“State of Flux”

I was watching this episode today on spike TV. It's a great episode and made me think what if Voyager had a recurring character that was a cardassian spy and she was expose. It would be interesting to see what the crew would do with her considering being a Cardassian isn't a crime.

I still crack up when Chakotay asks if there were reports of other missing starships & Janeway replies, "Not to my knowledge."
Ummm...what about the Hera (which disappeared a year earlier in TNG's "Interface") or even the Equinox (that two-parter never makes it clear whether it arrived in the Delta Quadrant before or after Voyager)?

@Jake
"Ummm...what about the Hera (which disappeared a year earlier in TNG's 'Interface') or even the Equinox (that two-parter never makes it clear whether it arrived in the Delta Quadrant before or after Voyager)?"

What about it (the Equinox)? Chuckles asks Janeway if there were any reports of other missing ships, not if she omnisciently knows about every Federation vessel that got yanked into the Delta quadrant. Evidently there were no such reports where the Equinox was concerned.

I agree, this was a good one. The only thing I had a little trouble believing was that no one noticed a replicator go missing. Aren't they always talking about how they have to ration out their replicator use? And didn't Janeway say in Caretaker that the replicators were fully integrated into the ships systems? It seems to me that it would be difficult to just remove one from the ship without anyone noticing.

Other than that though, I enjoyed this one a lot! Three and a half stars from me too!

I'm watching all this for the first time just now but I'm going to go out on a limb and guess nobody on the bridge will take note of the fact that an unshielded replicator makes for a terrifying makeshift bomb. Because that's not at all relevant information to a trouble magnet of a ship lost 75 years from home with only eight photon torpedoes left (or was it seven?).

Love the title of this episode! Many relevant meanings

navamske:
"What about it (the Equinox)? Chuckles asks Janeway if there were any reports of other missing ships, not if she omnisciently knows about every Federation vessel that got yanked into the Delta quadrant. Evidently there were no such reports where the Equinox was concerned."

So Starfleet wouldn't have reported that ship missing? If Janeway didn't 'omnisciently' know about it or any other missing ships, couldn't she do that non-complicated thing called 'looking things up'?

This was a good episode. Its too bad that as the series went ahead, Seska's motivations were not as clear. Here she's trading Voyager's tech to keep the Kazon of their backs. Can't really argue against self-preservation. Obviously, she has to get away when found out. But later on, I never quite understood what her point was. Did she give up on ever returning home and just building a base of power with the Kazon?

Hey folks, the reason Janeway didn't know or didn't mention the Equinox is because the writers don't think that far ahead!

If they had been on the ball Janeway could've mentioned the Hera (La Forge's mother's ship) and that would've been a nice touch for Trekkies. Lost opportunity as so much of Voyager was.

As for the rest of the episode, I didn't find myself captivated by Seska's lying. I knew for a fact she was indeed lying because I saw this episode well after the fact. I guess if I had caught it during the original run I'd have liked it better. Unfortunately it just came off as a waste of time waiting for the truth to come out.

Well after Neelix described the consequences of eating those "apples", I'd think Carey should have run back to the other crew members he said were picking them to warn them...it's not hard to imagine one of them biting into one.

As for the leola root...if this is the planet they are indiginous to, they must have harvested a heap of them...Neelix mentions them in his cooking for years to come.

I really enjoyed this episode. It used the premise of the show, and showed consequences of Janeway's actions in 'Caretaker'. Seska had a good point in her speech near the end. I think the first two seasons, for everyone's complaints, did have a story arc of sorts. There was the Kazon/Seska arc, and the Vidiian arc. I wish more had been done with the show's premise, ultimately.

But episodes like this one were a step in the right direction, as was 'Equinox' in seasons 5 and 6. Interestingly enough, Janeway doesn't know about the USS Equinox's disappearance in this episode, but then again, I guess she isn't omniscient.

If you want to talk about missing ships, there is the Defiant: the original Defiant, from the TOS episode The Tholian Web. It disappeared into a some strange area of space. It might not have been taken by the Caretaker, but I always thought it would be interesting if it popped back into normal space sometime.

Actually the original Defiant's disappearance is explained in the season 4 episode of "Enterprise", "In a Mirror Darkly".

The anomalies of Tholian space pushed the Defiant into the Mirror universe more than a 100 years earlier where the mirror Jonathan Archer and the crew of ISS Enterprise NX-01 hijacked it and took back to Earth (or at least the mirror universe Ensign Sato did that, after she took over control of the two ships from Archer.)

Another standout installment that smartly utilizes not only the Kazon (in this case the Nistrim sect), but also a secondary character known for her outspokenness against the captain. Everything in this episode flowed logically from what the first season has built up thus far and brought us to what is now a defining moment for several future episodes.

Despite a bit of by-the-numbers plotting, this was well-conceived and smartly executed with some of the best characterizations of the first season. This is, in my opinion, the closest yet that Voyager has knocked it out of the park.

3.5 stars.

Best episode so far! State of Flux is a good name for the episode. It really does show how unstable everything is. Even though I knew who the traitor was, the show still did a good job of casting doubt. I agree with Jammer; Seska's pleas of innocence were very convincing, all things considered. When she went to the Kazon ship to retrieve the replicator, it is perfectly logical that she's doing it to remove evidence... AND perfectly logical that she did it to prove her innocence. We already knew she doesn't play by the rules, and we already knew she thought this was a good way to extract the replicator...

And then there was the revelation that she was possibly a Cardassian. Honestly, I sort of wish that she had stayed on. After all, being a Cardassian spy doesn't make you a traitor... And hey, having a lone Cardassian stuck with the humans worked on DS9, maybe it would work here? But it does make sense that she would then be the least willing to play by Janeway's rules. So I guess I understand why they went the way they did. Having Seska be a Cardassian spy yet not actually betraying the crew would have been a risky plot to take, but perhaps not the most realistic.

In any case, one thing I liked about this episode was that Seska wasn't being a mustache twirling villain here. Her motives were clear; protect Voyager. It was almost noble in a way. And now the reason the Kazon never attacked Voyager since Caretaker is made clear. Seska's rant at Janeway after being caught had a certain amount of logic to it. I'm not saying she's right, but it does certainly make sense to her. And it again touches on a theme that has come up multiple times in the first season: should you sacrifice your principles to get home? In fact, here it's not even about getting home. Should you sacrifice your principles in order to stay alive in a dangerous world? Seska obviously has no problem with it, Janeway obviously won't. And that's why Seska directed a lot of her rant at Chakotay.

Once again we get a good Chakotay episode. Once again he is torn between his Maquis loyalty and his desire to keep this a Federation ship. And this time, his Maquis loyalty was wrong. And we get to see him get punched in the gut repeatedly. I liked that he was taking his frustrations out on Tuvok. He may have accepted Tuvok's betrayal by now, but he hasn't forgotten it. And he's perfectly entitled to be frustrated and venting some steam here.

