{"id":5804,"date":"2016-09-21T13:00:10","date_gmt":"2016-09-21T20:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=5804"},"modified":"2016-08-12T14:56:51","modified_gmt":"2016-08-12T21:56:51","slug":"mark-watches-voyager-s03e15-coda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2016\/09\/mark-watches-voyager-s03e15-coda\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Voyager’: S03E15 – Coda"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the fifteenth episode of the fifth season of\u00c2\u00a0Voyager<\/i>, Janeway and Chakotay experience a bizarre fluctuation in time. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0Star Trek<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For discussion of death\/grief, and consent\/possession.<\/b><\/p>\n

THIS IS SUCH A GOOD EPISODE, Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ALL. I cannot believe that a common genre storytelling trope \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the repeating time loop \u00e2\u20ac\u201c was turned into\u00c2\u00a0this<\/i>. WHO DOES THIS. WHO EVEN THINKS OF THIS. Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s discuss.<\/p>\n

The Time Loop<\/b><\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen so many of these in my life, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen a number of them for Mark Watches. So you can imagine my surprise when, within the second loop,\u00c2\u00a0Voyager\u00c2\u00a0<\/i>changed the pattern. See, in practically every iteration of this trope, either one person remembers the resets or no one does, except for some vague sense of deja vu that leads them to realize that there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a way to prevent the\u00c2\u00a0Groundhog Day<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0cycle from repeating again.<\/p>\n

And yet here, the second version of the loop ends much more quickly before moving on to the third one. AND BOTH CHARACTERS RECOGNIZED TIME WAS REPEATING. So, despite being quite familiar with this gimmick, I was hooked. This was different.<\/p>\n

Then, the third loop hits, and I was confused, bewildered, shocked, and impressed. They stop the time loop. IT DOESN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T HAPPEN AGAIN. Instead, the experience morphs into something else. When Janeway \u00e2\u20ac\u0153dies\u00e2\u20ac\u009d nearly ten minutes later, I figured the loop would repeat again. Instead, Janeway watches as the ship mourns her death.<\/p>\n

It made no sense to me whatsoever, and that is an invigorating thing to experience.<\/p>\n

Grief<\/b><\/p>\n

For a moment, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Coda\u00e2\u20ac\u009d becomes a haunting examination of life aboard\u00c2\u00a0Voyager<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0without Captain Janeway. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the reference in the title: this is the final note. How would people react? We watch it happen, and it hurts so badly. Chakotay\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s visceral, emotional reaction at the moment of her death is THE WORST THING EVER. (And gave me fuel for some shipping scenarios\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 hehehehehe.) The scene in Sick Bay as the Doctor tries to save her is painful. Then, the crew throws themselves into the slim hope that her consciousness is still around, that they can still save her.<\/p>\n

I expected that to be the solution. I thought that with Tuvok\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s help, Kes would locate her. NOPE. This episode is clearly out to get me because then,\u00c2\u00a0everyone accepts her death.<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0They hold a memorial service; Janeway watches B\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Elanna and Harry give emotional speeches; IT IS A CONTINUATION OF THE WORST THING EVER. And then her body is being ejected into space, and absolutely nothing makes sense.<\/p>\n

Rejection<\/b><\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve always been a fan of the way that Janeway is so stubborn and brave. Every time she stands up to another jerk or bully, I just love her more. And it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a challenge for a writer to come up with a concept like this one\u00c2\u00a0and<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0give us a satisfying ending. Yet Janeway\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s rejection of her own death is one of the most powerful things I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen on this show. The reveal that this was all caused by an invasive being that attached itself to Janeway\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s brain is satisfying because it explains everything while still being a fascinating idea, too. It doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel corny; it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t invalidate the experience, either. The entire thing was an act of manipulation, one that was meant to compel Janeway to give up and enter this being\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153matrix\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to PROVIDE IT WITH SUSTENANCE.<\/p>\n

no thank you NO<\/p>\n

The idea that we should accept death and move on is a pervasive theme across many forms of fiction and in popular culture, so I found it bold that this was a refutation of that. Before Janeway discovers the truth, she was completely ready to basically haunt her crewmates. AND I LOVE THAT THIS ISN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T PORTRAYED AS A BAD THING. Death is scary, and Janeway\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153sudden\u00e2\u20ac\u009d death did not allow her to prepare for it.<\/p>\n

So she just refuses it. I LOVE THAT SO MUCH.<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Coda\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":"