{"id":5902,"date":"2016-10-18T13:00:59","date_gmt":"2016-10-18T20:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=5902"},"modified":"2016-10-18T15:19:36","modified_gmt":"2016-10-18T22:19:36","slug":"mark-watches-voyager-s03e24-displaced","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2016\/10\/mark-watches-voyager-s03e24-displaced\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Voyager’: S03E24 – Displaced"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the twenty-fourth episode of the third season of\u00c2\u00a0Voyager<\/i>, this is so messed up, and the more I think about it, the more messed up it gets. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0Star Trek<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For talk of kidnapping, imperialism.<\/b><\/p>\n

There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a scene in the midst of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Displaced\u00e2\u20ac\u009d that terrifies me because of the plainness with which it is played. The Nyrians, who once were an innocent people subjected to a mystifying natural phenomenon, transformed over the course of this episode into one of the most manipulative and cunning cultures in\u00c2\u00a0Star Trek\u00c2\u00a0<\/i>history. And that scene is evidence of that transformation, a perfect way to demonstrate the ways in which oppressors can actually view their heinous, violent actions as\u00c2\u00a0benevolence<\/i>.<\/p>\n

And I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t stop thinking about it. We never learn that woman\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s name, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s unimportant. Like the rest of the Nyrians we meet, she believes that her people have found the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153best\u00e2\u20ac\u009d way to conquer a nation, to displace a people, and to support their own imperialistic empire. As if there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153best\u00e2\u20ac\u009d way to do such a monstrous thing! Yet there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a cold, calculating honesty to how she describes what the Nyrians have done. To them, this is\u00c2\u00a0civilized<\/i>. Because they don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t invade through the use of violence, because there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no bloodshed (at least relative to other races or cultures), and because they provide a simulated environment for those they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve captured, they believe that they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve accounted for the moral vacuum they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve left behind. Honestly, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what disturbs me most here. THEY REALLY BELIEVE THEY AREN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T THAT BAD.<\/p>\n

Of course, all the signs that they\u00c2\u00a0are<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0terrible are littered about this episode. They pretend to be victims of some weird and frightening phenomenon. When\u00c2\u00a0their<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0victims catch on to their insidious plans, they certainly have a sudden justification for violence. But they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re so much more civilized than other cultures, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all! And let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s talk about those containment areas. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re superficial representations of the worlds that these people were stolen from, and they are FOUR BY FOUR KILOMETERS LARGE. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s it! That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all the space these people are supposed to live in\u00c2\u00a0forever<\/i>. I actually thought that there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d be some huge reveal that these places were\u00c2\u00a0zoos<\/i>, since that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what they reminded me of.<\/p>\n

That would almost be better, I swear.<\/p>\n

In the end, Janeway, with the help of her crew, manages to turn the Nyrians\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 logic against them, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s amazing (and amusing) to me how quickly they surrendered after they suffered for like\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 sixty seconds. OH, YOUR WORLDS ARE NOT SO CIVILIZED ARE THEY. YOUR BEHAVIORS AREN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T GRACEFUL AND NICE, ARE THEY. Fuck the Nyrians, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. THEY\u00e2\u20ac\u2122RE SO TERRIBLE.<\/p>\n

And in the midst of this: apparently B\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Elanna and Tom are a\u00c2\u00a0thing<\/i>. Or, rather, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re\u00c2\u00a0going<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0to become a thing, I should say! The flirting and married-couple bickering were a sight to behold, and while I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not the biggest fan of this pairing, their chemistry is undeniable here, at least since they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got that whole friction thing working in their favor. You know, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re one of those couples who may fight a lot, but that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so rewarding when they get together. Look at me, assuming this is actually happening. But I think it might be! Plus, these people have a lot more time to spend with one another, so it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s inevitable that some of them will end up with one another.<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m interested to see where this will go.<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Displaced\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. I POST A LOT OF CUTE PHOTOS, OKAY. Think of it like a private Tumblr blog that only SPECIAL PEOPLE get to read.<\/b>
\n– I have updated my list of conventions and events for the remainder of the year and much of next year.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 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":"