Retrospect

DVD, Star Trek: Voyager S4 (Retrospect)

They get me every time with this one. I always think Kovin is a suspicious character, and probably because of that prejudice left behind from the last time I watched it, coupled with his being a forceful salesman, and of course, short-tempered (surely arms dealing and hot temper don't go together that well?), it seems a cut and dried case. Michael Horton does a good job in his only guest starring Trek TV role, especially when he sternly rebukes Seven on what she's doing wrong during integration of his wares into ship's systems in Engineering, speaking sharply and authoritatively as if the actor is really seeing her do something stupid instead of watching Jeri Ryan meaninglessly tap a touchscreen. That's acting! Horton may not have been granted entry into the hallowed realm of the recurring guest star troupe, but he does have the distinction of being one of the few to appear in a Trek film before Trek TV, playing the unnamed Security Officer in 'First Contact' (his first contact with the Borg, but not his last as we see here), later to be credited as Lieutenant Daniels in 'Insurrection,' making him a good piece of continuity between these middle 'TNG' features. Seven of Nine proved more hazardous for his characters' health than a whole Borg Cube did in the film as he ends up flying his ship apart in self-righteous panic to escape the pursuing Voyager - the shape and style of his vessel was in the Defiant mould in that it was overpowered and over-gunned, and without crackerjack Starfleet Engineers to make it work that's what could have happened to Sisko's ship in a heated moment.

There's some good continuity this season, and though on a smaller scale to some of the stuff done on 'DS9' (and certainly compared with 'Enterprise' and 'DSC'), nonetheless satisfying as we keep the question of trusting Seven alive, as well as the memory of the Hirogen ready for their big role in the next two-parter. The Doctor's desire to act as mentor in her understanding of social graces and coming to terms with emotion comes back to bite him hard and is a foreshadowing of at least one ethical quandary for him in the future, but what I like about this story is how it morphs into different phases like a caterpillar into a butterfly: at first, and for most of the running time, it's unquestionably a Seven episode - yet another one focused on her because she's such fertile ground to explore and irresistible to the writers. Personally, I think she's the best female Vulcan (and one of the best Vulcans in general), that there ever has been on Trek, and considering she wasn't actually a Vulcan, and they are my favourite species, that is high praise indeed! To me, this is how T'Pol should have acted around humans - not understanding emotion, having to be mentored in some way in order to fit into the social group she had entered on the NX-01. But the writing and portrayal of Vulcans has suffered grievously since the end of 'Voyager' and it's one of the most distressing points about post 24th Century Trek for me, that they went so far away from such a brilliant race, and one reason why the proudly arrogant, yet also humbly lacking, strong-weak dynamic of Seven made her so compelling.

I say it begins as a Seven episode, but once she's made the accusation against Kovin, it becomes a story for Tuvok to go back into his ever-popular role of investigator ('Retrospect' means looking back; hindsight, seeing things after the fact, the Latin for which is 'Ex Post Facto' and the title of the episode where Tuvok first acted detective). Kovin should have been more trusting as he initially appeared when the Security Chief offered him the guarantee of an impartial enquiry, but it's really the Doc who messes everything up, pouncing on apparent evidence to support Seven's claim, scaring the man into fleeing, believing prejudice from his own government will side with the visitors because of the trading nature of the Entharans. The Doctor is, as ever, eager and quick to arrive at conclusions, and really, I would say this is more an episode about him than Seven. She's just the unwitting victim, though not of the crime she thinks: it's her psychological damage at the tubules of the Borg that have led her to recall 'repressed' memories that are really only images from her time as a drone that she's laid upon Kovin, perhaps activated by his brusque and physically confrontational manner. It's all so well played because we're meant to fall into the same trap as everyone else of thinking Kovin guilty because he's unlikeable, a valuable reminder that justice isn't about punishing those we don't like, but discerning the truth and meting out a merited response. In that respect it's an excellent lesson against prejudice without being heavy-handed or obvious, and it creates a fresh challenge for our Starfleet crew when it turns out they're in the wrong.

Fortunately, Janeway and the Doctor, the two central pillars of 'justice' in the episode, are humble enough to see their mistake and the final conversation between them is what the whole episode is about. If this had been 'DSC,' and possibly even 'Enterprise,' the majority of the story would probably have been about them hunting Kovin and having to deal with his arsenal of weapons and traps, it would have been an action spectacular, but without the weight this story had at the end because it's much more contemplative. Sure, they do have a somewhat violent encounter with Kovin's ship, but that's not the focus. It's interesting to see both Bryan Fuller and Joe Menosky's names come up as you could have been forgiven for thinking this was 'DSC,' but with all of that series I've been watching lately I can say for sure that this is by far the Trek I prefer and it's sad that both of those tried and tested Trek minds weren't allowed the latitude to expand on the franchise that they deserved from giving us episodes like this. You're left with something to think on, a mental reminder or moral jab that means the episode has achieved something beyond an exercise in quick thrills or beautiful renditions of space.

