'Maneuvers'

Stardate: 49208.5
Written By: Kenneth Biller
Directed By: David Livingston
Rating: **** (out of 5)

This is an episode that works well on many levels having Seska return and having Chakotay feel that he�s responsible for her deceit.  But while I really enjoyed �Maneuvers� I can�t stop thinking that the characterizations are a bit off.

�Maneuvers� marks the return of Seska after she was revealed to be a Cardassian spying on the Maquis and who left for the Kazon in �State of Flux.�  The Kazon have become a bit more cunning with Seska�s guidance and manage to steal a Transporter Module from Voyager in a raid that was cleverly done.

I�ve been trying to decipher any message the writers are trying to put in about the Kazon�s lack of respect towards females despite a lot of the ingenious planning being done by Seska.  Is it that males are blinded by their arrogance?  Maybe the writers aren�t putting any message across there but I find that intriguing nonetheless. 

While it�s a bit unbelievable that the Kazon are able to integrate the transporter into their systems, they do anyway and use it to execute the leaders of another sect.  Janeway realizes that the transporter could alter the balance of power in the Delta Quadrant and forges a plan to get the transporter back, but Seska is leading them into another trap, one that they are able to easily discover.

But Chakotay decides to take it upon himself to get the technology back and steals a shuttle to find Seska.  His plan is very clever, he even wipes the memory core when he�s captured so that the shuttles technology can�t be used, which would certainly undermine the entire episode if he didn�t, and he sent a message buoy to Voyager.

Robert Beltrans acting during �Maneuvers� is excellent.  I love the scene when Culluh is interrogating Chakotay and Chakotay is telling Culluh everything that Seska is going to do to him and how she is using him.  Well done to Rob!!  Even if the first Turbolift scene was pathetically done, acting and directing wise.

Voyager receives the buoy saying that Chakotay doesn�t want to be rescued.  Of course they don�t take no for an answer and go rescue him in a rather fun, if slightly contrived climax.  I mean, beaming during Warp, I�m glad that ended up not working!  But the end result was satisfying.

What annoyed me was how �Maneuvers� wasn�t a cliffhanger episode, and yet ended in such a way as to lead you that it was.  Seska end up impregnating herself with Chakotay�s DNA, and that�s where it ends.  This is all very well, but that�s it!  While this isn�t a bad ending it is rather sudden, and given Chakotay�s action throughout the episode, it�s no wonder he didn�t try to go for her again.  Lucky Chakotay and Janeway sorted out everything in the scene just before!

B�Elanna Torres played a great part in all of this as Chakotay�s friend who makes Janeway understand how Chakotay is thinking and why he is acting the way he is.  But I found a lot of the reasoning, especially with Janeway, was almost forced on the character and didn�t seem true to what we�ve seen of them.

It�s hard to explain exactly what I mean because there isn�t really any bad thing about that, nor is it obvious.  But for some reason the characterizations seemed a bit off here and it was just odd.

So, with some nice SFX and a story with action, intrigue and a nice dose of Trekno-babble we have an episode that is overall a pleasure to watch as the ongoing encounters with the Kazon begin to shape.