S2E18 - Death Wish

This week we’re watching Season 2, Episode 18: Death Wish
This is officially one of my favorite episodes—honestly, a masterpiece of Star Trek… and maybe the most quotable episode the franchise has ever done.
What would bring Commander Riker, Isaac Newton, the stage operator at Woodstock… and Q… to the Delta Quadrant?
“Have you heard about little me? Oh, do tell. Has Jean-Luc been whispering about me behind my back?”
Oh good. He’s here.
“Say, is this a ship of the Valkyries? Or have you Human women finally done away with your men altogether?” “Facial art. Ooh, how very wilderness of you.”
Welcome back to the Voy-Cast, where today’s episode of Star Trek: Voyager is less “exploration” and more “cosmic HR violation.”
“Did anyone ever tell you you’re angry when you’re beautiful?”
Q has arrived in the Delta Quadrant, and naturally, he’s made it everyone’s problem—again.
No pressure, Captain…

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Come hang out with us in the Delta Quadrant!

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:13

Terry, we're back after I feel like a month has been like a whole month.

SPEAKER_00 0:17

To be fair, we've recorded the time, we just have not edited or released.

SPEAKER_03 0:22

It feels like it's been a month since we recorded two. But you're right, it's only been a few weeks. I yeah, I guess we did skip last week. The first time we've been in person for like months, it has been a while. Terry was sick for like three months.

SPEAKER_00 0:35

Yeah, and then I was traveling, and then you do all the boss bitch things that you do all the time.

SPEAKER_03 0:42

Mostly riding bikes, just to make it bearable. Sometimes. Um horse or horrors? I just wanna I wanna clarify that for you.

SPEAKER_00 0:55

Okay, that's my thought. Alright.

SPEAKER_03 0:58

We've got our marks here because this was uh well, let's uh let's dive into the little uh intro I made and see how how all reads, and then we'll get into uh Terry's uh opinions. I'm sure she has some usual. Hey listeners, I'm your co-host Audrey, and I'm your co-host Terry. Welcome to the Voicast, your home in the Delta Quadrant for all things Star Trek Voyager. Terry, today, as I'm sure you're aware, we are watching season two, episode 18, Death Wish. Uh-huh. And I can only assume you had a Death Wish of your own after watching this episode. Precisely. This is officially one of my favorite episodes.

SPEAKER_00 1:43

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_03 1:44

Honestly, I consider it a masterpiece of Star Trek.

SPEAKER_00 1:47

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_03 1:48

And maybe the most quotable episode in the entire franchise of Star Trek ever. What would bring Commander Riker, Isaac Newton, and the stage operator at Woodstock. And Q to the Delta Quadrant. The answer? Another Q. Two Qs, Q times two, Q to the second power, Q and Q. Q life. Yeah. That is. That's all that would do that. He's here. He's that. He's wonderful. He's amazing. He's dramatic. He's an asshole. He's so dramatically played by John Belancey. And welcome back. That's all I can say. Welcome back. Thank you. It's the moment Audrey has been waiting for you. Thank you. Thank you so much. You have brought life back into this franchise yet again.

SPEAKER_00 2:54

And uh I didn't realize it was doing so poorly.

SPEAKER_03 2:58

Essentially, he's a walking HR violation in this episode. I I cannot, like, I went through all the quotes. I I cannot like think of an episode where there were so many Q quotes fit into it and so many inappropriate, like purposefully misogynistic quotes that made me laugh so hard.

SPEAKER_00 3:19

They made you laugh.

SPEAKER_03 3:21

Yeah, like the one where he's like, did anyone tell you you're angry when you're beautiful? Okay, to that one I chuckled a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 3:31

But also I wanted to punch him in the face.

SPEAKER_03 3:35

He brings the chaos, the trial, and other things. I I think my other favorite quote was Will you send him to prison for eternity or will you assist in his suicide plan? That's a toughie, but that's why they made you captain, isn't it? To handle the real tough ones. My my. Now I guess we get to find out whether the pants really fit.

