Season 2
Initiations
Stardate: 49005.3
When First Officer Chakotay borrows a Shuttlecraft to perform the Pakra, a
solitary Indian ritual commemorating his father's death, he inadvertently drifts
into Kazon-Olga territory and becomes the target of a Kazon youth attempting to
earn his Ogla warrior name by killing the Federation enemy.
Striking back, Chakotay disarms and destroys the Kazon ship, but not before rescuing the young boy named Kar -- the only surviving lifeform -- by transporting him aboard the Shuttleecraft. Soon, the two are pulled via tractor beam aboard a larger Kazon vessel sent to investigate the explosion. Led by Razik and Haliz, the Kazon-Ogla hold Chakotay prisoner during which he learns that because Kar has failed in his first mission, he doesn't earn his name and is sentenced to die... by Chakotay's hands.
Meanwhile, fearing their mission comrade is in danger, the Voyager crew -- with Kes and Neelix providing their expertise on Kazon -- sets out to find Chakotay.
Comments: A very good Chakotay episode. The interaction between Chakotay and Kar is very good and the whole episode as such is entertaining and exciting.
Ratings: 3
Kesfactor: 3
Non Sequitur
Stardate: 49011.0
Ensign Harry Kim is confused when he awakens to find himself on Earth -- in 24th
century San Francisco -- working as a design specialist at Starfleet Engineering
and engaged to be married to Libby. When he accesses his service records, they
mysteriously indicate that he was never a crew member aboard U.S.S. Voyager.
Although he has longed to be with Libby, his sense of duty compels him to return to the reality he knows -- and the Delta quadrant. Soon the dazed Kim meats Cosimo, an alien in the guise of a local shop owner, who explains that a temporal anomaly in the space-time continuum has transported him to an altered reality. Kim learns that if he recreates the circumstances that brought him to Earth and then flies into the time-stream, there's a chance he might be able to transport back to his reality. Upon further investigation, Kim finds information on his onetime crew member Tom Paris which indicates that Paris is a convicted traitor and alleged Maquis sympathizer. Kim travels to Marseilles, France, to track down the recently paroled, drunk and disheveled Paris who claims he never made it aboard Voyager. Before long, Starfleet personnel believes Kim is a Maquis spy and put him under house arrest.
Comments: An interesting and a bit thoughtful episode which shows us "what if?". Harry Kim is good and it's also interesting to see what could have happened to Paris if not.. Well, everything ends up right in the end.
Ratings: 3
Kesfactor:0
Parturition
Stardate: 49068.5
When Kes spends free time with a smitten Tom Paris, Neelix is overcome with
jealousy and instigates a messy fight with the Lieutenant. In the aftermath, the
Captain sends the sparring pair on a shuttlecraft mission to an M-Class planet,
to replenish food supplies. When their craft experiences an interference pattern,
they crash on the planet. Seeking cover from the trigemic vapors, Paris and
Neelix seal themselves inside a cave and then discover they have company there
-- an embryonic pod which hatches an alieen baby, a repto-humanoid being. They
must work together to sustain the newborn -- and preserve each other's life when
its angry mother approaches.
Comments: A funny episode with some great interaction and comments from our favorites. The fight between Tom Paris and Neelix is great and so is also the discussion between The Doctor and Kes about the problems with love and romance. In the end everything works out fine between the main combatants. A nice and funny episode
Ratings: 4
Kesfactor: 4
Persistence of Vision
Stardate: Unknown
As they ready for a first encounter with the Bothan alien species, a strange
psionic field causes the U.S.S. Voyager crew to succumb to a delusional state
and their most deeply buried thoughts surface. During this ordeal, the
characters in Janeway's holonovel program become real, and her beloved Mark
appears; Paris faces off with his disparaging father, the Admiral; Kim is
finally reunited with his girlfriend, Libby; Tuvok talks to his Vulcan wife,
T'Pel; and Torres is seduced by Chakotay. The ship is effectively disabled and
it's up to an unaffected Kes and The Doctor to block the mysterious field.
Comments: One of the best Voyager episodes and a great Kes episode. In the end it is Kes who saves the ship because of her brave and determination. She is excellent and so is also the rest of the crew in an exciting, spooky and good written episode.
Ratings: 5
Kesfactor: 4
Tattoo
Stardate: Unknown
While Chakotay leads an Away Team to drill for minerals on a moon's surface,
they accidentally disturb a village and encounter its defensive inhabitants -- a
group with Indian origins. A regretful Chakotay then experiences flashbacks of
himself as a defiant 15-year-old who disappoints his father be not embracing the
traditions of his tribe.
