In the fifteenth episode of the seventh season of Voyager, Janeway refuses to oppose her ideals when the ship is thrown into a harrowing situation. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Star Trek.
Of all the wonderful things in this episode – and truly, there are a lot of them – I appreciate that the script doesn’t stray from demonstrating the cost of committing to one’s ideals. It’s uncomfortable to watch because, like many people on the crew, it feels like a bad decision. Voyager has the power and means to steal from other crews to survive, just like Valen’s ship, and it’s absurd not to, right?
But “The Void” demonstrates Janeway’s power as a captain and why she is perfectly suited for this job. This is one of those episodes where the writing is eerily spot-on for a character, and my gods, it’s so satisfying! There’s no character aboard this ship better suited for a story about sticking to one’s ideals in the face of adversity because THAT’S WHAT JANEWAY DOES. In this story, we get something that’s like the polar opposite of Lord of the Flies, and you better believe that I’m convinced that if someone other than Janeway was captain of the ship, we probably would have had an episode closer to that reality.
“The Void” constructs a world where hope is nonexistent. People stop thinking about escape as an option within this bizarre anomaly, and they have good reason for that. Travel into the anomaly is easy, of course, but trying to power in reverse is nearly impossible. It also doesn’t help that there are numerous ships vying for resources and whose only source of that is each new ship pulled into the anomaly. How many crews are wiped out in the first few days of entering this horrific part of subspace? How many people starve or run out of atmosphere or lose all hope because they’re preyed upon? It’s clear that no one had ever successfully pulled off what Janeway suggested to the other ships in the region. The status quo had become every ship for themselves.
The script never delves into the existential dread and terror that might come from this situation, at least not beyond the brief glimpses we get of it in some members of the crew. That’s kind of astounding to me in hindsight. Shouldn’t this episode feel awful? Shouldn’t the dread weigh on us heavily? Shouldn’t the oppressive atmosphere be spread to the viewer?
Honestly, it’s Janeway who keeps that at bay. Actually, the Doctor’s plot does, too! Both of these characters are dealt problems that are rooted in uncertainty. Janeway doesn’t know how to escape the anomaly; the Doctor doesn’t know how to communicate with Fantome. But neither of them give up; neither of them ever assume that there is an impossibility before them. Instead, they strive to overcome the problems that they face. I do feel the need to give props to whomever designed/created Fantome’s species because THEY ARE THE ABSOLUTE COOLEST. Hyper intelligent species who lives in the Void AND CAN COMMUNICATE THROUGH MUSICAL TONES??? I love it. WHEN ARE THEY RELEASING THEIR FIRST SINGLE.
The similarity between these two plots is that both these characters are willing to give other people a chance, no matter the circumstances, no matter the stereotypes, no matter even if these people don’t exactly treat them well at first. It’s about a conscious effort to acknowledge and overcome prejudices. The Doctor does not berate Fantome for being shy and skittish around him. Janeway does not blame anyone for being suspicious of her attempts at building an alliance, either. She offers them supplies regardless, and THAT’S A HUGE DEAL. Yes, she hopes to get something in return, but I don’t see that as a bad thing. She knows that pooling of resources will get them all closer to their goal than fighting with each other.
Which is why she rejects Bosaal’s modulator. It’s an idealistic move, of course, but Janeway is an idealistic captain. The whole point of this alliance was to do the hard work of cooperation and friendship in order to achieve a goal that mutually benefits those who work together. How can that happen if Bosaal is murdering people to get what the alliance needs? What if he’d negotiated for it, or invited those people to the alliance instead of stealing the modulator? Y’all, HE COULD HAVE ESCAPED, but he was petty and selfish and murderous. Soooooooo…. I don’t feel bad for him at all?
This was a fantastic episode, y’all. Ugh, I just love Janeway SO MUCH.
The video for “The Void” can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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