Finally, it's that 100% Neelix-centric episode we've all been begging for! No? Well then this is going to be a drag. Also, as a believer, I always get a little nervous when Star Trek pushes too far up against religious boundaries. Trek tends to not-so-subtly make it clear that science is at odds with religion and that Trek falls squarely on the side of science. Yet somehow at the same time they have no problem introducing characters that are omnipotent and are able to create whole worlds with the snap of their fingers. But, you know...in a science-y way. Because they're not gods, they're highly-evolved aliens, and that is a distinction that somehow matters.Anyway, Neelix is dead. For real. Completely dead for 18 hours. But suddenly Seven pronounces that she has technology to bring him back to life (is it nanoprobes? Hint: it's nanoprobes). Janeway struggles with the decision for a split second and then gives her the green light. Sure enough, Neelix starts feeling less dead and the flies stop circling. But shortly after being revived, Neelix is feeling down, and he knows why. When he was dead he did not go to the Great Forest and see his dead relatives. After seeing his entire family wiped out, his source of optimism was looking forward to Talaxian heaven, but now it turns out that it must not be real. This is the premise for the entire episode, and I happen to think it's flawed. A simple explanation that would suffice for any believer would be that the Great Forest knew that it wasn't his time, and since he wouldn't be staying dead, he wouldn't be greeted by his family because he's not ready yet. Seems simple enough to me, but then the episode would only be 15 minutes long.
Tuvok and Seven have an interesting conversation while aimlessly walking down a corridor. Seven says that since she was connected to the collective, her thoughts and memories live on forever, and so in a sense she is immortal. Tuvok points out that she has been severed from the collective, and so her new experiences are not part of the shared consciousness, but she still takes comfort in knowing that a part of her will go on. She doesn't expand on why she thinks this is unique to the Borg, and Tuvok doesn't challenge her. But don't we all live on in the memories of our loved ones? Or at the very least, our presence has affected the universe in some manner, right? The way her thoughts are presented makes it sound like she thinks that being assimilated is the same as going to Heaven, which is dumb.
Neelix is so upset that he can't enjoy his own bullshit Talaxian holiday party, nor does he feel like telling Naomi Wildman bedtime stories about the Great Forest. Instead he seeks out Chakotay for a round of his digital peyote, in the hopes of having a genuine religious experience. But instead he has a disturbing vision where his dead sister tells him that the Great Forest is all a lie and that there's nothing to live for. So that's helpful. He refuses any additional sessions, and instead tries to beam himself into a nebula (which is a very Voyager way of committing suicide). But Chakotay talks him off that futuristic ledge by telling him that his faith should be made stronger by the vision? Right. My guess is that Neelix changed his mind because he realized that it wasn't his religion that was bullshit, it's Chakotay's. He stops being suicidal just in time to tuck Naomi into bed, and she drifts off to sleep dreaming of the Great Forest.
This episode is Horrible for a number of reasons. First, it never fully demonstrated how the experience of dying could make a person's faith stronger. It certainly never explained why Neelix's vision was so disturbing. It could have been a heartwarming tale, but instead we're left having to believe that one pep talk from Chakotay can turn a person's outlook on life around. But I think it does open the door to seeing how different alien religions can coexist. Neelix seeks comfort by reaching out to Chakotay to experience his faith, and Naomi dreams of the Great Forest, even though that's Talaxian heaven and not human-alien hybrid heaven. I guess you get the afterlife that you believe in, regardless of where you're from? Or perhaps they're really all the same.....Published Jan 28, 2018
FIX THE EPISODE, BABY!
ReplyDeleteThere's actually a lot to work with here, and I think we can fix it rather easily. I'm ok with the story up until Chakotay gets involved, so let's say that instead Neelix goes to Mr Vulcan for advice. Tuvok tries to help, but when pressured says something along the lines of how the only logical conclusion is that his afterlife does not exist, which sends Neelix into a state of depression. Then Chakotay comes in to help with his LSD box, and Neelix has a vision of his family greeting him and explaining that it just wasn't the time to join them. Whether it was real or just a good trip is undetermined, but either way Neelix's faith is restored and all is well.