Summary[]
Previously[]
When Voyager approaches Borg territory, the options are to turn around and stay in the Delta Quadrant, or to use the so-called "Northwest Passage", a region which appears to be devoid of Borg activity. Janeway decides in favor of the latter. Soon the crew witnesses how a whole fleet of Borg cubes is destroyed by a so far unknown enemy, who possesses biotechnology impervious to Borg or Federation weapons. Kes receives a telepathic message from them, saying that "the weak will perish." On an away mission to a destroyed Borg cube, Kim is infected with their cells, which begin to eat up his body from within. The Doctor saves his life with the help of modified Borg nanoprobes.
The new enemy, known to the Borg as Species 8472, emerges from interspatial rifts in the "Northwest Passage", explaining the lack of Borg activity in the region. As this passage is no longer an option, Janeway develops the daring plan to provide the Borg with knowledge about how to modify their nanoprobes to a weapon against Species 8472, in exchange for Voyager's free passage through Borg territory. Despite Chakotay's objections she orders a course to a Borg-occupied planet. Just as she has been beamed aboard a Borg cube to make her point, a fleet of Species 8472 bioships appears and destroys the whole planet. The Borg cube, along with Voyager caught in its tractor beam, narrowly escapes the inferno.
Conclusion[]
Janeway successfully concludes the talks and stays aboard the cube as a part of the deal. But when the Borg want her to communicate with neural transmitters, she refuses and demands a single drone as a Borg representative to talk to. The Borg agree and send Seven of Nine, a formerly human female. Another Species 8472 ship appears, and the Borg cube protects Voyager and the modified nanoprobes in self-sacrifice after beaming over Janeway, Chakotay and a number of drones to the Federation ship. As Janeway has suffered neural damage, Chakotay takes over command.
Seven of Nine demands to reverse course to join with another Borg cube. But Chakotay refuses and ultimately announces the end of the alliance he never wanted. The drones tamper with Voyager's deflector and open a spatial rift to the realm of Species 8472, to trigger a direct confrontation and test the new weapon. Chakotay orders to decompress the deck with the drones, but Seven of Nine survives. When Chakotay asks how she could known how to enter the realm of Species 8472, she admits that the Borg started the war against them.
In the meantime Janeway has recovered. She tells Seven of Nine that Chakotay has been confined to the brig, and that she will install the weapon and fight Species 8472. The test is successful. All attacking Species 8472 ships are destroyed. When more bioships follow Voyager into normal space, Janeway orders to release a weapon of mass destruction that obliterates the whole fleet. The Borg report that Species 8472 retreats from Borg space. When Seven of Nine attempts to take over Voyager, Chakotay creates a neural link with her and thereby disrupts her connection with the Collective. Janeway decides to keep her aboard Voyager.
Errors and Explanations[]
Internet Movie Database[]
Continuity[]
- At one point, Seven of Nine displays a detailed knowledge of Voyager's photon torpedo inventory. Tuvok asks where she got this information. Tuvok (or the writer) appears to have forgotten that the Borg completely scanned Voyager in Part 1 - One of the fifteen Cubes that passed them stopped long enough to do the scan. All the information retrieved would have been shared with all other Borg Cubes in the area, including the Cube Seven of Nine was on. Tuvok could have asked the question to ascertain how much information Seven of Nine, and by extension the Borg, would be willing to share.
- After Janeway and Tuvok are beamed to Cargo Bay 2, their arms change positions when Chakotay is checking on them between shots. The arms could have been moved as part of the checks.
Revealing mistakes[]
- In this episode, Seven says she was with the Collective for eighteen years. In the episode The Raven, she reveals that she was taken by the Collective on her sixth birthday, which would make her approximately twenty-four years old in this episode. No explanation is offered (and no questions asked) as to how someone born in the Alpha Quadrant got to the Delta Quadrant in such a short amount of time. At this moment, there are more important considerations!
Nit Central[]
- Cableface on Wednesday, December 23, 1998 - 1:43 pm: Why would a Borg ship need a red alert siren? All the borg would know straight away if there was a problem so what's the point? Aaron Dotter on Wednesday, December 23, 1998 - 2:59 pm: May I suggest that it was for the benefit of Janeway and Tuvok? I don't know why the Borg would do it for them, but it's just a theory.
- BrianB on Saturday, July 10, 1999 - 10:31 pm: Did anyone notice Seven of Nine's illustration of the multikenetic neuronic mine with a 5,000,000 isoton yield? It's really the schematic of da Borg ship seen in TNG's "Descent".Seniram 14:27, February 4, 2018 (UTC) Either the design of the ship was based on the mine, or that of the mine was based on the ship.
