Star Trek: Voyager- "Q2"

The less than satisfying end to the Q saga.

We have now come to the final installment of…

The Rise and Fall of Q

…and boy, does it suck!

This episode aired in the latter half of Voyager‘s final season. By this point, the show had already given up on its premise and decided to become a strict adventure show. On top of that, they ended up ruining the Borg through overuse and cliche-ridden dramatics.

So, I suppose it’s not surprising that Q would end up meeting a similar fate at the show’s hands.

The show begins with Icheb, one of the Borg children previously discovered by the crew in the episode “Collective”. He would go on to become a recurring character while the other Borg kids were dumped off at a nearby planet because they were smart enough to get off Voyager while the getting was good. Icheb is in Janeway’s ready room preparing for his career in Starfleet by giving her an oral report about James T. Kirk’s exploits, and in the process reminding us of a better show we could be watching. She gives Icheb high marks thanks to his presentation which ends up going well over the planned 20 minute mark.

After he leaves, Janeway is startled by a kid (Keegan de Lancie, real-life son of John de Lancie) dressed in a Starfleet uniform and saying that Icheb’s report was boring. Janeway unsuccessfully calls for security before Q pops up and introduces the kid as his son, who I will refer to as Qunior because, like his mom, this kid annoys me. After the title sequence, Q tells Janeway that he’s dropping Qunior off on the ship for a few days in order for him to get experience with humanity. Q departs before Janeway can object. She attempts to tell Qunior that there are some ground rules, but he scoffs at that and vanishes.

Janeway goes to the bridge, where Qunior shows up and says that everything is monotonous on this ship. No argument there. He vanishes again when Janeway shoots down his ideas for blowing up omega molecules or fighting Species 8472 (I guess that’s that species’ name, even though you would think it was simply the designation the Borg gave it). Torres calls Janeway to Engineering, where Qunior has basically turned it into the Mos Eisley cantina. He sends Janeway, Torres, Tuvok, and Chakotay away when they object. Tuvok simply suggests ignoring Qunior so that with any luck, he may go away permanently.

The lack of Han Solo shooting Greedo must’ve caused Qunior to give up on his party, because we next see him in the cargo bay, where he quickly removes Seven of Nine’s clothing. While he clearly admires the view, Seven herself is undeterred and continues her work, which is basically pushing buttons constantly. He leaves again after putting her clothes back on.

Janeway goes to the mess hall, and in the only funny moment in this episode, the replicator tells her to get her own damn coffee. Neelix suggests he try to talk to Qunior. This is why what happens next, while satisfying, is not at all surprising. After Neelix suggests Qunior stop getting neighboring planets into fights, Neelix getting his jaw fused and his vocal cords removed.

Qunior next summons Janeway to the bridge. She finds the ship being chased by three Borg ships. The ship is captured and the Borg beam over. Janeway is about to get Borgified when Q shows up and ends everything. He chastises his son before Janeway’s anger prompts Q to whisk himself and the captain to her ready room.

Q explains that Qunior has been doing bad things such as “tampering with primordial gene pools” and “punching holes in the fabric of space time”. Janeway asks what Suzie Q has been doing during all this and he says she’s disowned her son (good for her!). As a result, Q feels a lot of pressure because he’s the first parent in the Q Continuum, further illustrating that Amanda Rogers is persona non grata.

Janeway points out that Qunior needs to be parented, and Q needs to set an example for him. He gives Janeway a quick lip lock, as sex was out of the question long ago, and happily departs.

Presuming that everything’s fine now, Janeway bathes in her ready room and is startled when Q pops up in the tub with her. He tells her that despite being gone for less than 10 minutes, years of Q time have gone by. During this time, Qunior threw a fit when the old man tried to lay down the law. Janeway tells Q that he has to show Qunior that his bad acts have consequences. Another ugh moment comes when Q kisses her foot as thanks and departs.

