Star Trek: Voyager Reviews for Season Four

This was the the opening episode of Season Four, the second part to Scorpion I which ended season three a few months earlier.  This is where Seven of Nine made her debut and when she stepped out of that alcove and circled Janeway with that predatory look, you could tell the captain was smitten.  So smitten in fact, that as they're hurdling through space, in the middle of a war with Species 8472, Voyager being hauled along like toilet paper off an errant heel, Captain Kathryn Janeway is leaning next to Seven, trying to chat her up.  Even Seven was a little astounded at that and gave the little redhead a bit of the fish eye.  But it sure captured her attention.  And at the end of the show, when Seven's link to the collective is severed at Kathryn's order, the young woman's fate is sealed.  Janeway is going to keep her even though not one other person on the ship thinks that's a good idea at all.
I mean, think about it, all of all the drones in all the cubes, Janeway decides to 'save' this one.  Why?  What spark did she see in this particular individual that made her reach out to her?  And what spark did Seven see that allowed it?

Kes leaves this episode as Seven comes to gripes with the fact that she's fallen into the hands of one determined lady.  Even after Seven attempts to escape, and the two engage in a confrontation in the brig with Seven calling Janeway every name in the (Borg) book, the captain still refuses to let her go.  And how does that little conflict end?  With Seven on the bunk in Kathryn's arms, that's how.  By the end of the ep, Seven's lost most of her implants except for some very tasteful ones adorning her eye and cheek and is garbed in a skin-tight cat suit that Janeway seems quite appreciative of.  Seven's final bit of dialogue indicated that her favorite color is red, even as we see over her shoulder, our favorite red-headed captain garbed in command red.  Did I mention Janeway wears red quite often?
The voice inflections, the getting in each other's space, that all begins here.

This is mostly a B'Elanna/Paris episode but there was a nice B story where Voyager tries to assist refugees from a species that had been assimilated by the Borg.  The show starts out with an explosion that results in the ejection of the warp core.  A scene in the Captain's Ready Room has Janeway eyeing Seven suspiciously but Seven says she had nothing to do with it and apparently her word is more than good enough for Kathryn.  Meanwhile, the aliens are quite cranky to discover Seven exists and wants her in exchange for the warp core they salvaged.  Seven, all awash in the new human emotions being shoved down her throat every time she turns around, promptly agrees to surrender.  Of course, Janeway will have none of that though she does give Seven a big gooey look of appreciation for offering.

(January 21st, 2000 from Jari)
While watching the syndication run of the Day of Honor episode i couldn't help notice one scene that would fall under the heading of subtext: It happens very early in the episode, when the title and other opening credits are running. Seven is in the Captain's ready room and Janeway decides to start calling 7 of 9, Seven. Tuvok calls the Captain to the bridge and Seven watches her leave. You can see Seven look down as she appears to be looking at a certain part of the Captain's anatomy. Then you can see her eyebrow raise up and she smiles a bit, giving a look that shows she liked what she saw, namely the Captain's behind.

This is a Chakotay episode and since I can't even remember Seven or Janeway having a scene, I'd have to leave this one off the list as far as rating goes.  But ironically, as time would determine, it was one of the better Chakotay episodes.

This is the infamous episode where Harry drools over Seven and Seven promptly puts things into perspective by offering to copulate with him.  Aware that she is way too much woman for him, he cuts and runs.  Smart boy.  There's only one person on this ship who can handle Seven of Nine.  And she didn't get much screen time in this episode. B'Elanna got a bit of a chance to shine and the Doctor handled himself well.  No subtext at all though.