The natives employ a cloaking device to disable Voyager and the endangered Away Team must transport out, leaving Chakotay alone on the planet. When he's confronted by the aliens, they respond to his familiar tattoo marking. Chakotay recognizes the tones of their language as those of his own people and applies what he recalls from his father's teachings on their heritage to assure the natives of Starfleet's peaceful intentions and his sympathetic perspective. Along the way, he reconciles the conflicts he had with his now deceased father.
Meanwhile, while tending to the pregnant Ensign Wildman, The Doctor is challenged by Kes to show more compassion for his patients. So, he programs himself with a simulated flu virus to experience the discomforts living beings can feel.
Comments: The plot with the Sky Spirits" is highly unrealistic and actually a bit insulting to the Native Americans who surely could develope without help from aliens. But Chakotay's background story is highly interesting and the subplot where Kes alters the program The Doctor have made with the simulated flu is excellent and actually saves this episode.
Ratings: 3
Kesfactor: 4
Cold Fire
Stardate: 49164.8
The crew is hailed by Ocampa colonists on an alien space station who, at long
last, lead them to the female mate of The Caretaker, a mysterious being who may
have the ability to send the U.S.S. Voyager home. As Tuvok tutors Kes in honing
her rapidly maturing mental abilities, it's concluded that her burgeoning powers
have been extremely underestimated.
Tanis, a male Ocampa colonist, agrees to introduce Captain Janeway and her crew to an entity they call Suspiria, the female mate of The Caretaker. As the Voyager crew builds great hope of returning home soon, Tanis implores Kes to stay with her Ocampa people on the alien space station.
Comments: Definitely the best of all Voyager episodes! This story shows what a fascinating character Kes is. Voyager discovers another array like the one where the Caretaker lived which is populated by Ocampa people. But these Ocampa are not so friendly and neither is Suspiria, the Caretakers mate who tries to destroy the ship. In the end it is Kes who saves the ship and the crew. An excellent story!
Ratings: 5
Kesfactor: 5
Maneuvers
Stardate: 49208.5
(official Stardate:48423)
Kazon intruders board the U.S.S. Voyager and steal a Transporter control module.
That collateral enables their leader, Culluh, to persuade rival sects to join
together to conquer the Federation ship. Surprisingly, the mastermind behind the
Kazon's scheme is an advisor with Cardassian, Maquis, and Starfleet tactical
experience -- none other than Seska, the despised traitor and former intimate of
Chakotay.
When Chakotay learns that Seska devised the Kazon plot, he secretly sets out alone -- against protocol -- to thwart her. The Kazon are one step ahead of him and he's quickly captured and brutally interrogated. With their First Officer in the hands of the enemy, the Voyager crew braces for a dramatic showdown, but Seska has one more trick up her sleeve.
Comments: A good and exciting episode. Culluh and Seska are always great as villains and it's also a good Chakotay episode. B'Elanna's attempt to persuade Janeway to rescue Chakotay, despite Chakotay's recommendations is also great to watch and Janeway's solution to finally rescue Chakotay is brilliant.
Note that the official Paramount Stardate in the episode is completly wrong. It would place the events in this episode in the first season, between "Caretaker" and "Parallax" which, of course, is impossible. In the Timeline I changed the Stardate to 49208.5
Ratings: 3
Kesfactor: 1
Resistance
Stardate: Unknown
In search of precious tellerium needed to power the ship, Janeway, Tuvok, Torres
and Neelix transport to an Alsaurian city occupied by the hostile Mokra. Tipped
off to the U.S.S. Voyager crew's presence, Mokra soldiers capture Tuvok and
Torres. During the commotion, Janeway is secreted away by Caylem, a local
eccentric who believes she is his long lost daughter.
Neelix is not discovered and transports back to the ship with the necessary minerals and the bad news that the others have been discovered and taken prisoner. As Voyager searches for its arrested crew, Janeway goes undercover, forced to rely on her own devices and the help of her odd new protector, Caylem, to break into the prison and rescue Tuvok and Torres.
Comments: The main character in this episode is Caylem, a tragic figure who it's easy to identify with and feel sorry for. The whole story is well-written, exciting and thoughtful as well.
Ratings: 4
Kesfactor: 0
Prototype
Stardate: Unknown
When the crew finds a deactivated humanoid robot floating in space, Chief
B'Elanna Torres is able to repair this mysterious mechanical "man."
When it comes to "life" the sentient artificial lifeform, Automated
Unit 3947, explains that its kind is near extinction and asks Torres to build a
prototype for construction of more units. In accordance with Prime Directive,
Torres must decline the request, but when 3947's Pralor homeship is located, the
robot abducts her and threatens to destroy Voyager unless she constructs the
prototype.
