Open here I flung the shuttle, with no concern of firm rebuttle Seeking out the Raven of the Starfleet days of yore "Though thy call be slow and weakened I shall heed thy homing beacon, For my long lost home I'm seeking; shall I once again be Borg? Tell me now I do beseech thee, is it back to them I'm called?" Quoth the signal "Nevermore"

I agree on Tuvok being with Seven at the start of the episode. That “creativity is irrelevant” conversation would’ve been great from a Vulcan perspective. Vulcans are highly logical and pragmatic but they still embrace art and creativity because they recognize its inherent value when building a successful society. “Without creativity there is no creation. Without creation there is no advancement. Without advancement there is no evolution. Surely, even the Borg would see the logic in that.”

Can we take a moment to acknowledge that Sevens parents might actually be worse parents than Worf... "hey Anneka, wanna go see some Borg in the wild?"

Can we all take a moment to recognise that Neelix offers to prepare Seven's chadre'kab steamed, and then proceeds to stir fry it in the biggest wok seen this side of a Vietnamese street food market?

"I get a great deal of pleasure in working the clay, it reminds me of how I mould and squeeze the crew to bend them to my will" "What, Captain?" "What?"

I always read Tuvok’s role as an indication of how much the entire crew was already invested in and cared about Seven, not just Janeway, so it kind of made sense in a “Voyager is a different kind of collective” way. As Seven comes to terms with the loss of both the Collective and her family, we also see a new bond develop between Seven and her new collective and family.

“In THIS outfit??” FTW!

One of the things that I like about the raven is that it is a nice utilization of the borg. The borg is a threat and you are reminded of the danger and horror that they pose. But ultimately the borg are not there and are a phantom threat and not a practical threat you shoot at.

Seven of Nine gloating about enslaving some of Neelix' species and him just smiling and being nice is pretty brutal.

When you mentioned TNG at the beginning, I thought the issue was going to be why the Hansens apparently set out to study the Borg twelve years before the Federation knew the Borg existed.

I wish the B'omar wore thick, padded battle armor. Their spin-off could have been "The Umpires Strike Back!"

I love that it turns out that Seven’s parents went full Space Grizzly Man

You left off one other thing they continued in the episode, the not giving a flying Tug about their shuttlecraft, they just Abandon the shuttlecraft that Seven had stolen, the second shuttlecraft Paris beams Seven and Tuvoc back from the service to his shuttle, and Janeway waits until they are back onboard Voyager before getting as far from the fleet of 68 B'omar ships that are arriving. So we have that one extra shuttle abandoned and all that Starfleet tech handed over to the B'omar in this case.

The Face Cage Crew were a popular rap act in the early 90s; with their breakout hit being "Hold My Ears".

"or a studio boss"-Oooh shots fired

About Janeway vs Tuvak at the end, bc the dr and Nelix were also in the ep, I can see the episode as saying that the whole crew is now the stand-in for not only the Borg, but also for her family.

The Bomar are Cardassians from Wish. They even look similar to Gul Macet from that TNG episode with the USS Phoenix. I forget the episode name off the top of my head.

I remember getting to this in a series rewatch a decade or so ago and being absolutely floored by how great an actor Jeri Ryan is. When the series first aired, all I remembered was the catsuit.

When you made the comment about being derivative of TNG, I thought for sure you also meant that the "raven" was reminiscent of the crow in Data's dreams.

Too bad Child Service wasn't notified before those parents went off to the Delta Quadrant.

All we need now is 1-2 verses of this episode's premise to the rhythm of Poe's The Raven.

Am I the only one seeing a strong resemblance between the Raven and a certain serene space cowboy transport?

The great thing about introducing a new character is that it allows you to bump them up against all the regulars in turn. Tuvok and Seven make and fascinating pair, a lot in common but some enormous differences, and seeing that play out across an entire episode could have really lifted the story. It might also give Tuvok a shot at a good episode in his own right too. Voyager often centres Janeway, presumably an attempt to get closer to the Kirk-dominated tone of TOS, but it comes at the expense of the ensemble. An ensemble which, in principle, has so much potential.

I like this episode, but I much prefer it's sequel (not sure of the name) when Seven is forced to go through her parents logs for a mission and is enraged by how irresponsible they were to bring her along with them on such a ridiculously dangerous mission.

Great National Inquirer reference. What's next, Mrs. Colombo?

I respectfully disagree. Seven experiences unity-through-rugged-individualism first hand in this episode, first with Janeway and the Doctor, then with Neelix, finally with Tuvok. Forcing her to ‘adapt’ to working alongside so many unique people is part of the inevitable process of reacquiring her humanity. Had the whole episode centered around Seven and Janeway, it would’ve felt like babysitting, or coddling, or worse.

