The Voyager crew come across the starship Equinox, also brought to the Delta Quadrant by the Caretaker. Helping with repairs and offering hospitality, they soon realize the Equinox crew aren't what they seem.
After a great start with the Equinox crew battling some superb CGI creatures that drain the life out of people's bodies, it all goes a bit wrong. The main problem is the lack of anything resembling a plot twist. All of the revelations, whilst the audience doesn't know exactly what is going on, you can still make some reasonably obvious assumptions. The Equinox crew are obviously hiding something or there wouldn't be much point in doing an episode about them.
The plot moves along at a reasonable pace, each of the Voyager crew gets something to do, which is a rare occurrence these days, and the Equinox people get enough spotlight time to make them more rounded characters. On top of this, the cliffhanger ending is just as exciting as the beginning, and I'm itching to see how things work out, as I can't see how Janeway will get out of her current predicament. Presumably at least some of the Equinox people will die, but it could make for a pretty good season opener.
I also harbour a sneaking suspicion that there's a continuity problem or two going on here, but it's tricky to work out where the Equinox should be in relation to Voyager as Voyager has had a couple of pushes back home. Equinox must have arrived first, as Voyager destroyed the array that brought the ships to the Delta Quadrant. Plus, Equinox's crew seems to alter at various points during the episode. We see about six, six are said to have died. Was there only a crew of 12? It seems unlikely.
So there you have it. Equinox has a great start and finish, and it is inches away from being worth four stars. But not quite.
***
Back to the Star Trek: Voyager guide, head back to the main TV reviews page, or return to the main page?