Torres discovers that the robots are programmed to achieve victory while Janeway and her crew, taking measures to rescue her, find themselves in a war of alien robots.
Comments: An exciting B'Elanna Torres episode which show us that good intentions can go wrong sometimes.
Ratings: 3
Kesfactor: 1
Death Wish
Stardate: 49301.2
A rebel Q escapes imprisonment from inside a comet and demands asylum aboard the
U.S.S. Voyager. Just as quickly, the well known Q arrives to force the escaped Q
back to the continuum, the extra-dimensional domain in which their immortal kind
exist. Meanwhile, the escaped Q proclaims that if Captain Janeway grants him
sanctuary, he intends to commit suicide to end the tedium he has endured as an
immortal being.
Noting the dictates of Starfleet protocol, Janeway holds a hearing to consider the request for asylum. The tables are turned on Q as a Federation personnel preside over a trial in which he must defend the Q Continuum and the ever logical Tuvok acts as counsel for the escaped Q. A courtroom drama ensues when Q calls himself to the witness stand along with a varied group of other people including Commander William T. Riker, whose lives were profoundly changed by Q's influence.
Comments: A thought-provoking story but a bit slow in places. Q is not as good as he used to be in the early Next Generation episodes and the plot itself is a bit too serious for my taste. Still an interesting episode.
Ratings: 3
Kesfactor: 2
Alliances
Stardate: 49337.4
After Voyager is severely attacked by Kazon and one of its crewmen killed,
Chakotay appeals to Janeway to start thinking more like the Maquis. Janeway
knows she must strengthen Voyager's position in the quadrant and, although it's
a difficult decision and is against her beliefs and training, she agrees to take
steps toward a strategic alliance with leaders of several Kazon factions. When
they come together for a conference, its eminently clear that there are no rules
in this region of space. Unbeknownst to Voyager, there is a traitor in their
midst.
Seeking an intermediary to begin talks with the Kazon, Neelix shuttles to Sobras, a planet with a Kazon settlement. There, he makes contact with an acquaintance -- Jal Tersa of Kazon-Pommar. Meanwhile Janeway's initial meeting with Culluh and Seska is unsuccessful but Neelix is able to befriend Mabus, a governor of the Trabe, an exiled sect and bitter enemies of the Kazon. Thinking that the Trabe have compatible goals of peaceful co-existence, Janeway forms an alliance with them -- with deadly results.
Comments: An exciting episode where our friends discover that the enemy's enemy is not always the best friend. Some unexpected twists and turns in the story makes it highly watchable and exciting.
Ratings: 5
Kesfactor: 1
Threshold
Stardate: 49373.4
Lieutenant Paris makes history by becoming the first person to make a transwarp
flight. But soon after his shuttle returns from warp ten he undergoes startling
biochemistry changes. His cell membranes begin to degrade and despite the
Doctor's best efforts, Paris dies. Hours after the pronouncement of death, Paris
is discovered breathing, his body going through accelerated mutations which
leave him radically transformed into a bizarre and terrifying cross between a
human and amphibian.
Comments: One of the worst episodes ever in the history of Star Trek. Tom Paris breaks the warp 10 barrier but an unexpected effect is that he slowly develops into some sort of lizard. He kidnaps Janeway and they set off in a shuttle at warp 10 speed and they both turn to lizards. But they are found on a planet by Chakotay and Tuvok and restored by the Doctor. Oh dear, oh dear! But there are some funny moments and the episode is actually watchable compared to the dull crap they pestered us with in seasons 4-7.
Ratings: 1
Kesfactor: 3
Meld
Stardate: Unknown
When a crew member is murdered, Tuvok's investigation leads to another crewman,
Ensign Suder, who finally admits he is the perpetrator. Vulcan instincts
prohibit Tuvok from determining a logical motive for committing such a crime, so
he attempts to understand the violent impulses of a criminal by performing a
mind-meld on Suder.
When Tuvok removes himself from duty, the Doctor initiates treatment which removes Tuvok's emotional suppression abilities. Meanwhile, Chakotay puts Paris on report for running an illegal gambling operation and Neelix embraces his role as the ship's Morale Officer.
Comments: An excellent episode. Suder is fascinating as the villain and the interaction between him and Tuvok is superb. Interesting also for its debate about guilt and punishment. One of Voyagers most watchable episodes and a great Tuvok episode.