You know, I take your point about moving off of Janeway to Tuvok. I think it also would've helped Janeway 's characterization by allowing her to be the mama bear I always thought she was in her ideal moments, and help show Seven has a new family, because yeah, the CAPTAIN came to get her back.

Of course aliens whose entire aesthetic is based on Mondrian are going to be totally restrictive and unreasonable. I never got how Seven gets visions of a raven just because that's the name of her parents' ship. I work in the field of helping cult survivors, and Seven of Nine's path out of the Borg is often used as a model for recovery and rediscovery of one's authentic self. But this episode still puzzles me, and I wish it had gone deeper.

If you look at Tuvok as a parental figure, a "dad" to the crew, then it makes perfect figurative sense why he was the one on the Raven with Seven. It made sense to me, because that's an aspect of Tuvok's personality and characterization that I enjoy.

If at this level of Borgification 7 had the ability to make shields.... wouldn't that be a nice thing to have on hand at countless points in her post Borg life? Sure, at first you might want to keep her neutered, but eventually having a person on board with personal shields would be a significant advantage right??

The S.S. Raven nevermore. 8:45

Seven of Nine’s evil twin would have to have a goatee.

Seems like through no fault of the show-runners, The Doctor and Seven and Nine ended up being the best Voyager characters. And even if her continued character arc on Picard was somewhat mediocre, Seven just seemed to fit in better with the TNG ensemble.

I know Voyager is your least favorite but I absolutely LOVE your interpretations of Janeway's personality 😂

I've always like this episode. This is probably because I watched this (well all of Voyager) before I watched TNG. I never thought of the comparison between this and TNG's Brothers. And if you are going to compare the whole "beacon" thing, then Odo would have that as well. As in the Search he also follows it and steals a shuttle...

Still not the worst response to Neelix's cooking

The weird part for me other than that Seven's parents knew the Borg is: The B'omar makeup is a good example for having "not only one uninspired thing on their foreheads" (the Enterprise Episode "Detained" with Dean Stockwell always comes to my mind). But! All i remember when i think of them are the wire...wires on their heads...which are probably hazardous near thunderstorms. What a shame.

"The Facecage Contingent" is one of the more underrated 70s thriller films.

I always called those guys the umpire race

Feels like a real missed opportunity to not have Janeway walking with Seven through the whole ordeal. She could have easily been with Seven in the mess hall when she went commando mode and maybe ended up taking Janeway hostage to more easily get off the ship. Make up some contrivance that required her authorization to get the shuttle out of the bay or whatever. Then Janeway can be with her every step of the way and it would have given the ship a more concrete reason to ignore cageface space borders because of their captain being in danger. What a wasted chance... but then again "wasted chances" could be the official tagline for Voyager.

I'm only 8 seconds in but I had to pause. I never thought about what watching Voyager would be like if you never saw TNG. Maybe the show is better that way?

I'm a little confused about the timeline of the Federation's knowledge of the Borg. It seems like the Raven's mission to study the Borg would have been before the encounter in Q Who?

@7:35 A defenceless crashed ship, that is partially assimilated with active Borg tech and with a Borg on board. Destroying anything Borg on site is a justifiable tactical response considering 1 nanoprobe is enough to assimilate a planet.

I really loved this episode when I was a kid and I'm not entirely sure why. It was when I'd just started collecting Trek VHS tapes. Unfortunately for this episode, it coincided with me getting DS9 season six "Favour The Bold" and "Sacrifice Of Angels" and... well, it didn't really compare.

Seven is my favorite ST character. I find her story compelling. I wish they had given her a real love interest on the show (Not Chakote') to explore her humanity more.

I would say that, even from a story perspective, it seems perfectly fine to hand Seven off from Janway to Tuvok, especially in the context of Voyger being an *ensemble* and on ongoing saga. Proposing that a story that begins with it's main subject having a moment with one character must also end with them paired with that character is far too limiting, and that it places an unhelpful constraint on how the characters can interact and play with each other. In an ensemble show, we come to see stories that involve the various characters interacting with each other in different ways, according to who they are, and we come to see different characters given a chance to have the spotlight. Voyager isn't "The Janeway Show" in the way that TOS was "The Kirk Show", as it comes from a different era of trek, and one of the most satisfying parts of ensemble style trek is multiple characters being given space according to where they fit in the story. Tuvok being there with Seven feels perfectly natural and suits the story well. It never even occurred to me that it should have been Janeway instead, and what we got lead to one of the better relationships on Voyager. Janway could, and would, have her moments with Seven later, as the onging saga of Voyager continued.

