In secret, B'Elanna Torres is using the holodeck with the safety protocols turned off, to engage in increasingly dangerous activities. She's ever more withdrawn in her work, which becomes clear as the crew starts to build a new shuttlecraft for an unusual mission. Will Voyager beat an alien rival in retrieving a probe from deep within a gas giant? And will B'Elanna cause serious injury to herself before seeking help?
The writer of this episode, Kenneth Biller, credits Roxann Dawson with suggesting the topic of self-harm and depression. He noted that Voyager's take on the issue had to have a science fiction element; that's how he came to involve the holodeck in his script. The result is a mixed bag, though.
The characterization of B'Elanna in this episode feels well-considered. She's escalated to this daredevil state, and is numb and emotionless everywhere else in her life. We've known the character long enough that we can see how her fire has gone out. She tries to deflect uncomfortable conversation with half-hearted humor, she's pushing Tom Paris away, and she doesn't get angry when Janeway gives her a dressing down. She's so desperate to feel something that she strikes up a conversation with Neelix (who is just as shocked at the prospect as the audience)!
It certainly feels right to follow up on last season's revelation (for the Voyager crew) that the Maquis movement in the Alpha Quadrant has been decimated. Losing that many close friends all at once -- made worse by not being able to be there -- sounds like a mighty emotional blow, and it's appropriate that at least one of the main characters would not be able to simply shrug that off.
It's also good that Chakotay is the one to start to bring B'Elanna out of her torpor. He's really the only other person who has experiences at all like what she's feeling. The fact that some of the Voyager regulars were once in the Maquis resistance feels like it hasn't actually mattered on the show in ages, but it matters here in a potent and organic way.
Yet there's a lot about this episode that feels out of step. How Chakotay gets B'Elanna to open up seems dangerous and irresponsible: physically manhandling her onto the holodeck and forcing her to directly confront the flashpoint of her trauma is surely not a recommended therapeutic technique. B'Elanna's subsequent turnaround after this one event feels sudden and unearned.
B'Elanna isn't the only character who is behaving oddly, and that only serves to detract from her story. Janeway is weirdly snippy for the whole episode; right out the gate, she has absolutely no patience for this rivalry with the Malon (and their captain in particular). Tom Paris should be there for his significant other, but in an especially bad look for the character, he'd rather spend his time building a "hot rod" (as Tuvok calls it). Sure, she's pushing him away -- and that's a thing that can happen -- but he should be trying harder not to be pushed! He doesn't seem disappointed enough in himself when Janeway and Chakotay start asking questions about B'Elanna and he realizes he doesn't have the answers.
Parallel to all this (and perhaps crowding out time for more character focus?) is a subplot about the construction of the Delta Flyer, the new shuttlecraft that would remain with the series for the rest of the run. There are some fun in-universe accents in the ship's design, such as the Captain Proton inspired controls to pilot it. But the real-world production reasons informing its appearance are even more significant. The larger space was much easier to film in with fewer camera setups, and allowed for multiple characters to be framed together from more angles. The "skylight" adds another element that has to be dealt with by visual effects, but that also allows for a lot more visual variety in a shot (when the money is there for it). This was a good expense for Voyager, the television production, even if it strains the logic of how Voyager, the resource-limited ship far from home, was able to build it.
Other observations:
- Orbital skydiving was meant to have been depicted in Star Trek: Generations, but the scene was cut from the final film. Reportedly, the skydiving suit B'Elanna wears was the same suit made for William Shatner for that movie. Heavily tailored, of course.
- Cliff Bole, a recurring figure in the Star Trek director's chair, seems to get a bit bored with the "same ol', same ol' " in this episode. There are some strange angles peppered throughout, and unusually dark lighting (particularly for the scene in Tom Paris' quarters).
- I guess they spent so much money building the Delta Flyer set that they didn't have much left for the effect of its hull buckling as B'Elanna races to repair it. It looks pretty much like someone pushing dents in aluminum foil.
- While Vorik doesn't really have anything important to do in this episode, it's nice to see minor characters repeat -- on Voyager especially, where the crew is supposed to be small and fixed.
It's great to see Roxann Dawson play B'Elanna Torres in a different gear. The premise of this episode is interesting. Yet the urge to fix everything in time for the final credits, paired with odd behavior by so many people around B'Elanna, blunts the impact of this story. I give "Extreme Risk" a B-.
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