DVD, Voyager S6 (Ashes To Ashes) (2)
For a story based around a character we never knew, this was actually quite affecting, and not just because we obviously care about the Voyager crew and their interaction with a former crew-member, returned from the dead. Lyndsay Ballard herself was a very likeable, personable, blunt type, and seeing someone like that go through a personal trauma, like she was accepting a terminal illness or something, is somehow more stark since she comes across as someone who can accept things quite easily, she's not one to sit in a corner moping, feel sorry for herself, or get angry at the universe. She's shown to be resourceful in her escape from the Kobali, a race that procreate by reanimating dead matter and turning it to their own uses, and by all evidence was the ideal personality for such a process, other than the fact she still feels tied to Voyager. 'Never go back' is probably the lesson of the episode - even if you return to where you felt safe or whole, or whatever, things will have changed there, and if not there then within oneself. It's a tragic reality of life and I felt a lot of sympathy for her plight, especially so because she doesn't even realise it. She's held onto hope for so long deep inside, believing she can take up the reins of an old life again, not understanding she's no longer who she was and can never fit into that old life, the one to which she'd died. But like a fantasy of someone returning from Heaven to see their Earthly family and friends again, she comes to realise it's not about losing them again, or they her, but the chance she didn't have before to say goodbye.
In that way it's a surprisingly touching story, even sandwiched in with a much different B-story involving Seven finding it difficult to control the Borg children under her charge. This is the very essence of Nineties Trek, two stories focusing on a character each, even though technically it's not part of that era since it was broadcast in 2000, but it's lovely to be in that very recognisable format for Trek when so much of current stuff is uncomfortable and alien... much like Lyndsay (though in reverse), if you know this old Trek you can't go back to the new stuff and find you fit in with it! I don't know what I was expecting from this, I didn't remember it as one I was fond of, rather of the inconsequential strain of stories that showed up late-'Voyager' as failing to achieve what 'DS9' did and build on what came before rather than merely continuing to do the same small stories on a specific plane that had worked in the early part of the series as they built the characters. And this could in fact be from an early season quite comfortably, there's little to mark it out in the characters' situations or changes to the series. If it weren't for the reference to the Hirogen it could have taken place any time in the series' history! There are a few plot conveniences that, while not bringing the story down, it's good enough that you don't worry about that sort of thing, do all the same show they weren't thinking hard enough about internal reality.
To begin with, and this is only a very minor one, wouldn't the Kobali have a word for 'voyager' since that describes a state of being of a person boldly travelling somewhere, rather than being a specific metaphor ('Temba, his arms wide'!). Yet when we hear Lyndsay talking in the teaser, before she speaks in Federation Standard (English), in order to contact Voyager, she mentions the ship's name and it's in English. But that's why it's a convenience, they need to make the audience understand she's trying to make contact with the ship, and I suppose they either didn't like using subtitles much in those days, or it would have taken away from the alienness of the scene if we understood every word - then the reveal of her suddenly speaking perfect English is more of a surprise. The other thing with the language is harder to get past because at points in the episode she falls into Kobali which the crew don't understand. But wouldn't the Universal Translator automatically translate it so they could understand? Again, the reason behind it is to show she doesn't quite fit in any more, and gradual realisation across various incidents that make you feel for her plight. It's also rather strange that her communication doesn't come through to the Bridge, but is only picked up by Mezoti on a console she can access (I think it was in Astrometrics). It neatly ties in the two stories, or I should say, introduces the B-story with Seven unable to perceive that children need to have some level of autonomy in order to develop independent thought.
The time issue can easily be fudged - at first it sounds like it's only two years ago since they met the Hirogen in Season 4, and that's how she died, but she actually says three years later on. That can be explained as either she hadn't kept strict track of time (unlikely in one sense since she was so intent on getting back to her old life, while possible in another since she may not have known how long it took to go through the Kobali treatment), or more time has passed than the episodes might suggest - it usually follows that each season takes place within one year, but it doesn't necessarily have to be so. The real convenience is that this is a brand new character. That may be because they couldn't find anyone suitable that had been killed off, someone that had personality and was memorable, since usually the ones to die are 'redshirts' (even though they wear gold these days), only there to provide a shock death and show how dangerous a mission is, therefore they might not have many, or any, lines, and aren't designed to stand out since the focus is on the main cast. I can't help thinking that if 'DS9' had done the same story they'd have found someone we'd known (but then they were generally better at fleshing out even guest characters). It could have shown up the premise of the episode as weak if not for the fact they managed to get such a lively performance from the guest actress, who does really well. I wonder if it might have become a classic if we'd had a prior connection to her, though.
