Season 3 ends on a fairly high note, and continues into a strong season 4 opener with a nice action piece that ups the ante while setting the groundwork for a fresh new path...
The story's themes eclipse the occasional Treknobabble, which can detract but not to any major extent.
Of slightly greater concern is how 8472 comes from a magical fluid universe where the fluid doesn't dribble into ours every time the portal is opened - just how perfect is that? How does the ship move in this goo as nimbly as it does in outer space? It's still not a bad concept, but it's a trifle convenient and begs for more.
That aside, 8472 otherwise still come across as terrifying, despite some cliche one-liners about being weak that are even more cliche than the sci-fi staple of 'resistance is futile' that existed long before the Borg were given that catchphrase to later be overused back in 1990. Especially as the galaxy, in another universe to theirs, is a big place. The episode wants to be epic with this, but somehow doesn't connect as fully as it should for selling 8472 as strongly as it potentially could. What would 8472 need to do anyway, open up portals everywhere and have a couple pop out and spit on people? (Showing only Kim suffering, with that description as provided by the EMH and Janeway, was the better way to go, which lets the viewer extrapolate more effectively -- seeing on screen a few dozen, hundred, or zillion people clutch bellies and shriek simultaneously would just induce laughter from the audience. It'd be worse if the monster then cracked a stupid joke afterward. For more, I could reference a few Doctor Who stories featuring Daleks, whose dates range several decades, as proof.)
Kes is rather great as a conduit for the telepathic communication scenes, which are well-handled.
John Rhys-Davies is a coup. Has great on-screen chemistry with Kate Mulgrew as well. A shame they couldn't get him back for the coda in pt 2.
Chakotay's parable about the scorpion, which is also a codename for a sweet solution at the end of pt 2, is excellent. I like their rift as, while Chakotay was driven by more direct experience, both still had valid points and got their job done.
The reminder that Janeway and Chakotay came from different backgrounds could have been given a little more screentime, but still works. Their solution at the end and how they stop Seven is, of course, pretty sweet - which also lays the groundwork for the "Seven reclaims the humanity" arc that worked absolute wonders for the show.
The incidental music ranges anywhere between wallpaper muzak in some scenes, with others doing an attempt to recapture the feel of TOS. Given Janeway is not a Picard clone and not since TOS has "the way out there" been explored, this is a nice callback that also works on its own for those who have not seen enough TOS to pick up on the vibe. Some scenes involving species 8472 are particularly well done.
Easily Voyager's best 2-parter, it's worth the time to watch.
A-
P.S. Pitfall's a real Harry game!
The story's themes eclipse the occasional Treknobabble, which can detract but not to any major extent.
Of slightly greater concern is how 8472 comes from a magical fluid universe where the fluid doesn't dribble into ours every time the portal is opened - just how perfect is that? How does the ship move in this goo as nimbly as it does in outer space? It's still not a bad concept, but it's a trifle convenient and begs for more.
That aside, 8472 otherwise still come across as terrifying, despite some cliche one-liners about being weak that are even more cliche than the sci-fi staple of 'resistance is futile' that existed long before the Borg were given that catchphrase to later be overused back in 1990. Especially as the galaxy, in another universe to theirs, is a big place. The episode wants to be epic with this, but somehow doesn't connect as fully as it should for selling 8472 as strongly as it potentially could. What would 8472 need to do anyway, open up portals everywhere and have a couple pop out and spit on people? (Showing only Kim suffering, with that description as provided by the EMH and Janeway, was the better way to go, which lets the viewer extrapolate more effectively -- seeing on screen a few dozen, hundred, or zillion people clutch bellies and shriek simultaneously would just induce laughter from the audience. It'd be worse if the monster then cracked a stupid joke afterward. For more, I could reference a few Doctor Who stories featuring Daleks, whose dates range several decades, as proof.)
Kes is rather great as a conduit for the telepathic communication scenes, which are well-handled.
John Rhys-Davies is a coup. Has great on-screen chemistry with Kate Mulgrew as well. A shame they couldn't get him back for the coda in pt 2.
Chakotay's parable about the scorpion, which is also a codename for a sweet solution at the end of pt 2, is excellent. I like their rift as, while Chakotay was driven by more direct experience, both still had valid points and got their job done.
The reminder that Janeway and Chakotay came from different backgrounds could have been given a little more screentime, but still works. Their solution at the end and how they stop Seven is, of course, pretty sweet - which also lays the groundwork for the "Seven reclaims the humanity" arc that worked absolute wonders for the show.
The incidental music ranges anywhere between wallpaper muzak in some scenes, with others doing an attempt to recapture the feel of TOS. Given Janeway is not a Picard clone and not since TOS has "the way out there" been explored, this is a nice callback that also works on its own for those who have not seen enough TOS to pick up on the vibe. Some scenes involving species 8472 are particularly well done.
Easily Voyager's best 2-parter, it's worth the time to watch.
A-
P.S. Pitfall's a real Harry game!