The two are next in Sickbay, with Q holding a green petri dish. He snaps his fingers and Qunior pops out, dismayed that he was trapped in that dish as an amoeba. Q tells him that he’ll be an amoeba permanently if he doesn’t straighten out in a week. As added incentive, Qunior gets his powers taken away and Janeway is drafted into watching him. After Q departs, Qunior tries to leave the ship, but Janeway calls security to stop him. She gives him quarters and tells him to prepare for the training she has planned for him.

The next day, Tuvok takes Qunior to the cargo bay, where Seven and Icheb are set to teach him about spatial causality. Qunior cuts to the chase by asking to see Seven in the buff again. Chakotay later takes him to the holodeck. A program is running in which various aliens are debating the mining rites to a planet. Qunior’s task is to resolve the issue before it leads to war. He tells Chakotay that he can do it by himself and Chakotay agrees to let him do so. He assumes that Qunior will soon be begging for help, but he returns and finds the aliens in agreement.

Qunior is later in the mess hall, where Neelix gets even with him by keeping his big mouth talking. Icheb arrives to say hello and Qunior turns down his invite to hang out, because Janeway wants him to write an essay on the Q. Icheb gives him ideas for the essay, and Qunior asks him to write those ideas down. Later on in her ready room, Janeway calls the essay impressive but figures out that Icheb wrote it. She also says that Qunior rigged the holodeck to make resolving that dispute easier. Janeway tells him to go to his room. But Qunior pleads with her since he doesn’t want to be an amoeba. If there’s one thing Janeway loves, it’s the stroking of her own ego, which is why she gives him another chance.

Her subsequent log entry states that Qunior seems to be improving. He even writes another essay to make up for the last one. After Qunior and Icheb take shuttle piloting lessons from Paris, Q shows up to see how things are turning out. Janeway has Qunior read his essay to his father, but Q is less than impressed. After Qunior leaves dejected, Janeway tells Q to cut his son some slack. But Q says that his son needs to prove he’s up to the standards of the Q. So why the hell did he dump Qunior on a shipload of people who aren’t Q?

Janeway goes to Qunior’s quarters and tries to cheer him up by saying that she’ll ask the Continuum to allow him to remain human and on Voyager if they don’t accept him. But Qunior says he wants to be like his dad. Given that his choices are Q or Voyager, can anyone blame him for choosing the former? This may be why Qunior decides to toss aside the good will he’s been earning by tricking Icheb into getting on the Delta Flyer with him. Qunior blasts through the shuttle doors, and using some technobabble bullshit that will never come up again, whips up a portal that takes them to another part of the galaxy.

As Icheb weakly protests, Qunior ends up provoking an alien ship. The captain demands they surrender. When Qunior doesn’t comply, the captain fires on them, injuring Icheb in the process.

Qunior quickly returns to Voyager and gets Icheb to Sickbay. The Doctor says that, for some reason, he can’t help Icheb unless he knows more about the weapon that injured him. Q pops up, and Qunior lies for a while but then admits to stealing the Flyer and asks his dad to save Icheb. But Q declines, reiterating Janeway’s comments that Qunior must realize there are consequences to his actions.

Janeway talks Qunior into going back with her to learn more info from the alien he provoked. He does so, but the alien captain demands that Janeway surrender herself, because his customs say that adults are held accountable for actions of the children they supervise. But Qunior says that he alone will take full responsibility. The alien laughs with approval and reveals himself to be Q. Appearing on the Flyer, he tells them that it was all a test that Qunior passed and that Icheb will be fine.

Q, Qunior, and Janeway return to Voyager where they appear before a trio of Q dressed, for some reason, as those 21st Century judges we saw in “Encounter at Farpoint”.

They announce that Qunior will not be turned into an amoeba. But because he still risked Icheb’s life, Qunior will remain human. They depart, soon followed by Q, who says he’ll be demanding an appeal.

