Captain Janeway's Leadership is Put to the Ultimate Test in Star Trek: Voyager's Return Home
Star Trek: Voyager - Homecoming #2 is from writers Susan and Tilly Bridges, artist Ángel Hernández, colorist Charlie Kirchoff, and letterer/designer Neil Uyetake, and it picks up from the shocking cliffhanger of the previous issue, where the crew of the Voyager find themselves suddenly stopped in their tracks RIGHT before they finally make it back to Earth after being lost in the Delta Quadrant for YEARS.
What is the problem that the crew faces?
As I noted in a recent piece about the major retcons in the first issue, the Starfleet group known as Pathfinder was a major help in getting Voyager back to Earth, but even WITH Pathfinder's help, it would still take a number of years more to actually return home. Luckily for Janeway, she was contacted by her future sefl, who offered her futuristic technology from the Borg to allow the ship to return MUCH faster than it would have ever returned before. That, in and of itself, was a fraught decision (as obviously, Star Trek captains are not supposed to negotiate with their future selves), but Janeway took the offer, and by the end of the TV series, the ship was almost home.
However, as we saw in the first issue, the Admirals who beam aboard the ship from Pathfinder are acting suspicious, and so the Voyager crew tests their blood, and discovers that they were actually the aliens known as Species 8472, a race of aliens so scary that even the BORG was afraid of them! They had previously made a truce with Janeway, but they felt that her adoption of the future technology meant that Starfleet was once more a major threat, and so they decided to launch a full-borne assault on Starfleet, beginning with hijacking Voyager while it was still in "fluidic" space, the method of traveling that they could access through the future technology.
Hernández and Charlie Kirchoff do a nice job keeping everything very fluid (ironic, considering that they are in fluidic space) while still we're talking mostly scenes of people standing around talking to each other. There is heft to all of the scenes. That, of course, is a testament to the work that Susan and Tilly Bridges do to give the characters all little moments in the midst of all of the chaos.
What impossible choice must Janeway make?
That's the big dramatic moment in the issue when Janeway has the chance to prevent Species 8472 from getting to Earth from the fluidic space, but the same effect will make sure that VOYAGER doesn't make it, and she is willing to make that choice.
That is complicated, greatly, by the fact that Tuvok desperately needs to get back home so that he can Fal-Vor-Toh from another Vulcan, and if he doesn't get it soon, he will die a painful and terrible death...
One of the main things that the Bridges were interested in getting at in this series is the fact that we followed these people for YEARS, and we never actually got to see them literally return home. We only got to see them get REALLY CLOSE to home. So I like the idea of them saying, "You know how frustrating of a viewing experience that was? Well, what if they can't even RETURN home in time now?" That's a real twist of the knife, but it gives this issue an extra edge to it.
We obviously know that Janeway eventually becomes an Admiral, so the crew obviously DOES eventually get to Earth, but the Bridges aren't going to make things easy for Janeway on her journey to get that last few steps of the way home, and the result is a thrilling adventure that allows us to say goodbye to this little found family that Voyager has created for itself over their long journey through space. As the Bridges pointed out to CBR a while back, what even iS family at this point in time for them? Their biological relatives, or these crew members that they have spent so many years together with? It's an interesting question, and knowing that the Bridges have that in mind, I suspect I will really enjoy seeing how they all this plays out.
Taylor Frankie Paul Reveals the Qualities She’s Looking for in a Partner: ‘I Might Be Surprised’
Get ready to take notes, gentlemen!
For 21 seasons, “The Bachelorette” has delivered whirlwind romances, shocking exits, and plenty of unforgettable drama.
Now, the franchise is shaking things up with its boldest casting yet: Taylor Frankie Paul! The TikTok powerhouse and star of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” is officially stepping into the spotlight as our next leading lady.
And yes, she’s more than ready to hand out roses and finally find her happily ever after.
Now as she gets ready to begin her journey to find love, Taylor is revealing the qualities she’s looking for in a partner.
During an interview with ExtraTV.com, she shared, “I don’t have anything on paper, to be honest. Like, a list of things. I have the basic morals and values that I would like.”
Taylor then went on and listed out some of those qualities, including if her partner needs to be Mormon or not.
She said, “For me, a big question was does he have to be Mormon? And the answer for me was no, he does not need to be Mormon. Was I born and raised, still am? Yes. But I just wanted him to believe in something, but it didn’t need to be specific. So, that was one that was important to me. And then, I mean, this is a cliche but just kindness and how they treat other people is so important to me. So the guys, how they treat even cast, production, or anything around people is very telling of a person. So not just me, but how are you treating others around us? So that will be important.”
The Bachelorette also revealed if already having kids is something she’ll be looking for or not.
She said, “No, for me, I was open to dads. So, if I get a dad on there… a daddy, yeah… I would be open to any of it. I’m going into [this] very open-minded because you never know. You could think of one thing. I live in a bubble... So when you step outside that bubble, you’re like, ‘Whoa, there’s a whole world out there that’s nothing like what we live in.’ So for me this is my first time jumping into that and I might not even know what I like. You know? I might be surprised.”
We’re so excited to watch Taylor’s journey to find love unfold in 2026, and we can’t wait to meet all the men who will be vying for her heart!
