Janeway starts her own little Federation. Hey, wouldn’t the early days of the Federation make a great spin-off?
“The Void” is the sort of perfectly good, decent Voyager episode that a few weeks ago I was afraid we’d never see again. Which is not to say it’s earth-shattering, or that it tells us anything new about the characters, but it’s an enjoyable way to spend 45 minutes, and sometimes that’s enough.
(Okay, we do learn that Seven has taken up gourmet cooking, and that she is a control freak about seasoning and wine pairings. This is perfectly in character for her, and now I need a crossover with The Bear where Seven is torn between her desire to support Carmy’s perfectionism versus Richie and Syd’s more human approach.)
There’s a new spin-off in the air
One of the reasons Kenneth Biller (sigh) took over as lead producer this season was to free up Brannon Braga to start prep for Enterprise. I’m not sure how much direct contact there was between Braga and the Voyager writers room at this point, but all this talk about the Federation charter and its founding principles makes me think there was at least some.
This is particularly interesting because, while the Treks of this era absolutely invested time in setting up each next spin-off, it was usually more overt and intentional. TNG saw the creation of the Cardassians and Bajorans, which became the background of DS9, and then both TNG in its final season and DS9 in its third set the groundwork for the Maquis and Voyager.
Enterprise, as a prequel, wasn’t able to receive that treatment, and I’m actually glad that season 7 wasn’t peppered with references to Captain Archer or the original Enterprise. But this plot feels designed to get the audience thinking about how the Federation originally formed, and why.
I’ve gone and talked myself into the idea that this was intentional. I have no evidence for it, but it’s a smart idea and I’m prepared to give Kenneth Biller credit. Just this once.
Anyway, there’s a void
Remember the premiere of season 5? “Night”? That also had a capital-V Void. I’m not saying we’re not allowed to have two starless voids, but I do get confused.
This is the starless void that’s been sucking ships into it, leaving them fighting for dwindling resources and resorting to piracy to survive. Some of the races in here are guys we’ve seen before — we have the Vaadwaur from “Dragon’s Teeth” and the delightful little Overlookers from “Tinkor, Tenor, Doctor, Spy”. We also have a bunch of familiar actors, including Robin Sachs (best known from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and multiple roles in Babylon 5) and Jonathan del Arco, who played Hugh in TNG and Star Trek: Picard.
Here, del Arco plays an alien the Doctor dubs “Fantome”, because the Doctor is a fucking nerd and the individual in question is a music lover. His species are nomads indigenous to the Void, which is an opportunity for Janeway to get mad at people who are bigoted against nomads without a homeworld. Girl. It’s like she hasn’t been reading my blog, you know?
Joking aside, I really appreciate how Janeway cracks down on that bigotry — she would NOT tolerate the racist uncle at Christmas lunch. It’s a little too easy for the racist dude to also be the traitor, but on the other hand, the Overlookers hacked into Voyager’s systems to spy on people, and they aren’t villains.
Truthfully, this is a slight episode and I don’t have much to say about it — but that also means I don’t have much to criticise. Isn’t that nice?
Other observations
- I’m not saying Janeway and Chakotay, and Tom and B’Elanna, are definitely on a double date in the cold open, but I am saying it sure looks that way
- I actually love the idea of Janeway creating a little Federation, and I kind of wish we could have made this a whole arc
- but it sure is funny how she has completely changed position on sharing technology since season 1 and 2…
- this isn’t quite an ensemble episode, but most cast members get at least a moment to shine — particularly Mulgrew, Philips, Picardo and Dawson
In conclusion
Is “The Void” gonna rock your world? No. Is it enjoyable? Absolutely. Three peanut butter and jelly sandwiches out of five.