Qunior soon appears in Janeway’s ready room asking her if he can continue his training. But Q appears, saying that he changed the Continuum’s mind and Qunior has his powers again. Qunior whips up a bunch of flowers to thank Janeway. Q tells him he’ll meet him shortly at some planet, after he has a moment with Janeway. Q tells her that he threatened to leave the Continuum if Qunior didn’t get his powers back, and they agreed on the condition that Q will permanently keep an eye on him.

But Q thanks Janeway by giving her info on a way she can shave a few years off their trip to home. This is when she asks what she should’ve asked in “The Q and the Grey”: why not take the ship all the way back to Earth? But Q says that he’d be setting the wrong example for Qunior by doing all that work for them. I’m so sure that the crewmembers who die over the course of the rest of this season completely understand that sentiment.

Like “The Q and the Grey”, this episode is an unfunny mess. Even worse is that we have yet to see De Lancie play Q again. The actor is still with us, so he could conceivably pop up on Discovery, or more fittingly, Picard. But this doesn’t change the fact that the Q saga came to an abrupt, unsatisfying end.

The Next Generation saw the possibilities a character like Q presented and ran with them. This is a reason why his appearance on Deep Space Nine was entertaining. As the audience got to know the character more, one could say he emerged as an explorer of sorts, curious (if doubtful) to see what humanity was capable of. This explains the relationship he ends up forming with Picard, an explorer himself. The result were episodes that were watchable, with some achieving greatness. These ranged from dramatically fascinating (“Q Who”, “Tapestry”, “All Good Things…”) to harmless fluff (“Qpid” and “Q-less”).

But Voyager, despite the good ideas presented in “Death Wish”, would proceed to turn Q into just another alien indistinguishable from the others the crew encountered. This is why, like TNG itself, I continue to view “All Good Things…” as the true send off for Q.

Star Trek: Voyager- "The Q and the Grey"

The fall of Q continues.

Despite its flaws, “Death Wish” was a dramatically intriguing episode. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the next installment of…

The Rise and Fall of Q

“The Q and the Grey” begins with the Voyager crew monitoring a star going supernova, because their longing for home isn’t stopping them from enjoying a light show whenever one pops up.

Janeway congratulates everyone for being only the third crew in Starfleet to witness such an event, while Neelix proves that he’s still an annoying prick just by saying, “Wow!”

Chakotay convinces Janeway to get some sleep and she reluctantly agrees. But upon entering her quarters, she finds a red silk blanket and heart-shaped pillows covering her bed. The captain calls for security, but Q pops up, telling her there’s no need. He puts the moves on her, even changing her attire to something more appropriate for bedtime before telling her that he wants her to be his baby mamma. I suppose Voyager deserves some congratulations of sorts here, because despite the fact that this is John de Lancie in this scene, this is clearly not the same character we saw him play in, say, “Tapestry”.

After the title sequence, Janeway pushes Q aside and goes to put on a robe. Q keeps giving her compliments and praise, but she tells him to get lost. He interprets this as her playing hard to get and vanishes. Frankly, this scene was much funnier when it was in Mr. Mom.

Janeway informs Chakotay that Q is around and tells everyone to keep their eyes open. They discuss this a bit more the next day. Chakotay admits he’s bothered by all this, although this could easily be interpreted as Beltran being bothered with the show at this point. Q pops up in a tiff thinking that Janeway is attached to Chakotay. He also continues his practice of self-humiliation by whipping up a Chakotay-esque tattoo that covers his whole face.

Later, Paris and Kim are doing reports on the holodeck while holo-girls are massaging them, presumably because they aren’t comfortable massaging each other in public yet. Q crashes their little party and asks them for advice on how to win Janeway’s heart, “man-to-man” as he puts it. Boy, did he approach the wrong two guys.

