Unforgettable

There is a some sort of pheromone that allows these people to interact with others, spend time and even become close. And have that completely fade after a short period of time. It's not made clear why or how this chemical tool was developed or whether it just something evolved. But it serves the purpose of allowing these people to keep their world and their tools completely secret. Apparently Robert Beltran found this to be his favorite episode. Sadly since this is only story, and we don't have that pheromone or devices to wipe memories. I won't be able to put this very weak story from my memory, damn.

Yes, this episode has many plot holes and reviewers are rightly frustrated that little detail is offered about Kellin's biological processes that render others' memories unable to capture her. But I don't think it is fair to ask for less focus on the love story.

Chakotay has gotten the short end of the stick with personality-expanding episodes, or maybe it just feels that way because of how stoic he is. Because of his unemotionality, the Vulcan Tuvok actually gets a lot of attention surrounding his emotional reactions to events. Chakotay has certainly been the star of multiple episodes by this point late in season 4, but he has been fading into the background, seeming more impassive even than the Vulcan. He is a stalwart piece of furniture on the bridge.

Chakotay's major traits are his loyalty and strong work ethic, so much so that the only times viewers see him passionate are when he cares deeply about solving an engineering or diplomatic problem his own way. When we discover he had a fling with Seska, it is only relevant because his work ethic and loyalty cause him to want to protect Voyager all by himself.

If anything, "Unforgettable" did not offer enough scenes of this man feeling feelings.

This is not a bad episode. Tonally it's on point, dealing with the ephemeral nature of love and attraction.

The problem is the terrible casting of Chakotay's love interest. To describe her as wooden is an insult to forests.

This might be forgivable, but for the fact that she also has all the warmness and charm of a block of ice. The chemistry between Beltran and her registers at around absolute zero. A pretty tough hurdle to get over when they are supposed to fall in love multiple times.

In other words, forget it.

Virginia Madsen stars as Kellin in this very unusual episode of "Star Trek: Voyager". After she has a brief fight with another ship very close to Voyager, Kellin contacts Voyager and asks for help from Chakotay specifically. Oddly, however, Chakotay doesn't recognize her. Soon you learn why--she's from a species that doesn't want outside contact and they go to very extreme lengths to keep it that way. If anyone leaves the planet, they are tracked down and anyone having contact forgets and their computers are wiped! Kellin insists that she'd spend a lot of time on Voyager and then proves this DID occur. So why, then, does she return? Well, it seems that Mr. Super-Sexy, Chakotay, has stolen her heart and she's here to seek asylum.

The notion of a world that goes to such extremes to keep its existence private is pretty unique. My only complaint is that having a cop whose job it is to bring in runaways then falling in love and wanting to defect is a bit hard to believe. Additionally, she KILLED her own kind in escaping and no one seemed to remember this or care. Odd...but still a good episode.

Chakotay falls in love with a lady from a race who produce a pheromone that affects the memory.

Themes of falling in love and the consequence associated with memory erasure of the relationship was done very well in 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind', but although the sci-fi premise here is similar, the love story does not work for me.

I do not think it is badly written or acted (as some have suggested), as there is only so well you can portray two strangers falling in love in one episode. It suffers from the usual issues that blight love stories for regular characters. I personally could not invest in the relationship and they never convince me of the love. I spent a large part of the episode suspicious of Kellin and her motives because they are hard to take at face value given the twisting nature of so many Trek plots.

Robert Beltran and Virginia Madison do a great job with the material. In one scene in particular, their chemistry is great, but the script calls for Chakotay to suddenly decide that he is in love which is difficult for any actor to pull off.