Scorpion, Part II

Among true Star Trek fans, Seven of Nine will forever be known as the shark that killed the whole franchise.

The introduction of Seven of Nine was the moment of selling out, of giving up all that makes Star Trek Star Trek, going mainstream by adding the obligatory overly-sexy girl to compete with other mainstream snows and bring single old men to STV. Back in the '90s, season 4 of STV was the season when I gradually stopped watching, after having watched since the very beginning of the '60s series. Rewatching all of the series now, nothing has changed. Seven still marks the end of all Star Trek. From this point on, they may still call it "Star Trek", but it isn't and never would be again.

Worst of all, fans were robbed. We were robbed of all the good stories we could've had with the characters of STV. The Harry/Tom friendship was the best thing the show had going for it, and Tuvok had a lot of interesting story lines one-on-one with a lot of the other characters, and B'Elanna at that point had more character growth than any other in STV, but they gave all that up to give Seven of Nine 90% of every plotless show. Who needs a plot when those ol' men will watch anything that shows them the backside of a woman in a skin-tight bodysuit?

I know that the ultra gorgeous blonde lady has been brought as an easy appeal to hormone-pumped teens, but she is a fine actress playing a fine character.

I've seen many people disregard Voyager as a neglected cousin of TNG and DS9. For me, STV is in pair with both. All series have their generous rate of appalling fillers. And STV overused silly personal interactions, holodeck highlights, and lazy writing. In general, the characters are good to begin with. Lots of different mindframes and origins. Too bad they have spent precious time with the insufferable Seska and that comic relief of a Hyena. By then we had memorable episodes, and could enjoy excellent actors in action.

The primary cast is better than that of TNG for me. If we compared head by head (when possible) with TNG, Voyager wouldn't be put to shame.

Janeway X Picard = The only thing I don't like about Janeway is her voice, other than that she is a fine Starfleet Captain, of course in a different style to the grandiloquent Shakespearean Picard, but I prefer her.

Chakotay X Riker = The initial rebel/indian sides of Chakotay were gradually abandoned, which is bad, because I find him better than Riker.

Tuvok X Data = both are winners and highlights of Star Trek. Tuvok is somewhat underrated compared to Data, but for me Tim Russ did a lovely job, adding Vulcan-ness to the layers of Spock.

Crusher X The Doctor = no comparison here, Robert Picardo is fantastic, one of the best additions to the Star Trek long history. Crusher was introduced, I believe, basically as an uninteresting love interest for Picard, duh...

Kes X Troy = both fragile ladies with underused telepathic powers. Both could have been so much more...

Neelix X Wesley = both equally disgusting.

B'elanna X Geordi = The Klingon lady is a much more layered character than LaForge.

Worf = in the beginning badly written, later improved. A good character.

Kim = average Starfleet officer. A decent addition to the crew.

Guinan = added a lot to the texture.

Tasha = nothing.

This episode introduced the character of Seven of Nine. To me, she is the best thing that Star Trek has ever done. I found myself relating to her again, and again, and again. The character is brilliantly written and acted and, for me, is where Voyager begins.

As I mentioned when I reviewed part 1, this sort of violent episode is exactly the sort of show that "Star Trek: Voyager" should have been doing more of over the years. Instead, too many episodes involved such dull topics as temporal fluxes and holodeck-bound shows. Parts 1 and 2 of "Scorpion" are clearly like breaths of fresh air for the series and usher in a better and more intense sort of show you'd see more of starting with these shows.

At this point in the two-part episodes, Voyager has made an alliance with the Borg. However, Chakotay STILL is worried about this and thinks the Captain was mistaken. I liked this because it's very consistent with his Maquis roots and his misgivings turned out to be very well founded when the Borg started trying to assimilate their new 'friends'! So, IF they manage to defeat the scarier than the Borg new species, they will likely then have to battle the Borg to the death...or assimilation.

In addition to being a darned good show, this also is the introduction of Seven of Nine. She brought some interesting plots to the show, though I also suspect they brought this lovely blonde to the show more for her physical assets. Regardless, the show did improve with the introduction of this character. A must-see show.

The first note of this episode goes to the music: very appropriate and definitely gives an intense feel and sense of foreboding. The next nod goes of course to Kate Mulgrew as this is the most forceful and driven we have seen her in a long time. I really do mean driven: the victory-at-any-cost-and-heck-with-any-other-view, type of driven we see again two seasons later, but here she pulls back and listens before the final moment as opposed to watching the reality unfold at her opponents death.

The conversation Chakotay has with the captain in sickbay and the Borg (seven) in the ready room are not exactly intense but the are central and vital to the episode, not to mention cool; don't miss them. To find the meaning of the episodes title and the code word "scorpion" you will have to watch part one, which is pretty much as good as this one.

The only problem I have with the episode is that we find out a season or so later that the "enemy" they unite against was not and is not an invading force as it is displayed and nearly flat out stated in this episode. ("'your galaxy will be purged' sound familiar?") side note this is Kes' near finest and near final hour, keep that in mind. 4 out of 5 stars.