SPEAKER_00 4:04

While he gratuitously stares at her ass. Oh man. I actually don't think that I have been madder at you than this episode.

SPEAKER_02 4:20

He's such an awesome.

SPEAKER_00 4:22

At least he at some point starts treating John Luke as, if not an equal, at least a respected being. And his disgusting mannerisms towards Captain Janeway.

SPEAKER_03 4:39

Oh 100%. What was the other? I think the quote that really actually did piss me off, but I still love Q too much to like I immediately forgive him. Was uh oh, let's f How did this Q get out? I'm afraid we're responsible for that. Oh, well, I guess that's what we get for having a woman in the captain's seat.

SPEAKER_00 5:02

And that was Q's first line in this episode.

SPEAKER_03 5:06

My literal like note after this was, oh shit.

SPEAKER_00 5:12

And it didn't get better from there, actually.

SPEAKER_03 5:15

It did not get better at all. No, nothing got better uh at all. And uh I loved every second of it. So in this episode, a member of the Q Continuum comes aboard Voyager seeking asylum so he can commit suicide. Q arrives on board to stop him, leaving Captain Janeway to immediate basically run a one of those like classic TNG courtroom dramas that we love so much. Yep, basically. This uh note was interesting when I was looking at uh Memory Alpha. Apparently, this is Arc One of Three, and the Arc is called Q Civil War.

SPEAKER_00 6:05

Interesting. I don't see how that's starting. Well, actually, I mean I guess I see how this is planting some seeds.

SPEAKER_03 6:14

Maybe the first domino into something interesting or something frustrating. The teleplay was by Michael Piller, the story by Sean Pillar. Interesting. Wonder if they're related. Nepotism. Or just maybe Sean is a woman and they're married. I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 6:36

Is that not still kind of an nepotism?

SPEAKER_03 6:40

Uh maybe they met on set. It doesn't have to be an epotism. Is directed by James L. Conway. Take it away, Terry. I'm gonna have a drink.

SPEAKER_00 6:50

Uh so I woke up early to watch this episode before work on Monday morning, and I had forgotten that it was a Q episode until his face popped up uh on the thumbnail. And my first note here is fucking Q in the morning. Here we go.

SPEAKER_03 7:12

That could be taken multiple ways. I'm okay with any of those ways. Well, not be fucking cute. Can it be like a shirt, like a pajama shirt, fucking dot dot dot q in the morning? That could be in our merch store.

SPEAKER_00 7:31

We can change it to like F N Q in the morning.

SPEAKER_03 7:34

And um, I like the edginess. I've actually I've been wanting to propose this to you and our listeners for a while. When we have a merch store, can we like make it super um inappropriate? Yeah, like like really, really potty mouth. Like we take all of our really insane quotes from the show and just but also I want to make it like uh great fucking Star Trek. Yeah, right? Like that would be the brand. I love that. And then everything would have like the like we'd have some censored things, but then you'd have like completely vulgar like merch. Yes. Like good fucking design advice. Yes. I love it. We could have mugs. Yes. I'm gonna have a mug that just says uh fucking Q.

SPEAKER_00 8:28

Yeah, or fucking Q in the morning equals death wish.

SPEAKER_03 8:31

Or I fucking heart symbol Q. We can make Q plus Picard, fuck yeah. Like I shipped it. This is the conversation people have been waiting for anyway.

SPEAKER_00 8:48

Oh yeah, yeah, I'm sure they can't wait for our deranged merchandise. Anyway, um this episode started out where we are tracking an erratic comet. It is moving in not a way that a comet moves, so that's interesting. Um, and so of course we're gonna try to beam a sample aboard. And when we do that, it is a stately man in a Star Trek uniform.

SPEAKER_03 9:21

Yeah, he's so stately. He's wearing a uh TNG style Star Trek uniform. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 9:28

Um I wrote he's a large dumb Q.

