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 EPISODE REVIEWS | ||
 | "Scorpion"
- Week of May 19th - May 23rd
File Photo
|| Airdate: May 21st,
1997 Written by:
Brannon Braga and Joe Menosky Directed by: David
Livingston In Short:
Move over First Contact! Clever, exciting, visually stunning,
"Scorpion" is the best cliffhanger and the best Borg
story since "Best of Both Worlds!" Brief Summary:
Venturing into the heart of Borg territory, Voyager encounters an
alien race (dubbed "Species 8472") that is invading the
universe, making short work of the "Galaxies' Most Powerful
Enemy". But to continue home, Janeway must strike a deal
with the Borg by offering knowledge that they can use to defeat
"Species 8472". Review I might as well
not play coy and come right out with my opinion: WOW!
"Scorpion" (which I originally thought was named so
because of a type of "squid-like" aliens) takes Voyager
to new heights. When I learned that this show was an "11th
hour" last minute work by the Voyager team, I was thoroughly
worried. But having read the entire plot synopsis two months ago
and no having seen the show, it is my opinion that
"Scorpion" is the best episode of Star Trek: Voyager
ever (Albeit we have yet to see how Part II shapes up). This cliffhanger
truly has it all; from Leonardo da Vinci, to multiple Borg cubes,
to spectacular visual effects, to Janeway's impersonation of the
all-mighty Jean-Luc Picard. Throughout the show (which I've
watched entirely twice, and watched the ending sequence over ten
times) I was really captivated. The last Trek finale to excite me
this much and leave me thirsty for the conclusion was TNG's
"Best of Both Worlds," coincidentally another Borg
cliffhanger. In fact, I would venture to stipulate that
"Scorpion" is the BEST Borg story since TNG's third
season ender, and even though the Borg weren't the aggressor
here, I was more captivated by them in this installment than in
last years' feature "First Contact". First, so as not
to treat the Leonardo scenes rapidly at the end of the review,
let me discuss them now. The first thing that stands out is the
excellent performance by John Rhys-Davies. Familiar with Davies
from Fox's "Sliders," it took a hard look to actually
recognize "Arturo", although his distinguished voice
shown through the Italian accent in some spots. These scenes
provided a brilliant illustration of how Janeway and her crew
sought to "deal" with Species 8472 (8472) and the Borg-
through innovation. And who better epitomizes human ingenuity
that Leonardo da Vinci? As Janeway pointed out later, it was the
ability of her crew to "investigate" the Borg and 8472
that presented them with an opportunity to traverse Borg space. I
like how da Vinci seemed to become Janeway's mentor, her
"Guinian" if you will. These scenes worked well for me,
blended with the plot well, and I hope to see Leo next season. Now, let me
discuss the plot chronologically as it developed. First, the
teaser; while the shortest in Trek history, it set the stage for
a mysterious, scary, ominous story. This teaser got my heart
pounding immediately, as it was intended to. Noting like the
famous words "existence as you know it is over," and
then the "resistance is futile" tag-line being
interrupted by the quick destruction of two Borg cubes. The
introduction to Borg space was direct like the teaser, getting us
right into the story without delay. I liked Janeway's
"Picard-esque" inspirational remark at the end of the
briefing; this set the stage for excellent development in her
character to come. The first major
(and much hyped) sequence in "Scorpion" was the Borg
armada. This is where the great visuals began. Pure action and
pure adrenaline pumping excitement is all I can say to describe
this sequence. Not only is the audience in awe of seeing so many
Borg vessels, but the general fear of the Borg starts to pump up
right here. When we find that the armada has been destroyed, the
excitement only builds. "Who could do THIS to the
Borg," asks Paris, perfectly verbalizing what I was thinking
at the time. We get the "Wolf 359" fly-by affect here,
ironically the graveyard is now that of a Borg armada. The most exciting
part aside from the closing 5-6 minutes was the sequence onboard
the destroyed Borg cube. From the moment the team beamed onboard,
the music was new, suspenseful, and really had me on the edge of
my seat. We see malfunctioning Borg everywhere, the cold
mechanically alien surroundings of a good 'ole Borg environment
(popularized by STFC). The bio-ship was VERY cool to say the
least, not to mention that Borg drone trying to assimilate it.
