Fury

** (2 senile stars out of 5)

Possibly on a bet to see if Kes could have a worse departure story than the one from Season 4, here comes a worse departure story for Kes.

Our old friend Kes arrives, looking old and worn but pretty good for a venerable Ocampa of seven. Years, I mean. She's not exactly a Seven fan. In fact, she appears not to give a flying frak about anyone. She's gone Full Phoenix Jean Grey- blowing everything up with telekinesis. Murdering B'Elanna Torres, for example, seems a little excessive.

Kes seems to blame Voyager's crew for "abandoning her" to whatever unpleasant fate awaited her in the dimensions she's travelled since 'The Gift'. A voice-over on Men In Black, for example.

Full of Adamantium Rage, she uses the warp core to return to Season One, and hide her younger self in a drawer. Then, disguised as herself, that Kooky Krazy Kes rings the dinner gong for the Vidiians. A plan so cunning it could be the offspring of Black Adder and Peter Dinklage... is what was needed here instead of THIS plan.

Is it wrong that I was happier to see those appalling organ-boosting leeches with their grody faces and keen CG grappling hooks than I was to see Villain Kes with her face and CG shuttle?

And is it wrong to expect they could throw together a better ending without obvious paradoxes by now? I'm sorry, I meant to say they could THROW UP a better ending. If Kes has at best two more years of life, and is losing her marbles, why are they letting her drive home on her own through hostile space? If that kind of travel time BACK TO OCAMPA is possible, why aren't THEY using it to make that journey home everyone used to talk about?

"Fury" is INDEED what was felt by a lot of fans, myself included, when Kes returns and tries to get her lifelong friends murdered for murkily understood reasons. Don't blame Jennifer Lien, go enjoy her in cartoon form instead!