SPEAKER_03 9:35

He does, he acts so stupid. And I honestly, like you learn later in the episode, they just like in this philosopher, and he's messed around in human history, and he's done all these things, consequential things. Um things get weirder, don't worry. But yeah, he's like, oh, humans, and like you learn more about his backstory, and you're like, why would he be like, oh, humans? Interesting.

SPEAKER_00 10:03

Like, yeah, I mean, I feel like one of the best qualities of people who live long lives like this is that they continue to be entertained and awed by the little things in life. And he also was just in a comet for who knows how long. This is, I guess, a good change of pace, but they've put up a containment field, and of course, he steps through it. That doesn't do things.

SPEAKER_03 10:29

That was kind of fun though, because it gave a little resistance where he's like, Oh, what's this? And then he walks through it. Yeah, he's like, Oh, interesting. That doesn't affect me. So, like one scene Balana is in in this whole episode.

SPEAKER_00 10:40

She's like, uh, Captain. You need to get down here. Um so we're immediately at red alert.

SPEAKER_03 10:49

Yeah, red alert. So one of my favorite cue quotes. Remember that when he's naked.

SPEAKER_00 10:57

Oh yeah. I love it. Uh but of course the captain doesn't have time to get down there. This this cue just zips her right up into the mess hall. They're together there. Like, let's have dinner. Yeah, he like sets the table. He felt to me, it felt a little frantic. Like he was he felt rushed.

SPEAKER_02 11:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:21

Um, he thanks them for letting him out of captivity, which is where we all go, oh, hold on. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 11:27

Can I can I actually do something really fast? So when he um Yeah, you gotta mute. So uh when um when he walks down from the transport room, he's like, uh, she's like, who are you? And he's like, Hello.

SPEAKER_02 11:46

My name is Q. Sorry I had to do that.

SPEAKER_00 11:53

That is how that is how I felt in that moment. I mean that I knew, of course. Did I know? I knew. I mean, I know that there are different Qs, and they're all called Q. This all makes sense. I was like This is what you were like, ready?

SPEAKER_02 12:12

No God No, God, please, no, no, no, no.

SPEAKER_00 12:20

That is accurate. That is an accurate depiction of me Monday morning before work. But I was like, okay, maybe I'll like this cue better.

SPEAKER_02 12:35

I don't know. I he's he's pretty polite, honestly.

SPEAKER_03 12:42

Yeah, I mean, especially in comparison. Especially for a Q. This is like how I feel. Like I I bond so well with John Delancey's cue because I'm like, you are me. And then everyone else is this other cue. Like everyone else that people meet are like this other cue. And I'm like, he's the ho-hum cue.

SPEAKER_02 13:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:02

Well, I prefer it. So the moment he's like, thanks for letting me out of captivity, everyone's like, okay shit, what have we done?

SPEAKER_03 13:14

Um yeah, well, then he like accidentally in quotes, uh, disappears all the males on the ship, which I thought was hilarious.

SPEAKER_00 13:24

Yeah, and he explains that the reason he was being held in captivity is because he wants to die and he envies more mortals, and he's very much like immediately wanting to commit suicide, thanks them and is like, okay, I guess I'll off myself. And while he's trying to do that, supposedly he messes that up and all the men disappear. Which if he was trying to end his own life and all the men disappear, like that could have been very bad.

SPEAKER_03 13:51

All the men could have been dead. Could have been bad. Uh yeah, it could have been like a why the last man situation. My gosh. Well, I mean, if you then a crew full of women, we should probably be fine, actually. Yeah, I mean, half of them would turn to Amazons and like, you know, do the whole thing.