Having read the synopsis, I knew that Harry was gonna get it, and
as soon as he was told to remain outside the bio-ship I started
to sweat. The minutes that followed were SO VERY intoxicating.
The music played louder, and the terrifying sounds of the alien
lurking somewhere in the cube hunting the Voyager away team were
very effective. Kes's vision raised the tension level a couple
notches, and everything culminated in a spectacularly frightening
entrance by the alien! Even though the alien was CGI, it looked
fantastic- just what the Trek universe needed, a
non-human-menacing creature. The team's beam out wasn't much
relief though, as the alien ship powered up and fired at Voyager
(which somehow repelled the blast with conventional shields...
interesting). The stunning visual effects continue, as we see the
Voyager twist and turn more than we ever have before. The script
continues on excellently as the reason for lack of Borg activity
along the "Northwest Passage" is explained. When
B'Leanna showed Chakotay where 8472 was coming from, and the
music got REAL dark REAL fast, I was expecting something a little
less straight-forward than the revelation about the NW Passage;
perhaps something like "They come from a quantum singularity
which acts as a doorway from another dimension. It's an
invasion." But I don't have any complaints. Here we are
exposed to the dilemma Janeway must face. Janeway reveals her
immense devotion to returning home and is unwilling to accept
Chakotay's suggestion of leaving well enough alone. This is the
best character development to occur in the Captain since the show
began, and it was done very well. Even though the trailer and
every other bit of advertising along with the synopsis had me
wise to the resolution she would come to, the drama was still
effective and the final scenes in which her idea played out were
the best in the show. The obvious concerns such as the Borg
assimilating Voyager to acquire the information on 8472 were
addressed to my satisfaction, and we finally see serious
disagreement between Janeway and Chakotay. Both opinions were
dealt with thoroughly, even if the reciting of the entire
"scorpion" parable was a little much. I won't go into
each point argued by each party simply because we all saw the
show, but I applaud the writers for addressing many plausible
courses of action that had they left unanswered would've
detracted from the show's credibility. This scene was very well
written with sharp dialogue, and not forgetting the "beyond
professional" relationship the Captain shares with her First
Officer. Where earlier we saw the two united in support of each
other, at the end of this exchange it is clear that there is a
division between the two. Chakotay draws the line between the two
by reminding Janeway of her position as "Captain" and
his subordinate position of "First Officer." It is only
too fitting that at the end of the show Janeway stood alone
inside the Borg cube presenting her proposal. The final sequence
beginning with Voyager's approach of a Borg planetary system,
which I've watched alone at least ten times, was the most
suspenseful of the show. The excitement begins with the building
music and the extraordinary visuals of the Borg system. With
every word, the music built the scene so dramatically. We get the
chilling Borg greeting as usual, but when Janeway is transported
onto the Borg ship, and the Collective utters the words,
"State your demands," I was absolutely enthralled. The
pounding music, the vastness of the cube's inside, the uneasiness
seen on Janeway's face, the mechanical voice of the Borg forced
to deal with a Federation Captain- all these elements made this
scene so heart wrenching, you I could've cut the tension in my
living room with a knife. When the thick tension was shattered by
the attack of 8472, I almost had a heart attack! At this point
the original music was raised to an even more instrumental level
and my mouth dropped open as I watched the events unfold. By far
the most gut-wrenching cliffhanger since "BOBW," the
musical fanfare of nine bio-ships emerging into space and the
visuals of those ships focusing one massive energy beam at the
planet were just awesome! The visuals get better as we are fed an
image of planetary debris impacting on the face of the Borg cube,
a shot that wasn't needed yet its' inclusion gave this episode a
very cinematic look to it. The way in which
the cliffhanger took place surprised me very much. I was
expecting a rather plain ending perhaps of the Borg and Janeway
coming to some agreement and a close-up of her face. But instead,
"Scorpion" goes out on the highest note of all with
brilliant special effects. The planet exploding, Borg ships
caught in the shock-wave, and a defenseless starship Voyager
cradled by the tractor beam of her new ally zooming off into a
star-field that for once gave the feeling that "we're not in
the Alpha Quadrant anymore." Some
"not-so-short" Observations: - The in-depth
look into the Borg assimilation process was very fascinating.
