In the seventh episode of the sixth season of Voyager, I’m sorry, I didn’t say anything in the video about this, but I was so distracted by the name of the species here because I kept thinking they were saying Nardwuar, and then I imagined the Human Serviette in place of these aliens and I CAN’T HELP IT WHERE MY BRAIN GOES. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Star Trek.Â
Trigger Warning: For discussion of genocide, warfare, imperialism.
Well, this was a gnarly episode. There’s a lot going on within these forty-five minutes, and on the whole, I enjoyed this. However, because it’s so packed full of detail and political complication, that meant some of these ideas were not as complete as they could have been. LET US CHAT.
Lost Civilization
Oh, I do love how this starts! We’re tricked into thinking that the Vaadwaur are escaping this horrific attack, that these lovers are going to survive through their stasis chambers, and that in five years, they’ll emerge in an unknown world and try to rebuild. Of course, once we learn the truth, the cold open has a brand new meaning, but at the time, I was excited to see what was going to come of this. As soon as the episode confirmed that nearly nine hundred years had passed, not five, since the opening scene, I was ecstatic. How would these two characters deal with such an upsetting revelation? Had anyone else survived the onslaught, or was it just the two of them?
In quick succession, the rug is pulled out from under us in SO MANY WAYS. Not only do the Turei attack Voyager and force them to land on the Vaadwaur’s planet, which sets this whole thing in motion, but Voyager’s hope at using the subspace corridor to go home is pretty much destroyed. On top of that, the wife from the opening? DEAD. Which was shocking at the time and later completely confusing. Because for the remainder of this episode, there’s not a single woman at all. How is this species going to rebuild its civilization without any women? Was that just an oversight? That’s my guess. THIS IS WHAT YOU GET WHEN YOU FRIDGE CHARACTERS LIKE THIS.
Anyway, this aspect of the story – a civilization on the brink of extinction struggling to survive – is what’s given the most attention by the script, and it was totally enthralling to watch it. The Voyager crew is thrust into this odd partnership with the Vaadwaur, all so they could help them escape a toxic planet and the vengeful clutches of the Turei. It’s the kind of conflict that demonstrates the moral compass of Janeway and her crew, too, since it centers on helping those who need it most.
The Truth
EXCEPT THAT’S NOT ACTUALLY WHAT’S HAPPENING HERE. I suspected that something was wrong once Neelix began to investigate the Vaadwaur’s past; the show wouldn’t tease us with that unless it was meaningful. Voyager wasn’t helping an oppressed culture; they had unknowingly sided with an imperialistic regime who had threatened countless cultures around the galaxy. That meant that the opening scene was portraying the other nations fighting back, not senselessly bombing a helpless nation.
Thus, I found their name beautifully appropriate. Neelix’s people had come to use the word “vaadwaur” to mean foolish, and lord, that’s so spot-on. There was a chance here for them to escape that planet unscathed. They could have rebuilt their world somewhere else without the destruction that came to them, but y’all. THEY ARE SO SHORT-SIGHTED AND FOOLISH. They pursued a solution that bit the hand that fed them! Did they think Voyager would just roll over and accept their fate? You know, there’s an interesting parallel here, since the crew of Voyager and the Vaadwaur just wanted a home. Voyager was a long way from where they came from, and Vaadwaur were a long way from a place they could call home. They didn’t consider that Janeway and her crew would be just as desperate as them to get what they wanted! That’s why they never expected Janeway to side with the Turei in order to escape. SHE IS SO CUNNING, Y’ALL, I LOVE IT.
I’m guessing we’ll see the Vaadwaur again, then? Right? Maybe?
Revival vs Destruction
There’s so much of the script devoted to these plot poins and emotional beats that the writers unfortunately miss out on developing what I found to be the most vital aspect of the story: Seven of Nine’s emotional motivation for waking up Gedrin. We don’t find out until the end of the episode that she did it because SHE WANTED TO HELP REPAIR A CULTURE INSTEAD OF DESTROYING IT. Like?!?!?!?!?1 THAT IS SUCH AN INCREDIBLE CHARACTER MOTIVATION THAT I AM BITTER WE DID NOT GET ANYTHING MORE FROM IT. Y’all, it’s too much. Seven is growing! Developing compassion! Trying to make up for the things she did as a Borg drone!
Lord, did I ever want that story. I shall remain bothered by this forever.
The video for “Dragon’s Teeth” can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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