SPEAKER_00 14:08

I think they'd do great. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 14:10

Uh well, actually, there's a great quote. Remember how I said this was the most quotable episode of Star Trek? Yeah, you're gonna prove it. Yeah, I'm gonna prove it. So uh one of the quotes was uh okay, so anyway, let's let's like fast forward a little. Basically, he's like, oh shoot, I disappeared all of them in. And obviously, Janeway's like, um, where the hell is my crew? Get them back now. He's like, oh, I can't shoot, I'm so rusty. I don't know how. Sorry. You know who can do this is uh famous Q, the other Q that knows what he's doing with humans. Uh so he like communicates to him, and then John DeLancey appears on the bridge and he's like, hey, and the first thing he says is, oh, say, is this a ship of Valkyries, or have the human women finally done away with your men can't pull all the men together? Oh my god, that's amazing.

SPEAKER_00 15:09

I yeah, ship of Valkyries would be great. I think they'd do, like I said, I think they do just fine. But yes, there is this moment where our humble cue is just like, who would have more experience with humans? And I'm that's where I'm yelling, no.

SPEAKER_03 15:26

Yes. I was like, okay, it's a cue episode. What a pleasant surprise for you.

SPEAKER_02 15:30

And I was like, oh, wait, wait, oh, it's coming. It's happening. That's great.

SPEAKER_00 15:38

Uh okay. Um, but by that time, I was like annoyed at Humble Q's demeanor and like, I can't fix things. Sorry, I gotta die now. And so when he showed up, I even wrote in my notes, I was like, I'm almost relieved to see him. Because like he's at least like somewhat competent, right?

SPEAKER_03 16:02

Yeah, I mean he is. He's a badass. He's just kind of a dick.

SPEAKER_00 16:09

Not just, not just that.

SPEAKER_02 16:11

Um he's gonna post that on Instagram? Yeah. It doesn't look good with the shadow. So this is where Q Q1. Well, I guess just Q.

SPEAKER_03 16:37

Okay, smile under the smile under your camera though. Okay, no, it's cute. Oh cute. Okay, anyway.

SPEAKER_00 16:48

Because the subtitles did did immediately start calling the humble Q2. So we could tell them apart, I guess. Um Real Q asks, then that that's the quote that Audrey mentioned. He asks, How did how did this guy get out? And Janeway says that it was what they're doing. And he says his comment about women drivers, essentially. And I wrote F this guy. Um and Q just snaps his fingers and brings all the men back. So I'm like, okay, all right, thank you. We don't know where these men were, and it never addresses it. This is Star Trek. This is great, money. Um of course Q wants to take Q2 back to his asteroid of jail, and uh Q2 just blatantly says I seek asylum here on Voyager. Quinn asks for asylum. Q does not like this, so we have this really fun game of tag that happens. Oh my god, again, it's like 7 a.m. in the morning, and I'm like, I wanna go back to bed for this. Oh, but this was my favorite part of the episode was this this little game of chase that they do. And so Quinn takes them all to his his hiding place, the birth of the universe. Yeah. And they're like looking out the the viewer and seeing kind of this big mass of light that is spreading outwards, and they're like, What the what is happening? It's so confusing, they can't figure it out. Q immediately finds them at the birth of the universe. He's like, I used to hide here too, Quinn. And so then Quinn shrinks them down, and that is when we get attacked. They're just a little spaceship-shaped Christmas ornament. I wondered if that was like some sort of merch placement or something, because as soon as I saw that, I thought about all the Star Trek Christmas ornaments that my parents have that we put on the tree every year. And I was like, that's actually really cute. At this point, Janeway is mad. Uh, and I love how she is able to kind of bark out how mad she is, because I can't do this. My voice would crack and everyone would laugh at me. But she is just like, How dare you endanger this crew with your tug of war? And I just really respected her because they they stopped. Pretty quick.

SPEAKER_03 19:30

Uh well, I'm not sure how long I was muted, but we're back. Um no, at this point, uh, she's she's acting. She's kind of like peeved at him, but she's immediately going into like, okay, he's kind of just an asshole. I've heard about this guy. I've talked to Picard uh about this guy. I know his antics. Uh, it's I think it's really weird that all of this is happening to me right now. And I'd really like to get home, and maybe Q will help me get home, but I should probably play along with his little game because I have zero power here at all.