The other big plot clunker that made no sense to me was that Harry has known this woman as far back as the Academy and has always been 'crazy about her,' and it's like they completely forgot he had a girlfriend, Libby, whom we actually saw in an episode! The series was often not that good at maintaining its own continuity (comparatively - it was solid gold standard compared to some modern Trek!), and while this anomaly can be explained away (Harry is the Geordi of Voyager, as I mentioned in the previous episode!), as he's always eager to please the latest woman he meets, the history there was a bit much. The running joke of Harry's misadventures is literally a running joke now as Tom lists his previous failures (holo-character, which could refer to either the one in 'Alter Ego,' or Maggie in preceding episode 'Spirit Folk'; a Borg (Seven); then there's the wrong Delaney twin; and now the 'dearly departed' - that's quite a roster!), which you could say was unkind, but it does show the friendship the pair have that he can get away with such ribbing, and the other thing is, it's true. Perhaps two such events happening in concurrent episodes was a bit much. But it is nice to see Harry have an episode, even if it's once again a bit of a cliché (I think of 'The Disease' in Season 5, and it's almost like they can't think of anything else for him to do these days), and yet at the same time the A and B-stories are almost equal in screen time, and with Seven getting the lion's share of that one perhaps we are seeing the Janeway/Doc/Seven creep finally becoming more evident?
It does seem a little hard to believe that the thing keeping Lyndsay going was her wish to see Harry again. As much as I like him they must have been best friends for her to feel that as such a motivation, and the evidence just isn't there since if they were that close she should have been his buddy rather than Tom, and in multiple episodes! But perhaps her admission how much she wanted to see Harry again (she came back from the dead for him?), was the first sign that she doesn't quite know what she needs in her new life - she longs for the familiar, but it's no longer what it was to her, and no more is this evident than in her awkward dinner with the Captain. It was typical of Janeway to reach out and try to take her back under her wing, but there was something Lyndsay said that really hit the nail on the head, being surprised Janeway ever noticed her - it was like a little nod to the audience that they know she never appeared before, she wasn't that noticeable, a small concession to the overall story of the episode relying on her being a much-loved ex-member of the crew. There's something else she says so aptly as she rushes out: "I shouldn't have come." She's referring to the private meal, but it could just as easily represent her whole return to Voyager. It's ultimately disproved, as I mentioned before she recognises that though she can't stay, it was worth coming back to be able to say goodbye (and if she hadn't they'd never have known what happened to her and there would have been no episode, or the Borg children's activities would have dominated!).
We're given some insight into what the aftermath of losing a crew-member is like from a practical point of view. We know from other episodes that they're given a sendoff in the traditional Starfleet way with a memorial service (and in her case, the old Torpedo tube exit), like when Janeway saw her own one after she'd apparently died in 'Coda,' but there are other considerations to be dealt with, too. Such as whether to keep a person's belongings, or as Tuvok so logically suggested (as he would), they should be recycled, which we can assume is a case of dematerialising them back into the Replicator so the energy can be used again. Except Kim couldn't bear to part with her things - and to be fair, they apparently do have the space if the guest Quarters she's assigned to are anything to go by! They were huge, how could Voyager justify having such a large area that no one's using, it's not like they have regular diplomatic dealings with the need of space for guests! We have seen some people die over the years, but we've also had new people come aboard. And yet the Borg kiddies are restricted to a cold, empty Cargo Bay? It's positively inhumane!
Actually, the Cargo Bay living Quarters is probably Seven's idea since that's what suited her (in the same way as Worf liked to have his Quarters aboard the Defiant rather than the station!), but as she learns in this episode, what suited her isn't always what was best for children. As much as I didn't like the Borg children from memory, so far I've enjoyed their interactions. In fact, I was surprised they didn't make more of Naomi playing with them. It didn't have to be the first time they'd met, but it certainly seemed like it since she complimented Mezoti on her hair braid, and you'd think she would have been one of the first to be around them, if for nothing else than her natural curiosity and desire to meet those her own age. They really needed a scene in a previous episode where she's told she needs to leave them alone for a few days or weeks as they adjust to losing their Borg technology and structure, but they didn't often think about little details like that. As it stood, I was interested to see more of her potential friendship with them, and I usually can't stand little girl stuff like that seen in the 'Short Treks' episode ('Children of Mars')! It's entertaining that Seven schedules every waking moment with no space for spontaneity, and prefers quantity rather than quality when it comes to activities, rigid and unbending. It's also fun that it's the people you'd least expect who have scenes with her about her wardship: Tuvok, though we know he has his own children and has been shown to be good with them in the past, but is the sort you'd expect to appreciate her strict schedule, and Chakotay, who isn't a family man, but does understand someone wanting to back out of a duty they've taken on: he's being a good First Officer again, and I like seeing that.
