96 – Drone

Grade: B+

Summary

Seven, Paris, Torres and the Doctor are on an away mission together when there is a sudden power surge. The shuttle is damaged, and Voyager’s transporter chief has to beam them back onto the ship. When they arrive, the Doctor’s mobile emitter shows Borg technology coming out of it. Apparently, the mobile emitter and Borg nanoprobes merge to create a 29th Century Borg.

Commentary

We haven’t had many really great Voyager episodes, so this one was a welcome surprise. This will probably go down as one of the best episodes this series ever produced. Yes, I know I’m not all the way through Voyager yet, but the past 4 seasons have provided more than enough examples of what Voyager is capable of producing. I don’t think this series will get much better than this.

Jeri Ryan’s acting in this episode really makes it shine. The last scene is something special. The storyline is fantastic – assuming you don’t think about it too much. I mean really, how could the Doctor’s 29th Century mobile emitter cause a Borg drone to be born with all the power, technology and knowledge of his species from 500 years in the future? Like many things in this series, it doesn’t make much sense if you think about it.

Anyway, the Drone becomes Seven’s son. She raises him to be a “good” person and he ends up making a selfless sacrifice in the very end. This is one of only a few Voyager episodes that I could watch over and over again. If only all of Voyager’s episodes could be this good.

Of Note

I loved this line from B’Elanna Torres: “How many Borg hitchhikers are we gonna pick up on this trip? Maybe this is the Collective’s new strategy. They don’t assimilate anymore, they just show up and look helpless.” It’s like the writers were making fun of themselves for always coming up with the same old stories over and over.