This is a sub-text celebration.  From the opening scene when Janeway takes Seven into da Vinci's lab to teach her about imagination and fantasy (one can only guess what this is the build up for) to the last where Seven is perched on a higher level with Janeway below resembling the best Romeo & Juliet balcony scene, there was an incredible amount of connecting going on between the Captain and the Borg.  Seven is contacted by a Borg resonance signal which triggers her implants, forcing her to steal a shuttle after completely defying everything our good captain can throw at her in order to stop her.  And Kathryn really wants to stop her from leaving, even snapping at Chakotay when he mentions that it might be for the best that Seven is gone. Seven heads for a planet which turns out to contain the very ship she was assimilated on called The Raven.  Tuvok is the one who tracks her down and while one might wish it had been Janeway, the security chief's logical manner allows Seven to be dignified in her emotional turmoil instead of compounding it.  There's a nice bit where Seven tells Tuvok to "Thank Captain Janeway for her patience.  And her kindness."  Apparently, Janeway was the only thing Seven was going to miss about Voyager, the only person she found worthy of granting a good-bye to ... as well as a definite sense of regret.

The Powers That Be regretted this episode in that it was too soon in Seven's development for this to happen.  What it did do was give us who see sub-text unrealistic expectations for the future.

(Nov. 19, 1999 from Sybil)
I also particularly enjoy your subtextual reviews of all the Voyager episodes, although I must try to stop reading too far ahead of where I'm up to. (I'm in Australia and about a year behind).There was one thing in particular that struck me, that's not in your review of "The Raven". In the scene where Janeway speaks in her log of trying to retrace Seven's footsteps, Harry comes into the cargo bay with the translation of Seven's journal to find Janeway standing inside Seven's alcove. I think that effectively lying in someone's bed while pondering their motives for leaving has to rate as pretty hard-core.

This was an okay episode with the resident alien of the week skulking about the ship, sticking pins in the crew to see how they'd jump. Seven and the Doctor uncover their plan but when she goes to tell the captain, she discovers the aliens are gleefully sticking pins in Janeway's head which makes her really cranky.  Not much interaction between the two in this episode but it was really nice to see Janeway give a forearm shiver to a snotty alien and scare the bejeebers out of her crew by ramming the ship between two stars.  She's so butch when she's being used as an experimental lab animal.
Actually, there was a real bit of concern in Seven's face when she saw the captain being needled in the ready room, possibly a little more than just her apprehension for the crew's safety ... or maybe I'm reaching.

This was a great two-parter even though it didn't really happen.  We got to see the depth of Janeway's commitment to her ship and Seven's desire to stick around even though the whole ship is progressively falling apart.  She and Tuvok are the last two people Janeway says good-bye to in the end.  Tuvok's her longest and best friend.  Seven?  Maybe she represented the possibilities lost which Janeway restored by ramming herself and her ship into the time ship.
There were good moments between Seven and Tuvok but with the reset button at the end, the show never touched on this again which was really too bad.  The two characters interact together very well and it would have been an interesting relationship to explore further.

(From Sarah, May 26, 2000)
I think I've spotted something that you might class as sub-text from Season 4's Year Of Hell (and it applies after the re-set switch was pressed too!).  For 3 years Janeway has had the same hairdo, the rather severe bun, then a couple of months after Seven comes on board she's gone and got herself a much softer, shorter cut.  So who is she trying to impress all of a sudden, I wonder?!

Interesting B'Elanna story but limited interaction between Janeway and Seven.  There is a nice bit at the end when Seven confronts Janeway, wanting to know why they have to stop at every little tourist dive along the way if this sort of thing is going to be the result.  Seven's very cute in how she blithely walks into Janeway's Ready Room without announcing herself and startles Janeway into choking on her coffee when she turns around to see six feet of Blond Borg looming over her.  Seven also knows how to make an exit, leaving without requiring Janeway to dismiss her.  One starts to guess at this point that Seven may be a little bit more than even Janeway knows how to handle.

This is a nice little Janeway episode but Seven is barely in it beyond commenting on the captain's preoccupation with a fantasy figure (one she wants to replace perhaps?)  Yet, one wonders why she feels compelled to discuss it with Tuvok.  After all, why she care what the captain does on her missions.  Was there a hint or personal concern about who Janeway chooses to spend her time with?

