{"id":4611,"date":"2015-04-22T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-04-22T20:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=4611"},"modified":"2015-04-13T17:31:05","modified_gmt":"2015-04-14T00:31:05","slug":"mark-watches-the-next-generation-s01e25-conspiracy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2015\/04\/mark-watches-the-next-generation-s01e25-conspiracy\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘The Next Generation’: S01E25 – Conspiracy"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the twenty-fifth and penultimate episode of the first season of The Next Generation<\/i>, I AM SO FUCKED UP. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Star Trek<\/i>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For body horror, consent, gore<\/b>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus christ. WHAT HAS THIS SHOW DONE TO ME?<\/p>\n

Look, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be the first to state that the sci-fi and horror genres have long toyed with the trope of the invasive parasite, particularly one that changes the behavior of people. So I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to go into this and claim that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all that original. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t believe it is at all. But I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m also not of the mind that tropes or archetypes can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be used ever<\/i>. There are plenty of them that I enjoy, and the whole body snatcher scenario is one that TERRIFIES ME.<\/p>\n

And really, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why I enjoyed \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Conspiracy\u00e2\u20ac\u009d so much. Well, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one of the reasons! The show consistently escalates the threat of this parasite and does so through a slow-burn of dread. From Walter Keel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s uncanny message to the visit to Starfleet Command, the writers exploit every opportunity in order to make the audience feel UTTERLY FUCKING TERRIBLE. We know that Keel and the others would not have warned Picard unless their was some truth to what they were saying. We also knew something was strange in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Coming of Age,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d which was left open-ended. Quinn tested Picard in that episode in order to determine his loyalty to Starfleet. So, with these things in mind, we begin to question everything we see onscreen.<\/p>\n

That starts with Data\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s report on Starfleet directives. Why have there been so many changes in command? Is Data\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hypothesis \u00e2\u20ac\u201c that someone is reshuffling officers in advance of an invasion \u00e2\u20ac\u201c something we need to take seriously? It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not like Data gets shit wrong<\/i>, you know? He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s trustworthy, and we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re always meant to believe his analysis. BUT REALLY, LET\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S ALL BE HONEST WITH OURSELVES. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s that first communication with the admirals from Command that made me want to crawl under my desk and never come out. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s amazing to me how the power of suggestion can craft my perception of these characters. I knew something was terribly wrong! I knew it was off<\/i>! And then Remmick appeared and YOU JUST MADE IT WORSE. WORSE<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Now, I mentioned earlier that what \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Conspiracy\u00e2\u20ac\u009d does well is a consistent escalation, and this part of the episode is a perfect example of that. After revealing Remmick and the admirals, Picard is relieved that Quinn appears<\/i> to have just revealed that he is not part of whatever has gripped Starfleet. We are relieved as well. Picard has an ally. We can rest easy.<\/p>\n

SO THE SHOW DECIDES TO LEAP A BILLION STEPS FORWARD AND REVEAL THAT NOT ONLY IS THIS NOT TRUE, BUT QUINN IS CARRYING AROUND A FUCKING PARASITE IN A SUITCASE<\/i>. In that second, we can no longer trust anyone<\/i> on the screen. We worry about Quinn and the other admirals every time they are near anyone<\/i>. When will they try to infect someone else? How? What does the parasite do? And by gods, the writers deliver<\/i>. (If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re fascinated by this phenomenon, I cannot recommend the movie It Follows <\/i>enough. This movie so horribly exploits your expectations and the way you watch movies that it left me jittery for DAYS. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m gonna say about it.) I am not ashamed of how utterly ridiculous I am in the video for this episode, and I hope my terror and disgust entertains you. Seriously, coming off of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll Still Have Paris,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d this episode is like a breath of air. Which is weird to say because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not like it deviates too far from this trope, you know? But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s such an exciting and thrilling execution of this type of story. Plus, what I like about \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Conspiracy\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is what the last episode didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t do.<\/p>\n

This one takes risks.<\/p>\n

We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153gill\u00e2\u20ac\u009d poking out of the back of the infected\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s neck. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got a creature that requires<\/i> you to kill the host, which adds a moral quandary on top of this nightmare. And then we have that scene where Picard is invited to dinner, and we (still including all of y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all in this) are certain that Picard is going to be<\/i> the dinner himself, and NOPE. BOWLS OF MEALWORMS. FOR NO FUCKING DISCERNIBLE REASON EXCEPT THAT THE SHOW JUST WANTS TO BE WEIRD AS HELL AND RUIN MY LIFE. Spoiler alert: it worked<\/i>. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so deliberately bizarre and upsetting, and you know what? It makes the episode better. It makes this seems so otherworldly and fucked up, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m totally for this.<\/p>\n

But I think I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d be remiss in not stating that the final confrontation with Remmick is evidence of just how risky \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Conspiracy\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is. That kind of gore and body horror hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t had a place within the show before, which I understand. But it fits here. What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a better visual metaphor for the horror that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s infiltrated Starfleet than a chest-burster exploding out of a disintegrating body? This episode is so effective because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s uncanny and disgusting. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122M SO PLEASED WITH IT. And hell, this might not even be the end of the story!!! What if the finale addresses the beacon??? What were the parasites trying to signal??? OH, I NEED MORE. RIGHT NOW.<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Conspiracy\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded here for $0.99<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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

– The Mark Does Stuff Tour 2015 is now live and includes dates across the U.S., Canada, Europe, the U.K., and Ireland. 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. My next Double Features for Mark Watches will be the remainder of The Legend of Korra<\/i>, series 8 of Doctor Who<\/i>, and Kings<\/i>. On Mark Reads, Diane Duane’s Young Wizards<\/i> series will replace the Emelan books.
\n<\/b>– Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook!<\/a> I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!
\n– If you would like to support this website and keep Mark Does Stuff running, I’ve put up a detailed post explaining how you can!
\n<\/a>– Please check out the MarkDoesStuff.com<\/a>. All Mark Watches videos for past shows\/season are now archived there!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"