They ignore him and leave, so Q then asks Neelix, whom he appropriately refers to as “bar-rodent”, for a drink at his holo-bar. But Neelix wants to know why he’s bugging Janeway. When he scoffs at Q’s gift ideas for the captain, Q rightfully points out that Neelix himself has done the same by convincing Janeway that he can cook and has survival skills. This must’ve worked, because there was a Voyager cookbook with Neelix’s picture on the cover that I’m sure both of his fans bought. Neelix also adds “liar” to his list of traits by saying that he’s respectful, loyal, and sincere.

Janeway is in her ready room and finds a cute puppy behind her desk. But she quickly calls Q out on it. They sit down and chat, with Q stating that he wants a relationship. He even hits Janeway with the revelation that being so far from home, her chances of settling down aren’t exactly high. Janeway admits she’d like to settle down herself, just not with Q. She gets unexpected support when a lady Q (Suzie Plakson, who previously played Worf’s baby mamma, K’Ehleyr) shows up to rip Q a new one and call Janeway a dog. The expressions on their faces at this insult are definitely Overacting 101.

Q reluctantly introduces Janeway to the female Q, who I’ll refer to as Suzie Q because 1.) that’s what fans call her and 2.) unlike K’Ehleyr, this character really annoys me.

Q’s slide downward into humiliating characterization continues, as he explains that he and Suzie Q have had a centuries-long romance. I wonder what the (male) Q we saw in “True Q” would have to say about that. Janeway assures Suzie Q that she has no interest in Q, and tells them to take their fight elsewhere. She hands the puppy over to Q, who promptly sends it home, and Janeway is called to the bridge.

Chakotay reports that a second star is about to go supernova. Kim then reports a third is about to do the same. Janeway confronts Q about this, as having three stars go boom in the same area in a short space of time isn’t ordinary. He gives a half-assed “it’s not really me” explanation. As a shock wave from one star approaches the ship, Janeway demands Q do something, and he makes himself and Janeway both vanish. An annoyed Suzie Q follows suit as the wave hits the ship.

Cut to a nice manor house. Inside is Janeway, wearing a period dress. Q enters wearing the attire of a Union soldier during the American Civil War and tells her that she’s in the Q Continuum. But rather than a gas station in the middle of the desert, we’re now in a nice mansion. Demanding answers, Q shows Janeway what’s going on just outside the house: a vicious battle.

He says that Quinn’s suicide has resulted in what is now a civil war within the Q Continuum. The numerous supernovas are basically the aftershocks of the battles going on. Q says that Quinn’s actions prompted him to lead a group in favor of change, while others wanted to retain the status quo of the Q. He also believes that having a child with a mortal will create a new being within the Continuum, which will usher in a new era. Janeway is as flabbergasted by this bullshit as we are. But that’s when the mansion gets riddled with bullets, some of which hit Q, causing him to bleed.

Meanwhile, Voyager is damaged from the shock wave (not that it matters, because it’ll be good as new in no time). Chakotay sees Suzie Q has returned, and demands she give him answers. His stance is helped when it’s revealed she’s lost her powers, although she remains as irritable as ever. They’re next discussing the situation with Tuvok. Chakotay suggests they help Suzie get into the Continuum so she can help get Janeway back. Suzie Q admits that there’s one method they could try, with Tuvok reminding her that their primitive ship is her only chance of doing anything right now.

In the manor, Janeway tends to Q’s wounds, with the latter stating that the weapons being used aren’t the standard bullet and gunpowder deals. The firing stops and a voice tells Q that he’s surrounded and to surrender. Despite Janeway telling him to do so, Q stands and defiantly fires his pistol. Naturally, this causes the gunfire to resume, although Janeway manages to drag Q out of the line of fire.

Chakotay’s log says that, since it’s the guest star who’s pulling the bullshit physics out of their ass rather than the Voyager crew themselves, they’re following Suzie Q’s suggestion for how to enter the Continuum. Suzie goes to Engineering to tell Torres to hurry up. The banter that follows is, I guess, meant to be an in-joke of sorts, with Suzie stating how much she likes Klingon females, but all it does is reinforce how annoying she is.

