67 – Worst Case Scenario

Grade: B

Summary

Chakotay is complaining about Tuvok while talking to B’Elanna. He wants to know what side she will be on when the mutiny takes place.

Commentary

I have to say that Martha Hackett is probably my least favorite Star Trek villain, and I wasn’t very happy when I saw her name show up in the credits. But I also have to say that I was pleasantly surprised at how things went in this episode. I didn’t hate her character as much as I thought I would. She proves to be a very formidable villain, even almost a year after she died.

I really like the first half of this episode, before anyone discovers exactly what’s going on. Once the plot becomes obvious, it then starts getting a little tedious. I have to admit that the “Holodeck Gone Wrong” storylines are among my least favorite episodes, most of the time. If there’s one thing that saves this episode from total ruin, however, it’s the fact that Seska’s character really becomes more defined in this episode. The writing in this episode is much better than usual. It appears they’re starting to learn how to define characters in these 40 minute episodes. But the plot itself could have been a bit better than it was.

Of Note

If you have never seen this episode, see if you can pick up the clue early in the storyline. If you listen to the dialogue closely, you’ll tell right off that what you’re seeing isn’t really happening. I picked up on it immediately, but I thought it was a mistake in writing. Later in the episode, it became obvious that it was actually deliberately written that way.