So yeah, I enjoyed it. This was a show that was truly Voyager's and didn't feel like a bad TNG rerun. It may have come a bit too early in the season, but really, even that isn't too bad. We would have been wondering about the Kazon eventually. So maybe it's best that Seska was revealed so soon.

Re: leela root: I imagine later on, they grew them. They did have a hydroponic bay, right? (Except that I noticed it was, if I remember correctly, cargo bay 2, which later houses Seven of Nine? I may not remember correctly.)

Having recently rewatched this episode and "Alliances" from season 2, I can't help but find Janeway's change of mind regarding establishing alliances mildly amusing. Here Janeway tells Tuvok that any alliance could be helpful even the Nistrim, despite Neelix already informing her that the Nistrim is the most violent sect. Granted, at the time Janeway makes this statement she hadn't met Mage Culluh yet. But then in "Alliances", at the end of the episode, Janeway tells the senior staff that the only ally they need is the Federation rulebook. Which is it Captain?

Jeff Bedard,

Maybe that's an underlying reason why Janeway agreed with Chakotay in Alliances. She has known all along they might need to explore that route. It is obvious that AFTER the events that too place in Alliances her mind is now made up. I give her credit for giving it a try.

Break...

Not too much to say about this wonderful episode, especially after Jammer's outstanding review.

All I could think watching this was "poor Carey", first he get demoted, now the Captain and XO suspect him of contacting the Kazon... eeesh... because THEY think he has motive?

One of the reasons I love this episode is it has Martha Hackett in it. Wonderful actress.

I love her scheming and love how they caught her.

I also love this exchange at the end between Chakotay and Tuvok. Not just because it's humorous, but because Chakotay had the courage to approach Tuvok here. He could have easily been too embarrassed to bring it up.

"CHAKOTAY: Can I ask you to be honest with me, Lieutenant?
TUVOK: As a Vulcan, I am at all times honest, Commander.
CHAKOTAY: That's not exactly true. You lied to me when you passed yourself off as a Maquis to get on my crew.
TUVOK: I was honest to my own convictions within the defined parameters of my mission.
CHAKOTAY: You damned Vulcans and your defined parameters. That's easy for you.
TUVOK: On the contrary. The demands on a Vulcan's character are extraordinarily difficult. Do not mistake composure for ease. How may I be honest with you today?
CHAKOTAY: I'd just like to know, from someone else who pulled the wool over my eyes, was I particularly naive? Was I not paying enough attention? What the hell was it that let all you spies get by me?
TUVOK: Like all humans, you depend on feelings and instincts to guide you, and they invariably let you down. But particularly naive? No, Commander, and I've always considered your attention span to be adequate.
CHAKOTAY: Did you ever see anything about Seska that make you suspicious?
TUVOK: No. She quite expertly pulled the wool over my eyes as well.
CHAKOTAY: Well, that makes me feel a little better. Thanks.
TUVOK: Curious.
CHAKOTAY: What?
TUVOK: That my failure, added to your own, should improve your feelings.
CHAKOTAY: Misery loves company, Tuvok."

"How may I be honest with you today?" had me in tears :-) :-)

I'll go 4 stars with one. Great episode.

I can only watch this one these days all starry eyed...I sho loved Seska. (Though I admit it's weird hearing them refer to her as 'Ensign' Seska. I forgot she was part of the crew like this back then.) I generally watch her after she'd defected and restored her Cardassian physiology, so going back to episodes like these is such a treasure.

There really isn't much more to add to what Jammer said. Outstanding. Well paced. Never overdone nor underdone. This ep introduced us also to Mage Culluh. Obviously someone we will forsee again in the future. But at this point we didn't know much about his sinister ways. Though we would learn very quickly in this episode alone.

I just can't help but gush over Martha Hackett as Seska. I think the reason I stopped watching this one as much was because I was reminded of how she could have been quite a...diversion...if she had stayed a part of the chain of command. And let's face it, it made for some compelling storytelling.

Still, I can't believe the writers decided to write her out. She had so much character and presence...easily on the levels of Tim Russ and Robert Picardo. I just can't forgive the writers for that guffaw. And yet they had no issues keeping the other ensign? Come on, How many times can you not get a lock on something the size of candlestick park? Not to mention his acting. Jack Nicholson is in no danger of losing an Academy Award to this guy. (ok, not many people could compete. Maybe Dustin Hoffman or Harrison Ford, but you get the point)

But no sense beating that dead horse, you good folks know your feelings on it.

Back to Seska. I also keep forgetting the Bajoran look was just a ruse. I admit there was something about her as a Cardassian that made her more sinister in appearance. And irnoically we kept seeing her in all her maternal radiance at that point. Which I didn't mind. Made her all the more compelling I would say. I just don't understand how the producers could just let her go. Her acting never once felt wooden at all, even at this point.

I really enjoyed seeing how she played chuckles like a fiddle. Call me sadistic but she ripped right thru his self righteous shields like those temporal missiles ripped thru Voyager in S4's Year of Hell. And she'd pour salt on those wounds in Maneuvers.

I do like how the show played with those utopian ideals and showed that not everyone was going to be in agreement with them.
I believe that was why the maquis were created in TNG. To shake the status quo up just a bit. Show external/internal strife.

I haven't watched DS9 as of yet but if i'm not mistaken (please correct me if so) it dealt moreso with the politics of Starfleet. Not just black and white fundamentals like TNG. But the 'gray area' issues that were the cornerstone of orders and missions doled out by Starfleet command.

But with Voyager they decided to downplay the maquis dissidence. To try to adhere to the original ideals Gene Roddenberry laid out in TOS. But then they let Janeway break the prime directive whenever it became inconvenient. Talk about being unclear on the concept.

They still could have shown a less ideal environment in the first two seasons alone regarding the two crews. Seska wasn't the only maquis who felt the way she did. She just went a little farther than the rest. And let's face it, it made for some awesome storytelling.

And the fact that it was the captain herself who stranded both crews in the Delta Quadrant was the perfect catalyst for some kind of mutiny. And yet all we got out of it was Seska defecting. meh. Looking at it some 20 years later Seska's reaction seemed more realistic than chuckles, who jumped into the first officer role a little TOO readily. He seemed to suddenly forget why he joined the maquis in the first place. Truthfully he never came off as any kind of malcontent to begin with.

I can somewhat see B'elanna trying to fit in with Starfleet. She would always default her disagreements with it to her Klingon side. Being in Starfleet even under forced circumstances might be her way of feeling in control of her temper. And thus, defeating her Klingon half.

