Let me be blunt... I hated the fact that Kes left the series and Harry survived the events of 'Scorpion'. I wanted Harry to die. Harry was a nothing character. He remained a nothing character for the remainder of the series. The writers attempted several times to inject some life into the character but nothing worked. It was no fault of Garret Wang, it was all in the writing. Kes, though, had promise. She had a connection to Tuvok and was developing her powers. To me they were like Professor X and Jean... only without the creepy icky love angle. There was the relationship to Neelix, though they eventually broke up. And there was the possibility of romance with Tom Paris. I could easily imagine a love triangle between Tom, Kes and B'Elanna. She was also a friend and anchor for the Doctor... a role that Seven soon fell into.
Bringing back Kes was a great idea. What we get is something I still can't comprehend. For whatever reason the writers decided it would be great if Kes came back and she was an evil grandmother. Kes looks so old and haggard and tired. I guess we're supposed to feel sorry for her but I just can't take it seriously. I mentioned comics earlier. This does feel like a 'shocking twist!' issue of a comic where a long departed character returns...and is EVIL! Or, since i mentioned Jean and Xavier earlier... Kes goes all Dark Phoenix. That sequence at the beginning where she walks down the corridors destroying everything and walking through force fields is visually interesting though.
So she travels back in time (somehow) with the plan of betraying Voyager to the Vidiians and taking her past self home to Ocampa. She is so twisted that she doesn't care if the entire crew becomes fodder for this grotesque race of organ thieves. The resolution is... odd. Like, they couldn't think of something better. They just have past Kes make a holo-recording and play it for old Kes. Her heartfelt plea somehow makes an impact and stops old Kess. It's a 'remember who you are' moment but doesn't quite have the impact of Cap saying it to Bucky. Then... old Kes just leaves. I guess she is going back to Ocampa but it isn't exactly spelled out. Clearly, old Kes has some issues but instead of giving her comfort, counseling (which, Voyager technically didn't have a ship's counselor) and medical treatment, they just let her go. Did she die on the way back to her home planet like Poochie?
Kes was a sweet character that had a nice send off. Her powers evolved to a state where she had to leave Voyager. I may have hated the character being written out but at least her departure made sense story-wise. Bringing her back like this is almost a perversion. They never explain exactly what happened. How did she lose her way? What happened with her powers? She can rip Voyager apart with a thought, withstand phaser rifle fire... but when she goes back in time she's sneaking around like a Romulan. If Kes was really so angry with Janeway wouldn't she have wanted to personally witness the Vidiians harvest her organs or whatever?
The opening scene of Tuvok blowing out the candle on his birthday cake is sweet though.
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