‘TATTOO’ (VOY)
Please feel free to comment on my review.
This ‘Voyager’ episode is a fascinating one for Chakotay’s character. I like how it touches upon his past as a young boy with his father and how it links to who he is by this point in the ‘Voyager’ series.
In the episode, Chakotay leads an away team on an uninhabited moon where he comes across a familiar symbol drawn in the ground. It’s similar to the symbols drawn by his Native American tribe.
Quite often throughout the episode, we have flashbacks to when Chakotay was a young boy, played by Douglas Spain. He’s with his father, Henry Darrow as Kolopak, as he and his tribe were in a jungle.
Tuvok asks questions about how it seems familiar to him, but Chakotay is reluctant to tell him. He does share the hiking trip he, as a young boy, and his tribe had to Captain Janeway back on Voyager.
Soon, the two find a warp trial leading away from the moon to a planet. They decide to investigate in order to pursue the mystery of the symbol in the ground and to get useful minerals from the planet.
I must admit, I can’t say this is an exciting episode to watch in the ‘Voyager’ series. Upon revisiting it though, it was fascinating how Native American symbols seemed to end up in the Delta Quadrant. 🙂
When they arrive in orbit of the planet, efforts to go down to the planet surface are hindered. Isolated storms are formed instantly, and this prevents transporter beam-downs to the planet itself.
Soon, Chakotay, Neelix, B’Elanna and Tuvok end up going down to the planet surface via shuttlecraft. It’s not easy going down to the planet when the storms become intense along the way.
Once they touch down, Neelix soon gets attacked by a hawk and is transported by to the Voyager ship. The hawk is very similar to the one Chakotay saw on his tribe’s hiking journey in a rainforest. 😐
The reason for the hiking trip was an attempt to locate the tribe’s ancestral tribe. Chakotay wasn’t keen on the trip and considered his tribe’s heritage unimportant, embracing 24th century standards.
It’s also revealed that Chakotay and his father didn’t part on good terms when he died. Chakotay also revealed to his father that he had joined Starfleet Academy, to which his father disapproved of.
Back in the present, Chakotay, B’Elanna and Tuvok discover structures which are similar to the ones Chakotay, his father and their tribe discovered on their hiking trip. This is pretty unusual and surreal.
Chakotay becomes convinced that he, B’Elanna and Tuvok are being watched by the local inhabitants. Soon, he orders his team to lay down their weapons to make clear they’re not a threat.
Tuvok objects to this, but Chakotay is insistent. Chakotay recalls that his father did the same thing, as the Rubber Tree People they were looking for emerged from the forest to meet him and the tribe. 😐
Once Chakotay, Tuvok and B’Elanna lay down their weapons, a storm appears suddenly. The crew are forced to beam back to Voyager. Chakotay loses his comm badge and is trapped on the planet. 😮
Soon, he dons some native clothes which he found on the ground and goes searching for the inhabitants of the planet. Janeway meanwhile decides to land Voyager in order to locate Chakotay. 🙂
But as Voyager descends into the planet’s atmosphere, a storm forms and the ship gets caught in a cyclone. It becomes very tense when the Voyager crew try to find a way to break free of the cyclone.
Meanwhile on the planet, Chakotay meets the inhabitants, who bear the same tattoo as he. Chakotay explains to them that he wears his tattoo to honour his father who wore the same as him.
Eventually, Chakotay negotiates with the ‘sky spirts’ and Voyager is freed from the cyclone. Chakotay soon leaves the planet to return to Voyager, having made a connection with the planet’s inhabitants.
There is a subplot where the holographic Doctor experiences what it’s like to feel ill by giving himself a simulated flu. It’s very funny how that plays out, as the experience goes on for too long for him here. 😀
‘Tattoo’ is an enjoyable ‘Voyager’ episode that focuses on Chakotay’s character. I can’t say it’s a great episode, but it’s a decent one. I appreciate the time this episode spent to explore Chakotay’s character.
‘Tattoo’ (VOY) rating – 7/10
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