And yet the writers couldn't decide how to fit Seska into this motley crew. *facepalm

We probably should have guessed where Seska was headed based on the previous Ep. Still, I never saw her siding with the Ka-zon coming. They sure didn't seem all that powerful. Or intelligent. And she seemed far too ahead of them intellectually to put up with that primitive way of thinking. Starfleet, Cardassian and Maquis experience. Quite the resume she put together. Should've made her the Captain.

Strong 3.5 to a solid 4 stars is where I put this one.

Another strong episode, rooted again in a uniquely Voyager perspective. Plenty of twists, some nice re-direction, plenty of revelations regarding Seska, and Chakotay wondering whether any of his Maquis crew were actually real Maquis.

Seska is the standout here, and her impassioned monologue at the end gives a very Cardassian spin on how to handle Voyager's plight. Good stuff. 3.5 stars.

On the comment asking if Equinox arrived in the Delta Quadrant before or after Voyager; clearly Equinox arrived first and had already started its trip home when Voyager arrived. Voyager was the last ship the Caretaker abducted as he died shortly after while Voyager was still at his array. Why Equinox, heading from and to the same places as Voyager would completely miss the Kazon and the Borg on its journey which Voyager spent years dealing with and encounter an entirely different set of aliens is another question as is why the Caretaker didn't send Equinox back as he still had time left...

"Do not mistake composure for ease." Tuvok is an awesome Vulcan! For some reason I remembered people criticizing his Vulcanness, and had it in my mind he wasn't a good character. 15 years sure makes a difference in perspective! Tuvok rocks. "How may I be honest with you today?" That whole scene was a real highlight.

But I'm bothered that Tuvok wears lieutenant commander pips while he is constantly referred to as "Lieutenant Tuvok," and later gets promoted to LDCR. WTF, costume people?! Basics.

I also think it's odd when Voyager gets the new type of fancy shuttle in later seasons (though let's not get started on shuttle anomalies!), as well as the new type of STFC tricorders with the slanted front face. I guess they were just using the old ones until they wore out! Or maybe they replicated the prototype in the ship's computer?

This episode simply didn't do it for me. Ceska was so obviously guilty from the very first moment that it was obvious she was up to something fishy even before we knew anything fishy had happened. The problem here is that Ceska has always clearly been playing for a different team and the show focused way too much on her character for me to ever believe that she was just a red herring. The writer's have demonstrated that they simply aren't capable of writing with that much subtlety. Dropping hints of another lost ship in the Delta Quadrant would have been a great red herring and would have given the writers material for later seasons but again the writers aren't capable of that kind of foreward thinking.

Thus from my perspective, the writers spent 30 minutes focus on the character we knew was always going to be guilty so it felt like the episode was running in place for 30 minutes and simply stalling for time.

In terms of long reaching implications, why does the crew assume without any justification that no other species in this quadrant uses that kind of technology? They just got to the Delta Quadrant and they know there are species out there they have never met with unknown technology. There was no reason to assume that no other species uses that material in its technology. And since this was a replicator, wouldn't the replicator technology basically be the same in every species so shouldn't every species replicator technology use the same basic components? That was another problem.

Finally, how is growing and transporting food less energy intensive than using the replicator to simply make food? If anything, replicating food should be less energy intensive than growing it or transporting it, especially since the hydroponics bay is in an area of the ship that receives no natural sunlight and there are no sewage lines running throughout the ship so all the water and fertilizer for the plants would have to be replicated anyways.

recap: Episode 1 - sleep inducing
Episode 2: feminist drivel (Didn't finish)
Episode 3: nice story (**)
Episode4: boring hospital show (Didn't finish)
Episode 5: boring hospital show (Didn't finish)
Episode 6: Pointless get off the island show
Episode 7: Nice mystery (**)
Episode 8: Nice story (**)
Episode 9: Pointless get off the island show {Skipped to the predictable end)
And now episode 10
Nice bit of espionage. nice story (***)

Heya heya Everyone!

Upon first viewing in the 90's, I had been rooting for Seska after her impassioned plea toward the end. That she turned out to be a Cardassian spy, I felt it was a bit contrived. It was interesting, no doubt, but it just didn't feel right to me.

Now, upon viewing again after these many years, I had to wonder about something. Voyager knows more baddies are going to show up, but after getting their console/technology back, they just sit there. Were they going to scold the Kazon? (They wouldn't care, and would try to get the technology any way they could, because it was their space, after all). Were they going to attempt to question them? (Not likely they'd get any answers, because of my above note). So why did they just sit there? I'd figure they'd get the replicator back, then get the heck out of there at high warp. There was no reason to stay, except to give Seska a place to beam to. Period. Seemed silly to me they hung around until the last moment...

Overall, I really liked the episode, I just can't get past the fact they stayed right there...

Enjoy the day Everyone! RT

From a viewer's point of view, I'm glad Seska's gone because I found her to be a conniving backstabbing b**** . But if I step back, I wonder why the writers decided to take the character off of Voyager - she definitely added some spice to the mix and Martha Hackett did a great job portraying the character. Someone else noted that it might have provided fodder for many interesting episodes to leave her on the ship as a Cardassian spy... (incidentally, I couldn't remember Hackett's name so I googled the character and glanced at Hackett's wikipedia entry. Cum laude from Harvard/Radcliffe. To quote another sci-fi baddie: Most Impressive.

Easily the best episodes for Season 1

"I had my eyes on young ensign Kim" -- Seska
Haha.. Even as early in the series, Kim already destined to doom with women

I love this episodes. It has every part of what Voyager needs. Correlation and consequences to it's main premise, character growth, internal conflict based on reasonable development, and formidable intellectual opponent (not your weekly hard-headed-alien of the week). Hackett doing impressive job taking role of Seska.

Apart from straying out from it's main premise (lost in delta quadrant with limited resouce and renegades crew) over the series. Another thing that I think Voyager lack is presence of an equal opponent. Opponent with moral & politically complex, a cunning and intectually challenging opponent who can do battle of wits, battle of deception. Seska with Kazon help can provide this nicely (at least for a while).

I know Beltran having quarrel with the way writers and his character treated later on the season. But is he already lost interest as early on first season? He's having poor performance in this episodes. Even Lt. Carey doing a better job when being cornered as suspect.
Chakotay/Beltran on the other hand, looks indifferent throughout the episodes, and this should be his show! He doesn't look much worry, troubled, threatened when Seska accussed, or when he's talk to Seska.
Even on the closing scene with Tuvok, he just casually talk "Misery loves company, Tuvok". But nothing on his voice or body languange shown someone that has just gotten through big ordeal of being fouled, betrayed, lost, depressed. It's like he doesn't care and just doing his line.

3.5 stars

Best episode of the series thus far for all the reasons Jammer and most others already said..

