Voyager Flashback: Non Sequitur

At the close of season one of Star Trek: Voyager, actor Garrett Wang discussed the shortcomings of his character, Harry Kim, with staff writer Brannon Braga. Kim never got to "kiss the girl." He was never involved in action; he was literally the only main cast member who had not yet needed a stunt double. Wang hoped his feedback would nudge the writing in season two. Braga arguably overreacted and threw everything into one episode, "Non Sequitur."

Harry Kim awakens on Earth in an alternate reality where he wasn't aboard Voyager. Though back with his fiancee and working as an experimental engineer for Starfleet, Kim can't shake the feeling that everything is wrong and that he must find a way to return to his reality. And he'll need the help of a surly Tom Paris (and a mysterious alien observer) to do it.

The premise of this episode is great. Showing us Earth on an episode of Star Trek: Voyager is a rare treat, and "what if I'd never done [this]?" is a classic science fiction hook. This is certainly a good showcase for the underused character of Harry Kim; he's in almost every scene (and almost every other member of the cast is barely in the episode at all.) But the execution here falls short in a number of ways.

We know, of course, that the series is going to set everything back to normal by the end of the episode, and so there's only so much tension that could be created. Still, I think too much tension is deflated right out of the gate by opening with Janeway's voice, telling us that Harry is involved in a shuttle accident right before he awakens on Earth. We're primed to think maybe this is a dream or hallucination, and predisposed not to worry much about what's unfolding. Then, rather than committing to the scenario, the story dangles the character of Cosimo (with his cliché accent) in front of us right away to underscore the unreality of the situation.

The bigger issue, though, is that no one's behavior makes any sense. Kim's urge to return to his original reality simply doesn't track. He has talked about his fiancee before on several occasions -- and here she is! (The wooden guest star has no chemistry at all with Garrett Wang, but still...) He could carry on in this reality knowing that Voyager is lost in the Delta Quadrant and not destroyed, and with that knowledge perhaps work to rescue his friends.

Harry could have "poisoned" this reality a lot more thoroughly, making it so that he needs to return home. His fiancee Libby could leave him, rather than stick by him as he spouts nonsense. The vague threat of arrest could have been made more explicit by telling us just what kind of prison time is in store for him for his apparent crimes of espionage. But instead, Harry just vaguely complains that things "aren't right" before settling on how depressed Tom Paris is as his major justification for trying to escape this reality.

Paris' behavior makes even less sense. While I can force myself to "get there" in believing that his life is such a bust that he'll seize on any stranger showing up to give him purpose, I just don't buy that he's willing to die for it. I mean, his life is still put-together enough that he has friends who can get him a site-to-site transporter on a moment's notice. And he still has enough hustle to get the best of Starfleet security. Things simply don't look that bleak for him.

Harry does get to run and shoot and kiss and all the things that Garrett Wang lobbied for. But he doesn't actually figure out his own problem and solution. After 30 minutes, Cosimo pulls up a chair and dumps a big exposition bomb of truth. Then suddenly, conveniently, Kim remembers an awful lot of details about the shuttlecraft accident that got him here -- details it seems like he should have been thinking about a lot more before now (as opposed to theorizing about the holodeck, alien simulation, or time disruption he might be in). The episode never works toward an ending; it just reaches the point where it's time to start wrapping things up.

Other observations:

• There are a few Deep Space Nine connections here. Quark and Odo are both mentioned (though not by name), and the climactic sequences are filmed on that show's runabout set.

• Future San Francisco is a rather believable mix of new (futuristic streets) and old (Harry's building has an old-fashioned fire escape). I suppose that's just as likely about budget limitations as planning, though -- the episode also saves money by filming on the Paramount "New York City streets" backlot, and by lifting "establishing shots" from Star Trek movies I, IV, and VI.

• Why does Harry's "friend" Lasca turn around and become his interrogator while the admiral is questioning him? (Side note: Brannon Braga originally wrote that admiral character to instead be Counselor Troi, now working at Starfleet headquarters. Marina Sirtis wasn't available for the role at the time, though she would appear in later seasons.)
  

I do feel like this episode shows me enough to believe that Garrett Wang (and Harry Kim) can carry a whole episode. But the script here really isn't helping him in that endeavor. I give "Non Sequitur" a C.