In the twentieth episode of the fifth season of Voyager, Janeway and Seven of Nine must deal with a tempting offer to help them with a paradox. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Star Trek.
THIS IS SUCH A COOL EPISODE. Can we all collectively acknowledge that it is immensely satisfying to watch Janeway do shit like this? I can’t even recall how many times she’s gotten the last word or executed some brilliant plan of revenge like this, and I LIVE FOR IT EACH AND EVERY TIME. Moral of the story?
Don’t fuck with Janeway.
The Paradox
We’re at a point within this show where I expect disaster at every turn, where it’s reasonable to anticipate that Voyager and its crew are going to encounter one ridiculous complication after another on their trip home. “Think Tank” plays with that idea, though, with a cold open that introduces us to a morally-ambiguous group of super intellects who solve the problems of the Delta Quadrant… for a price. I love the start of this episode because it establishes such an odd tone for “Think Tank”! Right off the bat, we get Jason Alexander’s portrayal of Kurros as the detached but amused leader of this group. (Which is fascinating once we learn he was recruited by Bevvox, not the other way around. How did Kurros come to be the face of this group?) We see how the consortium of minds demands payments regardless of the ability to provide them. Hell, I’d even argue that the cold open provides us with a chance to see how manipulative these beings are. They knew that the payment they asked for would create another cataclysmic problem, and they didn’t care.
Thus, it was a lot of fun to realize that the Hazari paradox Voyager was coping with would require the Think Tank’s help. I love how you never can ignore how unsettling Kurros is; at what point is the price he demands too high to pay? I KNEW IT WAS COMING. Plus, the Hazari fit so well into the continuity of this show, which repeatedly forces Voyager to deal with the repercussions of past conflicts. So it made a lot of sense to me that the Hazari were hired to get revenge on Voyager, WHICH IS THE WHOLE REASON EVERYONE FELL FOR KURROS’S DECEPTION.
Yet the paradox is a dual thing. We’ve got the problem of Voyager‘s escape. Is a path out of the system a real escape, or is it a trap? How can you know what the Hazari are planning? However, once Janeway and Seven are aboard Kurros’s ship and are presented with the sliver of hope of a solution, there’s a new paradox. If the price of Voyager‘s safety is Seven of Nine, is the cost worth it?
Choices
I adore that this entire conflict is framed as Seven’s choice. Once Janeway realizes the full extent of what Kurros wants – to induct Seven as the newest member of the think tank – she doesn’t outright refuse, even if she wants to. Instead, she respects Seven’s autonomy and urges her to make the decision herself. I LOVE HOW WELL THIS FITS INTO SEVEN’S CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT AND JANEWAY’S CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT AND I LOVE THEIR RELATIONSHIP. And while entertaining this idea, the writers don’t just re-hash old storylines; this is not like “Dark Frontier” at all, nor does it feel like other attempts to explore Seven’s role on the ship. Instead, she wholeheartedly rejects the offer, despite that it is appealing in one sense. That attractiveness, however, is not worth it to Seven anymore. Her journey towards humanity is the more appealing option, and it’s one of the coolest ways this show has demonstrated its willingness to build these characters.
The Last Laugh
Of course, Kurros’s statement that sometimes, the pursuit of perfection requires selfishness, was a warning, not a quirky character detail. THIS WHOLE THING WAS A GIANT CON. Kurros himself hired the Hazari, which means… y’all. HOW MANY CONFLICTS HAVE THE MEMBERS OF THE THINK TANK CAUSED IN ORDER TO “FIX” THEM? This cannot be the first time they’ve done this, right??? So yeah, I don’t exactly feel bad about their fate at the end of this episode. Because GODS ALL BLESS JANEWAY for coming up with the best way to get back at the think tank: she cheats. It’s such a great conclusion because Janeway circumvents the very rules that Kurros hopes they will rely on: being fair. Honorable. Just.
This episode was a delight, y’all. I’m so pleased that we got such a satisfying story and character development, too!
The video for “Think Tank” can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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