{"id":5775,"date":"2016-08-18T13:00:22","date_gmt":"2016-08-18T20:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=5775"},"modified":"2016-08-04T07:39:30","modified_gmt":"2016-08-04T14:39:30","slug":"mark-watches-voyager-s03e04-the-swarm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2016\/08\/mark-watches-voyager-s03e04-the-swarm\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Voyager’: S03E04 – The Swarm"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the fourth episode of the third season of\u00c2\u00a0Voyager<\/i>, THIS EPISODE RULES. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0Star Trek<\/i>.<\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a rare joy when a\u00c2\u00a0Star Trek<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0episode gives us two plots that are equally as entertaining as one another. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Swarm\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is a brutal and vicious episode about entirely different things. And yet, neither story suffers! This is so good!<\/p>\n

The Swarm<\/b><\/p>\n

We never find out much about the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153swarm\u00e2\u20ac\u009d of ships that attack\u00c2\u00a0Voyager<\/i>, but that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not the point. The nervous energy of this script\u00c2\u00a0comes<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0from the unknown. All that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s confirmed is that the mysterious alien species is perhaps the most xenophobic culture we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve ever seen in\u00c2\u00a0Star Trek<\/i>. There is no reasoning with them. If you cross their borders, the swarm sucks your ship of energy, boards it, and then murders everyone on board. THAT IS IT. Thus, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no\u00c2\u00a0Star Trek<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0solution provided. They can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t negotiate with these people, nor can they offer something in exchange for passage. Even\u00c2\u00a0tricking<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0the creatures is out of the question. In the end, all they do is use their scientific knowledge to make the Swarm\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s lattice net backfire on them. Even then, all it allows them to do is escape.\u00c2\u00a0That<\/i>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s it<\/i>. There is no friendship established, this culture doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t learn anything new, and everything was stressful the whole time. I love a good thriller, and I adored getting to see these characters think of creative ways to get out of this mess.<\/p>\n

I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have much else to say. I just enjoyed this a lot.<\/p>\n

The Doctor<\/b><\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m struggling to find a thematic tie between the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153main\u00e2\u20ac\u009d plot in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Swarm\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and what happens to the the Doctor, but I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think of one. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s okay, and that honestly makes this episode all the more impressive. There is only the smallest intersection between these stories, and it basically boils down to B\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Elanna being too busy to help the Doctor with his problem. But oh my god, IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S SUCH A HEARTBREAKING THING TO WATCH. The tragic irony here is that the Doctor became more of a person over the last two years, and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s\u00c2\u00a0precisely<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0why his memory began to fragment. He wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t designed to be anything more than an Emergency Medical Hologram, so his pursuit of knowledge and personhood\u00c2\u00a0broke<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0him.<\/p>\n

That is gut-wrenching all by itself, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, but then we have to watch him slowly lose his memory. This hit me harder than I expected, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s because my father had Alzheimer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s towards the end of his life. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen it happen, from forgetting every day details to the more heartbreaking shit, like when they stop recognizing you or your history with them. Kes is a godsend in this episode, and I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know how she so gracefully dealt with such a horrible thing. But that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Kes, you know?<\/p>\n

B\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Elanna is also great here, and I loved that she got to interact with Dr. Zimmerman, since the contrast between his personality and the Doctor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s showed us that she\u00c2\u00a0did<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0care about him. Plus, as much as this episode follows the experience of the Doctor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s memory loss, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s very much about the ways in which Kes and B\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Elanna are creative and resilient, too. They matter just as much to this story as the Doctor! Of course, Robert Picardo is the scene stealer here, and through the tragic loss of the Doctor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s memory, he gets to play his character with a wide range of emotions. (Well, and he portrays a completely separate character, too!) Anger, loss, grief, panic, terror\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re all on display here, and it contributes to the portrait we get in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Swarm.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

I would like to see The Doctor gradually getting his memories back, but I suspect he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be fine in the next episode. Regardless, I found this to be an illuminating\u00c2\u00a0and<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0entertaining story. Bravo,\u00c2\u00a0Voyager!<\/i><\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Swarm\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":"