Mind-Blowing Resurrection: Star Trek: Voyager's Worst Episode Redeemed after 24 Years!

Summary

"Lost in Translation" in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds improves on Voyager's "The Fight" by executing the concept of communication with non-corporeal aliens more effectively.

Uhura's portrayal in Strange New Worlds surpasses Chakotay's character in Voyager, making her a superior central character. She actively strives for comprehension and unity, interpreting extraterrestrial communications as pleas for assistance.

"Lost in Translation" exhibits a more meticulous structure compared to "The Fight". It introduces an intriguing enigma with a gratifying resolution, focusing on Uhura's emotional progression and surpassing Voyager's mediocre episode.

In Star Trek: Voyager's fifth season, episode 19 titled "The Fight," Commander Chakotay faces a mental attack from otherworldly beings existing in a realm of chaos where the laws of physics are unpredictable. These beings try to communicate by modifying his brain, resulting in hallucinations that he dismisses due to the fear of resembling his grandfather, who suffered from mental instability. Only through a self-imposed vision quest does Chakotay finally comprehend the beings' message, conveyed through familiar faces depicted in their visual communication.

Strange New Worlds Did A Bad Star Trek: Voyager Episode Better

"The Fight" is better executed in episode 6 of season 2 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds titled "Lost in Translation". As Captain Pike coordinates with the USS Farragut to bring a new deuterium refinery online, Ensign Nyota Uhura (played by Celia Rose Gooding) hears an unusual signal. This is followed by a frightening hallucination of her deceased mentor, Lt. Hemmer (played by Bruce Horak), who was an important figure to Uhura in Strange New Worlds season 1. The image of her mentor adds urgency to the message, similar to Chakotay's experience in Star Trek: Voyager, although the audience does not have the same connection to Hemmer.

Uhura teams up with Lt. James T. Kirk (played by Paul Wesley) and his brother Lt. Sam Kirk (played by Dan Jeannotte) to discover that her hallucinations are actually messages from non-corporeal aliens within the deuterium cloud that Starfleet is mining. These aliens are desperately trying to convey their pain, but they are unable to communicate in a way that Starfleet can understand. Instead, they use Uhura's memories and knowledge to convey their message within her mind. This method is similar to how the aliens in the chaotic space of the Delta Quadrant interacted with Chakotay. However, Strange New Worlds takes on this premise with more realism, higher stakes, and a stronger focus on Uhura's empathy.

Why Uhura In Strange New Worlds Worked Better Than Voyager's Chakotay

Nyota Uhura proves to be a superior protagonist compared to Voyager's Commander Chakotay in a story focused on bridging communication gaps. As the Communications Officer on the Enterprise, Uhura possesses fluency in multiple languages and a deep understanding of the universal translator's capabilities. Unlike Chakotay, who resists the messages implanted by aliens, Uhura actively seeks to comprehend them, even when they are unsettling and deeply personal. Her motivation to connect with others enables her to interpret these hallucinations as urgent cries for assistance.

Furthermore, Strange New Worlds' "Lost in Translation" demonstrates a more thoughtful structure in comparison to Voyager's "The Fight." The latter lacks coherence, with excessive emphasis placed on Chakotay's boxing activities on the holodeck overshadowing the genuinely intriguing premise. On the other hand, "Lost in Translation" immediately establishes itself as a captivating mystery, gradually unveiling its secrets and concluding in a satisfying manner. By centering the episode on Uhura's emotional journey in dealing with the numerous losses she has experienced, it showcases the strengths of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and surpasses the forgettable nature of a corresponding Star Trek: Voyager episode.