Ratings: 5
Kesfactor: 2
Dreadnought
Stardate: 47582.0
Voyager spots a Cardassian designed, self-guided missile carrying a warhead
capable of significant destructive force. As it travels toward Rakosan, a
heavily populated planet, Torres reports that she's partly responsible for its
virtually unstoppable status. When she was a Maquis, she intercepted the missile
and changed its program to assault its own makers, but it later went astray and
now she's the only hope I stopping it. So Torres volunteers to transport to the
missile's interior and reprogram it again. But before she can detonate the
warhead, the onboard computer tries to destroy her first, meanwhile Jonas
transmits classified information on the mission to Seska.
Comments: Rather exciting but at the same time an episode with long sequences where nothing is happening. Some funny comments from Torres but too much technobabble.
Ratings: 2
Kesfactor: 1
Lifesigns
Stardate: 49504.3
Voyager detects a distress call from a weakend lifeform aboard a small
spacecraft and quickly beams a deathly ill Vidiian female to Sickbay. The doctor
starts treating her for advanced stages of the phage by transferring her
decaying body into stasis and creating a temporary, healthy holographic program
of her being. As he becomes aquatinted with the alien, a hematologist named
Danara Pel, something momentous occurs -- his adaptive program allows him to
experience love and romance for the first time.
Lieutenant Paris continues to be insubordinate and espionage is more complicated than Jonas thought when Seska instructs him to plan an accident which will damage Voyager's warp coils.
Comments: The third episode in the Michael Jonas arc which starts with "Meld" and ends with "Investigations" and a rather nice and funny episode. Some funny conversations between The Doctor, Denara Pel and Kes are the highlights in this episode.
Ratings: 3
Kesfactor: 4
Investigations
Stardate: 49520 (official stardate: 49485.2)
Neelix, a suddenly self-proclaimed journalist, hears a rumor that a fellow crew
member has expressed displeasure with Starfleet and requested leave. Soon Tom
Paris is relieved of duty to become a pilot with a Talaxian convoy -- leaving a
saddened Voyager crew behind. Almost immediately, the Kazon-Nistim and the
scheming Seska attack the Talaxian fleet, kidnap Paris and attempt to coerce
classified information from him. Meanwhile Neelix suspects someone aboard
Voyager has been secretly communicating with the Kazon and his sleuthing leads
him directly to Paris.
Comments: Neelix and Tom Paris are the heroes in this exciting episodes where Michael Jonas is finally revealed as the one who are cooperating with the Kazons. Some good action scenes. Exciting from beginning to end.
Note that the official Paramount Stardate in this episode is totally wrong. According to that, the events in the episode should take place before the events in "Lifesigns" which is impossible. In the Timeline, I changed the stardate for this episode to 49520.
Ratings: 4
Kesfactor: 2
Deadlock
Stardate: 49548.7
Astounding consequences occur when the U.S.S. Voyager, while attempting to evade
a pursuing Vidiian vessel, enters a plasma cloud. Before they can clear it, the
engines stall, anti-matter supplies drain and a proton burst, originating from
within the ship, cause heavy casualties and breaches the structural integrity of
the hull. When Ensign Kim and Kes disappear into a void in space, Captain
Janeway discovers that a duplicate Voyager with an identical crew exist in a
parallel universe.
While the crew feverishly attempts to contain the worst onboard disaster ever, the doctor struggles to keep alive Ensign Wildman's newborn, half-human, half-Ktarian baby. Then, Janeway discovers that although a divergence field has caused all sensor readings to double and every particle on the ship to duplicate, there is not enough antimatter to sustain both vessels. As the Vidiians close in on them, she meets the other Janeway face to face to determine a solution, knowing only one of the two ships can survive.
Comments: Another "parallel universe" story. Exciting here and there and a lot of good action and good effects. But still it doesn't really work for me. All the main characters are on top which makes the episode watchable.
Ratings: 2
Kesfactor: 3
Innocence
Stardate: 49578.2
Tuvok and Bennet's shuttle crash lands on a sacred haven for the Drayan, an
alien race which has shunned outside contact for decades. While Bennet lies
dying from his injuries, three frightened Drayan children venture out from
hiding. The young ones tell Tuvok that they have been abandoned by their people
to die on the planet, and beg his help in saving them from the imminent arrival
of the "morrok" -- the messenger of death.
While Tuvok tries to calm the tiny trio, he cannot comprehend why a society would forsake its own children. Then, during the night, two of the youngsters mysteriously disappear. Meanwhile, Janeway makes contact with the Drayan's First Prelate, Alicia, and in the course of trying to rescue Tuvok and the remaining child, there is an amazing revelation about this mysterious race.
Comments: Tuvok stranded with three kids on an alien moon. The concept works out fine and the interaction between Tuvok and the kids is great. An unexpected twist in the end gives extra points to the story.
