Voyager Flashback: Alliances

Deep Space Nine became the Star Trek series of its era best known for serialized storytelling. But Voyager also dipped its toes into that pool with an ongoing Kazon storyline in season two. "Alliances" was the third big Seska episode, but also marked the point where other new elements were introduced.

After repeated attacks by the Kazon, Chakotay persuades Janeway to pursue an alliance with a Kazon sect. But while those efforts fizzle quickly, Neelix soon makes contact with another race known as the Trabe. Once the oppressors of the Kazon (but now the oppressed), their ideals seem to comport with Federation's. Still, not all is as it seems -- including the Maquis' acceptance of the status quo, as disgruntled crewman Michael Jonas makes a first covert contact with the Kazon.

Although this Voyager story arc is not as intricate as the ones Deep Space Nine would present in later seasons (and is not the sole focus of consecutive episodes), I do still find a lot to like here in what it attempts. Rekindling discontent among the Maquis feels good for the series; it wasn't realistic to assume easy assimilation of freedom fighters with the people they were fighting. The characters of Hogan and Jonas aren't really the best here -- it's hard to even remember their names -- but the show is at least doing something it could have benefited from earlier: introducing people to make us care about over time. (Imagine if we'd known the late crewman Bendera that the Maquis are so worked up about here?)

The way the episode picks up on what we know of Seska and Maje Culluh works fairly well. Culluh's sexism -- his need to insert something into negotiations that wasn't dictated by a woman -- sinks the entire thing, and the reactions surrounding it are great: his attempt to appeal to Tuvok, Janeway's appropriately enraged response, and Seska's deserved berating.

The Kazon in general are made more interesting here. It's probably "too little, too late" in terms of making the audience see them as something other than junior varsity Klingons, but it's nice to get a context for why they squabble so much, and what they've overcome to get where they are. The Trabe are an illustrative brand of "white supremacy," animated not so much by open hatred as a complete inability to perceive Kazon as equal beings. You get the feeling that if Mabus had spent more time with Janeway, she might have seen the betrayal coming when Mabus casually slipped some form of "I'm not racist, but..." into a conversation. (I'm a bit disppointed that neither Mabus nor the Trabe show up again in the Kazon story line. Perhaps they were too humanizing for people who were intended to be villains for the show?)

But there are also some missteps in this episode. One is timing. The immediately previous episode was also about stumbling into the middle of a conflict and helping one side without understanding the broader context. The details are rather different here, though Janeway does look a bit hypocritical for arguing one way with the robots last week and a different way with the Trabe here this week. Her final speech lands with a thud for me too: a high-and-mighty declaration of how she was right all along and how one should never compromise one iota on one's values, regardless of circumstances. It just feels so black and white.

It also feels like the Maquis characters should be coming in hotter than they are. B'Elanna's anger seems to meet the moment when she shuts down the people complaining to her about Janeway (in much the same way she complained to Chakotay in the first episode). But Hogan's anger feels performative, and Chakotay doesn't seem upset enough for how well he claims to have known Bendera.

Other observations:

• There's some solid action in this episode, from the frenetic opening battle that ping-pongs around to different sections of the ship, to the assassination attempt at the end that shows a ship firing through a building window. The pace is solid -- though you could also imagine this as a two-part episode, to give more background for all the characters.

• Recently, Voyager has been unafraid to reference other Star Trek. Last episode included talk of Data, and this week features talk of Spock and the plot of Star Trek VI.

• This era of Star Trek does not do bars well. Their bar settings always feel incomplete, too well lit, and sparsely populated.

• Dumb Kazon guard has apparently never seen a grenade.

Overall, I'd give "Alliances" a B. I could imagine a stronger version of the episode, but it's still fairly interesting.