SPEAKER_00 20:07

Fair. And I but I feel like she's still able to assert herself, even in that mindset, which is really cool. She's she's like, stop fucking around. Um, but she, yes, of course, if they've all been briefed on this, they know she knows she can't do anything. She's pretty much powerless here. Um, that is when Q delivers that very frustrating and funny and sexist line of did anyone ever tell you you're angry when you're beautiful? Um But I think that she then suggests that they will have a trial in order to see if they will give Quinn asylum. And I feel like that was very, a very well-informed move on her part. Um I feel like that has to have come from her getting intel about Q and what he was like, and knew that a trial would not only interest him, but would kind of persuade him to play along.

SPEAKER_03 21:10

Yeah. I thought it was interesting. I feel like I would have been asking for more concessions up front, but like, hey, we need to get home.

SPEAKER_00 21:22

Yes, it uh yeah, that didn't really come up until later, right?

SPEAKER_03 21:27

Which was it came up in a really weird way because he was being extremely like he was like sexually harassing her in her quarters, yes, and being extremely aggressive about it. Like he knows he has complete control, and he was not being uh gentleman. No, he was like trying to manipulate her.

SPEAKER_00 21:59

I mean it. Was clearly a bribe, he was trying to get her to rule against Quinn. And he's like, if you do, then we'll I'll take you back to Earth. And but then he's like, and we'll live together and we'll travel, and you can be by my side. And so it was not like a clean deal for her. And but it also obviously Jane Way is so thoughtful about the deals that she makes and how she makes them and how Starfleet would think of them. And the fact that this is a bribe basically makes it so she does not consider it at all during the trial, which is kind of frustrating because I fully get it. It was a bribe and she shouldn't take it, and it wasn't offered well and all that stuff. Well, like he could have sent them all home.

SPEAKER_03 22:59

I Janeway is very clear on like standing on her laurels and values. Cute business is cute business. I feel like I would have considered the bribe. You would have. If I was a captain in that situation, I feel like my responsibility is to, in some situations almost, and and some people might disagree with me, and even I might disagree with myself tomorrow. But it's gonna cross my mind to abandon my own values in order to save my crew. And in this situation, after everything they've been through, and magically you have two Qs on your ship, and you're in a position of power somehow. Yeah. I'm gonna be like, nah, I don't honestly, I care more about my crew than this other Q. This is Q business. Send us home. I'll take the bribe. I'll I'll be the bad one and send us back.

SPEAKER_00 24:01

Fully agree. She did not push this enough because even if she wasn't willing to like rule the way he wanted in this trial, she could have been like, hey, are there other ways I can convince you to send us home like that?

SPEAKER_03 24:17

Right. I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 24:19

I I was a little, I was like, I don't know how I think that a lot of that is was that she has this prior knowledge and she knows that he was unpredictable, right? And in some ways it's kind of like asking a genie for something, like the deal with the devil, there's always like a strings attached.

SPEAKER_03 24:39

Yep, there's always some sort of consequence that is negative. Yes, right. Like he might have sent them back, but like sent them back 300 years ago or something.

SPEAKER_00 24:50

Right. He would do something fucked up, and and she can't control that.

SPEAKER_03 24:54

So to be fair, if I was a Q, I'd probably fuck around like that too.

SPEAKER_00 24:58

Yeah, I mean, yeah. So, all right, they're gonna have a trial, and they decide either that he they rule in Quinn's favor, and um, she's or they rule against him. If they rule against him, he will go back to prison. If they rule in Quinn's favor, he will get mortality so that he can commit suicide. And she does try to bargain with Q, saying, like, hey, if you just let me know that Quinn will be integrated back into your society instead of allowed to kill himself, then she feels more likely that she will side on uh on Q's side, which just feels it already feels like she's trying to break the rules, you know. So I was a little uh upset about that. But um Quinn finds Tuvok in the mess hall, and um I'm not sure what their interaction was, but I know that Tuvok asks, do all Q lak manners? Or is that some sort of evolutionary side effect of being on omnipotent, which I thought was just excellent deduction on Tuvok's part.

