Episode of the Week : Metamorphosis

[ZapBrannigan]

Or about forced marriages. Here she was, perfectly happy and willing to live a life of solitude, and now she has been married off and has to smile to her husband every day (not even lest she be beaten, but because her body isn't free not to smile ever again).

Timo Saloniemi

You don't get it. "Metamorphosis" is not a dark and gritty episode. It's not supposed to be "Arena" or "Balance of Terror." If you shoehorn this story into a simplistic, "one Star Trek fits all" template, you destroy it.

Even worse: if you superimpose a harsh, movement-feminist template over an episode that is NOT about gender issues, you miss the point entirely. Men end up lonely, too; Hedford just happens to be a woman.

Nancy Hedford is not "perfectly happy," or any other kind of happy, going into these events. The script makes a point of that. Furthermore, after the merger, Nancy still has agency and volition within her new identity. Prior-Nancy is as much a part of the new being as Prior-Companion is. The new person is something more than she was before, and she's happy.

 

[Timo]

Which is why I feel the forced marriage analogy is especially apt: that's what an unthinking outsider would see.

I don't much care about the "points" of these shoddily written and long since outdated adventures. I'm watching visual entertainment, so what I see is what I get. My kids will no doubt get a different kick out of this all; for me, the fact that the episode tries to be so upbeat is the most depressing aspect of it all.

Furthermore, after the merger, Nancy still has agency and volition within her new identity.

That's what all these possessing monsters always say...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[ZapBrannigan]

I don't much care about the "points" of these shoddily written and long since outdated adventures. I'm watching visual entertainment, so what I see is what I get. My kids will no doubt get a different kick out of this all; for me, the fact that the episode tries to be so upbeat is the most depressing aspect of it all.

So we're watching Star Trek for different reasons. I must admit, I'm surprised at how little you respect it. Still, to each his own.

 

[Commishsleer]

Which is why I feel the forced marriage analogy is especially apt: that's what an unthinking outsider would see.

I don't much care about the "points" of these shoddily written and long since outdated adventures. I'm watching visual entertainment, so what I see is what I get. My kids will no doubt get a different kick out of this all; for me, the fact that the episode tries to be so upbeat is the most depressing aspect of it all.

Furthermore, after the merger, Nancy still has agency and volition within her new identity.

That's what all these possessing monsters always say...

Timo Saloniemi

To me the Companion/Nancy merging was way better than the 24th century Trill body take-over.
And I agree that it wasn't meant to be some horror story about some alien taking over some human's body.
If Nancy had not been dying then I might agree with you but that was her only way to survive in some form. That was the intention of the episode anyway. I left thinking Hedford and Companion were sort of merged entities and that she had the option of rejecting Cochrane if she wanted to. The impracticality of just 2 people living on a planet without outside contact, without the ... internet isn't important. Its meant to be a romantic story IMO.

There are heaps of better examples of forced marriage all over Trek which are accepted in the name of the PD.
In reality we should all be cheering T'Pring in getting out of her 'forced' marriage to Spock. Yet I find I can't stand her. And I want to punch her in the face.

 

[Marsden]

Not being silly, but I got the impression, not stated of course, that Nancy just died when the Companion realized this and did the merger to resuscitate her and be with Zef. I don't think Nancy really had a say in it but it helped her, too.

Unless she had plans to be a single person forever, which might have been possible. Bizarre but possible.

 

[AtoZ]

For me, this one is a solid ten. Too many good moments and touches for it not to be. Which is funny, because as a kid, I used to dread this one. Silly young me!

I don't even know where to begin. I loved Kirk's 'we're on a thousand planets' speech, but even better is prior to that. Cochrane asks what it's like out there, and Kirk's brief expression reveals that Cochrane just opened the door to being persuaded. A very brief expression, but watch for it next time. Kirk is ready to seize this little window of opportunity, and it shows.

The 'love' speech by Kirk is a real winner, too. I don't know if Shatner particularly enjoyed this script, but I'm inclined to think he did. He was really good in this one all around.

Spock and McCoy's conversation about electricity sits well with me. All those who criticize McCoy for being abusive of Spock need to see this one. It's not a big scene, but really highlights how the two men are mutually respecting colleagues, above all else.

Eleanor Donahue sold Nancy Hedford's illness quite well. When I was young (i.e. when girls had "cooties"), she came across to me as simply whiny and complaining. Somehow my dense little skull didn't get that she was very ill, feverish and quite possibly delusional. Now, she really seems to be a self-tortured character who is actually quite sympathetic.

Cochrane's well-intentioned mention of being able to offer a hot bath, and her reaction of "How perceptive of you to notice that I needed one" is actually quite funny to me, in the way that sometimes people under duress say unintentionally funny things.

I could go on and on, but I think voting a ten pretty much sums up the gist of it for me.

You nailed it on all fronts. I also didn't like this one when I was a kid, but as I've matured I appreciate far more, the beauty and romance of this episode.