The least disliked episode 2021 - VOY Season Two

[Qonundrum]

Some of my favorite episodes have enough plotblunders...

But "Death Wish" had more to do with the Q's demise and with the most lopsided and goofiest allergory, in part by humanizing the Q and in a way that makes that "use that big chisel to repair the gears in that tiny antique wristwatch over yonder" seem subtle by comparison. The acting's great, but the fluffpieces with Riker and Woodstock of all things (...uh, okay...) and so on was just unnecessary, in a script trying to be heavy but flailing. That said, it does set up some material that sorta pays off later - which is a mixed bag as well... Still, that said, Q worked better in VOY than in DS9...


What's left:
Projections
Persistence of Vision
Maneuvers
Meld
Investigations
Tuvix
Resolutions

 

[BlueStuff]

Out with Persistence of Vision. Yet another hallucination plot.

Projections
Maneuvers
Meld
Investigations
Tuvix
Resolutions

 

[freethinker]

"Tuvix" because I don't get what the purpose was behind that episode or if there was one. Is it that it's ok to kill a person to save two? Or that a person's value is determined by the way they were conceived? Or that a captain can decide to kill arbitrarily and without debate one of her crew?

If someone understood what the underlying message was in that episode, I'd be curious to know.

Projections
Maneuvers
Meld
Investigations
Resolutions

 

[Brennyren]

I will say the one thing I liked about "Tuvix" is that it didn't cop out on the decision. Tuvix didn't conveniently offer to sacrifice himself; he didn't conveniently dissolve on his own; and nobody else took the decision out of Janeway's hands. Janeway actually had to make the call. That was some gutsy writing, I thought.

If the episode had an underlying message, I'd guess it was: sometimes decisions aren't clear-cut, but they still have to be made.

Speaking of cop-outs: "Resolutions" was nothing but one big ship-tease that resolved nothing. Waste of some pretty good acting and a not-terrible premise.

Projections
Maneuvers
Meld
Investigations

 

[Qonundrum]

"Tuvix" is a nice take on "transporter accident of the week", but based on how they define it, the matter was halved and discarded the moment Tuvix materialized. They can un-separate, apparently, which was said to be a risk for dramaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, especially as they used something as complex as a plant as opposed to a sentient organic being a magnitude more complex, but where did they get the matter from to re-create both original characters?

It'd have been worse if they didn't get Tom Wright, who steals the show and creates the gravitas necessary for all the conflict to actually work. That can't be replicated on paper alone...

Plus,

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That got to me but for all the wrong reasons. Until the neat-o ending, I forgot that's not a direct clip but one tinkered with. How come "tinker" and "tinkle" have similar spellings, because some edits feel like the latter was done to them - but not that one!

 

[Qonundrum]

I will say the one thing I liked about "Tuvix" is that it didn't cop out on the decision. Tuvix didn't conveniently offer to sacrifice himself; he didn't conveniently dissolve on his own; and nobody else took the decision out of Janeway's hands. Janeway actually had to make the call. That was some gutsy writing, I thought.

If the episode had an underlying message, I'd guess it was: sometimes decisions aren't clear-cut, but they still have to be made.

Entirely agreed - despite the transporter fluff, it didn't cut corners on other aspects. Not just for the drama and not just because Tuvix didn't conveniently lay down like a good doggie in the way Cousin Oliver surely would. That really was gutsy to do. Beyond the treknobabbble nitpicks is a philosophical story worthy of the franchise, which is gutsy and gut-wrenching. It might have been workable in DS9, but I can't think of a better pair than Tuvok with Neelix anyway.

 

[BK613]

Poor Jonas....

Projections
Maneuvers
Meld

 

[freethinker]

"Meld" because Tuvok is (potentially) a murderer.

Projections
Maneuvers

 

[Orphalesion]

She could only save 5-10... but she could have sent a few more over. But I agree about Harry and the baby. They had no living counterparts.

Besides, she wasn't done torturing Harry yet.

But you don't understand. We'd be rid of Harry, that's the next best thing to being rid of Neelix!

Which brings me to...

"Tuvix" is a nice take on "transporter accident of the week", but based on how they define it, the matter was halved and discarded the moment Tuvix materialized. They can un-separate, apparently, which was said to be a risk for dramaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, especially as they used something as complex as a plant as opposed to a sentient organic being a magnitude more complex, but where did they get the matter from to re-create both original characters?

It'd have been worse if they didn't get Tom Wright, who steals the show and creates the gravitas necessary for all the conflict to actually work. That can't be replicated on paper alone...