We then see Janeway tending to Q in a camp outside the manor. Since the manor was surrounded, your guess is as good as mine as to how they got outside. She tells Q that she’s thought about what he said earlier and she think it’s a good plan. The difference is, she thinks Q should have a child with Suzie Q. He objects, saying that such a pairing is unprecedented, which may explain why Suzie is such a bitch. But Janeway is adamant, and says she’s going to the enemy camp to surrender.

On the ship, Suzie Q continues to be annoying as she informs Paris to do some technobabble bullshit in order to fly into a star to get to the Continuum.

At the same time, Janeway meets with another Q (Harve Presnell) who’s dressed like a Confederate colonel, naturally. Despite their non-hostile dialogue, the colonel says that he plans to execute Q and asks Janeway where he is. But Q himself saves him the trouble by showing up, although this doesn’t stop the colonel from saying they’ll both die anyway.

As the sun comes up, Janeway and Q are lead into the woods and tied to trees. She pleads for a non-violent end to the war, while Q does the same for Janeway’s life. But Colonel Q isn’t swayed, and dramatic zoom-ins on Janeway and Q signify that they’re screwed. Q apologizes to Janeway, who responds with “I know,” because “-I love you. -I know.” was already taken.

But the soldiers’ weapons are soon diverted by other soldiers firing at them. This includes Chakotay, Tuvok, Paris, and Kim all dressed as Union soldiers while Suzie Q has donned a similar dress to Janeway. It’s not long before the colonel tells his soldiers to stand down while Janeway and Q are freed.

He and Suzie make up and touch fingers, which I guess is the Q way of having sex. Janeway is astonished as she and the others are returned to the ship.

After confirming that the ship is fine and there are no more supernovas anywhere, the episode ends with Janeway in her ready room, where Q shows off his new son. She congratulates the new dad, who asks Janeway to be the baby’s godmother, before Q and Baby Q depart.

Where to begin with this one…

As I noted earlier, this basically reduces Q to a sitcom character, like something out of Bewitched. The Q we saw in The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine would definitely rip the Q we see in this episode a new one for being bumbling, unfunny comedy relief.

Secondly, Quinn wanted to end his life because existence in the Q Continuum had nothing more to offer him. One could say that, like V’Ger, his knowledge had reached the limits of this universe, and for Quinn, the next logical step was death. But “The Q and the Grey” makes him out to be a MLK-esque martyr. The difference here is that Dr. King himself was not suicidal. Yes, he knew that the crusade he embarked on could cost him his life, but he pressed on because he and others knew that such change in society was needed and long overdue. But Quinn wasn’t seeking out change. He was simply dissatisfied with how his life was going, but he didn’t encourage others to follow suit and take their own lives.

There’s also the matter of Q saying that a baby with Janeway is the way to fix the civil war. What about Amanda Rogers? Q made a big deal about the fact that she was the child of two of the Q, but that’s never mentioned once here. Of course, if it were, we would’ve been spared this episode’s awful romantic comedy moments.

Finally, the episode ends with the Voyager crew saving the Q Continuum. Let me repeat that: This episode ends with the Voyager crew saving the Q Continuum. Don’t you think that the Q would reward them for such an act? Like, say, snapping their fingers and returning them home?

This episode came in the middle of Voyager‘s third season. During the summer hiatus before the season started, Voyager producer Jeri Taylor said that the third season would have the crew agonizing less about getting home and embracing the exploration opportunities presented by their situation. This, I suppose, was the red flag indicating that Voyager was no longer going to take its premise seriously. Perhaps some Voyager crew members would eventually adopt this stance, but I find it hard to believe that all of them would just magically adjust to being so far from home.

I once noted that the season opener “Basics, Part II” mainly faltered because not one crew member confronted Janeway about the whole crew being stranded. “The Q and the Grey” went even further, with Janeway not even asking Q to send them home when the episode ends. So with “The Q and the Grey”, we’ve now reached the “fall” part of the Rise and Fall of Q—and of Voyager, as well.

