Voyager 5x11 "Latent Image"

rating: ****

the story: The Doctor realizes his memories have been tampered with.

what it's all about: "Latent Image" is the "Measure of a Man" of Voyager.  "Measure" was the breakthrough Next Generation episode in which Data's rights as an individual were put on trial, a second season story that was among the first moments that series proved its dramatic potential by exploring original new depths.  It came to symbolize Star Trek's concept of artificial life, and became the measuring stick by which all other such explorations were compared, and basically, fans have decided that it remains the measuring stick. 

And yet..."Latent Image" surpasses it.  In hindsight, "Measure" takes a lot of things for granted.  Data is assumed to have won his place among the hearts of his crew from the very first time we see him.  While Riker stands as opposing council in the trial, he is portrayed as distraught over the role, because he doesn't believe what he's arguing, even after he discovers what he believes is a convincing final statement.  It may or may not be worth noting that it's Riker who first encounters Data in Next Generation's pilot, "Encounter at Farpoint," and helps establish Data's Pinocchio complex for the audience. 

Voyager always presented its holographic Doctor in an uphill battle.  Unlike Data, the Doctor was originally created for a specific purpose, and there were already others of his exact model (as we have confirmed in First Contact) in service, and the only reason why he gains a measure of independence from that purpose is because there's no choice in the matter; the ship has no other medical officers once it becomes stranded in the Delta Quadrant and loses much of its original crew complement.  The more time he spends in operation, the more he's able to cultivate himself, and the more real he becomes, since he retains all his experiences.  He becomes an individual by default.

But the crew doesn't always see him that way.  "Latent Image" presents a clear dilemma.  The Doctor becomes inoperable when he agonizes over an impossible decision and can't recover from still having to make it.  The crew needs a medical officer, and can't really afford to lose the only one it has left, so a decision is made to erase his memories of the incident.  But then he's reminded of what happened, and the whole things starts over again, only this time...he knows what the crew did to him the last time.

It's the act of betrayal that deepens "Latent Image."  How far is the crew willing to go?  Janeway makes the choice to let the Doctor complete his struggle, to help give him context, to let him know that struggle is part of the experience he's gotten himself into since first going into long-term service, since becoming an individual.  The episode makes no more concrete case for whether or not all artificial lifeforms deserve the same rights the Doctor is slowly winning or that Data won, in "Measure."  In the final season, he has another massive battle on his hands in "Author, Author," not only from Alpha Quadrant denizens who have no personal familiarity with him, but once again the crew itself.  But in terms of the crew, it's something he brings on himself, while with the outsiders, it's something that touches on the greater picture at last (the suffrage movement, in essence), and their ability to know they're not alone, will be able to fight for themselves, in unison.

Anyway, the ending of "Latent Image" is the most haunting.  Janeway leaves the Doctor alone in the holodeck, reading a book about identity by Dante, and he begins to quote from it.  The image is inconclusive, but Janeway's willingness to cooperate with his struggle mirrors her efforts with Seven to break away from the Borg hive mentality, to assert her individuality.  These are deep matters, and Voyager is not typically associated with deep matters.  Episodes like "Latent Image" suggest maybe this is wrong.

criteria analysis:

• franchise - The familiar struggle of Data is revisited.
• series - Demonstrates the true depth of Voyager's storytelling.
• character - The Doctor's finest hour.
• essential - Where you normally expect a classic to be bold in its conclusions, this is one of them that goes in the other direction.

notable guest-stars:
Scarlett Pomers (Naomi)