I really like the concept, drama and moral dilemma of Tuvix and wish it would have been done on a better written show with better character....because the characters involved ruin it. Tuvix is a total creep and the alternative is getting Neelix back. That's a lose-lose situation...
It also highlights how...fake...the characters and relationships on Voyager often seemed to me. There's *some* genui9ne relationships of course. But the part were...either Janeway or Chekotay says "Oh I'm also Tuvix' friend" it always gets me. No you are not. None of you is anybody's friend because for that you'd need some depth to your characters!

 

[BlueStuff]

Maneuvers is gone just because I liked Projections the best from this season.

Projections wins!

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I see Tuvix as more an applied Trolley Problem.

 

[freethinker]

But you don't understand. We'd be rid of Harry, that's the next best thing to being rid of Neelix!

Which brings me to...



I really like the concept, drama and moral dilemma of Tuvix and wish it would have been done on a better written show with better character....because the characters involved ruin it. Tuvix is a total creep and the alternative is getting Neelix back. That's a lose-lose situation...
It also highlights how...fake...the characters and relationships on Voyager often seemed to me. There's *some* genui9ne relationships of course. But the part were...either Janeway or Chekotay says "Oh I'm also Tuvix' friend" it always gets me. No you are not. None of you is anybody's friend because for that you'd need some depth to your characters!

Personally, I think the whole episode is kinda pointless which is why I eliminated it. It doesn't teach us anything about anything. We see Neelix and Tuvok at the end but no comments from them on the whole thing. So we don't know if they remember anything if they approve of how things went etc...or if they sort of thought about it (in Tuvix's mind) or if they only remember how they were before the beaming.

Basically, it's reduced to a weird phenomenon of the week with a hit of the reset button at the end. It will only be spoken of once much later by Naomi who didn't witness the event, so it makes you wonder how she's even heard of it.

 

[freethinker]

Maneuvers is gone just because I liked Projections the best from this season.

Projections wins!

As coincidence has it, it's my favorite episode this season.

 

[Qonundrum]

I adore "Meld" and no other Trek could have done it justice - not even TOS. But unless they were serializing and/or I forgot about something, they could have spent more time on Suder's background and handicap instead of the go-nowhere do-nothing raffle fluff. Suder being a Betazoid who can't sense folk and has anger issue is actually a compelling idea that was never explored! (Apart from "The Loss" but if you pretend that episode didn't exist, I'll be happy not to as well. And people think Neelix was annoying?! But I digress.) A few minutes delving into him would not have hurt. Especially as it's interesting how a Vulcan can mindmeld with other species and only with certain ones can there be ramifications.

Note that I am consciously not mentioning the infamous "Neelix scene", which is incredibly well acted and directed, great camerawork, decent incidental music that rises above era era's often "wallpaper" level, etc, because everyone hates Neelix and I'm one of three people who doesn't and rather like the Tuvok/Neelix double-act as well as Neelix's background, which is so rare... Oops, I just did.

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Spoiler alert: The holodeck twist afterward (not shown) was nicely done as well. At least for me, those who hated Neelix would undoubtedly feel much disappointment...

 

[Oddish]

Hurray for "Maneuvers"!

But you don't understand. We'd be rid of Harry, that's the next best thing to being rid of Neelix!

Harry Kim is simply not memorable enough to really dislike. Neelix is memorable, at least; I personally like him, but I can see how others might disagree.

The only thing Harry's presence on the show really accomplished is to show that the writers/showrunners were so frickin' clueless, they didn't even know that an ensign is supposed to make lieutenant.

 

[BK613]

@Oddish Yes but that ensign died. Why should the Starfleet of this reality care about promoting some other ensign from some other where?

 

[Farscape One]

Even if someone can cling to the argument that Kim died in "DEADLOCK" in season 2, the duplicate should have been promoted well before the final season.

 

[Oddish]

@Oddish Yes but that ensign died. Why should the Starfleet of this reality care about promoting some other ensign from some other where?

Because EVERYONE on Voyager is DEAD in one alternate reality and ALIVE in the other. They're ALL on an equal footing. Ergo, Harry should be promoted the way his alternate self would have been.

 

[freethinker]

Because EVERYONE on Voyager is DEAD in one alternate reality and ALIVE in the other. They're ALL on an equal footing. Ergo, Harry should be promoted the way his alternate self would have been.

Perhaps Janeway thought that he wasn't the real Harry.

 

[BK613]

Even if someone can cling to the argument that Kim died in "DEADLOCK" in season 2, the duplicate should have been promoted well before the final season.

Alas, other-Kim's time in service was reset to zero...

Because EVERYONE on Voyager is DEAD in one alternate reality and ALIVE in the other. They're ALL on an equal footing. Ergo, Harry should be promoted the way his alternate self would have been.

Not really being serious here,,,