Synopsis:
Voyager tries out their new Quantum slipstream drive with disastrous results. 15 years later Harry and Chakotay who survived the crash try to alter history..
This was Voyagers 100th episode and was directed by Levar Burton who also made a brief appearance. This was an excellent episode and was well directed. It started off with two figures beaming onto an ice-covered planet and one stating that they had found it. The camera then pans out to show an outline of Voyager buried beneath the ice.
The scenes inside the wreckage are quite creepy especially when we see Chakotay on the bridge and shining his torch over the preserved bodies of his fellow crewman. Before this episode was aired in the States the lists I belong to on the net were flooded with pictures of Chakotay kneeling beside Janeway and looking quite upset. Unfortunately this never made it to the screen and I think that was a shame because all you saw was him shine his torch on her. I wanted a bit more feeling here especially as their last evening together was spent having a romantic meal in her quarters. He showed more emotion over finding Seven.
Superb acting by Garret Wang, he really made me believe in this future Harry Kim, you could feel his bitterness and guilt at having let his crew mates down all those years previously. Loved the sarcastic comment he made about Chakotay and Tess being a “couple, joined at the hip”.
Obviously I enjoyed the big J/C scene in Kathryn’s quarters (they haven’t been this close since Scorpion part 1) She tells Chakotay he can tell the crew after desert, but we don’t find out what or who was for desert!!
But there was many scenes I enjoyed, liked seeing Seven get tipsy on Synthenol (nice to know she’s not perfect) all of the ones with the future Harry Kim and much enjoyed the closing scene with Harry and Janeway where she tells him that he’d come through for them. This reminded me of the closing scene of the Season 1 Episode Emanations.
Liked the scene with Chakotay and Tess on the bridge when he hears Janeway’s last message (at least here he did show some emotion) but then they had him and Tess getting close and I’m almost shouting at screen ‘Don’t you dare kiss her on Kathryn’s bridge with her lying just yards away from you’ I’m glad to say that they didn’t. As much as I like Robert Beltran I have to admit that he does sometimes act pretty wooden especially in romantic scenes (except when with Janeway) There were no sparks between him and Tess just as there wasn’t between him and Kelan in Unforgettable.
I’m not even going to try and analyse whether Harry and Chakotay were right to alter 15 years of history just to save their crew because if they hadn’t we wouldn’t have any more episodes! I’d give this one 10/10.
