{"id":4983,"date":"2015-10-07T13:00:44","date_gmt":"2015-10-07T20:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=4983"},"modified":"2015-10-07T11:45:02","modified_gmt":"2015-10-07T18:45:02","slug":"mark-watches-the-next-generation-s05e06-the-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2015\/10\/mark-watches-the-next-generation-s05e06-the-game\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘The Next Generation’: S05E06 – The Game"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the sixth episode of the fifth season of The Next Generation<\/i>, an old friend returns to the Enterprise<\/i> and unknowingly walks into a quiet takeover. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Star Trek<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For consent. <\/b><\/p>\n

I like this episode, I really do! It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a lot of fun because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s like an old pulp horror novel or a Twilight Zone<\/i> episode on the Enterprise<\/i>. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s creepy, and I am not even remotely ashamed of my reaction to it. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s entertaining to be able to shout at my television for a story like this! It perfectly lends itself to the kind of shit I do.<\/p>\n

There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just this thing<\/i> the show does whenever Wesley is onscreen that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been struggling to work out. For a story as creepy and dark as this one is, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a strange tone to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Game.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d In the midst of such a nightmare, Wesley arrives on the Enterprise<\/i>, gains the attention of a gorgeous young woman who is perfectly his age, courts her and goes on a date, and through it all, they remain romantically compatible. Granted, Wes leaves at the end of the episode, so I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t imagine that Robin and he will maintain a relationship. But still<\/i>. How did such a saccharine plot end up in the middle of one of the creepiest episodes in the show\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s run?<\/p>\n

I think that because Wesley had been gone for a sizable batch of episodes, I was actually able to determine what it was that bugged me about the writing for his character. This show seems unwilling to criticize him or give him a truly negative storyline. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the boy genius who always gets things right. Even when he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s utterly wrong \u00e2\u20ac\u201c like at the beginning of season three \u00e2\u20ac\u201c no one actually does anything about it. (Interestingly enough, Riker is given the exact same treatment here. Is no one going to yell at him for bringing that horrifying game onboard the Enterprise<\/i>???) So even within \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Game,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Wesley is still the savior. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the only one able to resist the pull of the device\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s appeal; he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the only one to figure out something is wrong, and he directs his and Robin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s actions; and in the final scenes, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the character rushing through the ship\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s internal passages while the rest of the crew hunts him down.<\/p>\n

One of the things that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been so great about season four and these few episodes of season five is that the show\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s writer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s have been willing to give us more gritty character studies of the main cast. People can make mistakes or be wrong; there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s more interpersonal drama; we can have episodes like \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Silicon Avatar,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d where there is no happy ending. So to suddenly switch to such a heroic story surrounding Wesley and his perfect boy genius characterization? It makes his character stand out even more than it did before, especially since he hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t been around for a while.<\/p>\n

Again, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think this is a bad episode at all. The horror of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Game\u00e2\u20ac\u009d feels very real, and I love how the script escalates that horror. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a sense of inevitability to it. Who will be next? Can we trust what anyone is saying, or have they already been taken under control of the game? Additionally, part of the suspense comes from the mystery of the game itself. Straight up: THE GAME SEEMS TERRIBLE. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s childish and simple and it cannot possibly<\/i> be that good. So why is everyone so obsessed with it? Why can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t they stop? What horrible twist is waiting around the corner? And even when Wes and Robin figure out that the device induces an addiction and<\/i> stimulates higher reasoning, we still don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know what the hell is going on. Why? Why take over the whole ship? What is the point of it all? WHEN WILL IT END?<\/p>\n

So: fun to see the crew basically turn into a bunch of villains. My god, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so creepy<\/i>. And for the record, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t dislike the Wesley\/Robin plot; I actually think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sweet. It just feels a bit out of place here, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all.<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Game\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded here for $0.99<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n

– I am now on Patreon<\/a><\/b>!!! MANY SURPRISES ARE IN STORE FOR YOU IF YOU SUPPORT ME<\/a>.
\n– The Mark Does Stuff Tour 2015 is now live and includes dates across the U.S. this summer and fall Check the full list of events on my Tour Dates \/ Appearances page.<\/a>
\n– My Master Schedule<\/a> is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often.\u00c2\u00a0My next Double Features for Mark Watches will be the remainder of\u00c2\u00a0The Legend of Korra<\/i>, series 8 of\u00c2\u00a0Doctor Who<\/i>, and Kings<\/i>. On Mark Reads, Diane Duane’s Young Wizards<\/i> series will replace the Emelan books.
\n<\/b>-\u00c2\u00a0Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook!<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"