SPEAKER_03 26:15

Well, he approaches Tivog because he wants Tuvok to be his um representative in the trial. And he does this because um because I feel like this is a classic move in Star Trek writing where you go to the like the logic center, whether it's a Vulcan or an android, and um you have them represent a certain faction. And he's hesitant to do this, but he kind of convinces him by being like, Well, don't Vulcans have a history of euthanasia and right um ritual suicide, and can't you see um can't you see kind of my side of things in a way that is unique? So he agrees, and when Which is a very smart move, I feel like getting Tuvok on your side? Oh my gosh, yeah. Yeah, and when Q finds out that Quinn has basically hired Tuvok as his lawyer, he says, Ugh, Vulcans.

SPEAKER_02 27:24

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 27:29

So they start this trial and Q uh is kind of talking about the impacts that a Q suicide would have, basically far-reaching. And he decides he wants to call an expert on the Q continuum. So he calls himself, and now there are two Qs sitting in the conference room. It was so great. I wrote God, he's unbearable.

SPEAKER_03 27:56

It was so amazing. I I wrote my notes, yes, and the other Q is sitting in the chair and and does this like pompous voice. He's like, uh, here, I gotta find the the quote of this interaction is so amazing. Um Terry's like staring at me.

SPEAKER_00 28:22

Quinn says very little during the trial, so yes, I'm not sure.

SPEAKER_03 28:26

Yeah, he really doesn't say he doesn't say much. Um with your permission, Captain, I would like to call an expert on the continuum to discuss the implications of the decision to be made. Proceed. I call myself to the stand and a clone of Q appears in the seat in front of him. Yeah, I agree. He says, Ta da. Did he say ta-da? He says, Ta da. I wrote it down. Thank you for coming. It's a rare honor to have someone of your reputation and accomplishment with us today. Bomb it. And he says, the the the copy in the chair says, Thank you. I was like, what?

SPEAKER_00 29:17

Uh one of Q proceeds to say that a suicide of a Q would change the nature of Q. They're not even sure of the consequences. And uh Quinn kind of gleefully points out exactly, it would force them to deal with the unknown. They don't, I thought that was an interesting point that he made that like the Q continuum just doesn't know what would happen and that scares them. And um really relevant also how funny it is that these beings that live forever are scared of the unknown.

SPEAKER_03 29:56

I I'm not sure I 100% bought that. Like, I feel like you guys would have conquered this somehow, but if if this is in fact the way things are and they're terrified of death and um being omnipotent as they have, I assume, always been, at least that's what's implied. The idea of death is terrifying to them, and the idea of some Q wanting to die is incomprehensibly destructive to um or like counter to their lives. Yeah, well, like everything they know. Yeah, like it's not necessarily like they're morally against it, they just don't can't even comprehend it.

SPEAKER_00 30:46

Yeah, I totally think that's what's happening here because Q does then proceed to call Quinn mentally unbalanced. And which is ironic, which is ironic. Uh yeah, I immediately wrote, sorry, is Q mentally balanced? And then they proceed to say, I believe it was either Quinn or his defense calls out Q and was like, weren't you once considered mentally unstable?

unknown 31:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 31:15

Like by the continuum, not just by Picard. Yeah. Not just by Wharf. And Data and Riker. The whole continuum. Speaking of Riker. Not yet. Oh, very, very much, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:29

But we talk a little bit about how Quinn used to be considered a great philosopher in the Q continuum. And I thought that that was very interesting. They talk about how they have had some Qs that have been executed for their crimes, which Janeway picks up on is like, hold on. So you can execute people, but they can't commit suicide. That would be society ending. That doesn't make sense. Agreed. Q's point is that Quinn, being a great philosopher, has had a huge impact on the universe and further reaching, including humanity. And he wants to call some people that have been affected by Quinn to this trial. And he says they won't remember being here. I'll send them right back. And so Janeway's just like, okay.