Two bad moments for the Chakotay character because of Robert Beltran's limited acting skills --->
One in contrast to Martha Hackett's Seska in their dialogs and the other in contrast to the masterful skills of Tim Russ in portraying Tuvok in that last scene. Delivery of lines in a believable and authentic-to-the-character manner are very underrated (see also the dialog between Garrett Wang's Kim and Jerry Hardin's character in "Emanations" for another example)

If this were a 2017 show this episode would have been one of many comprising a solid story arc. But alas, this was 1995. The Seska arc was mediocre at best.

So this is a good episode as (mostly) everyone agrees; it's suspenseful and tight, gives Chakotay something to do, and plays on the realities of Voyager's precarity in the quadrant and the risks from both inside and outside the ship. The episode pays off some of the Starfleet/Maquis material that has been otherwise mostly forgotten, from Seska's getting Chakotay the soup at the episode's beginning forward through to the acknowledgment of what discovering that Tuvok is a secret agent must have done to Chakotay's feeling at the episode's end. Not only that, but the episode also follows up from material from DS9 -- the reveal about Seska makes sense because it follows on Second Skin (obliquely referenced since it's stated that it's known that Cardassians send out surgically altered spies) and adds an interesting new player. While I think Janeway, Chakotay and Tuvok are really overstating it in claiming that Carey had "motive," I like the idea that some of the personnel decisions Janeway et al. made could ruffle some of the crew and that there's some real possibility of discontent on this ship.

I guess I'm still a bit reluctant to be *too* enthusiastic about the show, though. I think that the double-whammy reveal of Seska as both Cardassian spy *and* traitor to the ship is in some ways a bit less than the sum of its parts. Cardassians are complex, sure, but they're still to some extent designated bad guys. It would have been very interesting to see a Cardassian spy try to integrate onto Voyager, alongside people she had been betraying and who actively hate her species. And by having the person to make the "we need to survive out here, by forging alliances and dropping your principles" argument be neither Starfleet nor Maquis, both organizations which operate under a kind of idealism in different ways, but Cardassian, a culture of explicit dominance, gives the impression that this is a take that was a little beyond the pale for anyone else on the ship. It's not a huge letdown, and I think it's worth noting that it makes sense that neither Janeway's nor Chakotay's original crews are really going to be full of people already after a couple of months planning on making their own individual plans; Seska was *already* an independent agent of sorts, and so it makes sense that she was much more ready than anyone else on the ship (besides the two captains) to make her own gutsy calls. Anyway, it's a good trick to have sensible if uncomfortable observations placed in the mouth of a designated villain, but it also can feel a bit like a strawman.

More to the point, I guess the *emotional* story for Chakotay gets a little blunted; he doesn't have to try to understand or defend Seska's actions, even if they were partly meant to help save the ship, from loyalty to his own crew member, since she was a traitor -- not to Starfleet, like Tuvok, which Chakotay can at least understand and respect, but to the *Cardassians*. Chakotay's role as Maquis ends up getting dropped in a way as the episode goes on and it becomes his role as (jilted) lover that is the only thing that matters -- and that's the part that was only introduced at the beginning of the episode. Taking part of Jammer's review, "the show demonstrates that the Voyager is still at least partially divided in its Starfleet/Maquis mentalities, and that maybe not all of the crew is willing to just lie down and accept its situation," I guess this sort of is my problem. For both Chakotay's story *and* for the story of Voyager-as-a-whole, revealing the most rebellious Maquis to be a Cardassian impostor sort of prevents this from being an actual Starfleet/Maquis story, and as such it's more personal and maybe interesting but seems less important to the series as a whole.

What *might* have been interesting is the idea of Seska's fitting in so well in the Maquis, while apparently mostly operating on a Cardassian set of values. The Maquis were created to fight Cardassians, and one common problem in war -- which was articulated by O'Brien back in The Wounded -- is to start to mirror one's opponent, to take on their tactics and premises. A Cardassian fit in, right in their midst, and indeed Seska's behaviour here, justified in terms of Cardassian values, seems continuous with her actions in Prime Factors, which were then ostensibly justified by Maquis values. That's another interesting element the show didn't really explore, at least not here.

I could see going to 3.5 stars, but for now I feel like a high 3 is more appropriate. A good mystery and emotional story, with a nice gut-punch ending, and an effective piece for exposing Seska's villainy -- but I feel like it's limited by some of the choices made.

So replicators are actually weapons of mass descruction now? Install one wrong and everyone gets melted into the ship apparently. Another voyager plot invention, never seen anywhere before, or after, this episode.

Decent episode though. 2 1/2 stars.

The danger of incorrectly shielded replicators is horrifying (and everyone’s sleeping next to them!), but they’re only space microwaves in practice and you want those properly shielded too

3 stars solid episode that played to the more unique side of the series

I enjoyed the invocation shoot I liked seeing the crew searching for food. I liked that the episode jumped right into it with the discovery of a Kazon ship in orbit. I personally liked the Kazon and the Vidiians they managed to rise above the stock threat of the week.

The episode was well written with a lot of nice details and a tightness to the script—the mercasium letting them know Federation tech, the bio neural giveaway that it could have only come from voyager, the way the subject of blood arose with regards to seska due to the need for transfusion in the Kazon, the nifty idea hatched to gain access to the tech, seska’s riskier subspace personal bubble that ultimately landed her in sickbay and her true identity unearthed, Carey being a suspect makes sense from “parallax”, continuity from ds9’s “second skin” nicely set up the seska reveal organically.

Janeway continued to shine in season one. Here with her telling Culluh like it is with her “I don’t like bullies and I don’t like you Culluh” or her reaction when Tuvok suggests someone onboard Voyager betrayed them.

I also enjoyed when Seska finally dropped all pretense and not longer tried keeping up her con and laid into janeway. Seska really was a great early Voyager baddie. She was cunning and smart as evidenced by her trying to frame herself or having an out by beaming over to the Kazon ship

Also this episode added some personality to the delta Quadrant by showing their a little behind on tech and how Voyager’s tech is coveted by them

The only part that didn’t work was the romance between Chakotay and Seska.

But the final scene between Tuvok and Chakotay was pitch perfect and I can definitely see Chakotay feeling better after Tuvok, a logical Vulcan, got hoodwinked by seska too

2 stars

I couldn’t stand this hedonistic culture. The early part of the episode seemed like fluff and dragged. Kim
And his love interest were MEh

Things kinda pick up towards the end when their request for the tech falls through. Tuvok being the one who breaks the rules and gets the tech was a surprise. Ultimately when it is revealed that the tech would never work on the ship it felt a little too self righteous in making Janeways decision the rught one

The last post was meant for prime factors

A mystery, a traitor, the main enemy's involvement, Chakotay getting "stabbed in the back" -- so much to like about "State of Flux". A second-straight great episode for the Seska character after the brilliant "Prime Factors". This one really works on multiple levels given the aforementioned elements, creating an intriguing and cohesive episode but also some good questions for the future.

