Especially as we've seen Paris as a medic, so he could have offered his services to the Doc, showing how much he cared for his friend, even if the Doc didn't need his assistance.

Otherwise, most people are integrated quite well into the story, banding together, carrying out their duties, and pulling through when necessary. Maybe more character scenes as pairs discussing their impending doom were in order, but you can't fault the action, with an impressive array of Borg Cubes (whose destruction looks meatier than previous CG explosions), as well as a stream of bioships, this is large-scale space action done properly, Voyager tossed around like a lifeboat in the wake of a flotilla of whales. It makes them seem insignificant, and yet they have the answer through using their brains, not mindlessly taking all that's in their path, as the Borg do. And Harry is responsible for saving the galaxy when you look at it that way, since he was the test subject for the Doctor to discover how to fight Species 8472. Torres too, has a brainwave, rescuing the Away Team when she can't get them out, by coming up with a skeletal lock - that's all well and good as long as you don't just beam out the bones! One bit of tech that seems beyond Voyager's capability, however, is their long-range probe. They sent one out to scout ahead which stopped transmitting once it reached Borg space, but how could it be faster than Voyager itself to be able to get further than them? I suppose Voyager would have made stops here and there, and side trips to planets for supplies, so the probe must have had time to get ahead.

'Scorpion,' and its parable about the scorpion and the fox (which I'd heard also on 'Starsky & Hutch,' in 'Texas Longhorn'), was a great tale with a great sting in the tail. Stakes this high were the only way to live up to last season's cliffhanger when the Kazon took over the ship and left the crew stranded, not to mention the previous great Borg two-parter, 'Descent' (only joking, I meant 'The Best of Both Worlds'!). The key was in having character scenes as they did between Janeway and Chakotay, and in there being so much danger: this time they couldn't threaten Earth, so Voyager was the next best thing. Perhaps it's easier to be casually indifferent these days when it comes to big-bang-buck action, since we see that mindlessly played out in the Abrams films, so that may be why I don't quite consider it in the best-ever category as I used to. But it is still a rollicking, exciting ride, the Borg back to being the perilous force of danger they were in their best episode and film appearances, and we get Janeway reading a report from Captain Picard, with Chakotay joking around with her, saying she was doing an impression. There isn't a lot more you could want. A little, but not a lot.

****