Lineage (Star Trek: Voyager)
B'Elanna and Tom clash over their unborn daughter's genetic makeup.
The seventh season's twelfth installment, "Lineage," is Voyager's 158th episode. It follows B'Elanna and Tom Paris dealing with the difficulties of her pregnancy. UPN broadcast it on January 24, 2001.
Quick Facts
- Series
- Star Trek: Voyager
- Episode
- 12
- Season
- 7
- Production
- 258
- Air date
- 24 January 2001
- Writer
- James Kahn
- Director
- Peter Lauritson
Facts from the source article.
Plot
B'Elanna Torres arrives at Engineering in a good mood but nearly faints. Icheb scans her and reports detecting another life sign inside her, suggesting it could be a parasite. Seven of Nine scans Torres and diagnoses pregnancy, which the Doctor confirms. The fetus is seven weeks old and healthy except for a genetic defect causing abnormal spine curvature in Klingon females. B'Elanna, half Klingon, had surgery as a baby to correct this defect. The Doctor explains that genetic resequencing is now the preferred treatment and can perform it the next day. He shows B'Elanna and Tom Paris a holographic projection of their daughter; Tom finds her beautiful, but B'Elanna is distressed by the Klingon facial ridges. During the procedure, B'Elanna recalls her childhood on a Klingon colony, blaming her Klingon half for her father leaving and for being teased. She resolves to prevent her daughter from suffering similarly and proposes further genetic resequencing to make the child fully human, but the Doctor and Tom disagree. In an argument, Torres notes Voyager's crew includes 140 humans and claims a quarter-Klingon daughter would be seen as a monster. They consult Captain Janeway, who says the issue is marital, not ethical, and will not overrule the Doctor. Unable to agree, Paris stays with Harry Kim. The next day they appear to reconcile, but the Doctor calls them.
Reception
Critics have praised "Lineage" for its emotional weight, with SyFy calling it a "gut wrenching" episode that tackles B'Elanna's pregnancy and her Klingon heritage. The Digital Fix highlighted how the story uses her background to explore her relationship with her father through flashbacks. In rankings, Den of Geek placed it as the tenth best episode of Star Trek: Voyager and the tenth best morality play in the entire franchise. Io9 ranked it 96th out of over 700 Star Trek episodes on its top 100 list.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who directed Lineage (Star Trek: Voyager)?
Lineage was directed by Peter Lauritson.
Who wrote Lineage (Star Trek: Voyager)?
Lineage was written by James Kahn.
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