Scorpion, Part II

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.

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.

TNG and DS9 hold the bar for what Star Trek should be - philosophically inspiring explorations into a possible future we can all aspire to, even in the midst of intergalactic war. Voyager is an insult to their legacy.

Season 1 is a tired, dumbed down, shoot them up, mumble jumble of betrayals and double betrayals. A couple of great ideas like the mycelial network and alternate dimensions were explored, but we were only treated to superficial whip cream, not the sundae.

The Borg degenerated into barely comprehensible villains who have to spit out every word. Their bleached skin, one-dimensional characters have no redeemable value. I miss the warrior race bound by ritual and honor we both loved and hated in past incarnations. The female empowerment clap trap was not consistent with their misogynistic culture and seemed slapped on like a dead fish.

Don't trust the studio hacked ratings. No Trekkie would rate this over 5 stars. Netflix needs to stop paying for the international rights as it is simply rewarding bad behavior.

This is a memorable conclusion with strong character moments.

'Scorpion part 2' is a must watch Voyager episode. The character dynamics between Janeway and Chakotay continue to be compelling, the visuals and action sequences are very good, and it includes a great introduction to one of the franchise's strongest characters.

It's not perfect. Some of the plot contrivances are a bit much and the building up of Species 8472 feels devalued by the seemingly straightforward answer to the apparent threat.

Katie Mulgrew leads it brilliantly and Robert Beltran is on good form. Jeri Ryan steals much of the limelight in a memorable first appearance as Seven of Nine.

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?