VOY: “Gravity”

Date: December 20, 2020

Season 5, Episode 13

Musical Accompaniment: In the last 10 songs for the letter ‘S’

Interstellar News: Tonight I made homemade bean burgers and an apple pudding dessert that was super tasty. I didn’t get nearly as much done as I wanted to, unfortunately.

TL;DR: A flashback reveals a young, angsty Tuvok who wants to feel his emotions and is brought to a Vulcan Master. In the present, a woman named Noss kills a spider as a Voyager shuttle crash lands on a desert planet. Noss is saved by Tuvok and they, along with Paris and the EMH, go to hide out in her ship which also crash landed. They were pulled into a distortion field where time moves much more quickly and they believe they are there for three months when it’s really been two days for Voyager. Janeway is determined to rescue them and more flashbacks reveal Tuvok was in love with a girl named Jara and was kicked out of school and his home. Noss has feelings for Tuvok and he tells her he does not share those feelings. A message from Voyager comes through, help is coming. The four are under fire but are eventually beamed to Voyager and they take Noss home. Tuvok mind melds with Noss when he says goodbye.

Favorite Quote:

Paris: Make way for the mighty hunters.

EMH: If Mr. Paris’ hunting ability is any indication, maybe we should take him offline.

The EMH just trying to be helpful while also being sarcastic.

“There is no easy way to recover from infatuation.”: This was a very interesting character study into Tuvok. We’ve seen him in the recent past and learned more about his first foray at Starfleet and this opens his backstory even more. It’s also a good vehicle for not only understanding Vulcan culture just a bit more, and more so than “Blood Fever” and “Amok Time“, but also to demonstrate that it is possible for “boys and girls to be just friends”. Starting with the flashbacks it’s wonderful to see that some Vulcan teenagers are just as hormonal and overrun by their emotions as many human children I know (and was). Young Tuvok was willing to give everything up for a girl who didn’t even like him back, but he wouldn’t back down because his emotions overwhelmed him. Years later when Noss returns his affections, he claims he doesn’t return them because he’s married… but it’s really because he knows what it feels like to go down that path. He wants to keep his wits, especially in a climate with hostiles. He tells Noss how much he respects her, or at lease he tells Paris that’s what it is… but Paris is such a “cis het white guy” that he can’t understand that. The good thing is, no one needs Paris to understand anything because Noss is able to understand at the end when Tuvok shows her whatever he does.

Janeway and the gang are determined to find their missing crew but it’s also because she sent THE TWO MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS ON THE SAME AWAY TEAM. I also loved how Paris gets all lovely when he’s telling Noss about Torres, I mean he finally admits he loved her, but when he gets back Torres doesn’t miss him as much because it was only two days for her. It was just a touch funny for me. Overall, though, it was a meh episode and should only receive 6 ancho chiles.

TA Out!