-Written by Kyle Bain.
The Borg are back, this time with a twist. When Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) begins dreaming of a sanctuary known as Unimatrix Zero, she soon realizes that this is where assimilated Borg go to spend their time when they, too, dream. With the Borg Queen (Susanna Thompson) ready to destroy all that are able to dissimilate, Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) must make the tough decisions to ensure that all interested parties make it out alive.
Star Trek: Voyager - Unimatrix Zero is split into two parts, and they are wildly different. Different in tone, structure, character development, etc. It’s only fair to look at these properties as two separate entities, rather than let the failures of one hinder the successes of the other.
Part 1:
Part one of Star Trek: Voyager - Unimatrix Zero is sort of a freaking mess. I struggled with this episode almost through its entirety. Starting with the structure of the narrative and the effectiveness by which it’s told. I went into this episode of Star Trek: Voyager relatively blind, with only some knowledge of The Borg–and nothing of the other characters or the show as a whole. With that, I found myself struggling to make sense of much of the story. It felt convoluted, and not in a way that knowing more about the show would have helped, but rather in a way that it seems Writers Mike Sussman, Bryan Fuller, Michael Taylor, and Robert Doherty really just couldn’t get their shit straight. This may be an instance of too many cooks in the kitchen, or maybe it’s not–I don't know. The fact of the matter is, however, that part one of Star Trek: Voyager - Unimatrix Zero doesn’t make enough sense, and it relies heavily on part two (which didn’t come until months later) to find its footing. It’s an incomplete story (naturally), but it most definitely doesn’t do enough to hold its own…or my attention.
Like the story present in part one of Star Trek: Voyager - Unimatrix Zero, the characters, particularly that of Janeway, felt massively incomplete. She didn’t feel like a whole character, like one plagued by emotion or the power that she yields on the Voyager. She seems almost just to exist throughout the first part of this two-part episode. Mulgrew doesn’t seem to have been given enough to do in this episode, no emotion, no real purpose other than to be part of what ultimately became a cliffhanger.
Furthermore, the cliffhanger is really the only reason why this episode works at all. And with that, there’s a singular line uttered by the Borg Queen just moments prior to the episode’s conclusion that effectively tells viewers that everything is going to be alright. Star Trek: Voyager - Unimatrix Zero is ultimately a cluttered mess trying to find its way, only really to lean on the looks of Ryan as a crutch. While her looks are wonderful, they aren’t really enough to save the episode. As a matter of fact, Ryan is actually a distraction from time to time. Like just about everyone else watching Star Trek: Voyager season three and beyond, much of the pull was from Ryan’s looks (at least this is what I’ve been led to believe), and with her being so attractive, I actually missed bits and pieces that could have potentially been essential to the plot. Fortunately for this episode, it wasn’t well thought out enough for any instance of dialogue to be of that much importance.
Star Trek: Voyager - Unimatrix Zero part one is ultimately a cringefest, from nearly top to bottom, and had this been the first Star Trek property that I watched, it likely would have been the last.
5/10 = WORTH WATCHING, BUT YOU’VE BEEN WARNED
Part 2:
For those that watched Star Trek: Voyager during its initial run, you had to wait months for the conclusion of Star Trek: Voyager - Unimatrix Zero. Had I waited months for this, even though part two is better than the first, I think I would have been pissed. With that said, however, part two of Star Trek: Voyager - Unimatrix Zero ups the ante, better develops characters, and presents a more succinct and effective storytelling method throughout its duration.
Was there really anything on the line in the first part of the two-part series? No. By the end of the episode was I really invested, or did I feel that something of substance was at risk? Still no. However, part two does a much better job of reeling in viewers, of seeing characters that they would have likely loved at this point do something other than look pretty. Ryan’s job here is no longer simply eye candy, and she plays a more pivotal role within the narrative. Similarly, Captain Janeway is far more useful here in the second part. She plays a role in the story, more than just to add exposition–and she ultimately is the deciding factor in what occurs throughout the course of this portion of the complete episode. She becomes emotional, cunning, powerful, and more; she becomes the type of character that viewers gravitate toward, not just in Star Trek, but in cinema in general.
I certainly didn’t love the second portion of this episode, but it seems that the team behind it made a conscious effort to rectify many of the issues that plagued its predecessor. They should at least be commended for that, even if they don’t necessarily hit the ball out of the park here either. I did feel more of a connection to the characters in part two, I did feel that the team was far more effective in laying out the story, as well as moving through it at an appropriate pace, and I ultimately felt like the ship was sort of righted here.
7/10 = WATCH IT FOR FREE
Is there anything that worked for the pair of episodes? Anything that managed to be consistent from start to finish? Yes, and that’s the set design. There’s a brilliant juxtaposition between the Borg Cube and Unimatrix Zero. The Borg Cube is sophisticated, technological, cold, void of emotion and it works to strengthen what we already know about The Borg up to this point. Star Trek: Voyager - Unimatrix Zero shifts the race of cybernetically-assimilated beings a skosh, but the set design, the beautiful set design, helps remind us of why we cared about The Borg to begin with. Then, there is Unimatrix Zero, the place in which the sleeping Borg go to dream–a forest planet. It’s welcoming, natural, warm, full of emotion–the complete opposite of what viewers see within the Borg Cube. Not only are the sets charming and beautiful, but they serve a purpose in the grand scheme of this two-part episode. This is where Star Trek: Voyager - Unimatrix Zero thrives, this is the one thing that the team gets right from start to finish, and I’m truly impressed with this aspect of Unimatrix Zero.
I’ve rated each of the halves separately, but you can’t really watch one without the other (unless you hate the first half so much that you give up). With that said, if you’re a fan of Star Trek, if you’ve invested some time and effort into this franchise up to this point, you might as well watch Star Trek: Voyager - Unimatrix Zero. Is it really worth watching? I supposed, but don’t expect too much.
Directed by Allan Kroeker / Michael Vejar.
Written by Gene Roddenberry, Rick Berman, Michael Piller, Jeri Taylor, Brannon Braga, Joe Menosky, Mike Sussman, Bryan Fuller, Michael Taylor, & Robert Doherty.
Starring Kate Mulgrew, Robert Beltran, Roxann Dawson, Robert Duncan McNeill, Ethan Phillips, Robert Picardo, Tim Russ, Jeri Ryan, Garrett Wang, Mark Deakins, Jerome Butler, Joanna Heimbold, Susanna Thompson, etc.
6/10 = WATCH IT FOR FREE
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