Story: Dark Frontier
Written By: Robert J. Doherty
Series: Star Trek: Voyager
Year: 1999
It is odd how Voyager deals with the Borg. Nothing but contempt and an attitude of “must defeat” even with Seven on board. Why is she the one exception? There have been numerous accounts of Borg leaving the Collective, and after “Descent” on TNG, it seemed as if the Borg might be leading towards individuality, putting them on a much better path. But as much as I enjoy the film, “First Contact” ruined that. By Voyager it was all but forgotten. The Queen even claims Seven is the only Borg to EVER return to a state of individuality (you know besides Picard, Hugh, that group Chakotay found once). Anyhow, it is an odd game they play here, the Borg can’t be stopped, can’t be turned back....unless they are on the main cast payroll.
Janeway devises a plan to attack the Borg and steal a trans-warp coil in order to speed up their trip home. The Borg Queen (a new one I suppose, since the original died in “First Contact” and she is played by a different actress) learns of this plan and wants to stop it...and lure Seven back into the collective (she is given a choice to return or watch Voyager be assimilated). The results are this feature length episode (which is neither a premiere or a finale, odd that they through this in the middle).
It actually is a solid story for Seven of Nine, who must deal with a lot of issues - from the failure of her parents and her assimilation, to her long life as a Borg and the effect it has on her, as well as her dealing with who and what she is now being so long apart from the collective, and this is her first big Borg confrontation since she joined Voyager. So there is a lot of meaty stuff going on here, and despite issues with some contradictions in the Borg mythos...they do a decent job of it here. We get Seven’s origin, her current conflicts both with the Voyager crew and the Borg Queen, and we get some solid moral issues in a big action feature.
I’d say this goes up there with some of the best of Voyager. I don’t know if I could put it in the top 10 or even 20 of the whole Trek canon, and I’m not sure I would count it among my favorite Borg episodes. But it is pretty good if you shut your brain off, in a similar way that “First Contact” was (only lacking the lovable TNG cast). Solid Voyager, maybe even good Trek...maybe.
NEXT TIME: Kim Breaks Some Made Up Rule
Written By: Robert J. Doherty
Series: Star Trek: Voyager
Year: 1999
It is odd how Voyager deals with the Borg. Nothing but contempt and an attitude of “must defeat” even with Seven on board. Why is she the one exception? There have been numerous accounts of Borg leaving the Collective, and after “Descent” on TNG, it seemed as if the Borg might be leading towards individuality, putting them on a much better path. But as much as I enjoy the film, “First Contact” ruined that. By Voyager it was all but forgotten. The Queen even claims Seven is the only Borg to EVER return to a state of individuality (you know besides Picard, Hugh, that group Chakotay found once). Anyhow, it is an odd game they play here, the Borg can’t be stopped, can’t be turned back....unless they are on the main cast payroll.
It actually is a solid story for Seven of Nine, who must deal with a lot of issues - from the failure of her parents and her assimilation, to her long life as a Borg and the effect it has on her, as well as her dealing with who and what she is now being so long apart from the collective, and this is her first big Borg confrontation since she joined Voyager. So there is a lot of meaty stuff going on here, and despite issues with some contradictions in the Borg mythos...they do a decent job of it here. We get Seven’s origin, her current conflicts both with the Voyager crew and the Borg Queen, and we get some solid moral issues in a big action feature.
I’d say this goes up there with some of the best of Voyager. I don’t know if I could put it in the top 10 or even 20 of the whole Trek canon, and I’m not sure I would count it among my favorite Borg episodes. But it is pretty good if you shut your brain off, in a similar way that “First Contact” was (only lacking the lovable TNG cast). Solid Voyager, maybe even good Trek...maybe.
NEXT TIME: Kim Breaks Some Made Up Rule