{"id":5685,"date":"2016-07-15T13:00:51","date_gmt":"2016-07-15T20:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=5685"},"modified":"2016-06-17T20:45:12","modified_gmt":"2016-06-18T03:45:12","slug":"mark-watches-voyager-s02e18-death-wish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2016\/07\/mark-watches-voyager-s02e18-death-wish\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Voyager’: S02E18 – Death Wish"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the eighteenth episode of the second season of\u00c2\u00a0Voyager<\/i>, the crew accidentally releases a prisoner from a comet. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0Star Trek<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For extensive talk of suicide, the right to die, mental illness.<\/b><\/p>\n

I have no idea if it was planned that\u00c2\u00a0Deep Space Nine<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0would tackle such a similar issue before\u00c2\u00a0Voyager\u00c2\u00a0<\/i>did, but in strict terms of comparing how both shows dealt with euthanasia and the right to die, I think \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Death Wish\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is the better of the two. Granted, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Death Wish\u00e2\u20ac\u009d has a lot going for it right from the start, since it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an episode about Q and the Q Continuum. But since this episode tracks one specific issue, it allows the writers to examine it in a much deeper manner.<\/p>\n

Which is surprising to me because the initial third of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Death Wish\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is far more humorous than anything else. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not a bad thing, though; I love the transformation in tone across the story. Plus, this is the first time Q has appeared on\u00c2\u00a0Voyager<\/i>, so the show needed to give us a bit of his patented chaos. EXCEPT IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S NOT THE SAME Q!!! In a brilliant decision, a second Q \u00e2\u20ac\u201c who names themselves Quinn at the end of the episode \u00e2\u20ac\u201c is freed from a 300-year prison sentence inside a comet. That is barely the weirdest thing in this episode, PLEASE BUCKLE IN, MY FRIENDS. Like the\u00c2\u00a0Voyager\u00c2\u00a0<\/i>crew, I assumed the worst. Why would the Continuum lock one of their own up? They\u00c2\u00a0had<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0to have done something horrific to warrant that kind of treatment.<\/p>\n

Yet as this episode unfolds, the truth is so much more disturbing and upsetting than I could have imagined. There are multiple mentions of the Borg in this episode, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fitting, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. The Q Continuum\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s need for order, assimilation, and homogeneity reminded me a whole lot of another collective out in space. Quinn was punished for daring to be different. And how did they do so? By refusing immortality. Thus, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Death Wish\u00e2\u20ac\u009d transforms into a story about Quinn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s desire for asylum aboard\u00c2\u00a0Voyager<\/i>, all so he can have the right to die. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s certainly a jarring revelation, one that doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make much sense to practically everyone. Why would an omnipotent, all-powerful immortal being want to\u00c2\u00a0die<\/i>? Why is that one desire so dangerous as to warrant three centuries locked in an icy comet???<\/p>\n

I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even care that the mock trial\/hearing format of this episode feels repetitive in the\u00c2\u00a0Star Trek<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0universe. It works so well in this story because it allows both sides to explain themselves, which gives the audience EVERYTHING I EVER WANTED. Initially, Q tries to prove that Quinn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s desire to commit suicide is immoral because their life affected others positively. He brings in Sir Isaac Newton, Commander Riker, and a man incidentally responsible for making sure Woodstock happened. (You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re all allowed to mock me for thinking that was Allan Ginsberg. WHAT WAS I THINKING.) It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an argument I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve heard against suicide time and time again: but what about\u00c2\u00a0other people<\/i>?<\/p>\n

Ultimately, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what the argument boils down to, doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it? Q insists that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s important. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s kind of an ironic argument for Q to make, given that they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve historically been a big fan of\u00c2\u00a0not<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0caring how they affect the people around them. (Exhibit A: ALL OF\u00c2\u00a0THE NEXT GENERATION<\/i>.) So I was glad that the show instead gave Quinn a voice and allowed them to explain what they actually felt. And it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s meaningful to me that the most logical character in the cast is the one who is alongside them to support them and act as counsel, which helps add legitimacy to the issue.<\/p>\n

Anyway, Quinn makes their point through demonstration, and y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, the gas station scene is one of my FAVORITE THINGS. I knew it would be hard to explain the Continuum or create a visual representation for it, but the gas station worked\u00c2\u00a0perfectly<\/i>. What did it explain? BOREDOM. Painful, dull, unending boredom. After so long in existence, knowing everything and experiencing everything, life no longer held any meaning for Quinn. And after Quinn saw Q\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s past rule-breaking, they felt that in choosing death, they could break the monotony of immortality. Thus, the show likens Quinn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s experience to a terminal illness. Quinn was in physical and emotional pain that was unending and constant. Death was the only end of that for them.<\/p>\n

I admit to being surprised at how this ended, but only because the writers committed to this story so well. I expected that Janeway would finally come to understand Quinn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s needs and would grant them asylum. And I knew that despite that unbearable temptation Q offered her, Janeway would not turn over Quinn and allow them to suffer so that she and her crew could return home instantly. (Plus, five more seasons!) But actually letting Quinn choose their own death, and having it explicitly be about Q\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s rebellion against the Continuum? Now\u00c2\u00a0that<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0is bold. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a satisfying end to the story because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s respectful to these characters. It provides growth for the one who survives. Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, Q\u00c2\u00a0changed<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0over the course of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Death Wish\u00e2\u20ac\u009d! That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a huge deal! I have no idea if we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll see Q again on this show, so if this is the end, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a damn fine one at that.<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Death Wish\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":"