Delta Musings - by Suz - marionharvie@compuserve.com

 The crew of Voyager encounter the Borg, but also discover a new species who are wiping out the race who were once the Federation's most deadly enemy. Janeway tries to deal with the scorpion while Chakotay tells another story. Harry gets a nasty cut.

 Review:

 Wow. It's ironic that the best show of what was supposed to be a 'happy' season is the most depressing one. The special effects and music were both amazing; incredibly well done. The Species 8472 ships and aliens were definitely effective in conveying the horror of what was occuring. And the scene where 15 Borg cubes appeared…brrrr…gave me goosebumps.

 Direction was brilliant. One scene in particular that I liked is when Voyager first encounters the Borg ships. The camera moves from Chakotay to Paris to Janeway all in one shot. The atmosphere of the Borg cube (or what was left of it) was very dark and very appropriate.

 The highlight of this show though, has to be the characterisation and acting. Everyone was superb, but undoubtedly the best in this episode were Kate Mulgrew and Robert Beltran. The argument needed to be said, and Beltran and Mulgrew played off each other wonderfully. They've always had good chemistry and this episode really showed us that.

 Four months after having seen it, I'm still pondering over who was right and who was wrong. To Janeway, the only possibility of getting home was to deal with the Borg, but this is the problem. - she's obsessed with getting home. I think that right now she may be the only one who wants to get home that badly. Chakotay definitely doesn't. As he said in 'The Cloud' "Home is wherever you happen to be." He more than anyone can appreciate this sentiment. Yes, he may be 70,000 light years away from the planet of his birth, but he's with the woman he loves, and more importantly, he's happy. Why should he want that to change?

 Alright, if he really did want to make her burden lighter he would agree with everything she says, but that wouldn't make him much of a First Officer. He needs to support her while still maintaining his individuality. I'm sure he doesn't want to be assimilated by anyone (not even Janeway).

 But then…maybe she is right. Although they don't seem as occupied with it as she is, most of the crew probably want to get home and see their families again. Most of the time they seem happy now, but being stuck 70 years from their relations with only 148 (the number changes daily, don't ask me what it really is) other people, it must get lonely at times. And I'm sure Neelix's leola root stew doesn't cheer them up either.

 Well it's obvious that I'm not going to reach any conclusions here.

 There were some minor annoyances:

1. Janeway tells Chakotay that when he goes over to the Borg cube they will maintain an open comlink and an active transporter lock. She does neither.

 

2. The stack of Borg bodies didn't look the least bit realistic. The CGI guys must have been worn out after making all those Borg cubes. They recovered in time to make the Species 8472 ships though…

 That's about it. Minor quibbles aside, this is a terrific episode, definitely the best up until the end of the third season. After that…we'll have to wait and see.

 Quotes:

 "In essence Mr Kim is being eaten alive."

-The Doctor.

"Imitating the Captain huh? Surely that violates some kind of Starfleet protocol."

-Janeway

"…but the truth is - I'm alone."

"If that moment comes, we'll face it together, and we'll make the right decision. You're not alone Kathryn."

"Three years ago I didn't even know your name. Today I can't imagine a day without you."

-Janeway and Chakotay.

"…and as the poison filled his veins, the fox turned to the scorpion and said 'Why did you do that? Now you'll drown too.' 'I couldn't help it' replied the Scorpion. 'It's my nature.'"

-Chakotay

Rating: 9.8 out of 10.