The Kazon are back and while less technologically capable, they have numbers and pose a serious threat. Janeway doesn't back down and is genuinely surprised at how quickly Torres and the away team do their bit to recover the replicator -- could have been ugly had they not done the retrieval work before reinforcements for the Kazon arrive. Voyager need a credible enemy and here the Kazon play the part more than adequately.

Nice twist with Seska being Cardassian and having infiltrated the Maquis under Chakotay's command. Her being the traitor does make sense as she's been the most vocal, I think, about disagreeing with Janeway and the Federation principles. The mushroom soup incident is one small example. But it really comes out in the heated exchange when Chakotay confronts her for treason and she calls both him and Janeway fools -- an excellent scene.

How she beamed herself out is a bit of a mystery (just by uttering 3 letters?) but clearly Seska's a strong character that sets up some interesting confrontations in the future -- well done Voyager writers.

Good enough for 3.5 stars -- Seska had some good arguments (from her perspective) re. Janeway stranding the crew and how doing things the Cardassian way would be better. The whole melding of 2 crews has to be questioned after this episode so it's definitely something of a landmark episode for Season 1, I'd say. And how is Seska now going to make out as part of the Kazon when she wanted to get back home so badly? Compelling stuff here.

This was pretty solid, though with the problem that the Kazon always came across as embarrassingly cheap Klingon knockoffs. Wtf? They looked like costumes someone out together from a particularly crappy thrift store.

Seska's motivations make a life of sense here... Then she the runs off with the Kazon so that, uh, wtf, made zero sense.

The maddening thing is that had she remained on the ship, she could have been one of those Dr. Smith on Lost in Space or Dr. Baltar in BSG characters, where half the time they are helping you, half the time plotting against you sort of, but still with the goal of getting home etc etc. Think of Seska being a third wheel in the Voyager (Janeway)/Borg adventures, for example.

This was a decent episode, but if they already knew Seska was the guilty party when they confronted her in sickbay, it seems that Tuvok should have anticipated her transporter escape, and put some kind of dampening field in place in sickbay. They knew there was a Kazon ship nearby.

Teaser : ***.5, 5%

After having his dreams of re-uniting with his wife and kids dashed in last week's climax, Lt Carey is very enthusiastic about discovering some sort of alien apples on an unnamed planet. Now, this may seem ridiculous, but we are reminded quickly enough that the crew has had to endure the lethe that is daily meals in Neelix' kitchen. A sweet apple would probably, and appropriately, taste like paradise. And speaking of, Hell's chef is quick to point out that these particular apples are horrifically poisonous. Chakotay cuts him off before describing the way in which they will cause your dick to fall off (I'm not kidding), and consents to try a Leola root instead. After one bite, Chakotay is insulted by the idea that the disgusting vegetable is only reason the crew is scouting this planet.

Meanwhile, Paris notices an odd reading in orbit with the Voyager, but the sensors can't get a clear reading for some reason. To play it safe, Janeway orders the away teams return to the Voyager. Tuvok is finally able to use a torpedo or something to identify the vessel—Kazon. Ah...the space hobos are back! Seska is missing, and so Chakotay resolves to find her while the rest beam back to the ship. He tracks her to a cave where he observes several Kazon milling about. Finally, he runs into Seska, who had picked some mushrooms before being cornered by these Kazon. There's an exchange of phaser and Chakotay is injured before Seska is able to clear their path. So, right off the bat, the lingering problem characters from “Prime Factors” are introduced to the story, along with the villains from the pilot. Chakotay, who never had a chance to weigh in on the goings on last week is also being featured. The music is good...it's a promising start.

Act 1 : ***.5, 17%

Janeway's logs inform us that the pair managed to return to the ship without further incident, and that the Voyager escaped the planet without conflict. In his quarters, Chakotay is inscribing that one ubiquitous Indian symbol onto a piece of shale or something when Seska lets herself in. She's taken the liberty to make him a pot of mushroom soup from the supply she collected. Neelix wanted to stretch their supply with Leola root, leading to a little story of Maquis insurrection. Chakotay is all chuckles and grateful spoonfuls of soup right up until the point that Seska reveals that she and another former Maquis actually stole the mushrooms from the kitchen. Chakotay is incensed, and right on cue Neelix calls, complete with recommendations on punishment for the conspirators. Chakotay continues his Neelix theme of cutting him off mid-sentence and ignoring him, thankfully. Chakotay determines to punish Seska, the other Maquis and himself by suspending replicator privileges. Seksa—master manipulator that we've learned she is—gets very close to the XO, eluding to a casual, but amiable sexual relationship the two had before being stuck in the DQ. All of this—the minor infraction involving old allegiances, the callbacks to a relationship that defined a life before being re-conscripted into Starfleet, and the cocky, mischievous disregard for the rules—all of this points to the fact that Seska and perhaps a few others are wont to let go of the pointless divisions which so many seem to want this series to be about. More on this later. For the time being, Seska coyly threatens to bang Harry instead. Yeah...good luck with that one.

Janeway calls the senior staff to the bridge to observe a Kazon distress call. Neelix points out that this sect, called the Nistrim, is especially violent. I wonder if they know how to make water. Janeway, on the other hand, sees that responding to the call could help them make an ally (this is a different sect than the one in “Caretaker”), besides being the right thing to do, of course.

So, Chakotay leads an away team to the damaged Nistrim vessel and, in keeping with Voyager's penchant for effective horror, we see that several Kazon have been melted directly into the bulkheads of the ship. Wonderfully disgusting. There's some sort of crazy radiation in the area, as well as one living Kazon whom they beam to the Voyager. Tuvok and Torres examine a device whose tech tech is almost certainly Federation in origin. Hmm.

The EMH reports to Janeway; the Kazon survivor has been chemically fused to parts of their ship. Tuvok and Chakotay deliver even more disturbing news regarding the Federation tech, and the radiation levels are too high to attempt transport. Tuvok—in his wonderfully Vulcan way—concludes that, among only a few options, only one explanation as to how the Kazon obtained this tech is likely; someone on the Voyager gave it to them. Kate Mulgrew gives us a performance reminiscent of some of her scenes in “Caretaker,” displaying an almost panicked concern. This is consistent with the Janeway who is trying to cope with command crises that aren't about science (her field), or personal relationships. Tuvok corroborates his theory by pointing out how the Kazon vessel over Planet Mushroom Soup was able to evade the Voyager's sensors, suggesting the ship had some of their access codes. Seska is immediately considered a suspect as (one of) the saboteur(s), but Chakotay points out that at least a dozen people would have had the ability to make contact with the Kazon. Overall, the scene is well-handled and directed. While just last week, Janeway was feeling a little more comfortable and pleased with crew morale, now she is having covert conversations with her first and second officers in the elevator, realising that someone within their midst may be betraying them all.