This was an interesting episode in which life after death is explored when Neelix is killed and brought back to life by Seven utilizing Borg nanoprobes.  Not much interaction but come on, when was the last time you brought someone back from the dead for your boss just because she thinks he's a valuable employee?  However, this was a decent Neelix episode ... it was just a shame that it was never expanded on for the character in future eps.

(Jan 28, 2000 from Jari)
In a later scene in the messhall, when Janeway encourages Seven to mingle with others, Seven is shown batting her eyelashes quite often in the pressence of the Captain. Yet in the following scene one or two blinks are all she does when 7 is talking with the Doc and Ensign  Wildman.

Disgusting bit in the beginning with Seven and Harry, but it was Harry's fantasy so I guess we can't blame him for that.  I would have been interested to know who Seven was fantasizing about however.  I suspect it would have been Janeway in the Jefferies tube, not Ensign Kim.

Seven's gets the good Captain's attention when she shocks the shit out of a snotty Hirogen.  Even B'Elanna was impressed and Torres doesn't even like Seven.  Janeway can only stare at her and wander on back to the bridge.

Hmm, Janeway gets a 'Dear Jane' letter and all of a sudden, she's all free and clear of good ol' Mark Johnson.  Chakotay perks up but it's Seven who really wants to know how to impress Janeway...though asking Tuvok is sort of like asking Kim how to impress girls.  He's the last one who would know.  Seven also wants  to know if Janeway trusts her.  Clearly Janeway's opinion of her means a great deal.  Certainly she wants to know how Janeway feels about her.

(From Pooneh, Dec 24, 1999)
I was watching the episode "Hunters" the other night, and I noticed a little bit of subtext that you may want to add to your review. I'm referring to the scene where the Doctor visits Seven in the Astrometrics lab to ask why she didn't show up for her weekly check-up. He later discovers that she has not regenerated in 58 hours, apparently because Seven was working on trying to decipher the text of messages sent by the Alpha Quadrant.  The doctor scolded even for neglecting her health, but she responds, quite harshly in fact, by saying that the content of these messages are important to the Captain, even as we discover that in 58 hours, she was able to recover a mere six words of text!  Spending such an inordinate amount of time on a task which apparently was not yielding desired results is very inefficient/unborg-like behavior.  However, we learn that she is doing this because it matters to the captain.  Now would Seven neglect her own health or go to such lengths for anyone else on the ship?  I certainly don't think so.

If one accepts that sparks are the indication of the real feelings our two ladies share (and I do) then this episode blows your socks off.  Seven gets right up Janeway's nose more than once this episode, standing her ground and refusing to back down even in the face of all that red-headed feistiness.  Their disagreement over whether a member of Species 8472 is worth saving or not brings them eye to eye, nose to nose, bosom to heaving bosom and leaves both with fire in their gaze and an intense aura around them both.  Janeway decides to punish Seven but it is Seven who kicks the alien off the ship and it is Seven who sends the captain out of the cargo bay very disconcerted.  Janeway might have won the skirmish, but Seven won the battle and despite all the antagonism, one can't help watching these scenes of high emotion and think, 'man, do they want each other.'  After all, only when you care about someone can they make you so crazy.  Seven doesn't argue with anyone else on the ship like this and for that matter, neither does Janeway.  No quarter asked, none given.  And both are shaken at the end.

(From Jennifer, September, 2002) When Janeway and Seven are squaring off in the ready room, when Seven leaves, Janeway shakes her head and turns to the window. As she's shaking her head, there are tears in her eyes. I think that says something about what she's just said to Seven, and how she feels about Seven's actions.

This is an awful episode, badly written, badly conceived and just plain badly executed.  And no, I didn't like it.  Seven really got the short shift in this episode.  It's called revictimizing the victim.  Very bad.