SPEAKER_03 32:23

But so we learn is that this Quinn guy has meddled with some key. They like select a few key events um that he meddled in human history and they're hilarious. The most random, like, I'm sorry, Mari Ginsburg. What?

SPEAKER_00 32:45

I had no idea what the fuck that was until obviously they said.

SPEAKER_03 32:49

Oh, like this is like a deep cut for one of the like the writers. It's like a huge Mari Ginsburg fan.

SPEAKER_00 32:55

I wonder if it also played towards their audience at this time. Like they were at least around during Woodstock. I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 33:02

I don't know. Yeah, I mean, this was 30 years ago, and I know very little about Mari Ginsburg. Very little. I'm I was like five years old. So um six, six years old something. So this is where it gets really interesting. And I just want to say in my notes, I just said, what the fuck just happened?

SPEAKER_00 33:31

Yeah, I don't okay. There is suddenly a hippie from a guy with a long curly wig. Isaac Newton. Yes, but we don't know that yet. I knew. And then there's and then there's number one. How did you know that was Isaac Newton? I I didn't, but he if he had been like holding an apple, that actually would have been very helpful.

SPEAKER_03 33:56

I swear, did they have Isaac Newton in TNG or was it like just Mark Twain? Remember the Mark Twain? I do remember Mark Twain being part, yeah, but I I don't remember an Isaac Biker is there in all his glory. And I just want to say this is like also one of my favorite non-Q scenes because Jane Way like walks right up to his chest. Like she's basically like hugging his chest, and she's like, I I I don't even know what she says, but it her face says, Oh my god, you're so hot. I'm so glad you're here. I love you so much.

SPEAKER_00 34:36

Save me. Uh, but she knows him, she does, she recognizes him. Um, but I also feel like Janeway does this to everyone when she gets like way too up into into their space. I think I've mentioned it before. I'm just like, why are you standing so close to this? She is like hugging him. Yeah, I mean, I would too. This has been really chaotic. There are like these godlike creatures just having their way with her whole life. And if I saw Commander Miker, I would also just be like, hey, can I just give you a hug?

SPEAKER_03 35:10

I guess I was a little confused as to why he wasn't immediately like, like he he was like, he was like, oh Janeway, good to see you, basically. But I was wouldn't he have been like, oh my god, where have you been for the last year and a half?

SPEAKER_00 35:25

That is a good point.

SPEAKER_03 35:27

He like plays it off like he doesn't see much.

SPEAKER_00 35:31

Yeah. That's really well, I mean, I guess it depends on when what time frame did Q pull him from. Because obviously he's pulling these other people from much earlier. He could have gotten a Riker that didn't know that Voyager disappeared yet, I suppose. That's an interesting point. It that would have been fun, actually, and actually really emotional if Janeway was able to explain to him what happened and then know that his memory was gonna be wiped before he was sent back.

SPEAKER_03 36:00

That would have been pretty deep, actually. You know what would have been funnier is if they had pulled the Riker number two, the clone riker, the like transporter clone riker. Randomly.

SPEAKER_00 36:15

Wrong Riker, sorry. Um, so Riker obviously recognizes Q, but he says he's he says he's never seen Quinn before. Um, but I guess he's wrong because Q conjures up this photograph of Riker's ancestor, Great Satan? Um I was such a stretch. I was like, I don't know. So his ancestor fought in uh was it a real war? I didn't know it was the civil war, okay, and received commendations, apparently. And this photo Riker has seen before, and that is his ancestor right there, and the man next to him that's it's Quinn. Cool. Uh and Riker has never known who this person was before, but apparently Quinn like carried his ancestor back from the front lines and is the reason he survived and so such a weird we have retcond a Riker Quinn.

