VOY: “Flashback”

Date: October 10, 2020

Season 3, Episode 2

Musical Accompaniment: Elder Scrolls music by Ambient Worlds

Interstellar News: I’ve actually watched up to Episode 6 but need more time , and energy, to write. I’ve also recently updated my Rankings page.

TL;DR: There’s sirillium in that nebula! Unfortunately the nebula causes Tuvok have a vision and pass out. Tuvok tries to meditate, thinks they’re in Klingon space, and has another vision. The EMH believes it’s a suppressed memory that’s killing Tuvok, so Tuvok and Janeway mind-meld. Suddenly they’re on the Excelscior with Captain Sulu, Rand, and a 30 year old Tuvok just as Praxis is exploding. Sulu wants to rescue Kirk and McCoy, they encounter a similar nebula, and then Kang finds them. Tuvok and Janeway have no idea why they are there and not in his memory of the little girl falling. Back in the memory something goes wrong with the meld, Sulu sees Janeway, and Tuvok’s bunk mate dies. The EMH realizes Tuvok has a virus and kills it, it was implanting the false memory.

Favorite Quotes:

EMH: If you were human, I’d say you had a severe panic attack.

Tuvok: I am not human.

EMH: No kidding. I don’t know what happened to you, but there can be any number of explanations. Hallucination, telepathic communication from another race, repressed memory, momentary contact with a parallel reality. Take your pick. The universe is such a strange place.

The EMH is extra sassy and I am all here for it.

Tuvok’s Truth: The human fascination with fun has led to many tragedies in your short, but violent, history. One wonders how your race has survived having so much fun.

Janeway: We could have just asked her.

Tuvok: Asking female officers for their clothing could lead to misunderstanding.

After knocking out Rand for her uniform so Janeway could blend in, Tuvok says the most perfect thing ever in the most Vulcan way possible.

“Mr. Neelix, I would prefer not to hear the life history of my breakfast.”: My biggest gripe about this episode is… DID THEY GET THE SIRILLIUM? I mean, it’s the whole reason they went to the nebula and we don’t get a resolution, come on! The mind-meld this time reminds me of the Pensieve from Harry Potter in that Janeway was able to be an observer in a memory. It’s a medical mystery that turns out to be something Tuvok has been carrying around with him for 80+ years. I was hoping to find out something about Tuvok’s childhood, but this was a fun curve ball as it was something completely unexpected. I was so excited to see Sulu, Rand, and Kang and thought it was also a nice touch to show just how fucking old Tuvok is. I wonder how many Vulcans have several careers, like Tuvok, or do they all devote their entire lives to something like Sarek did. It was also nice to learn something new about Tuvok that Janeway didn’t even know, that he was a bit prejudiced and jaded, that he eventually came to his own terms about Starfleet and humanity, that he chose to raise a family for 50 years before heading back out into space. This episode had its problems, but it was a lot of fun. 7 bags of BBQ potato chips and a nice dip to go along with it.

TA Out!