There are three distinct plot lines going on in the episode, and though it's a break with tradition I'm going to analyze them all separately. First, in the A story the crew encounters a strange nebula that they think they can extract fuel from. They dive in, not exactly knowing what to expect, and immediately things go wrong. They lose propulsion, the nebula drains their power, and now they're getting pummeled with blue blobs of who knows what. They decide to blast their way out, using one of only 38 of their irreplaceable photon torpedoes. Once back outside, they set about analyzing just what in the world that thing was. Torres, with the help of The Doctor (who again is used mainly as comic relief) discover that the blobs are tiny particles of a giant living being. The nebula is not a nebula (plot twist), it's an enormous life form. The worst part is they have injured it by blasting their way out. The blue blobs are now leaking out into space, so basically it's bleeding to death. Janeway will have none of this, and they set about finding a way to heal the being. The Doctor and Torres technobabble their way through a solution, and they head back in to get to work. Once inside the only way to maneuver about without being attacked by the defense systems of the life form is to enter its blood stream. Sure enough, they swirl about and end up back at the wound, and after setting up a distraction actually use the ship as a suture of sorts to seal the thing back up, and then bug out at the last moment. Problem solved, except now they have even less energy reserves than when they set about heading into a nebula to replenish their energy reserves.
I like the concept of a being so large that it makes Voyager basically the size of a single cell, and how the organism deals with them not as a predator but as an insignificant virus. We've done massive space dwelling life forms on Trek before, but this one isn't trying to mate with the ship or protect its offspring, it's so large that we don't even have a concept of what it looks like. Plus we have the moral dilemma of them hurting this thing, and taking responsibility for fixing it even though it puts the crew in danger to do so. It's all very well done.
Next we have the B story about Neelix questioning the captain's authority. It starts with Neelix telling the captain that it would be inappropriate for her to use her replicator rations to make coffee, because it's not setting a good example for the rest of the crew. She takes offense at the remark, but also takes his advice and tries his coffee substitute which we can only imagine is horrible. Next, Neelix is having a meltdown with Kes over Janeway's decision to enter the nebula. He doesn't understand why exploring is so important, or why she does such dangerous things, and calls the whole crew idiots. Strangely Kes seems endeared by his brash behavior, and starts making out with him. Ew. He feels vindicated when things go wrong in the nebula. When Janeway decides to go back in he storms in her ready room and chastises her. He demands that he and Kes be allowed to stay outside of the nebula/being in his ship. Janeway totally smacks him down on this, telling him that they're too busy to deal with him and that she's not letting him bail out every time they hit a bump along the way on their journey. Then she gives him the "Dismissed!" and informs the confused Talaxian that's a Star Fleet expression for "Get out!" It's very satisfying to watch the whiny Neelix get denied so hard. Later in the heat of battle while they're trying to figure out how to get back out of the being, he comes to the bridge with hors d'oeuvres as a peace offering. He has appointed himself the bogus title of morale officer, and thinks that this is a good time to start cheering people up with his horrible food. Janeway allows it, and a couple bridge crew members even take a snack.This is why people hate Neelix. He acts like a dick, has a strange abusive relationship with a baby, has no respect for authority, and inserts himself into situations where he doesn't belong at the worst possible times. Fuck Neelix. Joining this crew was his idea. What does he care if they do some exploring? He's not on a mission home, he's just along for the ride, so what difference does it make to him? And now he's making up an important sounding title for himself and interrupting things on the bridge to announce it? I've never been a Neelix basher, but the more you examine him, the more unlikeable he is. It's like they made him that way on purpose, because the whole point of this B story is a build up to getting to see Janeway put him in his place.
The C story is Janeway and how she relates to the crew. In the beginning she is just taking a stroll through engineering out of boredom, and Torres sees this as a surprise inspection. Then there is a scene where Kim and Paris are in the mess hall, and Kim says that they should have invited Janeway to sit with them. Paris explains that this just isn't the way things work. If a captain wants to sit with you, they'll invite you to their table. Kim says that he thinks Paris is quoting from an old rule book. Later Chakotay bonds with the captain by helping her discover her animal guide, which is a lizard. But then she learns that he does this with all the girls when Torres interrupts them. Meanwhile Paris has created a holodeck program that simulates a bar named Chez Sandrine's where he used to hang out during the academy. It's gritty, and a little slutty, and he's stocked it with the world's greatest pool players. After the anomaly of the week is taken care of, all the regulars are hanging out there. Harry goes ahead and invites the captain, and she takes everyone by surprise by showing up. Paris is embarrassed when she immediately gets hit on by the resident holographic gigolo, but she doesn't mind. She pretends to not know anything about pool, and then runs the table.
This is all some great character development stuff. The way Janeway is fascinated by Chakotay's religion is a little cheesy, but the exchanges still do the trick to illustrate the mutual respect between the pair. Sandrine's is a perfectly logical use of the holodeck. When you're stranded in space, facing unknown dangers, and getting home in your lifetime seems unlikely, it makes perfect sense to create a place that feels familiar. Janeway joining them and playing a hustle sets the tone that she is not Picard. She's not going to wait until the very last moment to sit down at the poker table. It's a great scene.Overall "The Cloud" is a Good episode of Trek. We get the great line, "There's coffee in that nebula." The space anomaly of the week is somewhat unique and entertaining. We learn a lot about our characters, including that Harry Kim remembers being in the womb. Huh? Ya. If this was my first watch of Voyager, I might think that this was a hint that Kim has some kind of alien or genetic super powers. But no, it's just a very strange thing that somehow found its way into the script. Neelix is at his most annoying, but we get to see Janeway chew his ass, and he has to come groveling back. The Doctor is hilarious as always. Tuvok talks down to Kim when he blurts something out on the bridge, and Kim gives it right back to him later on. It just all works.
Published June 16, 2017
No comments:
Post a Comment