{"id":5599,"date":"2016-05-23T08:00:22","date_gmt":"2016-05-23T15:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=5599"},"modified":"2016-05-16T23:27:05","modified_gmt":"2016-05-17T06:27:05","slug":"mark-watches-voyager-s01e16-learning-curve","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2016\/05\/mark-watches-voyager-s01e16-learning-curve\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Voyager’: S01E16 – Learning Curve"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the sixteenth and final episode of the first season of\u00c2\u00a0Voyager<\/i>, that was adorable. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0Star Trek<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Well, that was weird. I worried that maybe because I was starting to get a headache while watching this episode (WHICH I SWEAR HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE EPISODE ITSELF), I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d perceived this differently. But in hindsight, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a truly bizarre season finale. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mind a standalone episode, since\u00c2\u00a0Voyager\u00c2\u00a0<\/i>is full of them. And I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think the show should ever be like\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 required to end a season in a cliffhanger. I suppose my expectations\u00c2\u00a0did<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0play into my feelings on \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Learning Curve,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d though, and I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ignore that. I thought that there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d be\u00c2\u00a0something<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0to hint at a future storyline or a tie-in to the larger arc for\u00c2\u00a0Voyager<\/i>.<\/p>\n

But there wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t much of any of that. Which is okay! I found this episode to be largely clever and charming because it dealt with such an odd idea. To the credit of the script, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Learning Curve\u00e2\u20ac\u009d absolutely furthers the development of the Maquis passengers on the ship, and\u00c2\u00a0that<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0is really cool. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so rare that insubordination happens in the\u00c2\u00a0Star Trek<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0universe that this episode was interesting right from the start. How do you deal with non-Starfleet personnel violating protocol they never learned in the first place? Is it even\u00c2\u00a0fair<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0to hold them to standard they didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t agree to?<\/p>\n

The early scenes did a couple things for me. First, they established ONCE AGAIN that Captain Janeway is INCREDIBLE. I love how quickly she finds a middle ground, one that acknowledges that you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really punish people for the kind of ignorance they have. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s unfair! Yet\u00c2\u00a0something<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0has to be done because these crew members are affecting other people. Thus, the writers come up with the OTHER awesome thing: making Tuvok the teacher. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s entertaining. IMMENSELY SO. But Chakotay pushes for it to happen so that these other characters can learn to respect someone who\u00c2\u00a0wasn<\/i>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0in the Maquis.<\/p>\n

But let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s touch on why this was so entertaining: TUVOK. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s certainly some fun in watching people consistently argue about Starfleet protocol. I WILL READILY ADMIT THAT. But Tuvok gets to be portrayed in an entirely new light AS A DRILL INSTRUCTOR. IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S THE BEST THING. His Vulcan nature makes him\u00c2\u00a0perfect<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0for the role, and it is so CEASELESSLY FUNNY to watch him bark orders at the four crew members. I won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ever find it boring! There\u00c2\u00a0is<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0a part of me that thought it might have been cool for this to be interpreted through the lens of being a Vulcan, but the script sticks to exploring this through the dichotomy of Starfleet\/non-Starfleet crew.<\/p>\n

Neelix has a great role in this, too, and I do enjoy the chance for Neelix and Tuvok to get scenes together. The two are such polar opposites that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s easy to find ways for each character to play off that dynamic. Here, Neelix actually offers Tuvok advice that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll later take. He mentions that Tuvok\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s rigid adherence to protocol is precisely what makes him so disliked by the Maquis crew. Granted, all four of them stubbornly refuse to admit that they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re doing anything wrong, but in terms of an approach, I thought Neelix hit on\u00c2\u00a0why<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0everything Tuvok did was met with constant resistance.<\/p>\n

I felt like the episode kind of petered out after that. While the whole \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Neelix\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s cheese made the whole ship sick\u00e2\u20ac\u009d idea was funny and weird, I just didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel excited about the way that a random occurrence forced the Maquis crew to suddenly understand Tuvok. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a tough thing to criticize, though, because in the resolution, Tuvok grows. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s able to admit that sometimes, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s silly to\u00c2\u00a0not<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0break the rules. Protocol can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t account for every scenario or every conceivable variable. Plus, I felt the ending wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t as satisfying because it felt rushed. Yet I wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to take away from the length of the earlier scenes! They worked so well!<\/p>\n

So, complicated thoughts on the finale. I definitely had a good time watching season one (HOW IS IT ALREADY OVER), and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m looking forward to how the show might improve in season 2.<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Learning Curve\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded\u00c2\u00a0here 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– I\u00c2\u00a0will be at numerous conventions in 2016! 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 Death Note<\/em>\u00c2\u00a0and\u00c2\u00a0Neon Genesis Evangelion<\/em>. 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":"