''Resistence'

Stardate: 49234.1
Written By: Micheal Jan Friedman and Kevin J Ryan
Directed By: Winrich Kolbe
Rating: ***** (out of 5)

A flawless episode, brilliantly acted, superbly directed and the writing is fantastic!  An episode that is as tense as it is dramatic and interesting.  An episode that I believe to be almost a classic Star Trek episode.  And I say almost because while it is very good, it doesn�t really have the �humanitarian message� plot that classic Trek episodes have.  It�s simply a very dramatic but powerful episode.

Many thoughts fly through my head as I watch �Resistance.�  There are the commendable performances from Kate Mulgrew, Roxanne Dawson and Tim Russ and from Joel Grey as Caylem and Alan Scarfe as Augris two of the highlights of the show. 

Caylem is a man who is ridden with guilt believing he caused the imprisonment of his wife, he is an old quiet man who is sweet but has many strong opinion of his own.  Many people don�t like him, believing he is just an old man that doesn�t know what he�s talking about.

The story twists and turns as Janeway on the surface tries to free Tuvok and B�Elanna from the prison with the help of Caylem, and Chakotay on Voyager does their bit to free their people.  The bits on Voyager aren�t really needed, nor do they add much to the over-all story, but it�s not bad to see anyway.

The highlights of the story take place on the surface.  Janeway and Caylem have a lot of bonding time, as Caylem tells his �daughter� of her mother and how much he loves her. 

There are also some good scenes with B�Elanna and Tuvok in prison.  Especially when B�Elanna hears Tuvoks screams of pain when he�s being tortured.

But you can�t help but feel deep sorrow for Caylem, when Augris tells Janeway how his wife and daughter are both dead, and in a fit of rage, Caylem kills Augris, but not before being killed himself.  In his last moments, Janeway tells Caylem as a daughter that she is proud of him and that she, and her mother, forgives him.  Caylem smiles and slowly dies, the Resistance telling Janeway that Caylem�s sacrifice will never be forgotten.

They say �time flies when you�re having fun�, and I was so enthralled by this episode I didn�t feel as if an hour had passed.

This episode succeeds because it is so damn interesting.  Throughout the entire episode Janeway �plays along� with Caylem, trying to get away from him, as she doesn�t want to hurt his feelings.  It�s obvious to everyone that he�s an old man that doesn�t always no what he�s doing.  And that�s why I love this episode because it conveys such a deep trust between two people who have never met, and yet in a certain way they end up knowing each other a great deal.

If there were ever an episode to get someone into Star Trek, this would be it.  It carries the Star Trek characterizations while having a deep and interesting plot without the need for any heavy continuity, one of Star Trek�s finest hours.