Date: August 3, 2021
Season 7, Episodes 15 and 16
Music Video of the Day:
Interstellar News: Today was a day filled with meetings and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III. I mean, it doesn’t get much better… right?
TL;DR: Kim, Neelix, and Chakotay arrive back at Voyager to find the EMH trying to fix it up and the crew is nowhere to be found. The crew, in fact, has all had their memories futzed with and they all work at different Quarren facilities. Janeway falls in love with a man named Jaffen, Seven is named Annika Hansen and is an efficiency expert, Tuvok loses his mind, Paris still hits on Torres, and we find out this is all due to a labor shortage.
Chakotay is able to beam Torres back and the EMH starts to restore her memories. Slowly Chakotay gets folks on the planet to believe him, including a doctor and an investigator, and the crew works to shut down the shield grid so everyone can be beamed back. Jaffen and Janeway say goodbye, as he really was looking for a new life to lead and his memories are his own.
Favorite Quotes:
Kim: I appreciate your input, Doc, but I didn’t call you down here to help me scan. I’m still feeling kind of queasy from that nectar.
EMH: I treated you days ago.
Kim: Whatever you did hasn’t worked. Maybe all those command subroutines are compromising your medical abilities.
EMH: Maybe all that sarcasm is compromising your natural charm.
Kim and the EMH sending jabs back and forth in Part 1.
Torres kisses Paris
Paris: What’s that for?
Torres: For taking care of me, even when you didn’t know who I was.
Torres punches his arm
Paris: Ow! What was that for?
Torres: Flirting with your customers.
Paris: I was a victim of mind control!
Torres and Paris acting like every couple who just got their minds back. Right?
Part 1 “I can already tell it’s going to be much better than my last job.”: Part 1 does a great job setting up the scene. It’s clear that the crew has had some sort of memory wipe, but we don’t know why or how or when. Everyone is somewhat familiar, but just a bit different. Janeway is still talking to machines, Paris is still a sweet talker, and Seven is still looking for perfection. Then we get to see what happened as the EMH provides the backstory for those returning and they start to put the pieces together. I love that Tuvok, before he realizes he’s Vulcan, is scared of needles. It was that nice touch that allowed me to feel for him as he’s clearly so out of his element. We end the first part with Chakotay being cornered and Torres being abducted by Voyager. It makes me want to watch the rest and find out what happened.
Part 2 “We’re doctors. We’re not supposed to harm patients.”: Chakotay is able to escape, as is Voyager who was under attack. The EMH creates a plan to treat Torres and the rest of the crew, should they be rescued. It’s wonderful that it’s Neelix helping Torres get reacquainted because he’s so patient. Chakotay would have also been a good choice, given their history, but he was needed to be the good first officer and rescue his captain. Seven starts to wake up and she’s a big catalyst for helping. We find out it’s a conspiracy by some in the government and the head doctor, but that’s the problem with conspiracies… they never hold up when more than one person knows the truth. The young doctor, the investigator, and others help out the crew. It’s sad for Janeway, who had a whirlwind romance, but we all knew it wasn’t going to end any other way — well, unless he died of course.
I really enjoyed this duo of episodes. They weren’t perfect, but they were a lot of fun. They deserve 9 stuffed animals: a lobster, a goat, two bears, two dragons, two tigers, and an otter.
TA Out!
To Boldly Go Where Everyone Has Gone Before 