In the tenth episode of the second season of\u00c2\u00a0Voyager<\/i>, the crew finds evidence of the Caretaker\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s partner, but all is not as it seems. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0Star Trek<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Well, this certainly did not end as I thought it would. I went into this believing that Suspiria (WHAT A NAME) wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be able to send\u00c2\u00a0Voyager\u00c2\u00a0<\/i>back home. At best, these arcs might cut years off of the journey, but given that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got five and a half seasons left of this show to go, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hard to believe the promise of a shortened journey beyond small bits and pieces.<\/p>\n
Still, the\u00c2\u00a0characters<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0believe it, and you can see the excitement spread like an infection among the crew once they realize they can track down the life force that might be the Caretaker\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s rumored mate. Smiles light up their faces; there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an extra bounce in their steps. At times, I wished that thrill translated to a more exciting story. Until the scene where Kes does\u00c2\u00a0the thing<\/i>, this was a rather slow episode. I understood why it needed to be, but my attention wandered a bit during the first half of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Cold Fire.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Still, how great is Jennifer Lien in this whole episode??? She portrays Kes with a wide range of emotions, from the joy she experiences when she sees another Ocampan for the first time in ten months, to the terror when she realizes just how powerful she is as a telepathic being. Really, as much as I might feel that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Cold Fire\u00e2\u20ac\u009d has a slow start, it\u00c2\u00a0really<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0delivers once Kes comes to understand what she possesses. Her scenes with Tanis change over the course of the episode, initially from a more speculative attempt to push her towards a new way of thinking of herself to THE SCARIEST THING WE\u00e2\u20ac\u2122VE SEEN ON THIS SHOW. Why is that? Why does Tanis change his execution?<\/p>\n
The episode tries to sell us on Tanis\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s idea of superiority. With the help of Suspiria, Tanis and his people have \u00e2\u20ac\u0153evolved\u00e2\u20ac\u009d beyond what was considered normal for Ocampans. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not just a literal transformation, since Tanis is somehow fourteen years old. Their powers are\u00c2\u00a0immense<\/i>, and Tanis guides Kes into them without any sense of responsibility. Indeed, he seemed OVERJOYED that she BURNED DOWN HER OWN GARDEN, instead of like\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 upset? Like any rational person would be?<\/p>\n
Of course, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s that line midway through the episode where Suspiria tells Tanis to get her\u00c2\u00a0Voyager<\/i>, so we knew that Tanis wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t entirely truthful. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s actually a risky moment in hindsight because it reveals to the audience that Tanis isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t a trustworthy character. I wonder if the end result of this might have hit harder without it. I think the shock would certainly have been way more powerful if I hadn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t already assumed that Tanis didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have Kes\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s best interests in mind. I say that, but then I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m remember how FUCKED UP it was when Kes turned and realized that SHE WAS BOILING TUVOK\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S BLOOD. What is wrong with this show. That is not a question, it is a\u00c2\u00a0statement of fact<\/i>.<\/p>\n
It might be easy to describe \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Cold Fire\u00e2\u20ac\u009d as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153that one episode where Kes fights with telepathy,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d but ultimately, I saw this as more of a cautionary tale than anything else. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not that Kes can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t develop these powers, and I hope we get more scenes where Tuvok trains her. But Tanis wanted her to jump light years past her current state and past her ability to control herself. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why Tuvok was collateral damage. This plot is also deeply entangled in the revelation that the\u00c2\u00a0Voyager<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0has gained a reputation \u00e2\u20ac\u201c most likely started by the Kazon \u00e2\u20ac\u201c in the Delta Quadrant. I suspect that Tanis wanted to get Kes away from that sort of thing, despite that the rumors weren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t true at all.<\/p>\n
Thus, in a deeply shocking (but satisfying) move, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Cold Fire\u00e2\u20ac\u009d ends on a sour note. Not only does Kes turn on Tanis and harm him, but Suspiria abandons\u00c2\u00a0Voyager<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0and doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help them get home at\u00c2\u00a0all<\/i>. She does nothing! Even after Janeway showed her compassion! But the reputation they earned, even if it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s false, is something they have to contend with from here on out. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what this was satisfying to me. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not an easy resolution to pull off, but goddamn, was it memorable.<\/p>\n
The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Cold Fire\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded\u00c2\u00a0here for $0.99<\/a>. – 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> In the tenth episode of the second season of\u00c2\u00a0Voyager, the crew finds evidence of the Caretaker\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s partner, but all is not as it seems. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0Star Trek.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[614,656],"tags":[615],"class_list":["post-5664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-star-trek","category-voyager","tag-mark-watches-star-trek"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5664","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5664"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5664\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nMark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n
\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\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":"