Voyager finds itself transporting alien prisoners due to be executed. When one of them requires an emergency surgery, with the unexpected consequence of repairing his "broken conscience," the prisoner truly reforms and repents for the first time. But that may mean nothing in the alien justice system -- a fact that causes Seven of Nine in particular to rethink her views.
This episode really tries to pack in a lot. (In part, it does this by beginning with the action underway: just as the prisoners are first coming aboard Voyager.) It grafts real-life details about the U.S. prison system onto this alien society, such as the fact that one demographic in its population accounts for a dramatically larger portion of the prison population. It questions how humanely prisoners should be treated (and whose humanity it actually comments on when they aren't). It pays lip service to the Prime Directive. (Even though I think it shouldn't; again, Star Trek can't remember from one episode to the next whether that's supposed to apply to warp-capable species.) It presents an intriguingly alien notion of justice: that victims, as the people who know how to "value" what's been taken from them, should be the ones passing judgments.
Because of all this background, there isn't enough time to really check-in on how many of the main characters really feel about the situation. (I think Harry Kim isn't even on-screen in this episode? But he does have one off-screen line I noted.) Tuvok has to run security in accordance with alien values without compromising his own. Tom Paris is made to recall his own time in incarceration (as the pilot episode began). The Doctor, of course, gets to be the most forceful voice against capital punishment. But all these moments are almost "in passing," even though any would be worthy of a more developed subplot.
Two characters in particular do get extra screen time, and it mostly works. Neelix is a good choice for this story, as no doubt his old life as a scavenger saw him committing crimes of various severity. He is the perfect person to hear the prisoner Joleg's story about being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and feels more empathetic than naive to believe it.
Meanwhile, Seven is the right person to center in a story about someone who has done the most horrible things in their past now expressing true remorse. She's forced to confront her time in the Borg collective in a far more personal and emotional way than most past episodes have demanded. She reckons with whether she's been sufficiently punished for what she has done. And she gets the chance to give out a second chance as she was given one by Janeway.
And the story is helped by two excellent guest stars, each on opposing character arcs. F.J. Rio plays an apparently sympathic Joleg who in the end is revealed to be a psychopath, while Jeff Kober is excellent as the "irredeemable" Iko who actually does seem redeemable in the end. Tim de Zarn is strong too as the alien warden Yediq, who himself has a journey of forgiveness. In fact, the story arcs of these three guest characters might be a little too compelling, threatening to overwhelm the focus on Voyager crew.
Other observation:
- One prisoner is shocked when offered more than one meal a day. But it's Neelix's cooking, so which is really the greater punishment?
I don't exactly want a two-part episode here -- I don't feel like there's that much story (or a logical cliffhanger point). Though I do think this episode would have benefited a lot had it been made in the age of streaming, able to have as long a runtime as it needed. Another 10 to 15 minutes I think would have really helped dig into the Voyager characters' role in this story more fully. I give "Repentance" a B.
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