Written By: Robert J Doherty and Jimmy Diggs
Directed By: David Livingston
Rating: **** (out of 5)
Jeri Ryan has done some commendable performances during her time on Voyager, her performance here is brilliant as she goes from persona to persona, seemingly smoothly. �One� also being a good example of her acting, especially because, in a way, this is a sequel to the fourth season episode, they both deal with Seven breaking away from the collective, the unexpected consequences of her liberation and how she deals with being one mind.
�Infinite Regress� has three main parts to it. Seven�s trauma as the personality�s surface, stopping the Vinculum and the aliens trying to get the Vinculum back. All three are partially dependent to one another and do a good job of combining the elements.
Seven�s trauma is handled well. Jeri�s performance doesn�t make it look over-acted. The screaming that she does is also effectively acted with other voices over the top making it seem less over the top. I enjoyed how each different character, from a Ferengi to a scared child, all have their own completely different actions, Jeri conveying the unique mannerisms flawlessly.
But something here isn�t explained. Do the personalities which surface take over Seven�s mind? Why I ask this seemingly obvious question is because some of the personas don�t think about where they are, while some say, �Who are you?� and, �Why am I here?� It seems that only some of the personas realize that they are in a different place which is odd.
We are effectively thrust into her trauma at the end in a physical representation of the situation when Tuvok mind-melds with Seven. The mind meld works well as a solution but I didn�t like how after all the disturbing images we see in the mind meld, everything just disappears. While this is realistic in terms of the story, it seems very lack-luster, which is a pity.
The Vinculum is an effective way of introducing this problem to Seven. The Vinculum is a device which organizes information, bringing order to chaos. This seems to contradict the Borg Queens control over the collective. The Vinculum also keeps tabs on Drone signatures, if it finds an errant Drone, it will try to re-assimilate it. This is what happens to Seven except the Vinculum is malfunctioning and doing all the wrong things.
B�Elanna tries to stop the Vinculum, you can�t get out of its range because it �permeates subspace,� apparently. But in the end, the Vinculum is taken off-line, just in time because any second longer either Seven would�ve been lost in her thoughts, or Voyager destroyed.
Species 6339 is this episodes forehead alien. They have been almost decimated by the Borg and have developed a virus which affects technology. They injected this virus into some of their own and sacrificed them. The virus than infects the Vinculum, which in turn would be picked up by a Cube and used again to infect them. However I�m not sure how the aliens would be sure the Vinculum isn�t destroyed.
This entire idea is fascinating, and naturally the aliens are aggressive and want to get their property back. But not without a fight. The battle is relatively short and not all that important but it does add a little more suspense.
The CGI is naturally good, although I noticed that being after �Timeless�, the CGI was few between and not as good. They really blew their budget on �Timeless.�
Scarlett Pomers reprises her role as Naomi Wildman. Again, she�s acted well. I loved how she was following Seven and is found out. But this contradicts how she felt about the �Borg Lady� in �Once Upon a Time.� I also loved the end how she is being told by Seven to read all those PADD�s.
One particularly funny line is spoken by Doc to Tuvok, �With all these personalities around the place, you�d think that there would be one for you!� And two final minor nit-picks, why couldn�t Tuvok detect �The Midnight Snacker?� Surely he isn�t that incompetent. Also, how could Seven have assimilated someone from Wolf 359? That ship was destroyed, and even if it happened at a different time, these Borg really get around!
In ending, �Infinite Regress� was a great episode with a tight plot. It�s a good character episode and ties well into Seven�s quest for humanity.