{"id":5976,"date":"2016-11-21T13:00:29","date_gmt":"2016-11-21T21:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=5976"},"modified":"2016-11-02T13:15:47","modified_gmt":"2016-11-02T20:15:47","slug":"mark-watches-voyager-s04e09-year-of-hell-part-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2016\/11\/mark-watches-voyager-s04e09-year-of-hell-part-ii\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Voyager’: S04E09 – Year of Hell, Part II"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the ninth episode of the fourth season of\u00c2\u00a0Voyager<\/i>, I just feel way too much about Janeway. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0Star Trek<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For genocide<\/b><\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not surprised that time was \u00e2\u20ac\u0153erased,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d so to speak, by the final moments of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Year of Hell, Part II.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d The show had progressed so far into this nightmare that it was barely sustainable beyond where they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d taken it. But that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a large reason why this two-parter is so impactful and important. If the writers were not going to commit to the changes after this year, then at least the show could commit itself to the premise and give us the\u00c2\u00a0actual<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0Year of Hell.<\/p>\n

And good lord, I truly wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ready.<\/p>\n

Annorax<\/b><\/p>\n

The writers manage to attain a balance with Annorax so that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still a wretched antagonist, but he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one with a rich and complicated story. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel sorry for him, nor did I find my sentiments in line with how Chakotay fell about him. For once, I was completely in agreement with Tom Paris. At the same time, I appreciated the writing for Annorax, and it was\u00c2\u00a0brilliant<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0to stick Tom and Chakotay on the Krenim ship in order for us to get that insight. We watch how Annorax latches on to Chakotay. Is his interest in the man genuine or just a manipulation? Probably both, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d say, though above else, it was clear to me that Annorax just wanted someone to believe in him. He\u00c2\u00a0had<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0to have known his crew no longer truly supported him anymore, right?<\/p>\n

But that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just speculation. I was fascinated by how the show drove a wedge between Tom and Chakotay since it showed us how time calculations could easily consume a person\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s life. After months of tests, look how quickly Chakotay takes to the calculation process! And look how rapidly he begins to obsess over the idea of getting things\u00c2\u00a0just<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0right, despite that perfection in this context is so impossible. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Tom who is the voice of reason, who points out that Annorax has no true understanding of what he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s doing. Perhaps philosophically he understands his destruction, but he still dispenses of civilizations with ease. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a stunning hypocrisy demonstrated here, since he shows Chakotay that a single comet can affect thousands upon thousands of civilizations. And yet, he argues that the genocide of a whole race of beings is inconsequential. How can that be so? It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not, but that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s how Annorax\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s obsession gets the best of him.<\/p>\n

My only complaint is that I wish we could have seen more of Obrist. I WAS FASCINATED BY HIS CHARACTER SO MUCH. What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s it like to live for 200 years, never aging, all for\u00c2\u00a0someone else\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s dream<\/i>??? FUCKED UP.<\/p>\n

Janeway<\/b><\/p>\n

There is no bigger star of this two-parter than Kate Mulgrew, who transforms into a Janeway that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s inspiring and frightening, often times in the same turn. I am\u00c2\u00a0still<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0unnerved by her performance and the way the writers parallel her obsession with Annorax\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s. Obviously, her obsession is survival and the well-being of her crew. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a different context. But her behavior here regularly shows a lack of self-preservation; she cares about the survival of\u00c2\u00a0others<\/i>. When faced with poisonous gas from a nebula leaking into the ship, she pushes herself and Harry far beyond the Doctor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s requirements. Then, she refuses full treatment for herself! When she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s injured yet\u00c2\u00a0again<\/i>, she not only disobeys the Doctor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s orders, but she defies literally everything he says.<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen Janeway as a bit of a rebel in general \u00e2\u20ac\u201c it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a great aspect of her character \u00e2\u20ac\u201c yet what we see is Janeway pushed to an extreme end through extreme circumstances. Frankly, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve never seen so much of her crew openly disagree with her. And if they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not doing that, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re looking upon her with a terrified sadness that was DEEPLY UPSETTING TO ME. But the writers ground all of this in her love for\u00c2\u00a0Voyager<\/i>, which gives us one of the more moving scenes in the entire series: Janeway explaining to Tuvok why she has such an emotional attachment to an inanimate object. That monologue is so wonderful because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s true:\u00c2\u00a0Voyager<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0is very much a character on this show. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s their\u00c2\u00a0home<\/i>. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the way that they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve become a family. Why\u00c2\u00a0wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0Janeway defend\u00c2\u00a0Voyager<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0until the very end?<\/p>\n

And that end is really something else. She orders her crew to other ships, remains behind on\u00c2\u00a0Voyager<\/i>, and after all attempts to stop the Krenim time ship are exhausted, she does the one thing she has left: SHE RAMS THE KRENIM SHIP WITH\u00c2\u00a0VOYAGER<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0AND SACRIFICES HERSELF TO RESET THE TIMELINE. The scene is awe-inspiring and scary and sad and I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t care if these characters won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ever know what she did for them. I WILL. I WILL REMEMBER IT FOREVER.<\/p>\n

Janeway for President.<\/p>\n

(I am writing this review on November 2, so it’s prior to my country’s election, so I’m leaving it up. It’ll either be a neat little statement or me begging for the Krenim to institute a new timeline in America.)<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Year of Hell, Part II\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. I POST A LOT OF CUTE PHOTOS, OKAY. Think of it like a private Tumblr blog that only SPECIAL PEOPLE get to read.<\/b>
\n– I have updated my list of conventions and events for the remainder of the year and much of next year.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 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":"