{"id":5683,"date":"2016-07-13T13:00:49","date_gmt":"2016-07-13T20:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=5683"},"modified":"2016-07-11T00:48:05","modified_gmt":"2016-07-11T07:48:05","slug":"mark-watches-voyager-s02e17-dreadnought","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2016\/07\/mark-watches-voyager-s02e17-dreadnought\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Voyager’: S02E17 – Dreadnought"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the seventeenth episode of the second season of\u00c2\u00a0Voyager<\/i>, a mistake from B\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Elanna\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s past somehow ends up in the Delta Quadrant. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0Voyager<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

This was a fun episode, and y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all know that I love\u00c2\u00a0anything<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0focusing on B\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Elanna. MORE B\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ELANNA ALL THE TIME. Well, I should say it was a fun episode until it was A VERY STRESSFUL episode, but let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s be real: the whole thing rules because B\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Elanna rules.<\/p>\n

First of all, let us acknowledge what a BADASS she is for sabotaging a Cardassian missile and then reprograming it to be the literal best weapon the Maquis probably ever had. However, the conflict that arises from this is so fascinating! B\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Elanna more or less has to fight her own mind once the\u00c2\u00a0Dreadnought<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0misidentifies a target after REFUSING TO BELIEVE IT IS IN THE DELTA QUADRANT. Thus, all the failsafes that B\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Elanna devised are now obstacles preventing her from stopping the decimation of a random civilization.<\/p>\n

Yet aside from the logistical nightmare that this represents, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a very personal conflict for B\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Elanna. On the one hand, the\u00c2\u00a0Dreadnought<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0represents a time when she bitterly disappointed Chakotay by making a crucial decision without consulting him. While the two of them have certainly built up a strong relationship in the time since, that doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make the reappearance of that mistake feel any better. Of course, the even bigger issue here is that B\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Elanna had, most likely, dealt with the guilt and shame she felt after betraying Chakotay\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s trust. And now, the\u00c2\u00a0Dreadnaught\u00c2\u00a0<\/i>might hurt\u00c2\u00a0Voyager<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0or the random planet it targeted. How could B\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Elanna live with making a mistake like\u00c2\u00a0that<\/i>?<\/p>\n

So there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an emotional intensity here that exists alongside the logistical intensity. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s scary watching the\u00c2\u00a0Dreadnaught\u00c2\u00a0<\/i>computer\u00c2\u00a0shut down every attempt that B\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Elanna makes at disarming the missile itself. But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also distressing because you can see her guilt and terror building up as she fails each round, as she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s tricked by her own cleverness, as she must cope with the fact that she programmed this computer to be ruthless and suspicious and\u00c2\u00a0adaptive<\/i>.<\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s entertaining, for sure. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a lot of other stuff here, too, like Tuvok\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s dedication to Janeway. GIVE ME MORE OF IT, AS WELL. Janeway herself plays a fantastic role in this story because she has to contend with the fact that the\u00c2\u00a0Voyager<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0still has a reputation for violence within the Delta Quadrant. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not exactly comforting to the aliens that are dealing with the oncoming\u00c2\u00a0Dreadnought<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0that Janeway states she has good intentions. What does that mean to them when there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a LITERAL WARHEAD about to hit their planet??? So, she has to demonstrate that she is acting in good faith, and Janeway, being the INCREDIBLE SOUL THAT SHE IS, goes above and beyond what is expected of her. She was willing to sacrifice herself and\u00c2\u00a0Voyager\u00c2\u00a0<\/i>in order to save two million lives. JANEWAY FOR PRESIDENT.<\/p>\n

So when is Jonas going to be ejected into space? He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s awful and he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been getting away with his sharing of information for weeks now. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s doing it out of spite, isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it? Like, what possible benefit will he get from being a mole??? I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really understand him, but the show isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t giving me much to work with, you know?<\/p>\n

Anyway, this was a solid episode that kept me on the edge of my seat. Bravo!<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Dreadnought\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>! There are various levels of support, from $1 up to whatever you want! You’ll get to read a private blog, extra reviews, and other such rewards.<\/b>
\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 have been announced here.<\/a>
\n<\/b>-\u00c2\u00a0 Mark 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":"