Another aspect of the episode that worked really well was the Kobali makeup itself - Lyndsay looks like the reanimated corpse she is, both very different to human physiology, but also her humanity shines through in her mannerisms and manner of speech. Nowadays, pretty much all the aliens in Trek move and speak like they're human, perhaps out of some misguided belief that it would be somehow 'racist' to 'reduce' them to represent a particular aspect of humanity, which can then be used to make fascinating commentary or exploration of our nature. But it's just as likely it's because the humans are all so casual in their manner and speech that they'd stand out even more if they weren't also casual and always speaking colloquially in dialogue that would fit right in on 21st Century Earth. Anyway, Lyndsay is exactly like that, but it makes sense because she is human and her humanity is shining through the outer shell. It's more apparent when her unhappy Father shows up to reclaim her and is very much more restrained. He looks a lot less corpse-like, perhaps because he's older and has had much longer to bed into this life (I liked the portrayal, he reminded me a bit of James Sloyan and I wished he could have played the part - he'd already been in 'Voyager' as Jetrel, but that was way back in Season 1). I also liked that he doesn't show up right away with an armada, he's peaceful, comes in wanting to talk in the same way I could imagine Janeway doing if the roles were reversed. Only when he's rebuffed, despite the fact they know nothing of how his people are designed to live, does he threaten to come back with force.
Maybe that's the only part that doesn't do the episode justice, in the way that force is necessary, as it could have been a more powerful way to end if Lyndsay had come to the decision to leave on her own. I believe she does, but it's couched within a situation where she could easily be willing to sacrifice herself to save Voyager and returns reluctantly to her new life. Once again, the line about coming back to have a chance to say goodbye is what saves the whole thing and makes it meaningful rather than mere action for action's sake, and it certainly is dramatic with the sparks going off on the Bridge as she staggers on, I just wonder if a quieter dawning realisation might have been as dramatic as a battle from a character point of view. But she was a fun character with a bit of Ensign Robin Lefler from 'TNG' in her - rather than Lefler's Laws, she had a list (Lyndsay's List?), of things she'd planned to do if she ever made it back to Voyager. I did wonder if, like the ogreish Klingons redesigned in 'DSC' (and then carefully, if partially, un-redesigned to include hair in response to the backlash), she still had the big bump underneath her hair which was cleverly designed to look like a mound of hair? After all, she still has a six-lobed brain and I found it believable the Doctor could so easily remould her outer physiology with treatment of that era, while mentioning he couldn't change her actual anatomy on the inside, selling it even more.
When she was eating some grey mush alone in the Mess Hall at first I really thought it was clay left over from the Borg children's art lesson (I hope they didn't spill any on the floor, they should have been doing it in the Cargo Bay, but then I suppose that would be like learning in your bedroom!), and that it would be the final indication she was truly alien within, however human she appeared on the outside, but it turned out to only be the Kobali gruel she'd longed to escape for so long (wonder how they were able to replicate or acquire it?). Perhaps after Janeway's disastrous pot roast (and I do wonder how you can burn something in a Replicator - it doesn't make any sense!), or maybe 'dinner' consisting of peanut butter and jam sandwiches? One of my favourite foods, I must say, but not really a dinner, is it, why not replicate something else, it only takes seconds! It was great to see a dress uniform in that scene, not something 'Voyager' uses very much (was it 'Course: Oblivion' last time?), as they don't have a lot of call for diplomatic functions. In such a touching and personable episode I was especially happy with the way they end it with a little bow by showing the two stories were loosely connected by Mezoti being given Lyndsay's hairbrush and Kim finally finding a partner in mischief to go and mess up Tuvok's holoprogram - more importantly demonstrating that he's going to be okay.
***
Friday, 2 February 2024
Ashes To Ashes (2)
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