That was my original review.  However, someone (Hi, Catherine) pointed out that there was a little sub-text in this at the beginning.  Janeway suggested that Seven had a flair for merging technologies and suggested to Chakotay that the Borg work with Kovin (in essence, told her First Officer to get her to do it) since she had been 'behaving' herself lately.  Later, Seven is not impressed with such an assessment but when Chakotay mentioned that she had betrayed the captain's trust and that she would have to work to get it back, THEN Seven accepts the assignment.  Chakotay could order it, but only the 'carrot' of Janeway's approval could get Seven to obey.  So despite my distaste for this episode, I guess it does get a star for that.

(From Mary, January 31, 2003) I just watched the episode Retrospect and I have to agree with you that it was terrible. I did see one moment of subtext that was not commented on. While in the ready room getting scolded for punching that alien in the face Janeway gives the heavy sigh and laments that she needs to come up with a new form of punishment for Seven actions. I thought, how about a good spanking but instead Capt. Janeway comes around the desk and gets up close with Seven and says, "we all have impulses, we just have to learn to control them" . The look on Seven's face is priceless. She tells the good Captain that she will "give it some more thought".That whole scene in the ready room I thought was just delicious.

Hmm, Janeway in a white tux, Seven in a slinky silver gown crooning love songs as her eyes follow Katrine around the club.  I'd have to automatically give two stars just for that.  Janeway still doesn't trust Seven, and Seven doesn't exactly work for it but when push comes to shove, Janeway always finds a way not to get rid of her Borg.  And Seven always finds a way to do what Janeway wants.

Bad, bad episode but Seven did get a chance to eye Janeway's personal logs which apparently, with her eidetic memory, she will never forget.  All the Trek women were treated bad in this ep.  B'Elanna was whimpy, Seven didn't knock Paris/Seth across the room though she normally would have and Janeway got replicated.  But it was cute to see Kate Mulgrew leer when she told Tom to say good-bye to B'Elanna for her/him.

Again our two girls clash but there's a little more meeting of the minds this time.  Both make the attempt to give a little, Janeway is explaining rather than simply demanding, Seven is making a conscious attempt at following the chain of command.  And in the last scene, sitting in front of the fireplace so close together you couldn't get a padd between them is just the sort of thing to give watchers the chills (and fan fic writers all sorts of inspiration).  A nice episode about faith and needing to believe in something greater than one's self.

Forgetable should have been the title.  And it was.  Very.  Sort of a different version of the 'reset' ending because if you don't remember a person, does the love really exist?

Not much in terms of interaction because it was an episode about the Doctor where he deals with  how history gets rewritten by the victor in any conflict but man, it was a hoot to see Janeway with the slicked back hair and the sexy patent leather gloves.  Seven was back in full Borg mode which really doesn't lend itself to any sort of emotional resonance at all.  But the actors clearly were having fun chewing the scenery.

Very silly show and no interaction with Janeway and Seven.  Definitely not worth keeping around.

A wonderful episode in which Seven must get the ship through a nebula while the rest of the crew is in statsis.  What is impressive about this episode is how much trust Janeway puts in Seven.  And how much Seven wants her to.  There's a scene in Cargo Bay Two where Janeway warns her how difficult it will be to be alone for a month and Seven stares pleadingly at her, insisting "I can do this."  A very nice moment and it was interesting to figure out the images Seven's isolated mind kept coming up with in her hallucinations towards the end.  Indeed, Janeway was the last face she saw as she collapsed and the first one she saw when she woke up.  Significant, huh?

Also, added from another reader, a bit that I missed.  There was the scene when Janeway got in her stasis tube and Seven was leaning over her until the doc closed it. ( and a little longer after that.)  Ah, parting is such sweet sorrow. (This one noted by K.C.)

