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Even if you have to go back to “Basics, Part I” to understand what happens in “Basics, Part II”… you won’t regret it. The third season of Star Trek: Voyager kicks off with some violent deaths, some mysterious paternity, and some graceful character exits. Will the ship be able to continue its long journey back to Earth or has the setting of the series changed forever?
The Wikipedia plot summary for “Basics, Part II”:
The crew is marooned on a barren planet inhabited by primitive, hostile natives. Only two crew members are left on board Voyager, the Doctor and Suder, who was presumed dead in the explosion. It is revealed by the Doctor that Culluh, not Chakotay, is the father of Seska’s baby. Suder hides in the vents and Jefferies tubes of the ship, having a crisis of conscience after he is forced to kill a Kazon soldier.
Meanwhile, on the planet, crewman Hogan is devoured by a gigantic worm creature.[notes 1] The natives of the planet kidnap Kes and Neelix. Chakotay attempts to negotiate for their return, but this fails and he, Kes and Neelix are forced to hide in one of the caverns that the giant worm lives in. The natives attempt to smoke them out with a fire.
Back at camp, Ensign Wildman‘s baby Naomi falls ill and Chakotay’s team is still missing. Janeway gathers her own crew to search for Chakotay. Inside the caverns, a mis-step leads to a crew member being eaten by the worm. Janeway has Lt. Torres and two others distract the natives. The diversion works, allowing them to extinguish the fire and save the rest of the crew. The worm ends up buried under tons of rock dislodged by Tuvok and others as they escape.
Suder and the Doctor risk their lives to repel the Kazon. Suder, under orders from Paris, attacks the engineering section of Voyager. He succeeds in sabotaging the ship’s phasers, but is shot in the back by a dying Kazon and dies moments after. The Kazon then attempt to destroy Paris’ shuttle but the sabotaged phasers overload, killing most of the Kazon and forcing them to abandon Voyager. Seska herself is mortally wounded; she stumbles into Janeway’s ready room and dies next to her child, who survived. Maje Culluh takes the baby and leaves.
Volcanic eruptions on the planet have forced the Voyager crew and the natives to migrate together. Chakotay gains the respect of the natives when he rescues one of their children from a lava flow. The leader of the tribe gathers together plants that heal Naomi. The crew and the natives both watch in bewilderment as Voyager descends to the planet to pick them up. Tom Paris greets Janeway and the crew on the bridge and tells of Suder’s bravery. In Sickbay, Tuvok wishes that Suder may find the peace he could not in life. The natives wave farewell as Voyager departs.
In this episode of the podcast, Wes and Clay discuss “Basics, Part II” and the missing middle of Lon Suder. Plus! The guys chat about Tuvok the Elven Warrior, talking slowly so people understand, and a lack of serial killer murder.