It’s time for a Borg civil war, with, uhhhhh, bonus grooming?
The problem with “Unimatrix Zero” is that it is trying very, very hard to replicate the success of “The Best of Both Worlds” and “Scorpion”, the third season finales of TNG and Voyager respectively. And instead, it ends up replicating “Descent”, the sixth season finale of TNG, an absolute low point for the series.
“Descent” also saw its outsider character undergo a new human experience for the first time, which turns out to be the result of external manipulation. And “Descent” also featured a Borg civil war, which ultimately fizzled out into nothing.
It’s rough. I had to watch “Unimatrix Zero” twice, in part because my brain simply refused to comprehend the mediocrity. And then this post sat, ready to be published, for an extra ten days because I forgot about it, which feels like a sign of something.
But also, well, there’s some subtext here and it’s a bit … unfortunate.
I’m not saying Axum was intentionally written as a creep
But he’s highkey creepy.
Like. Seven was assimilated at the age of six, and remained a drone for eighteen years, all of which, we learn, she spent visiting Unimatrix Zero. She arrived as a child, and presumably grew to adulthood there.
Axum says he knew her for all of those eighteen years, but nothing suggests he was assimilated as a child. And he’s very specific about the fact that they had a romantic relationship for six years. That is, from the time Seven was eighteen. That was … close to fine in 2000, but in 2025 (sigh), we generally look askance at grown men in this situation.
Again, I don’t think this was intentional. But it’s a product of the way Axum is underwritten and inconsistent. He’s meant to be the leader of the Borg rebellion, but he’s also a love interest for a female regular, which means he has all the charisma and force of personality of a mediocre blancmange. And it feels like something got lost in revisions: he’s shocked, the first time he sees Seven in Unimatrix Zero, but later tells her he brought her there.
Underwiting leaves a vacuum, and in this case, it has been filled with creepy vibes.
Free Seven from comphet (and romance)
Well before this was a season finale or a Borg episode, this story was conceived as a romance for Seven. And thanks, I hate it. I know this is something I complain about a lot, but Star Trek in every era seems determined to squeeze Seven into a romantic box that she clearly doesn’t fit.
Star Trek has never been as progressive as it thinks, but asexuality is its biggest blind spot, even today. And I understand that this is a fact I cannot change, least of all in a story from the turn of the century, but I don’t have to like it.
Spoiling the twist
The other reason I had to watch the episode twice before writing this post is that I realised very belatedly that the assimilation of Janeway, Tuvok and B’Elanna at the end is meant to come as a shocking surprise.
Unfortunately, way back in 2000, the episode was promoted with stills from that final scene. Even if you didn’t subscribe to a weekly newsletter of spoilers and rumours (I did!), it was very widely known that this would be The Episode Where Janeway Is Assimilated.
I’ll be honest, I feel a little cheated that Paramount itself spoiled that surprise. Twists are overrated, of course, and a story should be able to stand alone without them — but it would have been cool to experience the surprise, just once. And maybe, without all the anticipation of the promotional material, the actual execution of “Unimatrix Zero” would have been less disappointing.
Oh, sorry, is that a spoiler for part 2? Anyway…
Reliving the Scorpion glory days
“Unimatrix Zero” knows it’s standing in the shadow of “Scorpion” — Janeway all but says as much when she asks for Chakotay’s support in her plan to help the Borg dissidents. Between “Scorpion” and “Equinox”, we’re primed to expect some sort of big conflict between them in a finale/premiere, and I appreciate that the twist here is that Chakotay is fully on board.
I mean, more or less. He insists, correctly, that Janeway will only have his support if she brings B’Elanna and Tuvok along on Operation: Surprise The Audience By Getting Assimilated, but it’s all handled with grace and maturity. And I can’t complain about that! Following the extreme low of “Equinox” part 2, it feels like Janeway and Chakotay are a tighter team now than at any other point in the series. Growth.
Also Tom gets promoted
This is a cute scene, save for Harry’s plaintive little “I didn’t see a box on my chair”.
It’s unfortunate that I watched “Unimatrix Zero” part one in the same week as the penultimate episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks, in which an alternate universe’s Lieutenant Kim discovers that all his counterparts are still ensigns, and the frustration of his thwarted ambition leads him to become a multiverse-endangering villain.
Lemme dig up the graphic I made for that episode’s podcast.
In fairness, I will concede that Rick Berman has never come out and said that he refused to promote Harry because he is racist. Frankly, I think he’d be outraged at the suggestion.
I’ve also seen Berman defenders argue that Harry was not promoted because Garrett Wang was late to set and unprofessional a couple of times during the filming of season one. This argument is ridiculous to me, because (a) Wang’s off-set behaviour has no bearing on the professional standing of the fictional character he plays; (b) that was, by this point, six years ago; (c) Berman and Jeri Taylor were desperate to keep Jennifer Lien, whose behaviour by the end of season 3 was much worse than Wang’s.
In short, it’s a specious argument. And highlighting Harry’s lack of promotion feels like rubbing salt into the wound, much like the jokes in season 5 scripts about various actors’ weight.
Other observations
- I think this two-parter represents the Borg Queen’s weakest outing, but at the same time I love her vogue-like entrance, peeping out coyly from behind a set of mechanical doodads
- it’s weird how we have two consecutive season finales/premieres where Seven enters a mindscape that for some reason dresses her in pink
- it’s interesting that her outfit in Unimatrix Zero is very reminiscent of Kes, with layered pastels. Until you get to her waist and realise she is wearing the ugliest taupe pants ever seen on a human being. I am once again proposing that Robert Blackman was bad at his job.
In conclusion
I can’t believe I’m saying this about a whole season finale, but you can skip this. Go watch some grass grow, or shop online for ugly taupe pants, or something. Two pips out of five.