- Mark Swinton on Saturday, October 23, 1999 - 1:49 pm: Why doesn't Seven of Nine have the reverb in her voice that we heard in other Borgs like Hugh or Locutus? BrianB on Sunday, October 24, 1999 - 2:47 am: Excellent nit, Mark. The same could be asked of Seven in REborg episodes like Living Witness & Survival Instinct. Seniram 14:27, February 4, 2018 (UTC) this could be done to facilitate co-operation as part of the agreement.
- Brian Lombard on Monday, March 13, 2000 - 8:58 am: In TNG's "The Best Of Both Worlds, Part II, Picard was restored to his normal self when his Borg ship was destroyed. So how come 7 and the others are still drones when their cube explodes in this episode? DonnaL on Friday, June 02, 2000 - 9:45 pm: Voyager was still in Borg space and so they still have a subspace link with the rest of the collective. Maybe in TBOBW, the cube was very far from home.(?) Also, it probably made a difference that Picard had not been assimilated very long. Good question, though, since Riley's people in Unity lost their connection when their cube broke down.
- Locutus on Friday, December 15, 2000 - 11:43 pm: I was just wondering what caused the change in Species 8472's attitude that occurred by the time In the Flesh rolled around. The whole "your galaxy will be purged" talk seemed to fade away. Change in 8472 government? Lee Jamilkowski (Ljamilkowski) on Saturday, December 16, 2000 - 3:41 pm: Don't you know, Locutus? That was just good old-fashioned 8472 propaganda. When they said "Your galaxy will be purged", they really meant "As long as you don't get in our way, your galaxy will only be purged of the Borg." A great scare tactic, eh?
- Keith Alan Morgan (Kmorgan) on Monday, July 16, 2001 - 4:24 am: In Part I Harry was isolated behind a force field, but in this episode the Doctor and Chakotay walk right up to Harry with no sign of a force field, at all. Why the change? Seniram 14:27, February 4, 2018 (UTC) Maybe the success of the treatment is making Harry less of a threat.
- Why is Kes at the staff meeting if Species 8472 can read her memories? Jwb52z on Monday, July 16, 2001 - 3:55 pm: That problem is overridden by the fact that she can read their minds too and see their intentions.
- Chakotay said he had a neural transmitter embedded in his spine. I thought the transmitter was just set on his neck, not embedded. Jwb52z on Monday, July 16, 2001 - 3:55 pm:The neurotherapy devices that John Doe needed in the TNG episode, where he was the one evolving to an energy being from a corporeal being, were not imbedded into him and still helped control his muscles. That involves the spinal nerves as well since it had to carry the nerve transmission where the nerves were damaged to the part of the body that the signal was supposed to go to in the body. The technology obviously exists to control the body from outside it without actual invasive measures.
- If Species 8472 comes from "fluid space" which is filled with matter, then why didn't matter 'squirt' out of the quantum singularities when a ship entered or left one? Jwb52z on Monday, July 16, 2001 - 3:55 pm:I know it's a small error, but it is actually "fluidic space." As for your second problem there, think about dimensional or universe barriers. Captain Obvious on Monday, July 16, 2001 - 11:22 pm: What barriers? No one said anything about barriers. The fact that apertures opened up between the dimensions is why Keith was saying there should've been some leakage, especially since our outer space is a vacuum, and 8472's space is filled with fluid.
- There was a certain time delay between the nanoprobes hitting the alien ships and destroying them in "fluid space," so why was there no delay when they detonated the mine in normal space? (And shouldn't the fluid space have filled up the crevices and folds in Voyager's hull so that when it returns to normal space we see streams of it being pulled off?) Jwb52z on Monday, July 16, 2001 - 3:55 pm:That would depend on what kind of matter this was in fluidic space. If the matter is like squishy jello that is not quite set up, that would not happen.
- If the Borg are so powerful and believe in assimilating other races, then why are there any unassimilated species in the Delta Quadrant? Jwb52z on Monday, July 16, 2001 - 3:55 pm: In the case of the Kazon, they were seen as unworthy of assimilation. I assume other species were deemed so as well.
| Voyager Season 4 |
| Scorpion Part 2 I The Gift I Day of Honor I Nemesis I Revulsion I The Raven I Scientific Method I Year of Hell Part 1 I Year of Hell Part 2 I Random Thoughts I Concerning Flight I Mortal Coil I Waking Moments I Message in a Bottle I Hunters I Prey I Retrospect I The Killing Game Part 1 I The Killing Game Part 2 I Vis à Vis I The Omega Directive I Unforgettable I Living Witness I Demon I One I Hope and Fear |