Voyager S2E2 "Initiations" Review by AnswerMan

Horrible:Meh:Adequate:Good:Fantastic

Chakotay takes a shuttle to go perform a ritual where he must be in total isolation. I would think that being locked in his quarters, or even on a simulated desert island in the holodeck would do, but I guess not. He decides to literally be millions of miles away from anyone else while performing the pakra. The pakra, by the way, is a time-honored and important Native American ceremony that the writers of Voyager invented because they were too lazy to bother learning anything about the actual culture. He is interrupted by an attack from a Kazon child, who is piloting a ship that is no match for the shuttle. Chakotay goes through great pains to not engage in battle, but ends up destroying the ship, but beaming the Kazon boy, Kar, to safety. For his trouble, Chakotay is scolding by the boy for not killing him.



I have always been a little perplexed with Chakotay's Native American belief system. It just seems so out of place to me. In general, humans have left behind their ancient beliefs in the Trek universe. For instance, there are no practicing Christians or Muslims on any of the shows that I am aware of. There are not even remnants of religious traditions. There are no Christmas episodes, for example. Religions are for the less enlightened aliens on Trek, and they seem to fall into a couple categories. The first are undeveloped people who just don't know any better and make stuff up. The second are people who worship a more advanced species that they think is God, but we know is just another alien. Then there's Chakotay, hundreds of years in the future, diligently adhering to an ancient Earth religion that is not that common even today. I just don't get it, and I honestly hope that someone is able to explain to me how this fits in.

It turns out that Kar was performing a ceremony of his own. As a coming-of-age challenge, the young Kazon must go out and kill someone. They then take that person's name as their last name, and become Ogla. Earning your name is a huge deal, and returning home without a kill is not an option. Because he failed, the boy will now have no place in society, and must be executed. Chakotay learns all this while being held captive on a large Kazon ship, which he later easily escapes from. Seeing no alternative, the boy reluctantly joins him. Of course, the shuttle is destroyed (because this is Voyager, and those things just don't return home), but they beam onto a nearby moon, where Chakotay sets about trying to contact Voyager.

Kar is familiar with the moon, as it is used by the Kazon for training exercises. Kar stops Chakotay from walking into a booby trap, saving his life. The child continues to be hostile toward Chakotay though, who he only refers to as "Federation." Chakotay draws a parallel between the Kazon getting their name, and him earning his uniform. Chakotay tells the boy how hard they work and the education that they must go through in order to gain the privilege of wearing a Star Fleet uniform, and that it is as much a part of him as his name. Ok, I know it's season two now and we're not supposed to be focused on the whole Maquis thing anymore, but didn't Chakotay recently abandon that uniform in order to fight a war in direct defiance of Star Fleet? I think they could have picked a better parallel, and even the boy isn't buying that it's the same thing.

They discuss possible options for Kar, like joining another Kazon group, or somehow regaining favor with the Ogla. Kar considers killing Chakotay and returning with his technology as a possibility, and even stays up at night to carry out the plot, but can't go through with it. Chakotay volunteers to help Kar by making it look like he has been murdered, and then later getting revived on Voyager. The boy agrees, and with both the Voyager crew and the Kazon closing in, the plan is put into motion.

While the captain leads an away team on the moon, she asks Neelix to stay on the bridge, in case anything that he knows about the Kazon might come in helpful. He tries out one of the chairs there. When Paris answers a hail from the Kazon ship, he stumbles a bit with his replies, but Neelix steps in and nails it. He is strong, confident, knowledgeable, and capable. It's a fantastic exchange, and a glimpse of what Neelix might be capable of if he were taken a little more seriously. Even Paris is surprised by how well he handles it.

Plot twist, the boy tells the group that Chakotay is not his enemy, and instead shoots the Kazon leader, and takes his name. He pledges allegiance to the second in command and assures him that he will remain loyal to him at all costs. Everyone is happy with this outcome, but I can't imagine why. They already made it clear that Kar's test was over and he already failed. Then, he lets a trespasser into their territory go with only a warning, kills the guy in charge, then claims victory all the while begging the next in command to accept him. Makes no sense to me, but whatever.

Back on Voyager, Chakotay finishes the fictional pakra in his quarters (See? It doesn't require being lost in space!). He mentions the Kazon boy in his prayers.

Overall, this episode works pretty well for me. The actor playing the child (who also plays Nog on DS9, if you're trying to place the voice) does a fantastic job, and getting to know the character of Kar and the dilemma that he faces is fresh and satisfying. Chakotay does well at playing a caring father figure, and there even is a plot twist to wrap it all up that I didn't see coming. All in all, this is an Adequate episode.

Published Mar 24, 2017