Resistance

This episode surprises me with its emotional impact. Joel Grey's performance as Caylem seems very highly underrated. TV is rarely as human as his portrayal of this heartbreakingly doting resistor of tyranny. Grey and Mulgrew's chemistry on screen is evocative of Patrick Stewart and his supporting cast in "Inner Light". Truly, I believe this episode is underrated by fans, this vignette within the larger context of the episode, for me, makes it special. Special in TV moments, and special in Star Trek. Will the future inheritors of the Star Trek legacy ever be able to live up to simple emotion as this?

This is one of those Trek episodes that is pretty stupid at first blush. In so many other stories We would be treated with a bunch of hand wringing about the totalitarian government, prime directive etc.

But in this one the evil disposition of the regime is just context for the main story. A lot of other bits and pieces of this one just do not make sense at all.

However we get to see Kate Mulgrew dust off her acting chops and try to keep up with Joel Grey.

The scenes they share can be a little cloying in parts. But overall it's some solid character driven story telling with a bittersweet ending.

I generally rank Voyager near the bottom among all Trek shows. STNG had better characters and stories. DS9 had better character development and compelling story arcs. Voyager was a ship full of annoying people regurgitating STNG and TOS stories with slight tweaks. It was formulaic but filled the craving for Trek production values and Jerry Goldsmith scores.

Except for once every season some newbie on Paramount's lot would try to actually demonstrate some creativity and do some real storytelling. This is one of them.

Joel Grey, is an icon. I loved seeing him in this episode. This really humanizes Janeway.

Janeway and an away team attemp to obtain tellurium from a planet with a totalitarian regime.

This is a solid episode with some excellent performances.

There are two elements of the plot that work well for me: the dialogue between Janeway and Caylem, and likewise Tuvok and B'Elanna. These are fairly well-written exchanges that are enhanced by the performances of Katie Mulgrew, Joel Gray, Tim Russ, and Roxanne Dawson.

Augris feels like a bit of a one-note baddie but Alan Scarfe does well with the material.

Everything builds up to a simple but effective action sequence that nicely concludes a mini adventure that feels important to the journey home.

For me it's a 7.5/10 but I round upwards.

Of all the episodes prior to this one in the first two seasons, this is the closest to classic Star Wars that Voyager comes in visual style, story elements, and emotional heft. The guest performance by Joel Grey as the broken and deluded Caylem is an unforgettable gem, and Kate rises expertly to the occasion presented by the script and Grey's beautiful work. In fact, the entire cast elevates their game; Tim Russ and Roxann Dawson share an excellent scene as prisoners, and Robert Beltran steps gamely into the captain's chair aboard Voyager. Alan Scarfe is also excellent in his guest role as Augris, the Mokra bossman. (Neelix, the Doctor, and Kes are all gratefully set aside for an episode.) Winriche Kolbe's direction is superbly cinematic. It's a beauty of an episode and for me a perfect 10/10, even though it contains none of the philosophy 101 fun of so many other episodes. It's a simple tale that feels like it takes place a long time ago, in a galaxy far far away.