They killed Hengist!

[Warped9]

Scotty testified he didn’t black out when Sibo was killed and that when he went to help her “something was in his way.”

If we take that at face value then it suggests this thing could kill even without possessing someone’s body. I don’t recall the exact seating arrangement during Sibo’s seance, but my impression is Hengist was on the opposite side of the table from Sibo. It seems unlikely he could get around to kill Sibo then return to his place in those scant few seconds before the lights came back up. Plus it beggars belief no one would be aware of Hengist moving. And I don’t recall if everyone was supposed to be holding hands.

So either this thing could kill without possessing someone’s body or it took over someone who was seated next to Sibo for just those few seconds it took to kill her. Since no one offered up any experience of disorientation or strangeness we can assume this thing could kill while in its natural disembodied form.

 

[Christopher]

Scotty testified he didn’t black out when Sibo was killed and that when he went to help her “something was in his way.”

If we take that at face value then it suggests this thing could kill even without possessing someone’s body. I don’t recall the exact seating arrangement during Sibo’s seance, but my impression is Hengist was on the opposite side of the table from Sibo. It seems unlikely he could get around to kill Sibo then return to his place in those scant few seconds before the lights came back up. Plus it beggars belief no one would be aware of Hengist moving. And I don’t recall if everyone was supposed to be holding hands.

So either this thing could kill without possessing someone’s body or it took over someone who was seated next to Sibo for just those few seconds it took to kill her. Since no one offered up any experience of disorientation or strangeness we can assume this thing could kill while in its natural disembodied form.

Or, hypothetically, Redjac could've possessed Scotty and altered his perceptions rather than simply blacking him out. I don't think that's likely, but people's perceptions can be unreliable.

 

[Warped9]

Or, hypothetically, Redjac could've possessed Scotty and altered his perceptions rather than simply blacking him out. I don't think that's likely, but people's perceptions can be unreliable.

Scotty said he heard the woman scream then moved toward her wherein he ran into “something.” And the computer verified what he was saying was true. Of course, it’s only true as far as Scotty knows and he isn’t deliberately lying. But it supports the idea this thing can kill in its natural form.

 

[BillJ]

I always figure they killed Hengist in the process of destroying Redjac. Can't make an omelet without breaking some eggs.

 

[Christopher]

Of course, it’s only true as far as Scotty knows and he isn’t deliberately lying.

Yes, exactly. Perceptions can be altered, and hypothetically, if Redjac briefly possessed Scotty, that could cause him to hallucinate. We know there are cases of brain damage where someone can perceive a part of their own body as if it belongs to someone else. Even though they can look at their arm, say, and see that it's attached to their own body, their brains can't recognize that fact and remain convinced it's someone else's arm. So conceivably, Redjac's possession and takeover of Scotty's body (if that's what happened, I don't know) could have dissociated Scotty from his somatic awareness, and he could've seen himself stabbing Sybo but perceived it as another person in front of him, blocking his path.

I'm not saying it's likely, but it's an interesting alternative possibility to think about.

 

[David cgc]

I don't think the episode implies that Scotty's body did the killing. What I take from the episode is that Hengist was the killer. The entity also does not jump from body to body that rapidly, and picks the ship rather than switching from person to person. I don't think the episode means to imply that this entity is possessing bodies to confuse what today we would call forensic evidence. Maybe it is a long-lived life form and always had Hengist's body.

Same. I was confused when I finally saw the episode because both the jokes about Scotty getting away with murder and the serious episode recaps/summaries always seemed to agree to Scotty physically did the murders. The impression I got was Hengist was the actual murderer, with the Redjak entity being a little extra spooky sauce on top of a conventional framing/false accusation.

 

[Warped9]

Hengist could have killed Kara the dancer as we hadn’t been introduced to him yet so his physical whereabouts are not known. He could have physically killed Lt. Tracy since he left the room and we have only his word as to where he was. But I find it highly unlikely he could have physically killed Sibo because I’m pretty sure he was on the other side of the table from her and simply didn’t have enough time to physically get to her and back to his place before the lights came up. And when the lights come up Hengist is beside Jarvis and he’s beside Kirk. And it looks like McCoy is right beside Sibo.

Okay, so I took a look at a screencap giving us an overhead view of the seance. Starting with Sibo and going clockwise you have Sibo, McCoy, Kara’s father, Hengist, Jarvis, Kirk, Scotty, Morla and back to Sibo. And everyone is holding hands. So for Hengist to kill Sibo he has to disengage holding hands with Jarvis and Kara’s father, get around to the opposite side of the table to kill Sibo, then get back to his place before the lights come up. For Scotty to kill Sibo he has to let go of Kirk’s and Morla’s hands and get around Morla to get to Sibo. And note the killer also has to get the knife.

From what I see the more likely scenario is one of three options:
- Redjac possesses McCoy to kill Sibo (because McCoy only has to let go of Sibo’s left hand to grab the knife.
- Redjac possesses Morla to kill Sibo (because Morla only has to let go of Sibo’s right hand to get the knife).
- Or, finally, Redjac doesn’t need to possess anyone to kill Sibo with the knife because he can float right over the table to grab the knife and kill her.

If we take Scotty’s assertion as factual, that he heard the woman scream and got up to go toward her and “something,” not someone, was in his way then it supports the notion Redjac could kill without possessing a physical body.

 

[Christopher]

From what I see the more likely scenario is one of three options:
- Redjac possesses McCoy to kill Sibo (because McCoy only has to let go of Sibo’s left hand to grab the knife.
- Redjac possesses Morla to kill Sibo (because Morla only has to let go of Sibo’s right hand to get the knife).
- Or, finally, Redjac doesn’t need to possess anyone to kill Sibo with the knife because he can float right over the table to grab the knife and kill her.

You left out one: Redjac possesses Sybo and makes her stab herself. Though that could be distinguished from the others by the angle of the wound and other forensic evidence.

Speaking of forensic evidence, though, wasn't Scotty the only one with blood on his hands? That would seem to suggest that either Redjac possessed him, or Redjac killed her incorporeally and Scotty got blood on his hands when he tried to help her.

 

[Warped9]

^^ How does Sibo stab herself in the back?