Star Trek: Voyager- "Death Wish"

Here is where the fall aspect of the Q saga begins.

While Star Trek: The Next Generation ended with “All Good Things…” (and from everything I’ve been hearing about Star Trek: Picard, I have good reason to continue viewing “All Good Things…” as TNG’s true ending), the Trek franchise wasn’t through with Q yet. Hence our next installment of…

The Rise and Fall of Q

…which aired midway through Star Trek: Voyager‘s second season and drew a lot of attention.

Obviously, seeing a fan favorite such as Q would be a draw, but there was also the little tidbit that he could bring Voyager back to the Alpha Quadrant with a snap of his fingers. And since the entire basis of this series was a ship taking the long, scenic route home, fans were curious how an appearance by Q could possibly get around that. I plan to go a bit more into this shortly, but first, let’s look at the episode itself.

Our story begins with Voyager tracking what appears to be a comet. However, it’s moving at an unexpectedly erratic pace for a natural phenomenon. Janeway sends Torres to the transporter room and asks Kim to beam a sample of it there. Why they don’t beam something as radiation-filled as a piece of a comet into a cargo bay, rather than a space that people use often is never made clear.

But that ends up not mattering as what materializes is a man (Gerrit Graham) wearing a Starfleet uniform, who slowly walks through the containment field and politely introduces himself as Q, who to avoid confusion, I’ll refer to as Quinn because (spoiler alert!) that’s the name he’ll end up with.

Torres fills Janeway in after the title sequence and the captain knows all about the Q and quickly orders a red alert. But Quinn tells her not to bother and takes Janeway and himself into the mess hall, where to express his gratitude for being released from that comet after three centuries, he whips up a nice dinner. This shocks Neelix, prompting him to ask if this guy is a new chef Janeway is thinking of taking on. We should be so lucky.

Quinn already knows who Janeway is and takes a moment to envy everyone in the mess hall for being “mortals”, especially Kes, with her nine-year life span. He explains that this is because he simply wants to die. Janeway confronts him, saying she knows about him because like Sisko, she’s been briefed on the Q by Starfleet. But Quinn says that he’s not that Q, before changing the subject and saying that those who put him in the comet will quickly learn that he’s now free. Janeway is skeptical that he was a prisoner, but Quinn formally thanks everyone and struggles to say fitting final words before just saying goodbye to everyone and making a gesture with his hand.

But rather than disappearing himself, Quinn makes all the men on the ship vanish. The good news is that this includes Neelix. But Janeway is obviously pissed because she’s the only one who reserves the right to kill off her crew.

Quinn apologizes and sends both of them to the bridge. But he’s unable to bring all the men back. That’s when the Q we know shows up.

Q isn’t happy about a Federation ship being in the Delta Quadrant, but Quinn says he didn’t do it. Janeway chimes in, saying that she pulled Quinn out of a comet, prompting Q to make a sexist remark (and get used to that at this point in the Q saga). The captain also correctly deduces that he’s the Q who Starfleet has briefed her on. Q is flattered, the notices all the men are gone. He quickly brings them back, then takes a moment to admire Chakotay’s tattoo before telling Quinn they’re leaving.

But Quinn demands asylum and makes everyone but Q vanish by sending the ship back in time, specifically before the universe was even formed. This results in a little scuffle which includes reducing the ship to subatomic size before it eventually becomes—I kid you not—a Christmas tree ornament in the hands of Q. Well, Hallmark was making Star Trek ornaments by this point, so I guess a reference to that was inevitable.

Janeway stops this nonsense by saying she’ll hold a hearing on Quinn’s request for asylum. Q is amused but agrees as long as Quinn returns to his cell if Q wins. Likewise, Quinn requests to be made mortal if he wins.

