VOY: “The Omega Directive”

Date: December 1, 2020

Season 4, Episode 21

Musical Accompaniment: I am now on songs that begin with the letter ‘E’

Interstellar News: It’s the first day of my birthday month! It’s also Giving Tuesday. I think this means you should give me presents 🙂

TL;DR: Voyager is knocked out of warp, the computer is taken over, and an Omega symbol appears locking out Chakotay. Janeway is the only one that knows what’s going on and she has the crew begin to get ready for a super secret mission, but then she discusses with Seven as she already knew from when Picard was assimilated. Senors picked up a particular molecule that Janeway wants to destroy and Seven wants to harness and Chakotay eventually convinces Janeway to tell the senior staff so they can all work on the problem together. The molecule can be synthesized and is super unstable, but when it destabilizes it destroys subspace and that means no more travel at warp speed. They find the molecule, save some of the people, piss them off by telling them they’re going to destroy it, and then space the molecules while in containment and destroy them.

Favorite Quote:

Tuvok: It’s unfortunate we can’t study this phenomenon in more detail. We may not have the opportunity again.

Janeway: Let’s hope we never do.

Tuvok: A curious statement from a woman of science.

Janeway: I’m also a woman who occasionally knows when to quit.

Tuvok and Janeway having a very frank conversation.

“The final frontier has some boundaries that shouldn’t be crossed, and we’re looking at one.”: This episode started out with a fun mystery and a nice twist that Seven knows a hell of a lot more than she should. Part of me got lost in the technobabble about the molecule as Starfleet found out about it about 100 years ago but the Borg found out about it much before then and it’s all over the universe, but then I started thinking about something Janeway said. WHY DOESN’T STARFLEET HAVE A PROTOCOL ABOUT BEING LOST IN SPACE? I mean it happened in TOS and TNG more than once, although the outside influences that caused it also brought them back… but that’s not the point. I can’t believe that they have a protocol for every damn thing, but not what to do when you’re stranded and unable to contact for updates. I also really loved that Seven was super efficient and gave everyone new designations and Kim is the only one to complain, and then he gets shot down by Chakotay. I give this episode 6 dragon blankets in various colors.

TA Out!