Excellent and nuanced analysis.

Wow, a Weekly World News Bat Boy reference 😂. If I could post a picture, I would add one picture of my original copy of that issue.

This episode's title should have given the Voyager writers a hint on how to use the Borg moving forward: Nevermore

A year or two ago, I watched this episode for the first time in at least a decade, and I thought it was Janeway that was with Seven on the Raven, not Tuvok. That clearly made the most sense to me, which was why I misremembered it in such a specific way. Thank you validating that error! 😁

I have a few thoughts. 1) The raven imagery is also reminiscent of a Data episode, the one where he's dreaming about ravens. 2) I liked the "eating 101" scene with Neelix. I think it shows Neelix doing what he does best, and also emphasizes just how much Seven has forgotten about what it's like to be human. 3) Regardless of whether it makes sense in terms of crew member roles (which I do very much care about; I am that kind of Trek fan), I think Tuvok was an excellent choice to be with Seven on the Raven. Her atypical emotional breakdown is contrasted with his Vulcan calm, and I think he provides grounding for her in a way no one else would have right then.

Back in the day when this episode first aired, someone wrote and an episode synopsis parodying Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven". (it was either Jim Wright or I found it via Jim Wright. It might still be on his page somewhere, but I've only got time for a quick look right now, and I didn't see it.). I remember it was quite amusing at the time.

Every time I see the running lights on a ford ranger I think of the B’omar.

"Might play better if you watched before TNG" Is this why I like Voyager so much?

I agree with all of your thoughts save for one. While I agree that tuvok was an odd choice, it nails home the idea that family isn’t just the ones with blood, but those who go through things with you.

I would like to see the B'omar again somewhere in Star Trek, for example a Lower Decks episode

I kinda want a Weekly World News "Drone-boy" cover page T-shirt now...

It’s getting weird how many episodes of Voyager I don’t remember at all.

Nevermore!

It was an interesting episode but I didn't feel it was amazing. I agree with you Janeway should have been with her looking for the ship. Also what a waste of time looking for a shortcut to save a few months of travel and having to up with the B'omar. I enjoyed your review.🖖💙

If her parent's ship had been named the USS Lollipop this episode would have had a lot different feel.

I remember liking this episode, including the eating scene, but I fell asleep twice trying to watch the recap part of this video.

Who knew that the Borg Unimatrix was in a trap street...

FUN FACT: Face cages are the Delta Quadrant equivalent of MAGA hats!

"...but also learn how to work within a group that isn't run by a ruthless, unfeeling hive mind." And instead learn to work within a group run by a ruthless unfeeling tyrant, that left the crew stranded in the Delta Quadrant. She'll be just fine.

Brian Fuller's two loves are horror and food This episode has both

"Creativity is irrelevant" is a weird thing for such a creative character to say. She even used her creativity to escape and then again to capture Tuvok hours later.

Love me some good trek talk. :D

I think the cage faces had it right to shoot at the raven. It was already partially assimilated by the Borg. I'm surprised they didn't chase down Seven though.

16:07 I think verisimilitude is way more an obsession of modern television audiences. And to some extent it’s more of a vague generational difference defined by people who watched MacGyver as kids and because of it absolutely loved Mythbusters and people who watched Mythbusters as kids and because of it found MacGyver just completely unapproachable.

Completely off topic comment here but that would have been really nice had Jeri Ryan voice an AI combat Drone boss from the airplane game called Ace Combat 7 Skies Unknown. The name of the boss's name or designation is ADFX-10

I kind of like Tuvok being in The Raven, he didn't coddle Seven. Now if the writers would have built more on their relationship going from there, some trauma mentoring as two semi unemotional people with similar logic skills, we did see that in a few episodes as the series went on and it's been years since I've seen Voyage so maybe there is an episode or two I've forgotten about where the Dr wasn't the mentor.

You missed the key flaw in this episode. How in the galaxy did Seven's parents make it THAT far into the Delta quadrant? How did they know about the Borg? The went there to study them? They were Federation, but the Borg didn't know about humans until Q introduced them. That was in 2365. This episode takes place around 2375. Somehow her parents new about the Borg some 10 years before Q did his part. And then flew some 60 years into the Delta quadrant. Sorry for overthinking this.

I've never seen any Voyager episodes, but I get the feeling that the younger Trek fandom probably isn't going to be too critical of any episode that increases Seven of Nine's screen time...

