Voyager finds a link to the early exploration of Mars in the Delta quadrant.
This could have been a magical episode. The component parts were all right – dipping back into the earliest days of (future) space flight, reminding us of the exploring mission that has always been at the core of Star Trek. But it doesn’t quite work. I think that’s mainly because the Seven of Nine felt off – she was too ‘Borg’, not really up to where she has been in other recent episodes in terms of learning about humanity. And so as a result her epiphany about the value of exploration seems forced, not earned.
Which isn’t to say this isn’t a good episode. I enjoyed it, it’s a good story, with the right mix of action and nostalgia. But it could have been so much more, with just a little bit more care on how Seven was written. And, probably, a less didactic approach than ‘play the old log tapes’ – there were other ways to tell the lost astronauts story.
593 down, 144 to go.