(From Nance on August 17, 2001)
Rewatched "One" last night and I found a powerful piece of subtext that didn't even have Janeway and Seven in the same scene. It took place after the senior staff meeting where Janeway tells them that the ship's crew will be in stasis and that Seven and the Doctor will be in charge. Chakotay stays after to talk to Janeway alone. He says to her that he knows that she and Seven have a special bond and that she sees something in Seven that no one else sees, but he is concerned about leaving Seven in charge and wants Janeway to explain it to him. However, there is something more here than his words. The look on his face and the tone in his voice are sad, his voice almost choked...it's almost as if he's realizing that his chance with Janeway has passed. He's lost Janeway to Seven. Janeway admits to everything he's said but that she can't explain it, she just knows Seven will do right by them. I thought it was a very telling scene and I actually felt a little sorry for Chakotay. I'm not sure what the writers "intended" that scene to mean, but that was definately what I saw.

This was the book-end to the season begun by Scorpion.  Or rather, The Gift.  In both, Seven and Janeway find themselves in a brig and the captain even comments on it.  The episode is about a slip-stream technology that may provide the means for the Voyager crew to finally go home though Seven is very leery of the idea of returning to Earth.  There's another conflict between the two where Seven informs Janeway haughtily that she shall be staying in the Delta Quadrant, but  when the direct approach does not work, Janeway shifts tactics and skirts around the issue by gently asking what Seven would do if she did let her go.  Faced with the reality, Seven has to admit that she doesn't know and there are tears shining in her eyes at the admission.  And then later, when captured by Arturis and on their way to Borg space, they share a tender moment when Janeway tells Seven that she never once regretted bringing the young woman on board.  And gives her the gooiest look the good captain has ever offered up to anyone.  Then together, they escape and kick ass.  The episode ends as it began, with the two playing a competitive game in the holo-deck called Velocity and both smiling.  Does it bode for good things in the fifth season?  We shall see.

(From Silent Bard, August 3, 2001)
I realize that this episode is waaaaaay old and adding this may be pointless, however I was re-watching Hope and Fear today and I caught a little something that I find to be quite sub-textual. When Janeway goes to fix Seven's optical implant so she can walk through the force field on Arturis' ship, Seven shudders the first time Janeway touches her. To me it looked like Janeway's touch was overwhelming because of the stimulation it provided.

(From Laila Gariel, January 31, 2003) I'd like to add something to your review section. I recently saw Hope and fear for the first time and was astonished at its content. I had the pleasure of witnessing a veritable J/7 subtext extravaganza! Where to begin?
I found the opening Velocity scene a little strange in that Seven appeared unusually challenging and abrasive, even by her own standards. It looks like something is bothering her. Janeway comments on it later to Chakotay. I believe the word she used was..."restless". What is our Borg annoyed about?
Then there's the brig scene where Janeway refers to their acquantance as a "relationship". Pretty significant. And then comes what I call the goodbye scene. Janeway's final tribute to her Borg incase she never gets another chance. In light of Seven's "restlessness", it's like Janeway is apologising in some way. She explains that it is her status as Captain which prevents her from becoming Seven's "friend". She finishes this explanation with a meaningful "understand?". Understand what you might ask. Seven's never been slow on the uptake. Exactly what is the Captain getting at here? (that they can't be together while she is captain?) Seven's retort is that she will "understand perfectly" when they are both assimilated. She's teasing her. Janeway seems decidedly disconcerted before smiling at Seven's attempt at humour. Darn right provocative goings on.
The final Velocity scene caps it all of beautifully.  Seven who's just been defeated yet again does not want to play another game, this is the same Seven who had been so insistent on a second round with Janeway at the start of the ep. Instead, she's rushing of to work on getting them home quicker with the slipstream drive, never mind wanting of the ship. Could it be that the HOPE of the title was regarding *them*, offered to her by Janeway in that brig? Very Very touching sentiment. Seven's "nothing is impossible" suggests to me that our arrogant Borg is working on other things besides the slipstream drive! ;)