History Recap / StarTrekVoyagerS2E14Alliances

* IdealistVsPragmatist: Janeway wants to stick to Starfleet principles, while Chakotay thinks it would be better to break them in emergency situations since they're lost in space. The two have many debates over this.

* SciFiWritersHave/NoSenseOfEnergy: A Trabe vessel fires its weapons at point-blank range into a building and only breaks a window.

* BabyTrap: When Cullah threatens Seska, she taunts Cullah that he'd never harm his own child.

** Voyager's crew thinks one of the First Majes is planning to assassinate his rivals. Knowing the person responsible will leave during the conference, they tense when Maje Cullah stands up from the table...to get himself a drink. Then Mabus urges Janeway to step outside for a quiet word...

* ContinuityNod: Seska is pregnant, though she's pretending to Cullah that it's his child instead of Chakotay's. [[spoiler:[[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS2E26S3E1Basics It really is Cullah's.]]]]

* FacialDialogue: Plenty of this from all concerned -- Janeway whenever Chakotay or Maje Cullah pisses her off. [[SurroundedByIdiots Seska's reaction]] when Cullah suggests his crew exchange program. Jonas' thoughtful look when B'Elanna shouts down Hogan's idea of contacting Seska again.

* ManipulativeBastard: Seska is shown flattering and cajoling Cullah into going to the conference, while Mabus plays Janeway so admirably she never suspects a thing until it's too late to stop him.

* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Maje Cullah's misogyny towards Janeway and Seska is pretty much not veiled at all.

* ProperlyParanoid: Janeway is rightly opposed to Cullah's idea of a crew exchange program, which would provide him with hostages while Kazon warriors are NotAfraidToDie. Averted when she takes Mabus on face value.

** Maje Cullah gives one to Captain Janeway over her hypocrisy in allying herself with the Trabe, who have violently oppressed them in the past.

** The episode begins with Voyager having suffered its fourth attack from the Kazon in two weeks. After this the only sect that bothers Voyager is the Kazon-Nistrim, and that's only due to Seska's scheming. While it's possible the others were too afraid to pursue them (either because of the attack on the conference or thinking the Trabe would continue attacking them whether or not they were allied with Voyager), or that Voyager finally ended up beyond Kazon territory (with the Nistrim only dogging their trail due to Seska and Cullah's vendetta), [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse none of this is ever explained onscreen]].
* SaveTheVillain: Janeway warns the Kazon majes JustInTime to stop them from being BoardToDeath. Unfortunately this includes Maje Cullah.

* VillainBall: Seska is entirely for an alliance with Voyager as it's what she wanted all along. Cullah however overplays his hand during negotiations with Janeway, [[StrawMisogynist insults them both]], and gets thrown off the ship.

** The episode begins with Voyager having suffered its fourth attack from the Kazon in two weeks. After this the only sect that bothers Voyager is the Kazon-Nistrim, and that's only due to Seska's scheming.

* SinsOfOurFathers: Mabus says that the Trabe responsible for the atrocities against the Kazon are all dead or close to it by now, and it's time to leave the past in the past and try to work out a peace. The he goes on to commit some sins of his own.

* VillainBall: Seska is entirely for an alliance with Voyager as it's what she wanted all along. Culluh however overplays his hand during negotiations with Janeway, [[StrawMisogynist insults them both]] and gets thrown off the ship.

[[caption-width-right:350:''Voyager'' attempts a truce with the Kazon. Ho ho, good luck there, Kathryn.]]

* YouHaveGotToBeKiddingMe: Harry's reaction to Janeway announcing an alliance with the Kazon. Also, Chakotay's reaction when B'Elanna takes Harry's quip about contacting Seska seriously.

* FacialDialogue: Plenty of this from all concerned -- Janeway whenever Chakotay or Maje Cullah pisses her off. [[WhatAnIdiot Seska's reaction]] when Cullah suggests his crew exchange program. Jonas' thoughtful look when B'Elanna shouts down Hogan's idea of contacting Seska again.

* PlotHole: The episode acts like the five Majes who attend the conference are the entire Kazon leadership, which isn't the case.[[note]] Back in "[[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS2E2Initiations Initiations]]", Kar stated that the number of sects changes every day, but the last count was eighteen.[[/note]] In particular, the two most powerful sects -- the Ogla and the Relora -- are ''both'' notable by their absence, yet nobody considers the possibility that either of them may attack the conference. This also means that Mabus' plan would likely have [[DidntThinkThisThrough blown up in his face]]: while the elimination of a substantial swath of the competition ''might'' leave the other Kazon too busy fighting over the scraps to bother anyone else, their mutual hatred of the Trabe is the one thing to have united the Kazon in the past; an attempt by them to wipe out the Kazon leadership might well be enough to get them to call a truce for long enough to hunt every last Trabe down.

* PlotHole: The episode acts like the five Majes who attend the conference are the entire Kazon leadership, which isn't the case.[[note]] Back in "[[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS2E2Initiations Initiations]]", Kar stated that the number of sects changes every day, but the last count was eighteen.[[/note]] In particular, the two most powerful sects -- the Ogla and the Relora -- are ''both'' notable by their absence, yet nobody considers the possibility that either of them may attack the conference. This also means that Mabus' plan would likely have [[DidntThinkThisThrough blown up in his face]]: while the elimination of a substantial swath of the competition ''might'' leave the other Kazon too busy fighting over the scraps to bother anyone else, their mutual hatred of the Trabe is the one thing to have united the Kazon in the past; an attack by them against the Kazon leadership might well be enough to get them to call a truce for long enough to hunt every last Trabe down.

* MauveShirt: This episode introduces Hogan and Jonas, former Maquis crewmembers who would become recurring characters this season (and both would end up dead by the start of Season 3).

* MaleGaze: We get a lingering shot of the [[FanserviceExtra scantily-clad dancer]] in the BadGuyBar.

* TemptingFate: "It's hard to imagine things getting much worse."

* YouHaveGotToBeKiddingMe: Chakotay's reaction when B'Elanna takes Harry's quip about contacting Seska seriously.

* BeautyEqualsGoodness: {{Subverted}} with Mabus, whose people (the Trabe) look more human than the Kazon yet turns out to be just as devious and violent.

* ExplosiveInstrumentation: Sparks are flying all over the ship during the ActionPrologue. Crewman Bendera is killed after a console explodes in his face.

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Maje Cullah gives one to Captain Janeway over her hypocrisy in allying herself with the Trabe, who have violently oppressed them in the past.