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Star Trek Voy - Season 4 - Episode 15

Star Trek Voy - 4x15 - Hunters

Originally Aired: 1998-2-11

Synopsis:
The crew receives letters from home. [DVD]

My Rating - 8

Fan Rating Average - 6.04

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Problems
- Janeway: "We know the relay stations extend almost all the way into the alpha quadrant." Nope, from what Seven of Nine showed us in the previous episode, they would seem to extend well into the alpha quadrant. Not "almost."
- Why is everyone so impressed that there's a quantum singularity at the heart of the relay stations powering them? The Romulans use quantum singularities to power their warp drive.

Factoids
- Borg species designation: 5174, unknown species name. The Borg encountered a small ship of species 5174. They were gutted by the Hirogen.
- Tuvok's son Sek went through the Pon Farr and had a daughter, whom he named T'Meni after Tuvok's mother.

Remarkable Scenes
- Chakotay: "It's over B'Elanna. There are no more Maquis." Torres: "What are you saying? There are thousands of us!" Chakotay: "All wiped out. It seems the Cardassians have an ally. A species from the gamma quadrant who've supplied them with ships and weapons."
- The Hirogen capturing Seven of Nine and Tuvok.
- Seven's reaction to being tied up on an alien ship: "This is most uncomfortable."
- The Hirogen confronting their captured prey.
- Tuvok: "I suggest you think carefully about your decision. If you kill us, our captain will hunt you down and show no mercy." Hirogen captain: "I'm not concerned."
- Hirogen captain: "A long, coiled intestine. An interesting trophy." Seven: "What possible use could you make of my intestines?" Hirogen captain: "Unusual relics are prized. Yours will make me envied by men and pursued by women." Seven: "You are a crude species. Only your size makes you formidable." Hirogen captain: "Your insults are as pitiful as your efforts to escape."
- Tuvok's feeble attempt to attack the Hirogen. He slits the neck of one with their own blade. He shrugs it off, picks Tuvok up, and throws him across the room.
- Janeway: "Open the antimatter injectors to 120%!" Harry: "Captain that could breach the core!" Janeway: "So will that black hole, now just do it!"

My Review
This episode is more like Voy: Message in a Bottle, Part II than a new stand alone episode, as its events directly tie in with the previous episode. We've seen the Hirogen before, in fact, in that episode. Personally, I like these kinds of arcs. Voyager's writers have shown a consistent improvement in the quality of their writing this season, and this episode is no exception. We get a close look at the Hirogen in this episode. They're a species of hunters. They hunt seemingly any other race but their own. Based off of the size of their relay network, they must be spread all through the galaxy in packs of ships, like wolves. They seek to collect "relics" or body parts from other species regarded as trophies. Based on their attitudes toward Tuvok and Seven of Nine, it would seem they regard other species as lower life forms. Additionally, their strength and size are both quite formidable, as Seven of Nine puts it. A very impressive and unique species. More importantly though, this episode destroyed the alien relay network. That's kind of a severe blow to the show in some ways. I was hoping more than the crew that Voyager would have regular contact with the alpha quadrant; maybe even return home early to join the war effort against the Dominion. In fact, news of the Dominion reaches Voyager in this episode. It's a shame that the writers seem to want to keep the two shows completely separate from one another. But I digress. This was a very successful action episode and the Hirogen were a very convincing villain.

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