There are a lot of ways to mess up an episode like this. Continuity is hardly ever followed in normal episodes, and something like this is just far worse. Hair, clothes (i.e. Seven), etc. all change slightly over a year or so, and with different 'people' these things change differently. I was impressed that they did as well as they did with this episode, but there were still some parts that didn't fly right.
GENERAL THOUGHTS:
This whole thing, in my opinion, is the producers trying to throw us viewers a bone with a 'what could be.' Since the real characters will likely never end up in this situation, you can only say 'this is how they might react to such events.' But the problem with an episode like this is that it doesn't really further our knowledge of the characters. There's no real growth for the real characters. Only the clones. Put this one in the 'acanonical' pile and forget about it is my suggestion. But on a side note, this one really continued on the 'emotional year of hell' that this season has been. My gosh, this crew needs a pick-me-up, and soon!
LIKES:
I really liked how everyone got a decent sized part this week -- no one stole the show. And all the performances were strong as well. I like episodes like this where it's obvious this is an ensemble show and not 'the Seven show.'
The special effects were really good this week. Even my sister (who's not a fan at all) was wowed by the scenes where the faces start bubbling.
I liked everyone's reactions to the different deaths. From Tom refusing to accept B'Elanna's death, to the impact of Chakotay's death on Janeway, to the Captain dying peacefully in her chair (very fitting). The deaths were all handled nicely (no overacting and such rot), and the reactions were even better. But most of this falls under relationship stuff, so I'll wait until later to go into it more. The only one I expected more out of was when Chakotay found out B'Elanna had died. Even if you suspect she's really just silver goo, she's still a good friend and just a few seconds of grieving would have pacified me.
The time capsule idea was great. Janeway's right that even if the crew's existence was short, they don't deserve to be forgotten. And the problems launching it were great also. Not everything in life is easy, and we frequently fail in our attempts. Sometimes I think we see things work out happily ever after too many times on TV. I know it's not always satisfying, but sometimes you have to have a little bad to go with the good. I'm not saying I want realism every week, but every once in a while its a good idea.
I think maybe for the same reason I liked the end. I wasn't sure how to classify the end the first time I watched it. I just sort of sat there going, 'but wait, they should have lived, or at least gotten to tell their story.' But life doesn't always give you that chance. And I think we were left with just enough to wonder whether the real crew felt something as the clones were destroyed. Disturbing, I think would be a good way to describe the ending, but in a good way.
DISLIKES:
Once and for all, people, this is the first time we've seen the clones since last season. Despite what most people (including the actors) seem to think, the rest of this season has been the real crew. Remember how Tom was demoted to Ensign a couple months ago? Well he was back to Lieutenant here. Somehow I don't think we missed his promotion. And don't you think we'd have heard of the enhanced warp drive some time before now? I could even give you Captain Proton arguments as to why we haven't seen the clones before now.
Seven has obviously been taking lessons from the Star Trek School of Romance. What's with this fear of commitment that everyone in the ST universe has?
I really don't get why the clones left the planet. In 'Demon' they were tied to the planet and couldn't leave. Not only did pseudo-Harry give speeches on how great the planet was, but he and pseudo-Tom couldn't even breath the regular atmosphere. It impressed me that they were so tied to the planet, so I don't understand the desire to leave.
Another problem that a lot of people have brought up is the cloning of the ship. The silver blood copies the DNA, if I remember correctly, and I can't remember if non-living material (such as metal) has DNA. Even still, how did the silver blood create the clothes pseudo-Tom and pseudo-Harry were wearing in 'Demon'? I'm going to assume that it could reproduce anything, and since it was swallowing up Voyager in 'Demon,' it had a copy of the ship. But that's still a long reach from knowing how to operate the ship and reproducing all the data, etc. A bit too much for me to reconcile in my mind, even with suspension of disbelief.
I really don't like where they're taking the character of Kathryn Janeway this season. She always impressed me as someone who cared for the crew first and foremost. Remember how distraught she was at the sight of the dead crewmember at the beginning of 'One' last season? Or how 'bout her arguments with Chakotay over breaking up the crew in 'Year of Hell'? Where has that concern for the crew gone this season? The desire to get home, no matter what the cost has consumed her. She's taking chances that she really shouldn't be taking. Look at 'Timeless;' look at 'Dark Frontier;' (I suppose 'Bliss wasn't really her fault) and look at this week's episode. Someone needs to remind her of what's really important in life, and it ain't always getting back to Earth.
RELATIONSHIP QUOTIENT:
OK, let's start with P/T. I loved the wedding. It's more or less what I imagined a wedding on Voyager to be like. Just enough formality and Starfleet, with just enough DQ and Voyager added in. And the vows, oh my. Enough to make a non-P/Ter get teary-eyed. B'Elanna's death scene was touching, especially Tom explaining their honeymoon plans and her threats.
And on the J/C front ... Oh my. We haven't seen this much flirting in a long time (I'm not sure if 'In the Flesh' counts as flirting or not). The early scene in her ready room was a throwback to the good ol' days of J/C touches and looks. He was also one of very few people this week to be on the receiving end of her glares. But the coup de grāce was her reaction to his death. It was painfully obvious she was affected by his death. It wasn't so much what she said (official party line was the best description I've heard), but her eyes, the way she walked. You cannot tell me this Janeway, at least, cared deeply for her first officer.
So where does all this leave us? Well, the thing to remember about the whole damn episode is that it didn't happen. Not according to canon, at least. So we can babble on all we want about Janeway's flirting with Chakotay, or Tom and B'Elanna's marriage, or whether the silver blood really could duplicate the ship. It had no impact, beyond a note in the ship's record, on the real crew.
