VOY S2E25 "Resolutions" Review By AnswerMan

Horrible:Meh:Adequate:Good:Fantastic

Janeway and Chakotay are quarantined to a planet, as they have contracted some sort of illness. As long as they are on the planet, they are fine. But if they leave, they will get sick and die. How exactly they discovered this is a mystery to me. Eventually they give up hope, and Janeway orders the crew to go on without them. She also insists that they not pursue their only unexplored option-- contacting the Vidiians to see if they have a cure.



So the planet's new Adam and Eve set up their Star Fleet issued Airstream camper and get right to the business of starting a new life. Janeway obsesses with continuing to work on a cure (we are reminded that she is a capable scientist, even though The Doctor thought that she would be most helpful by sleeping for 17 days). Chakotay takes to using his hands to craft conveniences for them, such as place for Janeway to soak in the bath while he looks on from a distance. The two go through ups and downs. There's a storm that destroys Janeway's research equipment. But! They they might build a boat. A monkey snubs them. But! A monkey exists.

Time seems to be going at two very different paces on the ship and on the planet. While Janeway and Chakotay have had enough time to go feral, Voyager has only barely gotten out of coms range. Kim whines incessantly at Captain Tuvok to go directly against Janeway's orders and contact the Vidiians. Eventually this plan works, as the whole damn crew joins in and wears the Vulcan down. The Doctor contacts his old fling, and she says that of course they have a cure, and the captain has agreed to meet and give it to them, and it's totally not a trap at all! But of course, it is a trap. While Voyager is battling three Vidiian ships, The Doctor and his lover have time to catch up and hatch a coordinated plan to beam over the cure.

Meanwhile on the planet, things are getting really weird. The sexual tension has come to a head, and so Janeway calls a sit-down and recommends setting some boundaries. Chakotay makes up a bullshit story from "his people" that helps him to explain that he has decided to dedicate every second of his life to pleasing her. She's...flattered. They settle into domestic roles, and seem happy. However, this is all interrupted by a hail from Voyager, telling them to pack their shit and prepare to beam. The show ends with the pair back on the bridge, dutifully dividing up mundane tasks, with an understanding that whatever was happening between them before is now completely inappropriate and is therefore over.

The pacing of this show is very strange, and is a product of the plot between the captain and her first officer necessitating the passage of time, yet also having to allow for the ship to stay within reasonable range. This is why it feels like a year has gone by on the planet, but only a few days on the ship. They intentionally never specifically say how much time has passed. It's all very annoying.

I don't blame Chakotay for trying to sidle up to the only available mate in a desert island scenario. But I fail to see why being stranded on a ship in the Delta Quadrant is so different from being stranded on a strange planet. I guess that Janeway's perseverance to make it home precludes her from giving up on her relationship with Mark, but when it looked like her voyage was over she was willing to give in to temptation just a bit. In the end, "Resolutions" is still a Good episode. Though the tension between Janeway and Chakotay feels forced, and Chakotay a bit too eager, the idea of the two highest ranking people on the ship staying behind is intriguing enough of a story to keep you interested. I'm not sure I buy Tuvok giving in to social pressure, but the risk was definitely something that Spock would have done to retrieve Kirk.

Published April 5, 2018