The Voyager becomes trap in Chaotic Space, and Chakotay must talk to aliens through hallucinations to discover a way out again.
Now, I still have no real idea what happened in this episode, as the narrative is so immensely muddled. The script is full of technobabble, to the extent that even the Voyager crew don't understand some of it, and we're never let in on what is happening. "I know a way out," says Chakotay, "but it's too complicated to explain." So we, the viewers, remain totally in the dark about exactly what the hell was going on.
There are flashbacks galore, which are so badly pointed out that the narrative structure doesn't flow at all. It's impossible to tell when it switches between past and present. The inclusion of Boothby seems extremely contrived and desperate, and there is no need for him to be there at all. On top of this, to add insult to injury, Chakotay goes on another vision quest, which seems to do him no good at all. The only function this story serves is to introduce the idea of Chakotay having a 'bad' gene that could make him go insane. Well, I was on the verge at a couple of points myself.
The only aspects that do actually work are the acting of the regulars in Chakotay's dream sequences (especially Robert Picardo) and the way the aliens communicate to Chakotay through snatches of dialogue taken from sentences said by members of the crew. The fast cutting between their words makes the alien speech simultaneously clever and otherworldly. However, a couple of bits of messing with conventional styles that do work don't make up for the muddled mess that makes up the rest of the story.
**
Back to the Star Trek: Voyager guide, head back to the main TV reviews page, or return to the main page?
