Kes has an encounter with an alien shrine that puts her in a comatose state. In the hopes of reviving her, Janeway undergoes a religious rite to ostensibly commune with the alien gods. The captain's scientific principles soon come into conflict with the spirituality of the ritual.
Robert Duncan McNeill wasn't yet expecting to be given an episode to direct, and indeed another Trek-actor-turned-director was slated to be in charge of this one. But when Jonathan Frakes was given the chance to helm the movie First Contact, producer Rick Berman decided to give McNeill his big break in the director's chair... with less than two weeks to prepare before the first day of filming. But there were a number of things going for McNeill here. The episode featured few visual effects and no major action beats. It was very character-centric story featuring Janeway, and actor-directors generally seem well-equipped to speak to other actors and get good performances.
In particular, the guest cast is really solid. Harry Groener has appeared on Star Trek before, and while his role this time is minor, it's quite novel to see an alien government official in Star Trek who actually wants to help. Becky Ann Baker is great as the Guide, injecting a very different-from-Trek-usual energy into the episode, needling and playing with Janeway (like, say, Yoda to Luke Skywalker when they first meet). The three "waiting" people are all recognizable working actors, perhaps none more so that George Costanza's Mom, Estelle Harris. Their scenes feel straight out of a Samuel Beckett play, and showcase the episode's major theme.
That theme, of course, is to pit science vs. faith. And this might be where many Trekkers simply won't be on board with this episode. Star Trek is all about "we can solve any problem if we just understand it," but this episode declares that "some things can't be understood." Deep Space Nine played with this theme a lot, but at least there, the Bajoran Prophets had the nominal scientific explanation of being non-linear lifeforms. The spirits here are as close to "magic" as anything in Star Trek outside of perhaps Q. (The Doctor has an explanation in the end... but then, he thought he had one halfway through the episode and was very wrong.)
Indeed, McNeill said in many interviews about his first directorial effort that he saw this as an episode of The X-Files just as much as of Star Trek. He wanted the same ambiguity The X-Files embraced, empowering both a scientific and supernatural read of what transpires. And while he does basically get that result, I find myself wishing the script had supported it a little better.
There's a great early scene between Janeway and Chakotay talking about religious ritual -- and Chakotay is far and away the best character on Voyager to discuss the topic with the captain. But then, at the climax of the story, Chakotay does an unexplained about face and argues the side of science to her. It feels so unlike his character, in fact, that I found myself expecting a reveal that Janeway's entire experience -- including this moment -- was an hallucination, a part of the ritual.
Despite those few missteps in the script, though, I find it a fairly good episode overall. And yes, a good first effort for McNeill, who would go on to direct many episodes of other television series after Voyager. Even this first time out, he's got an instinct for interesting camera moves, and knows how to work with actors (even if, with a guest cast this good, it might have been as much about "getting out of the way" as much as anything).
Other observations:
- When Neelix sees a statue in the alien caves, his first thought is that it could be some kind of fertility symbol. He's really thirsty, that Neelix.
- B'Elanna and Kim aren't in this episode much, but there's a good early scene where she is spouting off with Klingon rage and he diffuses the situation. I've said it before, but I think they're a good character pairing. I truly believe they would have made a better romance than the B'Elanna/Paris couple we ultimately got.
- There's nice makeup on Janeway to show her dehydrated and tired after her ordeal -- pale skin, cracked lips. Subtle, but effective.
I give "Sacred Ground" a B. In hundreds upon hundreds of episodes of Star Trek, I'm okay making room for the occasional one that's perhaps more fantasy than science fiction.
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