"State of Flux" is the eleventh episode of '' Star Trek: Voyager''. Recurring Voyager characters Seska and Lt. Carey star, along with the show's main cast, in an episode that sees the return of the

Kazon The Kazon () are a fictional race, fictional alien race in the ''Star Trek'' franchise. Developed by ''Star Trek: Voyager'' series' co-creators Rick Berman, Michael Piller, and Jeri Taylor, the Kazon serve as the primary antagonists during the ...

aliens previously introduced in "Caretaker". This episode features events with ''Star Trek'''s replicator technology. This episode aired on

UPN The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that operated from 1995 to 2006. It was originally a joint venture between Chris-Craft Industries (later sold to News Corporation)'s subsidiary, United Television, ...

on April 10, 1995.

Plot

The crew of ''

Voyager Voyager may refer to: Computing and communications * LG Voyager, a mobile phone model manufactured by LG Electronics * NCR Voyager, a computer platform produced by NCR Corporation * Voyager (computer worm), a computer worm affecting Oracle ...

'' are foraging for food on a planet, when the ship detects a cloaked

vessel and they are ordered to return.

Chakotay Chakotay is a fictional character who appears in each of the seven seasons of the American science fiction television series '' Star Trek: Voyager''. Portrayed by Robert Beltran, he was First Officer aboard the Starfleet starship USS ''Voyage ...

is left behind to search for

Seska This is a list of minor fictional characters from the science fiction television series '' Star Trek: Voyager''. Characters here are members of the crew, or passengers, on the starship ''Voyager'' as it makes its way home through unknown space du ...

. As soon as he finds her, he is fired on by two Kazons, who are stunned by return phaser fire, allowing Chakotay and Seska to escape. Back on ''Voyager'', Seska serves Chakotay mushroom soup and tells him that she and other Maquis raided

Neelix Neelix () is a character in the science fiction television series '' Star Trek: Voyager'', played by actor Ethan Phillips since the series' inception. Neelix is an alien native to the far side of the galaxy, who joins the crew of the United Fede ...

's kitchen to make the soup. Chakotay is furious and threatens harsh disciplinary measures. Seska, having once been romantically involved with Chakotay, attempts to placate him, but Chakotay rebuffs her and she leaves. Moments later, ''Voyager'' detects a distress call from a Kazon ship. On investigation, they discover that a piece of equipment on the Kazon ship has caused a catastrophic failure on board, killing all but one of the crew, who is comatose. Because the equipment bears similarities to

Starfleet Starfleet is a fictional organization in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. Within this fictional universe, Starfleet is a uniformed space force maintained by the United Federation of Planets ("the Federation") as the principal means for conduct ...

technology, the crew realize that the Kazon must have obtained it from someone on ''Voyager'', and Seska falls under suspicion. Seska takes matters into her own hands and beams over to the Kazon ship, explaining that she must retrieve the equipment to prove her innocence. While on the ship, Seska is injured and is reprimanded by her superiors when she returns. Captain Janeway realizes that the comatose Kazon might be the only chance of finding out how the technology came into the Kazon's possession. Another Kazon ship arrives, whose captain, Culluh, demands to see his comrade. Culluh and his bodyguard arrive in sickbay where

the Doctor The Doctor, sometimes known as Doctor Who, is the protagonist of the long-running BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. An extraterrestrial Time Lord, the Doctor travels the universe in a time travelling spaceship called th ...

is treating their compatriot. Suddenly, Culluh's bodyguard kills the patient. Disgusted, Janeway orders both Kazons off ''Voyager''. Kes finds Seska has

Cardassian The Cardassians () are a fictional Extraterrestrial life in popular culture, extraterrestrial species in the American science fiction franchise ''Star Trek''. They were devised in 1991 for the series ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'' before b ...

blood, which Seska claims was the result of a bone marrow transplant from a friendly Cardassian woman. Investigations reveal that a message was sent to the Kazon from Engineering, and from the time of the message the two most likely suspects are Seska and Lt. Carey. The senior crew set a trap to identify the traitor, and Seska falls for it. She explains that the Kazon are a powerful race in this quadrant and by giving them technology, ''Voyager'' will gain a powerful ally. She escapes to a Kazon ship using a pre-programmed beam-out. Janeway orders a pursuit, but more Kazon ships arrive and ''Voyager'' retreats. Later, Chakotay asks Tuvok if he was naive for being fooled by Seska. Tuvok admits being fooled as well, reassuring Chakotay.

Production

This episode was filmed in Bronson Canyon in

Griffith Park Griffith Park is a large municipal park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains, in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The park includes popular attractions such as the Los Angeles Zoo, the Autry Museum of the Amer ...

in California.

Reception

This had Nielsen ratings of 6.5 when it was aired in April 1995. "State of Flux" is noted in ''Star Trek and Sacred Ground: Explorations of Star Trek, Religion, and American Culture'' as an example of an episode that shocks the viewer by having a character go against the Federation's

. Out of the 16 (15) episodes in Season 1 of ''Star Trek: Voyager'' which was broadcast in the spring of 1995, only "Eye of the Needle" and "Caretaker" (Part I and Part II) had a higher rating than "State of Flux" on TV.com as of 2018. Both of those episodes had a rating of 8.7 surpassing "State of Flux" which had a rating of 8.5 as of 2018. "State of Flux", with its rating of 8.5 was higher than "Faces" and "Time and Again" which were rated 8.3 as of 2018. In 2020, ''

io9 ''io9'' is a sub-blog of the technology blog ''Gizmodo'' that focuses on science fiction and fantasy pop culture, with former focuses on science, technology and futurism. It was created as a standalone blog in 2008 by editor Annalee Newitz under ...

'' listed this as one of the seven "must-watch" episodes of ''Star Trek: Voyager''s first season. In 2020, ''The Digital Fix'' felt this episode had some of the "most ambitious storytelling" in season one of ''Star Trek: Voyager'' along with "Prime Factors" .

References

External links

* * * {{Star Trek Cardassian stories Star Trek: Voyager season 1 episodes 1995 American television episodes Television episodes directed by Robert Scheerer