#Insane that she has to convince Janeway to try to save Chakotay - you can tell it's early seasons bc in later seasons she'd be like

[bumblingbabooshka]

'Maneuvers' Wherein both Tuvok & Chakotay get in trouble.

[theinvisiblequestion]

look i realize that voyager is very episodic and it was not written as a character driven story but there are SO MANY missed opportunities for character development in this stupid show. 

i watched 3x07 last night ("Sacred Ground", the one where Janeway saves Kes by undergoing a ritual on an alien world) and i just

warning: in canon, the curtains were fucking blue; here, the curtains bely our protagonists' sorrow

look, this whole episode is ostensibly about janeway setting aside her need for rational explanations in order to embrace her spirituality. there is ample evidence throughout the series to suggest that 1) janeway is a highly analytical person 2) janeway does not exercise spirituality very often if ever and 3) a part of janeway longs to experience spirituality the way others around her do. 1 and 2 are givens, i think, but let's just explore 3 a little bit.

she states during act 1 of 3x07 that she has always respected others' spiritual beliefs but never embraced them for her own. this is a misleading statement; she takes an active role in a number of spiritual proceedings and experiences.

in 1x05 "The Cloud" she is extremely interested in chakotay's talk of animal guides and even asks him to help her find hers. this is more than a passing curiosity; when he shows up in her ready room to help her find her spirit guide, she eagerly joins him. her reaction to finding her animal guide seems to be astonishment. she's interrupted before she can actually speak to her animal guide, of course, because heaven forbid we have any character development, but off screen i'm sure she made time to complete the ritual with chakotay.

in 3x02 "Flashback" she lets tuvok mind meld with her as part of a vulcan ritual to identify and process a repressed memory. the doctor states repeatedly throughout the series that he does not know enough about mind melds to trust them as a treatment option, but she goes through the ritual with tuvok anyway.

in 3x07 "Sacred Ground" she spends an entire act demanding a rational explanation, another entire act trying to find the rational explanation on her own, and then it finally clicks and she has a fulfilling spiritual experience... and it's so lame.

it was really really great in the beginning. she's got this gung-ho attitude and even after repeatedly being told that all her efforts are meaningless during the ritual, she is so convinced that spirituality is something you have to work toward (like science), something you have to pour yourself into in order to get anything out of it, that she tryhards for thirty nine hours. and after all that, it doesn't work, and she realizes that spirituality isn't like science. she's not going to get better results if she tries harder.

and, yeah, sure, the writers probably intended this to be her giving in and just going with whatever she needed to do to save kes but i would like to posit that she has a truly spiritual experience here. she goes to the shrine with an attitude of serenity, an attitude she hasn't had all episode. she's no longer trying to force an experience, because she understands that spirituality has nothing to do with trying. it isn't about what anyone else has done; it's an intensely personal thing, spirituality. and, yeah, maybe all that stuff she went through was necessary for her, but she's new to spirituality like this; someone like chakotay might have had an easier time of it, so to speak.

so she's in the shrine, in the middle of this spiritual experience, and they beam kes down, along with neelix (makes sense) and chakotay for some reason. and neelix is arguing with the captain, trying to talk her out of walking into an insane death trap just because some alien told her she wouldn't die this time. so chakotay is there and you'd think that he, being the Very Spiritual Guy, is there to be a contrast to neelix. but no, he's just there to argue with her too, and tell her that she should not do this because believing in spirits is not like her. first of all, that's horseshit. if anyone is familiar with janeway's search for spirituality, it's the guy who introduced her to her goddamn spirit lizard. secondly, that's horseshit. if anyone is going to argue with her for expressing spirituality, it's going to be literally anyone other than chakotay. anyway the whole time they're arguing with her she is ignoring everything they say. she doesn't even argue! she just lets them blow hot air for a while and then when they seem to have expressed themselves sufficiently, she just tells them to fuck off (basically).

so then she takes kes into the shrine and saves kes's life and it's great. they go back to the ship and she's still thinking about the experience, still got that pensive contemplative look all over her face. even while the doctor is explaining how it worked she's not paying attention. and, okay, yeah, it's great for the episodic status quo because as it happens there's a rational explanation after all... but why? what's wrong with janeway having a spiritual experience that turns out to be actually inexplicable? why take this great moment of personal growth and toss it aside because, wouldn't you know, you could have gotten to the same result if you had just tried harder. 

is there a different moral here that also indicates character development? sure, i guess. janeway's faith in the experience and knowledge that others had was ultimately rewarded with a rational explanation... but that's nothing new. 

anyway i don't really know where the conclusion is here except that this episode was a really good reminder that every character in voyager as written is just a series of convenient plot devices that are only used to make an episode and are otherwise completely ignored

[kjaneway115]

Star Trek Voyager: Timeless

Episode 5.6 “Timeless”

Stardate 52143.6

Chakotay and Kim beam down to an icy world and discover Voyager in the ice. They realize Voyager hit the ice at full impulse.  Chakotay enters the bridge and finds Kathryn’s frozen body.  Then he finds Seven.  Chakotay beams Seven’s body up to Tessa.  Harry activates the EMH.  Chakotay tells the Doc that they’re there to change history.

