In the seventeenth episode of the sixth season of Voyager, I was biased against this at the start, but you know what? That was pretty good. If you’re intrigued, then it’s time for Mark to watch Star Trek.
So, just imagine that I was B’Elanna the whole time, and I’m certain this will make more sense. As I said during my review for “Fair Haven,” I don’t get this town at all. Let me add further evidence why: there’s a scene near the end when Michael Sullivan is shown the truth (at least a partial truth, that is) regarding Voyager and their relationship with his town. He passes two crewmen, and I believe he remarks that they work on the docks? So that means during their downtime, two Voyager personnel GO TO WORK WHILE IN THE HOLODECK. What the fuck??? How does that make any sense? I suppose it’s the escapism, and I might understand that more in the context of the episode if we’d seen more escapism.
However, Bryan Fuller’s script found an entirely different way to drag me into the story. I’m having the time of my life reading Diane Duane’s Young Wizards series because it’s such a unique combination of both science fiction and fantasy. I invoke that here because this episode’s mixture of two genres is remarkably compelling. And it’s a matter of perspective! To the people of Fair Haven, this is entirely a story about spirit folk and faeries, so from their point of view, this is a typical fantasy narrative. But all of this unfolds within our understanding of a science fiction show, AND I AM VERY INTERESTED IN THAT COLLISION.
For the most part, this is a satisfying tale, and Fuller’s insistence on taking this to an incredibly weird place definitely helps that. (Keep Voyager weird, y’all. I’LL KEEP SAYING IT.) After Seamus witnesses Tom fixing something using the holodeck computer, this episode consistently escalates from one disaster to the next. To the Fair Haven characters, it’s all paranoia and terror. Who are these people? Where did they come from? Where do they go when they’re not in Fair Haven? All of this is explained within the context of Voyager, given that Tom is running the program without a break. Thus, it begins to degrade, and the holodeck characters become aware of things that they normally would, like witnessing the crew make commands through the computer. Within their own understanding of their world, the Fair Haven citizens suspect that these newcomers are not who they say they are. The suspicion mounts, the town nearly turns on one another, and all said, it’s a fairly recognizable paranoia escalation.
Where “Spirit Folk” excels, though, is precisely within that collision of fantasy and science fiction. As soon as Michael got pulled into the lab, I was hooked. Granted, that’s a bit far into the episode, but like I said, I WAS NOT BIASED IN FAVOR OF THIS AT THE START. I love the idea of a holodeck character scheming to learn the truth about themselves while also struggling with the complication of the situation. He wants the truth, but unlike the rest of Fair Haven, he doesn’t want these people destroyed.
So what’s the compromise? Janeway ultimately takes Chakotay’s advice and tells Michael the truth while being creative in doing so. Y’all, I really love those scenes on Voyager with Michael walking around, even if the scene makes little sense to me. (I was so confused as to how the Doctor could “become” part of the holodeck program as he did.) Some of it felt like convenience, but I’m okay with that because the ending of this episode does not erase the experience. In fact, Janeway refuses to wipe the minds of the Fair Haven characters, who now all believe that Voyager is a ship from the future. That is so much more interesting to me! And if this means we will get another Fair Haven plot, I’ll be fascinated to see where the writers take this new reality.
The video for “Spirit Folk” can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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