Ratings: 4
Kesfactor: 2
The Thaw
Stardate: Unknown
The U.S.S. Voyager activates an automated message from members of the Kohl
settlement, who, years earlier, survived an environmental catastrophe by
submitting themselves into artificial hibernation. When the crew transports the
Kohl's hibernation pods on board, they find humanoids in deep stasis with
suppressed metabolic activity -- but with active minds and complex sensory
systems controlled by a computer.
In an effort to help the Kohl people, Torres and Kim equip two pods with Starfleet technology and submit themselves into stasis. With their mental and physical activities closely monitored, they enter the environment created by the computer attached to the Kohl pods. Once there, Torres and Kim find that the humanoid's dreadful fears about recovery and survival have caused their computer program to manifest a devious, omnipotent clown - the idealization of their fear - and a cast of other nightmarish characters. Then, the clown holds Torres and Kim hostage while making increasingly unreasonable demands of Janeway.
Comments: A creepy and exciting story. The Clown is actually scariy and the whole episode have its funny moments too. A bit psychedelic and both funny and exciting to watch.
Ratings: 4
Kesfactor: 3
Tuvix
Stardate: 49655.2
A Bizarre occurrence causes Neelix and Tuvok, who are attempting to transport
back to the U.S.S. Voyager from an away mission, to arrive aboard the ship as
one. The crew is astonished when a strange but oddly familiar alien humanoid
with dark speckled skin and pointy ears - which is neither Tuvok nor Neelix -
appears. The Doctor's bio-scanner shows that Neelix and Tuvok's patterns have
merged, causing the pair to become one entity - Tuvix.
While Tuvix assimilates and starts to become a valued member of the team, Kes struggles with the fact the Neelix may not be a part of her life anymore. Meanwhile, the Doctor devises a method to restore Tuvok and Neelix, except for one variable - Tuvix does not want to die. When the Doctor, who is programmed to follow certain ethical guidelines, cannot perform the separation, Janeway is left with a monumental decision.
Comments: One of the best Voyager episodes and also one of the episodes which have caused most debate on different forums. Did Janeway do the right thing or not? (I think she did!). Excellent story and good acting from all involved.
Ratings: 5
Kesfactor: 4
Resolutions
Stardate: 49690.1
When Janeway and Chakotay contract a deadly virus from an insect bite, the
Doctor cannot find a cure. Unable to perform her duties, Janeway is forced to
turn over permanent command of the ship to Tuvok and retreat, with Chakotay, to
a small planet which shields the effects of the fatal disease.
As the U.S.S. Voyager moves out of communication range, Captain Janeway leaves Tuvok with strict orders not to contact the Vidiians for help, even though they may have more sophisticated medical technology to handle the crisis. While the ship's crew is stuck with the harsh reality of abandoning their leader and first officer forever. The former Captain and Commander, alone on a strange planet, awkwardly drop protocol and begin to explore another side of their relationship.
Comments: The plot with Janeway and Chakotay left behind on an alien planet with a strange disease is actually too unrealistic. But it works in a way. The chemistry between them is great and this episode is the favorite episode for those who wanted Janeway and Chakotay to end up together. The scenario with Tuvok as captain and the decision he had to make is very good and the high spot of the episode is when Kes persuade Tuvok to contact the Vidiians to find an antidote, something that Kim tried and nearly got court-martialed for.
Ratings: 3
Kesfactor: 4
Basics Part I
Stardate: Unknown
In an emergency message to Chakotay, Seska discloses that their newborn son has
been banished by Culluh to a servant colony. Chakotay feels conflicted about
rescuing the baby because he was manipulated into fatherhood by Seska. When the
crew detects a distress signal from a Kazon shuttle, they transport aboard the
critically injured Teirna, a former aide to Seska, who delivers the news that
Culluh has killed Seska. So, with Teirna restricted to secured quarters, the
U.S.S. Voyager heads on a rescue mission through the Kazon-Nistrim territory
where Kazon raiders viciously attack the ship. Before long, the fierce battle is
over and the U.S.S. Voyager crew has lost outwitted by their most bitter foe.
Surrounded and defenseless, Janeway must give up the ship to the Kazon.
The crew must accept that they have been tricked by Culluh who relishes taking the helm of the U.S.S. Voyager. At his side is an alive and well Seska who taunts Chakotay with their son. Then, the Kazon abandon the 148 member U.S.S. Voyager crew on the surface of Hanon Four, a primitive, ferocious planet. Stripped of their technology, they must use the most basic skills to survive. While they watch helplessly, their enemy lifts off the surface with their ship, but unbeknownst to the Kazon two Starfleet crew members are stowed away on board.
Comments: To be found after "Basics Part 2"