Years earlier, B’Elanna smashes a bottle of champagne to christen the new quantum slipstream drive.  It is 4 years, 2 months and 11 days since they’ve been in the DQ.  Chakotay stands at KJ’s shoulder as she makes a speech. Janeway invites Chakotay for dinner.  Seven has had champagne and is drunk. The Doc helps her to sickbay.  Tom doesn’t think the slipstream drive is going to work.  Harry agrees to go to the holodeck with Tom to run some more simulations.  The simulations aren’t successful.  They tell the captain.  Harry has an idea.  He says someone in a shuttle can ride a shuttle in front of Voyager and send the slipstream corrections back to them.  Harry says that the benamite crystals in the system have already started to decay and it would take years to synthesize more.  Janeway tells Harry to prepare a flight plan.

Janeway has a candlelit dinner prepared with romantic music.  “Tonight is a special occasion; our last night in the Delta Quadrant.”  She asks him how he feels about the decision.  He says any Starfleet engineer would think they were out of their minds, and they could find another way home.  She says it’s their biggest risk yet and asks if he’s with her.  “Always,” he says.  She asks if he’s willing to try some home cooking (vegetable biryani), her hand on his shoulder, and caresses his cheek.

15 years later, Chakotay and Kim tell the EMH what happened.  They got home but everyone else died.  Starfleet gave up their search for Voyager 9 years ago. Chakotay says they’re there to prevent the disaster from ever happening.  Kim is carrying the guilt of everyone’s death with him for 15 years.  They ask the Doc to extract Seven’s interplexing beacon and determine its translink frequency. He asks the Doc to figure out Seven’s time of death as well.  They have a Borg temporal transmitter which they stole from Starfleet intelligence.  Tessa enters and says that Starfleet is on their trail.  Kim reveals that they also stole the Delta Flyer; they are wanted for treason and intention to violate the temporal prime directive.  Tessa says she’s had an interest in Voyager for a long time.  Kim says wryly, “They’re having sex.  Her and Chakotay, they’re joined at the hip.”  Tessa and Chakotay beam down to Voyager together.  Chakotay finds a final log from Janeway.  It’s a hard for him to hear.  Chakotay tells Tessa, “We don’t have to do this,” but she says she has no intentions of backing out.  Chakotay says he’s having last minute jitters.  “All I can think about is losing you,” he says.  “Your heart has always been here on Voyager,” she says.  

Kim records a message for his younger self.  Kim talks about their heroic return to the Alpha Quadrant.  The Doc tells Kim at least he wasn’t buried under the ice; Kim replies he wished he was.  Starfleet is on an intercept course.  

15 years earlier, Janeway makes her final log entry.  Kim and Chakotay are in the Delta Flyer in good spirits.  

Chakotay talks to Captain Geordi LaForge of the starship Challenger.  Geordi says he has to protect the last 15 years of history; Chakotay replies he is there to save 150 lives.  The Challenger fires on the Flyer.  

In the present day, Harry tries to figure out the course correction.  He send sone set of course correction and everything starts to go wrong.  They can’t shut down the drive and Paris has lost helm control.  In the future, the Doc and Harry figure out what to send to the present day Seven.  Voyager is thrown out of the slipstream but the Flyer remains in it.  Janeway calls for emergency landing. Voyager crashes into the ice.

In the future, Harry realizes his plan didn’t work.  He starts to lose his cool, but the Doc realizes that they don’t have to get Voyager home; they can still save their lives.  The Flyer is about to be destroyed.  Chakotay holds Tessa’s hand. “Harry, now would be a good time,” he says very calmly.  Chakotay calmly faces death as Harry sends one last message to the past.  

Voyager in the past loses the slipstream.  The slipstream flight took 10 years off their journey, and Janeway orders that they disable the drive until the technology can be perfected.  Janeway brings Harry the message from himself.

Original Airdate: November 18, 1998

Production Number: 201

Episode Tags: J/C, Journey Home

Meanwhile, back in the Alpha Quadrant...

Ezri Dax introduces herself to Sisko and Jake.  Ezri says she never wanted to be joined, but she was the only Trill available when the symbiont needed to be joined.  She took a leave of absence to see Sisko.  Ezri says she will go with them to Tyree.  On DS9, Worf conducts a ceremony to induct Jadzia into Sto’vo’kor.  Quark volunteers for the mission along with Worf, Bashir and O’Brien.  Ezri is a counselor.  Kira is going to be commanding a Bajoran blockade to prevent the Romulans from having weapons on Durna.  Odo says he needs to be there with her.  Kira sets up the blockade to stop the Romulans from getting through to Durna.  On Tyree, Sisko finds the orb of the emissary. Sisko is Benny Russell, writing stories on the walls of an insane asylum.  He’s told to stop writing in order to get well.  Ross tries to convince Kira to back down.  He’s in the middle between Kira and Cretak. In his vision Sisko’s doctor tries to convince him to erase his story, but Dax reminds him he came there to find the Prophets.  Sisko opens the orb and the wormhole returns.  Worf et al just barely complete their mission and destroy the shipyards.  Kira stands her ground; Cretak pulls back and agrees to withdraw the weapons from Durna. Ross tells Kira that she changed his mind.  Sisko sees his mother in a vision. She says the Pah’wraith is no longer in the world.  The vision of the doctor and Benny Russell was a false vision, she says.  He asks the vision of she is Sarah Sisko, his mother.  She says she took over Sarah’s body to ensure that he was born.  Sisko returns to DS9 with Ezri.  The Prophets are back.