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The Thaw

Adm_Hawthorne

Adm_Hawthorne

Admiral
Admiral
I think this was one of the best episodes from season two, and, I admit, I'm a pretty big fan girl on this one.

I found the writing to be really good, and the reason why fear became a 'physical being' an excellent way to introduce a somewhat unique situation. What I really appreciated was the ending.

Janeway hologram: You know as well as I do that fear only exists for one purpose... to be conquered.

Janeway hologram: Starfleet captains don't easily subcome to fear.

Fear: What will become of us... of me.
Janeway: Like all fear, you eventually vanish.
Fear: I'm afraid.
Janeway: I know.
Fear: Drat.
Click to expand...

Now, I've said all of this before here. But, I was watching this tonight, and something occurred to me as I watched this ending.

Fear: She Tricked me.
J.H.: Did she? Or, was there a part of you that was actually hoping to be defeated? Isn't that why you allowed Captain Janeway to come here; because you sensed she had the power to subdue you?
Click to expand...

This is an incredibly self-centered and egotistical thing to say. The hologram says she's programmed to respond as Janeway would. So, there's a really good chance that Janeway was thinking this. But, how much hubris can you have?

I'm interested in your thoughts here. Do you think this is overly confident of the captain or right on the mark?
 
To be honest, I always disliked this episode. But part of the reason is because I have had a morbid fear of clowns since childhood. However, I must admit that the end scene is really cool.
 
Many people seem to dislike this episode but I've always liked "The Thaw".

The whole scenario was a bit creepy and very different from other "alternate reality" episodes. The Clown was a bit scary too. Despite that, some funny sequences as well.

A very good episode! :techman:
 
Adm_Hawthorne said:
I think this was one of the best episodes from season two, and, I admit, I'm a pretty big fan girl on this one.

I found the writing to be really good, and the reason why fear became a 'physical being' an excellent way to introduce a somewhat unique situation. What I really appreciated was the ending.

Janeway hologram: You know as well as I do that fear only exists for one purpose... to be conquered.

Janeway hologram: Starfleet captains don't easily subcome to fear.

Fear: What will become of us... of me.
Janeway: Like all fear, you eventually vanish.
Fear: I'm afraid.
Janeway: I know.
Fear: Drat.
Click to expand...
Now, I've said all of this before here. But, I was watching this tonight, and something occurred to me as I watched this ending.

Fear: She Tricked me.
J.H.: Did she? Or, was there a part of you that was actually hoping to be defeated? Isn't that why you allowed Captain Janeway to come here; because you sensed she had the power to subdue you?
Click to expand...
This is an incredibly self-centered and egotistical thing to say. The hologram says she's programmed to respond as Janeway would. So, there's a really good chance that Janeway was thinking this. But, how much hubris can you have?

I'm interested in your thoughts here. Do you think this is overly confident of the captain or right on the mark?
Click to expand...

I believe the assumption here is that anyone who is a Starship captain has a certain amount of strength of will, etc. Fear knew nothing about Janeway personally - just that she was a Starship captain. Still, that fact alone was enough to get him excited about her entry into his world.

Also, by being connected to but not part his world Janeway would know his thoughts.
 
I didn't like this one at first but it's now one of my favorites. It has a surrealistic quality like TOS's "The Empath" or "Spectre of the Gun."

As for Janeway being too confident in her confrontation with fear, I always had a different take on it. Janeway always seemed to have this "loving maternal" aura about her. Whether it's mentoring Kes or Seven, looking out for Harry, or feeling the weight of stranding her crew in the DQ, she always seemed to project a "loving" quality about her. As the old Bible saying goes about "Love casting out fear." I never saw it as a starship captain quality but one of her personal integrity.
 
Lynx said:
Many people seem to dislike this episode but I've always liked "The Thaw".

The whole scenario was a bit creepy and very different from other "alternate reality" episodes. The Clown was a bit scary too. Despite that, some funny sequences as well.

A very good episode! :techman:
Click to expand...

I agree with this ^

I have always been diappointed we never got to know what the "Insect game" was.
Its a long time since I saw this, but remember them snapping in the air (as if to catch insects) but the game was cut short by some interption or other.

Im sure it would have been a supremely sadistic game ...... but fun to watch!:evil:
 
I recently had a strange revelation with "The Thaw".

For many years I've absolutely hated this episode. However; I have been re-watching the series on DVD and decided not to skip this episode and for what it's worth I actually found myself enjoying it. For what ever reason it seams to have aged better with me than what I thought. There are some really great doctor moments in the episode; and I found the evil clown to be a great actor. He really had me going when he murdered the colonist. Some of Garret Wang's acting is extremely suspect IMHO.
 
I'm sorry to say that I'm another in the camp that doesn't like "The Thaw". I like the storyline, I like Michael McKean, but I just can't stand this episode. I don't know why.
 
The only beneficial thing I ever gained from the Ronald McDonald stuff on TV was learning my "nine times" tables.

My occasional craving for cheeseburgers and fries are not what I would consider a benefit. ;)
 
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