Customer Reviews

Star Trek - Voyager, Episode 58: Coda [VHS]

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Though this episode of Voyager isn't one of my favorites, it was interesting to watch. Mulgrew and Picardo excel, with the rest of the cast lending a hand at Janeway's "memorial service." It is quite similar to Waking Moments in the way the sequences air-you think they are the real parts of the episode, but it turns out that they are only fiction. The idea of the Devil coming in the form of Janeway's father is intriguing, and it reveals about Janeway after her father died. If you are a fan of Captain Kathryn Janeway, then I would recommend buying this episode.

Though you could say that this plot explores the meaning of death, the medical ethics surrounding euthanisia, the importance of leadership and the existence of life after death, I would recommend this episode solely and highly because it explores Janeways reactions while she dies time after time, after time, in harsh conditions, and has to witness as a ghost the reactions of her crew on her demise. The episode exposes Janeways vulnerable sides beautifully, as she experiences deep drama and heart wrenching sorrow, being unable to stop these ever recurring deaths. If you want Star Trek to be more than "bracing for impact", "arming the foton torpedo's" and "dumping the warp core" this highly emotional episode will get to you.

Captain Kathryn Janeway is caught in the face of death. She is in a sort of trap. On an away mission Captain Janeway dies because she was choked. But then they show it all over again. Except this time, she was killed by a shuttle crash. She is caught between afterlife and present life. Her dad comes to her trying to convince her to come to the expanse of afterlife. Janeway finds out that her dad is truly an alien. She has to agree to come to the afterlife, because she can't be forced to go there. In the meantime she is a spirit and is seeing her entire crew go around about their lives. She does not like seeing all of this. She disagees to go with the alien and he left. She woke up on the planet that the shuttle crashed on. Me being a Janeway Fan, it was hard to see this episode without shedding a tear.

If I had to pick one particular type of "Star Trek" story that rarely disappoints, it would be stories involving time loops (not to be confused with time travel stories). In support of this particular claim would be "Star Trek: Voyager," Episode 58, "Coda" (Written by Jeri Taylor, Aired January 29,1997). The shuttlecraft carrying Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and Chakotay (Robert Beltran) is shot down by the Vidiians and crashlands on a planet. The Vidiians show up on the planet and kill the two officers--at which point Janeway and Chakotay find themselves back on the shuttlecraft, under attack by the Vidiians. This time the shuttle explodes--at which point Janeway and Chakotay find themselves back on the shuttlecraft.

Since they remember what has happened, the two officers contact "Voyager" and manage to make it back to their ship. However, at that point Chakotay does not know what Janeway is talking about when she explains about the time loop. Now it is Janeway alone who is caught in the time loops that take her back and forth to the ship and the planet. However, things get really interesting when Janeway is confronted by Admiral Janeway (Len Cariou), who died several years earlier and tries to convince his daughter that she is now dead as well.

As a time loop episode "Coda" achieves both of the important goals. Most importantly, each loop serves to make the story more interesting, especially if you are trying to figure out some common denominator to what is happening. However, that proves impossible to do. Secondly, the explanation as to what is really going on is more than satisfactory. The result is not a classic "Voyager" episode per se, but certainly an extremely engaging one. The encounters between Janeway and her father also provide a level of depth to both the episode and Janeway's character.

By far I think this is the most heart-tugging episode of any Star Trek series ever shown on TV. Combining the concept of death and leadership, this series is not just for pure entertainment, but I think it also reflects back on our everyday life: What legacy do we want to leave behind when we die?

The story for this series is uplifting and inspirational that it makes one really ponder the value of everyday life and to make sure that we leave something behind, something good, that will last a lifetime.

Two thumbs up!