I actually think having tuvok help seven out with the raven. Is a good call, counting sevens mix of confusion and cold borg logic like determation with tuvoks stedfast presance and one of the few people that could use logic to pick holes in what she think is reality If it had being janeway i think her likely addtempts to reach seven emotionally would have met with failure. We see in surival instinct that when pressed into a corner seven reacts badly. The only issues i have with this episode is that the cage faces are entirely unessarcy to proceedings. And the destruction of the raven makes little sence in the long term. As her parents files became a plot point in dark founture and when exectly would voyager had the chance to down load them while the ship was bring glassed from orbit The other issue, that after what a mouth of being on voyager, only now she is starting to eat. Come on

I did like this episode also, but it suffers from a logic/physics problem. How did Seven's parents get so far into the Delta quadrant? Did I miss something? At this point, Voyager was still about 60 years from home. How did Annika's mom and dad get THAT far away from earth? Having Seven or Tuvok ask that question. throwing in some technobabble about a log entry mentioning a random wormhole or something would have helped me stay in the episode.

The problem with Tuvok being in the holodeck in the start, is that Tuvok would never be in the holodeck. And Janeway would never be sent on a single combat mission. This episode could only play out in the way that it did. To do otherwise would gut both characters (Janeway and Tuvok) and defy Starfleet protocols.

'Shoots and sachays' 🏆

"Quoth the Seven, 'Everborg'."

I'm reviewing the 5 earlier episodes to see if there are any Seven-Tuvok exchanges that seem to establish any kind of relationship, because after multiple viewings and just hearing your commentary- I can't think of any, and you're quite right to suggest that this is a significant plot hole. What came to my mind is that Tovok misses the connection that he had with Kes, and is making the effort with Seven to introduce us to their evolving bond.

I disagree that parallels with "Brother's" is a fair criticism. As Steve says, Raven isn't a complete remake and is entirely consistent with the capabilities of the Borg; the ability to walk through force fields and adapt to phaser fire is standard stuff so isn't Mary-Sue-ing Seven for plot convenience. I think if this wasn't Voyager, that wouldn't be a critique. The other criticism of Tuvok being the one to follow Seven I actually like. I expected it to be Janeway, but the way the two characters bond over their shared isolation is one of Voyager's best aspects, and Tovuk being the one to see Seven so vulnerable is a really powerful bonding moment that makes their friendship much more believable, for example, Tuvok and Seven in "Year of Hell" works much better because of the ground work done here. It also needs to lay the ground work for Janeway's mentor role to Seven, so having both characters involved in Seven's troubles is both needed and relevant.

I suppose a face cage is preferable to a facehugger.

Question: What do they say when you are assimilated? A: Welcome aborg.

Have to say, the Raven is neat little ship.

Seven has to adapt from working for a relentless unfeeling hive mind to Captain Kathryn Janeway, a relentless unfeeling individual.

Please tell me how The Raven got from the Alpha quadrant to the Delta quadrant whereas it’s going to take Voyager 70 years to make the reverse journey?

Why did seven of nine change her outfit from the green to this red one,? Just asking 🤔

Can we get a Trek, Actually about all the times they copy another episode storyline? Episodes like "More Tribbles, More Troubles", "Trials and Tribble-ations" & "The Wrath of Khan" shouldn't count as they're sequels but "Into Darkness" should

2:53 golf clap for using and pronouncing "route" the way I think is correct

Wow not a lot of comments in this one. 😐

Isn't the Doctor in Seven's body her evil twin?

Holy crap im first

"... But also learn how to work within a group that isn't run by a worthless, unfeeling hive mind." Now she has to learn to work in a group run by Janeway, which is the same thing just without the hive mind bit, which means it's the same thing with extra steps. 😜

In this outfit? 😂😂😂

I think the B'omar are stand-ins for the executives. Petty, manipulative; determined to destroy interesting characters and setback character growth for the sake of "safe product.:

Disagree tuvok isn't human. But they should have found a way to pull him in maybe a uncomfortable assignment for a cross training and maybe there for the convo with Jane way

Nevermore LOL

💖

I think its irrelevant to object to Janeway promising to help Seven at the start despite it being Tuvok helping her at the end, and I really don't buy into "its just a story, bro, they could just write around the problems with getting Janeway on the Raven instead of Tuvok" thing. Bookending is a trope that can be played with and even disregarded at will, not a formulaic law to adhere to. If you HAVE to justify it, take it as a setup for a character arc (you know, one of those things you constantly say Voyager sorely lacked, a criticism I actually agree with). Janeway promised to help Seven at the start of *this* episode, but the actual payoff happens in future episodes, while the immediate need for help is answered by Tuvok. Thus, cementing that its not just Janeway's pet project to take Seven in, its Voyager's crew as a whole accepting her as one of their own.

Steve called this backstory organic. It feels a bit forced to me, maybe just partially organic.