To begin with the episode looks to be going down the road of 'Violations' on 'TNG' or 'Remember' from this series' third season - stories about mental anguish caused by an alien, that requires investigation to resolve. But the ending where the Doctor wishes to have the latest additions to his program removed, which he added in order to become useful in counselling since the ship doesn't have a counsellor, recalls Data's wish to turn off his emotions and having to learn to deal with them (until they undid that excellent plot point from 'Generations' in 'First Contact' by giving him that power and essentially taking away something of the humanity he desired). Janeway refuses the Doctor's wish, prefiguring his ethical short circuit in next season's 'Latent Image' in which he'd be forced to choose between two crewmembers to save one and goes into mental meltdown. Similar to that episode, Janeway is the rod to keep his back straight and his upper lip stiff. She believes in going through problems, not wimping out and avoiding them, an essential kernel to a Captain that must get her ship home, and do it the Starfleet way. An inspiration. She could have done with a counsellor at the beginning of Season 5, but as accomplished as the Doctor is, he finds that knowledge is different to wisdom gained from experience. Janeway would be there for him in 'Latent Image' and she was there for him here, proving beyond any doubt that the EMH is a person, a specific member of her crew that she cares for no differently than flesh and blood.

She has a lot of cares, but over the first three years she came to know the majority of her crew enough that she was able to stand as a strong leader as well as a compassionate confidante. She has grown much harder this season, you see much less of the scientist delighted by the curiosities of this Quadrant, but having to deal with the Borg and other increasingly tough opponents has forced her to become harder herself. Few have been more of a challenge than Seven of Nine, however, an enemy within, yet not an enemy. Seven has come a long way from demanding to be returned to the Collective, to becoming a member of the crew with unique skills to offer based on her history, as challenging and damaging as her time with the Borg was. But she still has problems accepting what she considers to be inferior directives or points of view to the point where Janeway literally doesn't know how to deal with her. Confinement hasn't disciplined her, it suits her personality, and the Captain in this episode gets to the point where she even asks the errant Seven what can be done to curb her ways because she can't think of anything, like a parent at their wit's end and unable to allow this teenager to keep living in the family home. But this home is a wagon train to the stars and they can't leave anyone behind (though Seven would be one of the most likely to survive alone, I'm sure), and as it turns out, her experience here opens her up a little more, introducing guilt and remorse to her repertoire.

It's no comfort to the dead Kovin, but though he was an overzealous man, prone to bursts of temper, at heart he was just a trader trying to make a living in fear that this false accusation will destroy him. In large part it was he himself who did the damage by refusing to trust Voyager, but trust has to be earned and what reason did he have to feel serene other than Tuvok's assurances? As an arms dealer he must have met many unfavourable and untrustworthy customers, perhaps that's why he's so flighty and ready to go on the run at a moment's notice. Although he has a clear conscience regarding Seven, he may have had it cracked through his business dealings which led to his lack of trust on this occasion, pushing his ship and weapons to the maximum so he destroyed himself. It's a harsh tale, but it's certainly got the morality part down and provides an essential moment in Seven's growth when she realises her actions have led to the wrongful death of an innocent man. It was true that Kovin and his kind had eminently punchable noses (the last person Seven decked was Neelix, I think), but I really liked what they did with the Entharan design - a frontal ridge that is partially covered by flaps of skin so that the ridge alternately appears as it goes up the nose and forehead. In other alien-related physiology we also see beneath Seven's ocular implant above her left eyebrow, removed for examination to reveal a smaller and more integrated attachment buried beneath, shown for the first time, I believe, though at the end of the series she looked like that all the time as the Borg tech was gradually weaned away. And there are the Borg tubules, which are very cool, even if it was just in false memory.

Janeway and Voyager can sometimes misrepresent Starfleet as being weak because of the attitudes they display, something that is a big part of Seven's contempt for regulations. She's actually the one to implement the safety protocols B'Elanna instructs because 'we prefer to play it safe.' That's why Voyager wasn't going to end up as one of the scuttled ships Kovin warned about if they didn't buy his merchandise, because they were careful, backups upon backups. I like that this is a hint at what will eventually happen to Kovin, who doesn't believe in such safety measures and prefers the raw power and strength, the reason, we can comfortably assume, that his ship blew up when he pushed too hard. He was an effective salesman and appreciated Janeway's ability to negotiate - though she comes from a moneyless society she sure knows how to barter! I imagine if she and her crew had got together for poker nights like the Enterprise, she'd have been raking in the chips (isolinear, of course!), and it's always good to see her skills of persuasion and standing up to another forceful personality. Which is why she's so good this season as Seven's adopted Mother - she's been that figure to all her crew during the journey, and the Maquis crewmembers must have provided at least some of the preparation for this ex-drone, but they at least had allegiance to Chakotay (who gets almost nothing this week, though only Neelix doesn't appear at all). This story must have come some time after 'Prey' as Seven's been behaving herself 'lately.' It may have been better to have an episode in between that kept Seven locked up, but then as I said, she's too irresistible to the writers to leave out, so I can understand why they didn't allow time to feel more natural.

Lastly, we get some nice little veiled 'TNG' references thanks to the Doctor being interested in becoming the ship's counsellor (making additions to his program again - did he learn nothing from 'Darkling'?), then later mentioning a Betazoid psychiatrist in advising Seven. Rather than directly reference Counsellor Troi on the Enterprise-D they do it in this round the houses way, which is subtle, rather than making the universe smaller by always name-checking someone specific. Deanna would be making multiple appearances on the series in the coming seasons so she'd get more than her due, which was nice. And the science lab gets a rare showing as the place Tuvok and Janeway examine Kovin's equipment to find answers. I like this episode, it's not something to blow you away or impress on a visual level, but it's one of the quieter episodes and ends tragically in a much more grown up, 'DS9' way. A good tale should not be judged in whether everything ends happily or not, it's about what can be learned from the telling, and Janeway, Seven and the Doctor all learned important lessons. You could say this was one of the founding episodes of the triumvirate of characters the series graduated to. The latter seasons may have overused these three, but it's easy to see why from episodes like this as they provide everything a Trek story requires.

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