Death Wish (Voyager episode)
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| Star Trek: VOY episode | |
| "Death Wish" | |
 The crew encounter a member of the Q Continuum seeking to end his immortal life. |
|
| Episode no. | 34 |
|---|---|
| Prod. code | 130 |
| Airdate | February 19, 1996 |
| Writer(s) | Michael Piller |
| Director | James L. Conway |
| Guest star(s) | Raphael Sbarge as Michael Jonas Peter Dennis as Isaac Newton Maury Ginsberg as Maury Ginsberg John de Lancie as Q Jonathan Frakes as William T. Riker Gerrit Graham as Q2/Quinn |
| Year | 2372 |
| Stardate | 49301.2 |
| Episode chronology | |
| Previous | "Dreadnought" |
| Next | "Lifesigns" |
"Death Wish" is the 34th episode of Star Trek: Voyager, the 18th episode in the second season.
[edit] Plot
Voyager comes across a comet. The crew decide to beam over a sample of it but instead get a member of the Q Continuum (hereby designated Q2, Q is the Q from Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine). Q2 thanks the Voyager crew for freeing him from his imprisonment, then tries to commit suicide. But he ultimately fails (see Omnipotence paradox) and instead of killing himself, all males onboard Voyager are gone.
Q appears and accuses Q2 of sending humans to the delta quadrant where they didn't belong yet, then realizes all the men are missing and returns them all. Q2 requests Federation asylum from Janeway when Q wants to re-impose the Q Continuum's sentence of imprisonment. Q laughs at the request for asylum, and Janeway decides to hold a hearing on Q2's request, and Q reluctantly agrees. He later bribes Janeway that if she rules against Q2, he'll send Voyager home. Q2 shows the court the Q continuum (or rather how it would be interpreted by their feeble human minds) as a road stretching around the entire planet with one rest stop, a country gas station and store, and some Q standing around bored. Q2 describes immortality as very boring, you can only experience the universe so many times before it gets boring. Also during the trial of Q2, three main witnesses are brought forward to testify where Q2 has interefered. Sir Issac Newton claimed that he was sitting beside Q2 when the apple struck his head. Another witnesses claimed that if Q hadn't fixed his bus, he would have never made it to WoodStock and met his future wife. Finally, William T. Riker of the U.S.S. Enterprise comes forward and denies any claim to have known Q2 at all until Q2 shows Riker that he had helped an ancestor of his (Thadieus Riker) through the Civil War to survive, ultimately ensuring Will Riker's existence in the future.
Ultimately Janeway agrees Q2 has a right to die. Q strips Q2 of his powers, and he names himself Quinn. Janeway and Chakotay try to decide on where to assign Quinn so he won't use his knowledge to evolve humanity overnight, when they receive the message that Quinn is dying after taking poison. After realizing the substance Quinn used the computer wouldn't replicate due to its harmful nature, Q admits to having given Quinn the substance.
| Preceded by: Dreadnought |
Star Trek: Voyager episodes | Followed by: Lifesigns |
