Warp Factor Trek

With this episode, Voyager produced an emotional roller coaster, one of the best episodes of the first season. But what makes “Eye of the Needle” such a great episode?

Summary

Ensign Kim has discovered a wormhole. Despite the chances that it will not lead to the Alpha Quadrant, Janeway orders the ship to divert course in order to investigate further. The wormhole turns out to be too small for the ship to pass through, leading Janeway to order the launch of a probe, which becomes trapped inside. Moments later, someone on the other side of the wormhole scans the probe.

In sickbay, The Doctor and Kes are examining an officer’s injured wrist. Kes notices how rudely the officer is treating The Doctor.

After their patient leaves, Kes talks to The Doctor about the officer’s rudeness. The Doctor says he’s used to it. Kes requests material on Human anatomy and physiology, and The Doctor provides this information to her.

While working to establish communication with the person on the other side of the wormhole, Kim asks Torres if she has any family back home. She explains that her only family are the Maquis.

Kes consults Janeway about how the crew has been treating The Doctor impolitely. Janeway says she has heard, on the contrary, that The Doctor has been rude to crew members and that this has led the crew to consider reprogramming him. Kes pushes back against the captain’s assertion that The Doctor is only a hologram. Janeway, realizing her error, agrees to examine the issue.

Voyager manages to make contact with the person on the other side of the wormhole, who introduces himself as a starship captain. Janeway tries to convince him that Voyager is not a spy ship, but to no avail. His ship turns out to be a Romulan science vessel.

Janeway visits The Doctor in sickbay and offers to give him control over turning his program off and on. This idea gives him pause for thought.

Later, Janeway receives notification that the Romulan captain is responding again. Their conversation results in the two captains agreeing to attempt visual communication.

After the attempt to establish visual contact succeeds, Torres informs the captain that there is even a chance for the crew to transport back to the Alpha Quadrant personally, using the probe as a transmitter. A test object is successfully transported, and the Romulan captain voluntarily beams aboard Voyager for a brief visit.

An analysis by Tuvok reveals that the wormhole leads to twenty years in the past, which dismays the crew. Chakotay recommends against the Romulan informing Starfleet about the discovery of Voyager before the ship’s launch because it would disrupt the timeline, especially given that the starship has already had considerable impact in the Delta Quadrant. Doctor Telek R’Mor, the Romulan captain, agrees to relay to Starfleet only messages that the crew has composed for their families.

After R’Mor transports home, Tuvok gravely reveals that records indicate he died four years before the launch of Voyager.

Analysis

Voyager’s “Eye of the Needle” is the best episode of the first season so far. It accomplishes this through emotionally impactful scenes and strong characterization, giving the actors substantial material to work with. Even though the viewers know that Voyager won’t make it home in this story, all the moving pieces work well together, providing not only solid entertainment but also food for thought along the way.

It’s nice to see Ensign Kim get more attention in this episode. From the teaser that portrays Kim as the character who finds the wormhole to the devastated look on his face when it’s discovered that the time period on the other side is twenty years in the past, Garrett Wang finally gets some acting moments he deserves. I also love the compassionate side Kim displays during the aforementioned scene between him and Torres.

Kate Mulgrew, in her performance, again shines, proving herself capable of handling anything emotional or otherwise. “Eye of the Needle” features Janeway having many conversations filled with impactful dialogue, rather than simply issuing orders. Two particular scenes I found moving were her conversation with Kes and when R’Mor later decides to re-establish contact with Voyager. The Janeway-and-Kes scene, along with the rest of the B-plot, is reminiscent of one of the best Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes, “The Measure of a Man”. Both episodes analyze the meaning of what it is to be Human. Watching Janeway realize her mistake of being closed-minded led me to respect the show for taking that risk. Furthermore, Janeway’s passionate speech to the Romulan captain in the quiet hours of the night is riveting.

Similar to “Phage”, the writers of “Eye of the Needle” provide an antagonist that the viewers can actually care about. The Romulans have been depicted as the bad guys before, but this time we see a scientist who – while a loyal servant of the Romulan Star Empire – has a family like basically anyone else does and wants to make new discoveries while out in space. His character arc, in which he gradually learns to trust and provide assistance to Voyager, speaks volumes about him. And if he hadn’t died four years before the launch of Voyager, one would believe he would have kept his promise of delivering the crew’s messages. I would have loved to see Janeway and R’Mor have a reunion if his death had not occurred.

As mentioned, the B-plot involving The Doctor seeing himself more as a part of the crew rather than merely a medical device is the kind of thing that Star Trek excels at, analysing the human condition. Janeway turning over the program’s controls to The Doctor – essentially granting him the bodily autonomy he deserves – is a nice touch and brought a smile to my face.

Watching “Eye of the Needle” for the first time thirty years on from its original broadcast showed me that it stands the test of time. The strong characterization, performances and emotionally impactful moments demonstrate Voyager’s staying power.