Mark Watches ‘Voyager’: S02E06 – Twisted

In the sixth episode of the second season of Voyager, what. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Star Trek. 

Trigger Warning: For sexual assault.

This episode really asks a lot of me.

It asks me to accept that the crew is totally into Tom Paris’s skeezy and creepy bar, enough that it’s become the go-to place to hang out when people want to socialize. I highly doubt that an environment that includes a pool shark who does nothing but bother people into shooting pool AND a woman who exists to aggressively pursue all men (and ignore all women) while sexually assaulting them is an ideal location for senior staff socialization.

I’m asked to accept that the Doctor, who is literally not programmed to have a sexuality, is straight and would keep kissing Sandrine.

I’m asked to accept that Neelix’s ongoing jealousy towards Tom Paris is entertaining. This plot never goes anywhere, y’all. Neelix doesn’t seem to ever learn, no matter how often someone tells him how to deal with his jealousy issues! What is this show doing to Neelix? He’s not interesting this way, and his plot doesn’t even bring out interesting shit in other characters.

But I’m asked to accept that a disorienting, creepy, and extended mystery can be resolved with a what-if scenario. I will readily admit that watching Tuvok and B’Elanna argue during the climax of “Twisted” was brilliant and one of the very few character-heavy moments in the entire episode. It showed us how logic is not the savior that it is for Tuvok. And there’s a power in the resolution of the conflict being nothing. The crew members simply give up and let the energy field consume them. It’s an eerie ending because the Star Trek universe never does this. There’s always a last-minute solution, but here, they all resign themselves to whatever fate awaits them after the ring passes over them.

So what caused all this? WHO FUCKING KNOWS. Janeway guesses that maybe that was a sentient organism and it communicated through twisting physical space. But at no point do the writers ever commit to a single explanation. I’m cool with open-ended plots; I like a good mystery; I do not need to be spoon-fed. But the spoon wasn’t even near my face here. It’s like the show constructed an elaborate ice cream sundae and then chucked it into a volcano right as they finished. There is no satisfaction, catharsis, or resolution offered to the audience, and no one in the show seems at all bothered by this.

Yeah, I don’t buy it. This episode is sometimes a pretty fun experience, but that ending is infuriating. No, thank you.

The video for “Twisted” can be downloaded here for $0.99.

Mark Links Stuff

– I am now on Patreon!!! MANY SURPRISES ARE IN STORE FOR YOU IF YOU SUPPORT ME.
– I will be at numerous conventions in 2016! Check the full list of events on my Tour Dates / Appearances page.
– My Master Schedule is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often. My next Double Features for Mark Watches will be Death Note and Neon Genesis Evangelion. On Mark Reads, Diane Duane’s Young Wizards series will replace the Emelan books.
- Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook! I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!