Summary
- Star Trek: Voyager's "Jetrel" failed to recreate the compelling storyline of "Duet" from Deep Space Nine, focusing too much on exposition and lacking dramatic action.
- Unlike "Duet," which delved deep into Kira's established history, "Jetrel" was only able to scratch the surface of Neelix's traumatic past.
- Voyager made up for the lackluster portrayal of Neelix's backstory in "Jetrel" with the well-executed exploration of his character in "Mortal Coil" in season 4.
Star Trek: Voyager season 1 copied a popular Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode, but failed badly in recreating what made the storyline compelling. Voyager season 1, episode 15, "Jetrel" was a reimagined version of Deep Space Nine season 1, episode 19, "Duet." The Voyager episode featured Neelix (Ethan Phillips) being forced to confront his past when Dr. Ma'Bor Jetrel (James Sloyan), a Haakonian scientist who had created the weapon that destroyed Neelix's homeworld, contacted the USS Voyager claiming Neelix was dying of a deadly disease that only he could cure.
Similarly to "Jetrel", DS9's "Duet" focused on Major Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor) as she attempted to determine whether Aamin Marritza (Harris Yulin) a Cardassian she had taken into custody, was, in fact, a brutal war criminal from the Cardassian occupation of her planet, Bajor. On the surface, "Jetrel" and "Duet" have a lot in common. Both stories focused on a character confronting the past in the form of someone closely associated with their trauma, and both episodes dealt with the issue of punishment versus forgiveness for previous crimes. Interestingly, "Jetrel" and "Duet" were also both the second to last episodes of season 1 for their respective shows.