Tuvok is working when Quinn unexpectedly pops in. Tuvok comments on his lack of manners before Quinn states his reason for stopping by. He asks Tuvok to represent him at the hearing. Tuvok says he has no experience as a lawyer, but Quinn notes that Tuvok is familiar with asylum laws, and that Vulcan society permits suicide in some cases. Tuvok agrees to his request. Also, Tuvok has always been one of Voyager‘s more interesting characters, so I’d say he’s a good choice.

The hearing begins with Janeway asking all parties not to make light of the situation. Quinn and Q agree, the latter in a condescending tone.

Janeway begins by asking Quinn why he wants to kill himself. He explains that immortality is something he can’t deal with any longer, but the Q Continuum basically forces its members to conform to a specific path. But he objects that he wants his own path to lead to death.

Q rolls his eyes at this and counters that the Continuum’s methods are only for the purpose of keeping Quinn from harming himself. He asks Janeway if he can call an expert witness to back up his case. Janeway agrees and the person Q calls is… Q himself.

The two Qs praise each other before the original asks what Quinn taking his own life would mean for the Continuum. The witness states that it would disrupt the Continuum, because no Q has ever taken their own life. But Quinn points out that they don’t know how much the Continuum would be disrupted, and the Continuum is simply scared of the unknown.

Q the witness states that Quinn, based on his remarks, is mentally unbalanced. But Tuvok points out that Quinn was previously held in high regard by the Continuum and that it’s illogical to say he’s now mentally unbalanced simply because he wants to commit suicide. He goes further, saying that the Continuum has executed other Qs in the past for transgressions (possibly alluding to the death of Amanda Rogers’ parents in “True Q”) and no disruption like the one Q is foreseeing resulted. But Q responds that this particular case is about preserving social order.

Quinn quickly whispers something to Tuvok, who then brings up the spotty track record of Q himself, and is satisfied with Q’s not-so-confident reply that he’s since been redeemed. After the witness is excused, Q asks Janeway if he can bring people from Earth to show him how Quinn has actually benefited her planet for centuries. Janeway is shocked by this notion, but agrees after Q assures her that the timeline won’t be altered, and the people he brings aboard will be returned with no memory of their visit to Voyager.

The trio he brings are William Riker, Sir Issac Newton (Peter Dennis), and some hippie (Maury Ginsberg). All of them are shocked, although it doesn’t take long for Riker to understand what’s happened, given his past with Q.

Janeway speeds things up by asking if they recognize Quinn. Sir Issac says he does because he was sitting under a tree with Quinn just before that famous apple fell on his head. The hippie, who’s named Maury Ginsberg, the same as the actor playing him, because the writers thought it’d be a good joke, recognizes Quinn because he helped him when he had jeep trouble on his way to Woodstock. Riker doesn’t recognize Quinn until Q brings up a photo of Riker’s ancestor Thaddius Riker who fought in the Civil War. The pic also includes Quinn, who apparently made sure that the elder Riker got medical attention and survived his wounds.

Hence, Quinn ensured that a new chapter in physics would begin, the Federation would not be conquered by the Borg, and that some schmuck would get Woodstock underway—and find love in the process.

After the three witnesses are excused, Quinn requests that Janeway and Tuvok experience the uncomfortable conditions of the comet prison. All four of them are briefly crammed in there and the lack of even a TV convinces Janeway that this isn’t a pleasant location.

They return to the ship and Janeway says that, while she sympathizes with Quinn, she can’t say that she’s convinced he’s suffering. She orders a recess. In the mess hall, Tuvok suggests that the next step is for them to view life in the Q Continuum itself.

Q meets with Janeway in her ready room, where she asks if Q could simply reintegrate Quinn into society rather than tossing him back in jail. Q says that would be a bad idea, because while Quinn has done some good things, he also indirectly started a century-long war between the Vulcans and Romulans. He adds further incentive for Janeway to rule against Quinn by showing her how easily he could return them to Earth.

