I thought that this would have been an excellent episode, if it wasn't for one huge problem with it.
We pick up where the last episode left off with the Protostar and Dauntless facing off. The Protostar, however, under the influence of the living construct makes a break for the heart of Federation space.
The kids, desperate for a way to contact the Dauntless without infecting them, try telepathy. What actually happens is that Admiral Janeway and Dal switch minds.
The Janeway-in-Dal's-body plot was great. We knew that Janeway had already deduced these kids were likely not actual enemies, and she helps them as best she can. While she can't do anything about the construct itself, her admiral command codes do allow her to purge the construct's influence on Holo-Janeway. We get a callback to "Threshold" which had me laughing pretty hard. We also get a heartbreaking scene with Gwyn where Gwyn tells Janeway how much Dal wants to join Starfleet, and Janeway has to tell her that Augments are forbidden from joining. Huge props go to Brett Gray, as he does a really good job of imitating Kate Mulgrew.
The major problem is the Dal-in-Janeway's-body plot. The last couple of episodes have revolved around the kids trying to find a way to tell Starfleet of their predicament... and instead of doing just that, Dal proceeds to (badly) imitate Janeway. SAY SOMETHING! That having been said, Kate Mulgrew is hilarious as Dal trying to act like the actual Janeway. Lady has good comedy chops. And we get a short touching scene with the Diviner letting Janeway go and asking her to try to protect Gwyn.
The episode ends with the two swapping back. Admiral Janeway is unfortunately in the Dauntless' brig for how she was acting, and a massive Starfleet armada has assembled to take down the Protostar.
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
Nothing I see about this makes me want to watch, still. I'm not interested in the Smea L'ekat and their grudge against the Federation. Wah wah, we decided to slaughter each other because you turned up and proved we weren't the literal centre of the universe. I suspect Douglas Adams might want a word, if he were still around.