I've always wondered how it took place, and I liked how the
Doctor's efforts took main stage in Janeway's plan. The Doc's
answer for Species 8472 came a tiny bit quick, but in retrospect
I wasn't really bothered by this. Chakotay's comments that
handing over the technology to the Borg would only make them
stronger is well taken, and I am really pondering whether or not
Voyager will end up being the Fox or the Scorpion. I can see it
both ways, but somehow I think that Part II will see Janeway try
to inflict some sort of damage on the Borg. - Kes's visions
did fit into the story validly, but to me it seemed that her
entire presence was "distant." She would report the
vision, but she just didn't seem "with it". In fact, if
I didn't know better, it looked like Jenifer Lien is all geared
up to leave the show. That pile of Borg bodies was wild though! - The
"organic assimilation" of Harry was so similar to that
mechanical method of the Borg that I was surprised the analogous
relationship wasn't mentioned. I do hope that Harry's affliction
isn't resolved quickly by the Doctor in the opener, and I
certainly hope the Borg don't end up assimilating 8472. Besides,
even if they can assimilate them, the 8472 weapons won't even let
the Borg get close enough to assimilate them. I hope 8472 becomes
a recurring adversary, even if there'd really be no point since
Voyager would most definitely lose. I guess what I mean is that I
hope the season opener doesn't just have the Borg win, and then
we never see Species 8472, quite possibly the best aliens since
the Borg, ever again. Now, Some Short
Takes: - The Collective's
complaint about the time it would take for Voyager to traverse
Borg space was the perfect opportunity for Janeway to suggest
acquiring some Borg transwarp technology. Since the writers went
out of their way to have Harry Kim establish that the Borg use
transwarp, I wouldn't be surprised if this request shows up in
Part II. In fact, if it doesn't come up I WILL be very surprised.
- The study of
previous Captains' encounters, notably Picards' was well used,
even if it seemed like the old "can't have the Borg without
mentioning Picard's involvement" school of thought. I
enjoyed it nevertheless. - Since Voyager's
database is unaware of the recent Borg attack (STFC), I think it
would be a nice touch if somehow Torres accessed a Borg record on
the event, leaving the crew wondering if Earth was assimilated or
not (and then somehow finding out that the Borg failed). - I was expecting
a more "Borgish" planet, it almost looked like a
regular planet. Which brings me to another wish-list type of nit:
I wish that armada had had some other polygon shaped ships, and I
hope we can see at least a picture of the original Borg
homeworld. - The alien CGI
work was brilliant, as were the rest of the effects. Unlike many
episodes in the past that packed in SFX awkwardly,
"Scorpion" used them fluidly and abundantly. Also, was
I the only one who KNEW that 8472 was coming from the quantum
singularities when Torres mentioned their presence early on? - I liked the
presentation of Harry Kim as the green, young ensign that he is. Writing:
The use of the Borg (again) can sometimes seem trite, but they
were used in an original manner here. The introduction of
"Species 8472" changes the face of the Trek universe,
and this combined with excellent dialogue and exciting scripting
gives this episode high marks. Directing:
I think the directing of "Scorpion" was very
instrumental into pulling off the overall affect that the story
called for, and Livingston does a great job. The away team
sequence was VERY frightening, and the arguments between Janeway
and Chakotay were very emotional. Nothing seemed forced. Acting:
Mulgrew gives her best performance so far in the series, but of
course the most accomplished acting came from John Rhys-Davies'
da Vinci. Rating: 9.5
out of 10. Excellent. Easily comparable to "BOBW",
maybe not quite reaching that level. Quote: "It is my
opinion that the Borg are the closest to pure evil as any race
we've encountered." -Captain Amizov of
the Endeavor, the sole surviving ship of Wolf 359 "The weak
will perish." -Species 8472,
invading the Universe "Species 8472
must be stopped. Our survival is your survival. Give us the
technology." "No. Safe
passage or no deal." [awkward silence] "State your
proposal." -The Borg
Collective Is Forced to Deal Read USA Today's Review Next Week:
"Fair Trade" comes along again... yippy doo. Discuss This Episode and/or Review in
the Fan Comm Link Discussion Board!
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