Warp Factor Trek

Holodeck episodes have become a staple storytelling device in the Star Trek franchise. How does Voyager’s first one, “Heroes and Demons”, hold up?

Summary

Voyager is en route to a nearby protostar to collect and study its photonic energy. There is an issue beaming the energy aboard, but this is soon resolved. Afterwards, Janeway calls Kim to assist Torres, but he is nonresponsive.

On the bridge, Chakotay and Tuvok report that Kim was scheduled to be on the holodeck after his shift. Janeway has them investigate.

On the holodeck, they find the holo-novel of Beowulf. They soon encounter Freya, the King’s daughter, who takes them to his palace.

There, it is believed that Kim – as Beowulf – died in battle with a monster, Grendel, and that his body has been dragged away. They contact Janeway and explain the situation. She and Torres theorize that the photonic energy may have leaked into the ship’s systems, affecting the holodeck. Then, Grendel shows up and captures the pair, dematerializing them.

Later, Janeway, Torres, and Paris conclude that someone must go back into the holodeck. Paris suggests The Doctor for this, since he already consists of energy and won’t be dematerialized.

In sickbay, The Doctor agrees to undertake the mission. Kes later asks him what’s bothering him. He admits he is nervous about his first away mission. She advises him to choose his name before going.

The Doctor is transported into the holodeck and encounters Freya. He reveals his name to be “Schweitzer” and convinces her to take him to the King. At the palace, one of the King’s men, Unferth, challenges The Doctor to a duel but loses, causing the people to chant, “Schweitzer!”

Following a feast in honor of The Doctor, Freya engages him in a kiss and suggests they keep each other warm in her chambers that night. Alone, The Doctor comes face-to-face with “Grendel,” which is actually an energy being. He is transported back to sickbay, alarmingly missing one arm.

After The Doctor’s arm is restored, Torres reports to Janeway evidence that “Grendel” has a synaptic pattern.

In engineering, Torres and Paris run tests on a sample, but it escapes into the rest of the ship and evades isolation. They conclude that it might be a lifeform. It soon exits into space and disappears.

Later, Janeway theorizes that the missing crew members were converted into photonic energy and are now being held captive by “Grendel” as revenge for Voyager capturing the lifeforms. The Doctor suggests releasing the only remaining sample to “Grendel.” Janeway concurs.

On the holodeck, The Doctor finds Freya, who is happy to see him alive. Unferth wants to steal the sample container that The Doctor is carrying, and a fight ensues, resulting in Freya being mortally wounded while trying to save The Doctor. He assures her he won’t forget her, leading Freya to die happily.

Inside the palace, The Doctor retrieves the container and releases the lifeform back to Grendel. The three crew members are returned to their former selves.

Later in sickbay, Janeway tells The Doctor she will give him a special commendation in the ship’s logs but would like to cite him by name. The Doctor says that “Schweitzer” is painful because it was last uttered by Freya, so he plans to discard it. He and the captain agree that this won’t be his last adventure.

Analysis

While containing some good moments, this entire story feels a little uneven. The main problem is that the episode doesn’t resonate as a uniquely Voyager story but rather as a generic one that could fit anywhere in the franchise.

On the other hand, I appreciate an episode focusing so heavily on The Doctor, as he is one of my favorite Voyager characters. It was also nice to finally see him have a chosen name, albeit a short-lived one. It will be interesting to see if this was a one-off moment in the series.

Although Freya’s obvious readiness to bed The Doctor prompted an eye roll from me, I do appreciate the romance angle presented in this episode. Again, it’s good to witness him receiving some attention. Furthermore, the scene involving Freya’s death is touching. The Doctor’s closeness with a holo-novel connects very well with his own existence on Voyager. It also speaks volumes that he discards his new name after admitting to Janeway the pain associated with it.

While having the crew build up The Doctor’s character was a positive in some ways, it was mostly negative. I know he needed to be the hero and save his comrades, but it felt like a cheap plot device to have the crew converted into energy and held hostage, especially poor Kim. Until now, his character has mostly avoided being portrayed as a plot device. “Heroes and Demons”, however, goes full tilt with turning him into a MacGuffin. I shook my head in annoyance at this. I hope Kim doesn’t continue as such in later episodes, but only time will tell.

I found the writer’s inspiration from Beowulf intriguing. The classic tale helps develop The Doctor’s character, even though the execution of the episode fails. Freya and the romance were fine, but what bothered me was that I didn’t care for the other Beowulf-inspired characters and that everything seemed straightforward. The writer evidently borrowed elements from the original story and cobbled together a narrative in service of The Doctor. It may have been more interesting to have Beowulf tailored to Voyager’s overall premise rather than to have a generic adventure.

The biggest problem with “Heroes and Demons” is that it’s a holodeck episode. These filler episodes are difficult to pull off, and it shows here. The main saving grace is the focus on The Doctor’s character. I love his moments of self-doubt and his redemption. His growth is the strongest element in “Heroes and Demons”. Everything else could fit anywhere else in Star Trek.