Act 2 : ***, 17%

In Engineering, Seska, Carey and Torres volley some technobabble solutions around for retrieving the tech. We get a small moment for Torres where she informs Janeway that, in flagrant violation of Starfleet tradition going back at least 85 years, she doesn't exaggerate her timetables to the captain. Torres organises a team, but Chakotay pulls Seska off the team because of the suspicion Tuvok has on her. He tells her—genuinely—that he pulled her off to keep her away from the action, to provide her an alibi, essentially. She's not exactly grateful to him. Seska stops in to sickbay briefly to check on the status of the Kazon patient, claiming his testimony is the only thing that can exonerate her. Before she exits, Kes asks after the fact that Seska never got around to providing them a blood sample for their records (Kes is checking the crew for blood donors for the Kazon). Apparently, Seska's blood was tainted as a child of the Occupation. Mhm.

In the ready room, Tuvok confirms that a covert signal was indeed sent from the Voyager by someone in Engineering. Another Nistrim ship is approaching the distressed one, and only a few hours away from it and the Voyager. Before Janeway can even deal with that, Kim informs them that Seska has taken it upon herself to retrieve the Federation tech on her own. Why is still unclear—we have seen her, three times now, show little regard for Federation protocol or Starfleet command structures, but each time, she had a reason, an honest motivation. Chakotay sees this situation as similar, having witnessed her react to him divulge the suspicion on her. Tuvok, of course, suspects that she may be trying to cover her tracks. Well, it quickly becomes rather moot as we hear a scream indicating she had an accident on the Kazon ship. She's beamed to sickbay, where we see she's been severely burnt.

Act 3 : ***, 17%

Carey is brought before the command trio in the ready room where he's questioned. Janeway follows up on the events of “Parallax,” concerned that Carey may be having troubling accepting Torres as his superior. Tuvok asks directly whether he has contacted the Nistrim. It turns out that the signal to the Kazon was sent from Carey's workstation in Engineering. It's difficult to assess so long after broadcast if a mystery like this holds up, but the show has provided us a couple of reasons, in two episodes so far, why Carey might actually be the traitor: first was the incident in “Parallax.” We saw him and Torres put their differences aside, but it can't have ingratiated him to Janeway to be denied a command I'm sure he feels he deserves. Then in “Prime Factors,” we saw that he was again willing to defy the chain of command if it meant getting home to his family. We don't know much about the Kazon at this point—it is still possible for Carey to be the guilty party. For now, Janeway restricts him to quarters. Chakotay sums things up nicely:

JANEWAY: What do you think?
CHAKOTAY: He had the motive and the opportunity.
JANEWAY: He's also had a distinguished Starfleet career. Seska has spent most of the last two years as an enemy of the Federation.
CHAKOTAY: So have I.

Meanwhile, the other Nistrim ship arrives, commanded by a man called Caligula, or whatever. He insists on being allowed to see his crewman in the Voyager's sickbay. Before long, she brings him and an aide to the patient. The EMH and Janeway explain how volunteers from the Voyager provided donor blood to the man to save his life. Janeway is forthright with Caligula, refusing to release the ship him until they have concluded their investigation. Well, the Kazon are so grateful to the crew for saving the patient's life that they kill him with a poisoned needle. Janeway of course, has Caligula locked up in the brig whe...no, no, she tells him to get off her ship. Huh?

Well, that stupidity aside, the EMH and Kes report to Janeway about the oddities in Seska's blood, now that they have had a chance to examine it. It turns out she's actually a Cardassian. Yikes.

Act 4 : **.5, 17%

Tuvok suspects that Seska infiltrated the Maquis to spy on them, but Chakotay can't believe it. Best line of the episode is definitely :

CHAKOTAY to TUVOK: You were working for her. Seska was working for them. Was anyone on board that ship working for me?

Caligula hails, angered about Torres and her away team having returned to the other ship for their salvage operation. Janeway's finally had enough of his bullshit, flat-out threatening to destroy him if he doesn't knock it off. Amusingly, when Janeway calls Torres to let her know there's a ticking clock (those approaching Kazon reinforcements), the engineers have already completed their salvage and beamed back to the Voyager. That's a cute way to subvert clichés. Janeway is impressed.

Well, irony of ironies considering this all started when that poisoned apple fell, the mystery tech turns out to be a food-replicator, and it definitely came from the Voyager, since it contains those gooey bits unique to her (see “Caretaker”). Side-note, so a replicator, benign tech that it is, will turn you and your comrades into a horror show of melted flesh if your interior shield casing isn't thick enough. Got to love the future.

Meanwhile, Chakotay confront Seska in sickbay. He tells her about the replicator and asks her what she was trying to accomplish. She has an explanation about that Cardassian blood—a bone marrow transplant that she received as a child. While Beltran and Hackett pour their hearts into this scene, it falls pretty flat for me, and we can pretty much trace this back to the underlying problem with the Maquis. Without the sophistic web of bullshit surrounding their motivations, *and* the still unexplained motivations of the Cardassian paramilitary in the DMZ, there just isn't any there there regarding their conflict. Seska tells Chakotay that his Maquis secrets wouldn't be worth the effort for a Cardassian agent. And, well, yeah. What a fucking waste of time that would be! And so, the scene relies entirely on the actors' chemistry—which is good, don't get me wrong—but there isn't a lot of staying power to it, unlike other relationships we've seen.

Chakotay reveals that they're close to solving the mystery, reassuring her that they'll clear this issue up soon. Outside, Tuvok confirms that this chat was Chakotay setting a trap for Seska, a process which Tuvok mirrored with Carey.

Act 5 : **, 17%

Tuvok and Chakotay are playing gin, which is sort of fun, when someone sets off the trap. Someone is falsifying evidence—poorly. It appears that Carey is trying to frame Seska for the crime. Ah, but Chakotay quickly reveals that he knows the truth. He awakens Seska in sickbay to let her know that she's been caught. He explains the trap to her, which is sort of tedious. The scene is finally rescued by Robert Picardo who is activated and explains that he is certain—in a way only a medical genius like himself could be—that she is indeed Cardassian. Chakotay finally asks her outright why she did it.

SESKA: I did it for you. I did it for this crew. We are alone here, at the mercy of any number of hostile aliens, because of the incomprehensible decision of a Federation Captain. A Federation Captain who destroyed our only chance to get home. Federation rules. Federation nobility. Federation compassion? Do you understand, if this had been a Cardassian ship, we would be home now.

