Barge of the Dead

            A woman is involved in an accident in space.  Hovering between life and death, she visits a place she knows as Hell only to discover that she is not yet ready for death.  As she is sent back, she sees her mother enter the same place, condemned by her daughter’s sin; dishonoring their way of life.   Back among the living, the woman is deeply troubled.  She has never embraced her mother’s culture, and now it appears that her mother will pay the ultimate price.  Despite their painful relationship, the daughter is not willing to allow her mother to be punished.  She searches for an answer within the very culture she has forsaken.   She does not realize the experience has affected her in ways she can only begin to imagine.

In a brief interchange with the resident shaman she confesses a fear of being crazy, yet her experience felt very real.  Is there an afterlife after all?  The shaman acknowledges that not everything can be detected by conventional sensing devices.  Indeed, his own grandfather believed he could transform into an animal to speak with the spirits.  Even so, he never grew fur or walked on all fours.  The shaman wants to know if she recognized the symbols, understood the imagery.  She is unable to respond.  What understanding she does have lies only at the surface.  The deeper meaning eludes her.

            Deciding that her experience was truly of Hell, the woman seeks permission to return to the near death state in which she experienced the phenomenon.  After much discussion and argument it is agreed that she may do so.  Researching ancient texts, she finds the appropriate ritual and resumes her experience.  She is prepared to sacrifice herself for her mother’s salvation.  This time she finds that her mother, previously devout, spurns the ritual as meaningless.  She wants her daughter to choose life.  In a confrontation with her mother and the crew she serves with, the woman asks the question “What is it you want from me?”  The answer is blunt, “We don’t want anything from you, just you” Not satisfied, still seeking specific direction she asks, “What is it you want me to be?”  As the confrontation continues, the shaman asks again “Do you understand the symbols, the images?”  She has no answer.  Exhausted and confused, the woman throws away her weapon and asks again “Who am I supposed to be?”  This time her mother tells her “Only you can answer that question.” The woman’s journey has begun.

            "Barge of the Dead" is billed as a B’lanna Torres episode in which we see her undergo a profound change.  What the promos left out, and many viewers seem unable to grasp, is that it is also an episode about self-healing.  B’lanna experiences what she believes to be Hell.  On closer inspection, it appears to be a Hell of her own making; Voyager itself.  But on deeper reflection, it is evident that B’lanna’s very spirit is calling to her.  And what it wants her to do is come to terms with herself, her heritage, and the impact of that on her relationships.   Everything she is and cares about can be boiled down to who she is, and only B’lanna can answer the question “Who/What am I?”  Seeking ritual in the spiritual culture she has rejected, B’lanna discovers that ritual alone will not serve.  Death without understanding herself will not serve.  Looking to others for an answer to the most personal of questions will not serve.  In the end, only B’lanna can answer the question even if she does not fully realize it.  Deep inside her is where the answer can be found.

Chakotay, in the role of counselor/sage/shaman, asks her if she understands the symbols and images.  He represents a part of the Inner Wisdom/Inner Healer that resides in B’lanna.  She does not fully understand all that she sees.  Even in the confrontation, she is still looking to others for the answer inside herself, a fact gently noted by her mother.

            The episode ends with B’lanna experiencing a level of healing through the reconciliation with her mother.  Some viewers, and reviewers, have questioned the ambiguousness of that scene.  The ambiguity makes sense when we remember that it is B’lanna’s spirit calling to her.  Her mother may, or may not, be alive.  But that was never the point of the experience.  The point was the inner healing that B’lanna needed.  The Barge, the confrontation, the presence of her mother, were artifacts of her intuition.   They were created to serve as catalysts for the healing, which has begun.

            The producers and writers touched upon an important issue in this episode.  However, Brannon Braga made it clear that “Voyager” told stand-alone stories.  Continuity only mattered when it served the story being told.  It is most unfortunate that this is the way “Voyager’s” stories were told.  One of the biggest criticisms laid at the feet of the studio and its leadership was the failure to follow the leads that come into view about the characters.  B’lanna’s legendary rage was never adequately explored in the view of some fans of the character.  That may make it difficult for them to reconcile to the notion that inner healing has begun for her.  The writers did the character a great disservice by treating this episode as a “B’lanna is healed and all is right with her” story.  Full healing can take much longer.  And that would make a good story to follow.

A Comment about Robert Beltran as Chakotay:

‘Barge of the Dead’ was another opportunity to see Chakotay as the spiritual guide to the crew.  In this episode we are able to appreciate the character’s ability to look for meaning in symbols and images, a skill lacking in the Captain.  Robert played this role as well as any; given the few moments we see the character.  His sensitivity to B’lanna and his focus on the meaning of the symbols displayed the side of Chakotay that was often obscured by trite comments such as “My people have a saying/story….” Robert was focused, with a level of intensity that respected the other character’s torment.  Chakotay sitting on the bed, not a chair, invokes the long-standing connection to B’lanna, reaching back to their days with the Maquis.  It is an intimate moment in a series that often forgot what real intimacy is.  It is the sort of moment that endears Robert to his fans, and makes Chakotay the very special, if underused, character that he was.