‘EYE OF THE NEEDLE’ (VOY)
Please feel free to comment on my review.
This might be considered one of the best episodes in Season 1 of ‘Voyager’. I’m inclined to agree with that, especially when it features Captain Janeway in conversation with a Romulan via subspace.
In the episode, Voyager detects signs of a wormhole in space that might shorten their journey home to Earth. Voyager changes course to investigate, discovering the wormhole is small and decaying. 🙁
Despite that, Janeway is determined to use the wormhole as a means of transmitting a message to the Alpha Quadrant. Voyager launches a micro-probe into the wormhole to find out where it exits. 🙂
Whilst ‘Voyager’ gets criticised as a ‘Star Trek’ series, I like how Kate Mulgrew puts a lot into her performances as Janeway. This is when she’s determined to see Voyager and her crew safely home.
Meanwhile, the probe gets stuck in the gravitational eddies and is unable to pass any further. Eventually, a ship on the other side of the wormhole makes contact and scans Voyager’s probe. 😐
The Voyager crew attempt to make contact with the ship on the other side of the wormhole, hoping to use the probe as a communications relay. The ship on the other side of the wormhole is Romulan.
Yes! It turns out it is the Alpha Quadrant that the wormhole exits into. There’s a slim chance the Voyager crew can get back home, but the twist featured in the episode is quite a revelation to witness here.
Janeway speaks to the Romulan captain – Vaughn Armstrong as (later to be revealed) Telek R’Mor. She asks R’Mor to relay messages from the Voyager crew to send to their families and Starfleet. 🙂
Initially, R’Mor refuses, since he believes Voyager not to be in the Delta Quadrant and he considers them as spies. It’s interesting how Janeway manages to win her arguments against the Romulan here.
R’Mor soon relents when Janeway asks about his own family, who are far away from Romulus. Thus, the connection is made in terms how Voyager and R’Mor aboard his ship are in similar situations. 🙂
When it’s agreed that R’Mor will relay the messages of the Voyager crew to send to their families and to Starfleet, B’Elanna Torres suggests to Janeway that the probe can be utilised for something else. 🙂
The probe can utilised as a relay for not only communication, but also for transporting the crew directly back to the Alpha Quadrant. Janeway agrees with the idea and very soon, the tests are conducted.
The tests end up being successful. Soon, R’Mor volunteers to transport to Voyager to confirm the safety of transporting a lifeform. He also agrees to bring in an extra vessel to accommodate the Voyager crew.
Thankfully, R’Mor is successfully transported to Voyager in the Delta Quadrant. You’d think that this would end happily ever after, but sadly the chance of success gets turned on its head in the episode.
And let’s be honest, the series wouldn’t end so suddenly like that, especially as we’re in Season 1 and there are six more seasons after this. Should people be surprised the series didn’t end there. 😀
Tuvok deduces that R’Mor is from 20 years in their past, since the micro wormhole transits through both space and time. Thus, the Voyager crew cannot transport back to the Alpha Quadrant.
It clearly upsets Harry Kim, especially when the Voyager crew worked so hard in finding a way to get back home. Harry also misses his family, as established in a conversation he had with B’Elanna Torres.
With the plan to transport everyone back to the Alpha Quadrant being unsuccessful, the Voyager crew stick the original plan, as they send R’Mor back home, hoping that he’ll deliver their messages.
Sadly, it’s revealed that R’Mor died four years before Voyager left the Alpha Quadrant. There is hope that R’Mor arranged for someone to deliver the messages after his death, but there’s uncertainty. 🙁
There is a nice subplot where Kes petitions for the holographic Doctor to be recognised more for his work whilst in sick bay. I appreciate Janeway visiting the Doctor in sick bay to enquire about his needs.
‘Eye of the Needle’ is a very solid ‘Voyager’ episode in the series. I liked the relationship formed between Janeway and the Romulan captain, since they learnt to trust each other through subspace.
‘Eye of the Needle’ (VOY) rating – 8/10
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