When the hearing resumes, Tuvok brings up his suggestion to visit the Continuum. Q briefly objects, but Quinn convinces him otherwise. All four end up on a road in the middle of a desert. Quinn explains that this is the Continuum presented in a way Janeway and Tuvok can understand. The quartet walk to a small building with a dog and a few people who are presumably other Qs, minding their own business.

Quinn says that the road itself represents the path to the other parts of the universe but he’s already explored it all. He continues by saying that he’s done everything there is to do here, including being the nearby scarecrow and the dog. Janeway says that the other people here don’t appear to be suffering, and Quinn counters that it’s because they’ve already done all those things as well. Sadness would actually be interesting as a result.

He talks about his initial joy when he celebrated how unique and accomplished the Q had become centuries earlier. But as time passed, and more and more of their questions were answered, there was no more to discover. And that’s why the people here aren’t speaking to each other, because there’s nothing new to say. While Q weakly argues that peace and quiet is nice on occasion, Quinn surprises him by saying that Q’s own rebellious period (as seen in “Deja Q”) was actually a good thing. This is because it basically gave the Continuum something to do and shook up the status quo. But this excitement died once Q apologized and got his powers back.

Quinn borrows a magazine that another Q is reading and shows Janeway an article that he wrote. Said article was Quinn’s argument for death, now that the end of the road has been reached for their society. The article also destroyed the high cachet he carried with the Continuum and led to his imprisonment. He asks Janeway if she would want immortality if there were no unexplored avenues of life for her to pursue. Quinn concludes his argument by saying that immortality itself is the disease and the Continuum is forcing it on him.

Upon returning to the ship, Tuvok officially rests their case and Janeway calls for a recess. After this very interesting dramatic dialogue, we for some reason get what’s supposed to be a comedic moment when Janeway is trying to sleep, only to find out she’s sharing a bed with Q.

She leaps out of bed and puts on a robe, and tells him to get lost. She also says that his offer to send them back to Earth, which she calls a bribe, won’t impact her final decision. But Q promises that the Continuum won’t imprison Quinn, but have someone look after him. But to keep up the “comedy”, Q says that Janeway has won and she’ll be praised as a hero when Q sends her back to Earth. He tells her to imagine herself back home with her dogs and a man waiting for her. That man, he says, will be Q himself. But Seven of Nine hasn’t joined the show yet, so Janeway is in no mood for romance. She tells Q to piss off, which he does.

The next day, Janeway delivers her verdict. She tells Quinn that he’s convinced her that he’s suffering and rules in his favor. Q is disappointed, but honors his part of the agreement and makes Quinn mortal. Janeway implores Quinn to not end his own life, as being mortal allows one to experience life in new ways. Quinn says he’ll give it a try. Her subsequent log says that he’s now joined the crew and registered as Quinn on the ship’s manifest.

But before he can take over for Neelix in the kitchen, the Doctor summons Janeway to Sickbay. Quinn has taken hemlock and thanks Janeway for her help before he dies. The Doctor reveals that there’s no hemlock on the ship, and then Q pops up revealing that he gave Quinn the poison because he requested it. He admits that Quinn outdid him when it came to being irrepressible, and hopes he lives up to such a legacy.

The episode ends with Q smiling at the thought that the Continuum will be angry with him once more. He departs with the promise that he and Janeway will meet again.

“Death Wish” certainly does a good job at bringing some new dramatic elements to the Q. Gerrit Graham is both funny and sympathetic as Quinn and does an especially great job at pointing out that immortality, while appealing, may not exactly be the best thing ever. Where it falters are with Q’s attempts to woo Janeway. I’m sure there were other ways to show how strong Janeway could be without making her gender an issue. Also, like “True Q”, the ending is a bit too abrupt and the aspect of Q returning the ship to Earth is swept under the rug. Keep the latter point in mind when it comes to the next and last two Q installments. The sad thing is that, unlike his promise to return in “Encounter at Farpoint”, Q’s subsequent visits to Voyager wouldn’t be much to write home about.