She has a point, which is good—bad guys should never be strawmen. But the point is, we already knew this. It's not a mystery that Janeway could have gotten them all alone in “Caretaker.” The only thing which makes her decision there “incomprehensible” is the lack of a moral centre. It would have been good to have Kes in this scene, so Seska could look her in the eye and tell her her people deserved to have the Kazon enslave them so that Seska could be home right now. She gets in some clichéd closing lines before executing a command which transports her to the Kazon ship. Well, good thing she planned on getting caught when they were so close by. Yeah...With the approaching reinforcements, Janeway is forced to let her go, I guess.

In the epilogue, Chakotay asks Tuvok for a little tough love. Tuvok earns the second-best line of the episode:

TUVOK: The demands on a Vulcan's character are extraordinarily difficult. Do not mistake composure for ease. How may I be honest with you today?

The Vulcan points out that, like all humans, our emotions are what make us susceptible to deception and errors, but admits that Seska was able to fool him just as easily. Chakotay is comforted by this. Emotions are weird.

Episode as Functionary : **.5, 10%

Isn't it interesting how Seska's values as a Cardassian spy (OO?) made her gel so well with her Maquis compatriots? Without those mean Cardassians to fight, B'Elanna found herself questioning the kind of rudderless antiauthoritarianism which bound the two women together in friendship. In this episode, Chakotay is at first lured by fond memories and “strictly Maquis operations.” In “The Maquis,” I touched on the idea that, lacking a clearly-realised motivation, the individual Maquis we get to know, like Cal Hudson, end up living out hyper-Romanticised fantasies. Kira took Thomas Riker to task for this very folly in “Defiant,” and (spoiler) Michael Eddington will prove to be the most Romantic figure of the movement. Seska has clearly preyed on these kinds of emotions in order to nestle herself within their ranks. Now, on the Voyager, with the ostensible purpose for the Maquis existing slipping further and further away from daily life, it is Seska who plays up Holden Caulfield snubbing of authority in order to keep the crew divided. Her efforts undermine the progress Janeway is beginning to make in establishing a Starfleet ethos amongst the crew. Unfortunately, this episode rushes her development and fails to give her a purpose. Yes, she is clearly motivated by philosophical differences with Starfleet and Janeway in particular, but what exactly is her goal, here? Did she think giving the Kazon replicators would stave off their attacks? Is that why we haven't seen them since the pilot? Well, that didn't prevent Chakotay from getting shot, did it? For proving to be such a master spy, this whole scheme seems poorly thought out. I would have preferred Seska remain aboard, hiding in plain sight, for longer.

The Kazon were put to okay use here, especially as a looming space-submarine threat in the opening acts. Caligula receives no particular characterisation, which is kind of a let down. The main characters fare better, especially Tuvok and Chakotay, whose conflicting personalities and agendas from “Caretaker” are effectively set in parallel without losing their defining qualities. For his part, Chakotay seems to realise that he needs to stop treating his former crew like they're still Maquis; all this does is invite discord and create opportunities for their enemies. They had better resolve these lingering Maquis issues soon, because the underlying problems with their conception will continue to plague the series until they do.

Final Score : ***

1. Seska doesn’t look or act Bajoran. She exudes evil and cruelty. She never struggles morally and is always willing to break the rules/do wrong no matter what the cost.

2. Her lying and manipulating is transparent. Her face contorts constantly to match whatever emotion she’s trying to portray.

3. Carey has no motive to contact the Kazon. Torres being promoted over him is not a motive to give the Kazon a replicator. Being mad about something doesn’t constitute a motive for just any action, it has to have some relevance. Seska has a motive because she disagrees with Janeway’s decision not to ally with the

4. It was painful to watch Chakotay fall for her transparent lies just because he thinks she’s hot.

5. It is highly unusual for women to wander off alone into caves.

Very good episode for all the reasons Jammer and other fans of the episode have well-stated.

Martha Hackett is wonderful. This episode shows what "Voyager" could have been if the writers/producers had been allowed to take the show in more of a stronger story arc direction.

Two more random things: I think "Voyager" has the best theme music and intro. It's also the most visually appealing of all Treks to me.

@Skeptical

>Honestly, I sort of wish that she had stayed on. After all, being a Cardassian spy doesn't make you a traitor... And hey, having a lone Cardassian stuck with the humans worked on DS9, maybe it would work here?

Really good idea, I would never have thought of it. New conflict between the Maquis and Seska could arise. Apart from season one's "Learning Curve" were the Maquis ever against Tuvoc?

I actually would have preferred if the writers had figured out a way to keep Seska on board Voyager and a member of the crew. I consider this episode of waste of Martha Hackett’s talents. Once again she was given a character that we were led to believe was going to be a recurring character of a Federation adversary (first it was the Romulan T’Rul on DS9, in charge of the Defiant’s cloaking device, now a Cardassian spy) interacting and working with the crew. Turning her into a mustache twirling villain was a cop out. At least this time she didn’t just disappear. But it would’ve been a far more interesting voyage with a full-time Cardassian on board with all sorts of opportunities for good storytelling. Oh well, such were the pitfalls of Voyager viewing. They often went with safe storytelling instead of taking risks because network TV is what it is.

@Justin,

If Seska had stayed on board, the whole Kazon conflict would have suffered greatly -- not that it was particularly enthralling to begin with. Given that the Kazon were supposed to be Voyager's principle antagonists for the 1st 2 seasons, on their own they were surprisingly underwhelming -- little more than recurring hard-headed aliens. Seska getting involved made them more interesting, not to mention giving the Chakotay character some good opportunities as she bore his child. I guess I'd say some of the Seska/Chakotay stuff got somewhat edgy, but ultimately I would say VOY did play it safe. The Seska/Chakotay plot probably could have taken a darker turn.

That being said Seska as a highly dissatisfied member of the crew would be interesting as the whole Maquis thing got papered over pretty quickly and smoothly. Hackett is a decent actress and I really liked her role in "Prime Factors" -- that kind of pushing to do things her way would create some good conflicts amongst the crew and for Janeway.

Absolutely loved this episode, watching it again makes me realize just how brilliant Martha Hackett was in this role.

Such a shame that they didn't keep her - even after her betrayal, they could have made her sabotage the kazon when she got tired of them in Season 2 (who wouldn't) and subsequently claim that she planned this all along to gather intelligence and protect Voyager.

Her coming along for the journey in the brig, always manipulating Chakotay and the viewers, always staying grey.. she could have been awesome.

Instead they wrote her out. What an absolute waste of a brilliant character :(

Solid four stars

Reading through my Voyager notes I noticed that @42:00 Janeway orders Paris to escape the Kazon at warp 4. Why only warp 4? Unexplained low warp speeds have happened in other series too, especially TOS.

I really like this episode. It has mystery and emotion and was a great start to the Seska being a Cardassian traitor arc. She had love sick Chakotay wrapped around her finger all the way to the end.

Poor Carey tho, Janeway treats this man horribly. First she promotes Torres a Maquis who knocked his lights out over him then accuses him of contacting the Kazon when he had no real motive whatsoever. I could believe him becoming a villian in the later seasons or at least going off on his own.

CHAKOTAY: To be honest, I'm not sure anymore. I'm not sure of a lot of things.
SESKA: Well, why don't you go talk to your animal guide and figure it all out?


They should have found a way to keep Seska around for all four seasons. I would watch a series about a lone Cardassian spy wrecking havoc in the Delta Quadrant as she tries to make her way home.


Random thoughts:

Chakotay is such a boyscout. Shouldn't the leader of a band of rebels be a little...rebelious? He's more "by the book" than Riker.

Tuvok comes across as a hypocrite with his "I was honest to my own convictions" line.

I liked B'Elanna's "When I say tomorrow, I mean tomorrow. I don't exaggerate." line. I think it was a mistake in Relics for the writers to have Scotty say he padded his estimates.

The work the show did to build up both Carey and Seska as minor characters paid off in this episode. Given that Voyager is such a small ship, it would've been nice to see more bit players like that dip in and out of episodes. Another solid episode that feels like it fully takes advantage of the show's premise and tells a story that wouldn't be possible on another series. It's unfortunate Chakotay has had so little to do up until this point. The focus on him was appreciated but would've had more impact if he'd been more conflicted in situations that involved the Maquis crew before this.

Like ‘Eye of the Needle’ and ‘Prime Factors’ – and, if we are being generous, perhaps even ‘Caretaker’, ‘Phage’, ‘Faces’, ‘Jetrel’ and ‘Learning Curve’ – ‘State of Flux’ is a reminder of how strong at times VOY’s first season actually was (personally, I always preferred ‘Parallax’ to ‘The Cloud’, but I am aware I am in the minority).

Like ‘Eye of the Needle’ and ‘Prime Factors’, ‘State of Flux’ also cleverly exploits Voyager’s unique predicament to the full – lost in space, far from home, what to do – while also skilfully developing some of the basic intent behind VOY that was ultimately forgotten: namely the tensions between the Maquis and Starfleet. There should have been more of both of these aspects throughout VOY, frankly.

After coming to the surface perfectly in ‘Prime Factors’ (in which the Maquis influence on the ship arguably causes even Starfleet officers to elect to break rules), that fundamental tension peaks in this episode, embodied not just in the uncovering of Seska (brilliantly portrayed by Martha Hackett once again here, it can never be emphasised too much), but also in the Chakotay-Seska tug-of-loyalty, the Chakotay-Janeway dynamic *about* Seska and Carey (poor Carey, a man who really never could catch a break), the final excoriation of Janeway by Seska – and of course the exquisite final Chakotay-Tuvok scene which include some of simply the best dialogue ever written in Trek. Chakotay is utilised extremely well in this episode, and played just as well by Beltran, as a trusting man nevertheless plagued by blaming himself for being too trusting with the wrong people (something else that also very unfortunately fell by the wayside in later episodes and seasons of VOY).

Even the Kazon, who got off to an unfortunate footing at unengaging stock villains in ‘Caretaker’ – their intriguing backstory with the Trabe really should have been made clearer from the start – are used smartly here; there is even a sense of pity for their abjectly low-tech condition, in which the prospect of access to something as ordinary (in Trek) as a simple replicator is worth dying and killing for and promises abundance beyond imagination.

If there’s one bittersweet complaint I have about this episode, it is solely that in revealing Seska so soon, VOY deprived us of the potential for more that-snarky-Maquis-in-Starfleet-uniform Seska episodes, which had built up nicely in previous episodes. Seska’s interactions with the other crew members, notably Torres, were a highlight of the first season for me and it was a pity we could not have had more of them. Martha Hackett did an outstanding job.

A worthy classic.

Before the comments section gets "nuked," because of a more or less expectable raid by barbarians upon our good cheer, I would like to say a few words of praise for the work of Martha Hackett.

Her portrayals of Seska are nothing less than inspired. Seska represents unbridled appetite and its power to corrupt even the stalwart. Her influence over the often weaker-in-the-backbone-than-we-would-like B'elanna, is fascinating to watch.

Thank you Jammer for allowing me to express my worthless dross. To Marlboro: you may now nuke away.

Hackett is such a good actress. Her tone and cadence are always so devious and cutting. She plays the villain well!

I felt that the show really had a missed opportunity at this plot progressed. The opportunity missed was that they could have used Seska's chilling confrontation as a way to confront the Starfleet philosophy of a lone ship in the Delta Quadrant. Janeway refused to ever give up on any principles, except the odd bending of the rules. It was so boring and unrealistic.

Seska changing sides and no longer playing by the rules highlighted an entire paradigm shift that COULD HAVE happened on the starship Voyager, but didn't. It stayed squeaky clean and that was rather unfortunate. It would've been much more interesting to see a series that had shades of grey.

All I could think watching this was "poor Carey", first he get demoted, now the Captain and XO suspect him of contacting the Kazon... eeesh... because THEY think he has motive?
----------------


I agree. First they promote a nose breaking, emotionally immature brat above him, then they treat him like a pariah.

Which highlights a very big flaw-- Why exactly is Carey continuing to take the abuse? He isn't being paid - nor does he HAVE to serve. He can quit any time. And if I were him, I'd have done it the second someone who physically assaulted people was promoted above me.

I think that would have made for better and more realistic drama too.

"Mr Carey, can I help you?"
"Not really, captain. I'm here to resign my commission."
"Resign? Why?"
"Why? The fact you even ask the question shows you're not fit for the captain's chair. You promoted a marquis terrorist, that broke my nose, to chief engineer - a position I worked hard all my life to attain. I will not serve under that kind of leadership - or under Torres - She's not fit to be promoted to any position on this ship, let alone that one. Find some other useful idiot, ma'am."

Orwell, That’s an interesting question: why doesnt Carey resign in a huff?

I think the answers are:
- If he did, he would be blamed and ostracized by everyone aboard.
- Janeway would presumably impose some consequences for being a freeloading parasite. (The most just response would be: “This ship has limited resources and cannot support a person who consumes food, drink, a cabin, medical care, and oxygen but contributes nothing to our survival. I wish you well, and will put you ashore at the next M-class planet”)

The first point is one that I think Voyager never explored: On a small and desperate ship with no one but each other and no way out, how many crewmembers are secretly feeling deeply unhappy or angry or bitter or sick or disgusted or overwhelmed - but keep grimly saluting and slaving away and keeping their misery hidden, because of the social pressure tofit in and ne a good worker bee?