SPEAKER_03 37:21

It was such a bizarre way to connect. Uh I don't know. I thought that was a really bizarre one. Agreed.

SPEAKER_00 37:32

The um and then Isaac Newton is like, oh, you were next to me when the apple fell. And it's like, okay, great, that's helpful.

SPEAKER_03 37:42

Yeah. Well, they say that Quinn actually shook the tree.

SPEAKER_00 37:45

Oh, did they say that? Yeah. That makes sense. And this hippie, I guess, is Morrie Ginsbury. Is that right? I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 37:58

I didn't even look him up, by the way.

SPEAKER_00 38:00

He like Yeah, yes, he did. Very fake hippie, but uh his story is that he ended up being the sound manager or something at Woodstock by happenstance. He just happened to be there and things were going wrong. And apparently Quinn had something to do with that. So I don't know how much that actually changed the fabric of human history and existence, but that was Q's argument.

SPEAKER_03 38:33

All of this was a fun way to justify getting Riker back on set.

SPEAKER_00 38:42

100%. That's that is all it was. And it was this really Q has this grandiose notion of what the Q continuum can do and how important they are for the universe. And it's obviously full of holes. His whole argument is just nonsense.

SPEAKER_03 38:58

I just there's there's an awesome like shot of Riker, who by the way is like six foot two, standing next to like five foot seven hippie and Isaac Newton in his like bridge uniform from TNG, and he's just they're all just kind of those two are like staring at him, and he's just staring ahead, like yeah.

SPEAKER_00 39:29

Well, and even when Jane walks up to him, I'm like, oh, there's such a height difference.

SPEAKER_03 39:34

And it's just such a bizarre scene. It was weird, and honestly, I loved it though, because it just adds to how crazy this whole episode is.

SPEAKER_00 39:44

Yeah, any episode with Q and it should be chaos, but like in a loving, wonderful way.

SPEAKER_03 39:51

Oh uh basically, I am not actually quite sure how they were. I I don't remember how they were justifying bringing these guys on board.

SPEAKER_00 40:05

Just that yeah, Quinn had touched all of their lives, and so uh letting him commit suicide would somehow keep him from touching future lives, I guess. It was it was very thin.

SPEAKER_03 40:19

It was quite thin.

SPEAKER_00 40:20

Um, but now it's Tuvok's turn, and he says that he would like to experience the conditions of captivity that Quinn have been has been exposed to. Um Q immediately says, I object. And so that's kind of Jane Way's cue to be like, yeah, actually.

SPEAKER_03 40:42

Janeway's Q.

SPEAKER_00 40:51

That so Janeway in response is like, yes, we should do this. And so immediately they are all squished together into this tiny round room that looks cold and foggy, and that's their what the comet looks like, apparently. Yeah, that's inside a comet. Um, they don't spend very long in there before Tatw is like, okay, this is awful. Get us back out of here. They never explain how the comet itself keeps Quinn from committing suicide. Um, we assume that he can't do that in there, but I don't know how that makes any sense. Maybe it blocks his power somehow.

SPEAKER_03 41:39

I'm I'm not sure. But after that, Janeway says that the only way to justify a ruling in Quinn's favor is quote the double effect principle, which justifies the release of him from age, infirmary, and suffering, even if it also causes death.

SPEAKER_00 42:01

Yes. So she did a bunch of research on suicide because she's normally against it, I guess. And um uh that really also very 90s, I feel like. Yes, and it was frustrating to me because that was not the point of this trial. It wasn't should be should Q be allowed to commit suicide, it's should Q Quinn, sorry, be given asylum. And she is not the one that should be deciding what Quinn does with his life. So that was that was kind of frustrating. Um But yes, she agrees that if he is suffering, then suicide could be justifiable. So they have to prove that Quinn is suffering. And Quinn does lean over to Q and whisper in his ear and then suggests that they take everyone to see what the Q Continuum is like. And I just wrote, oh, this will be interesting.

SPEAKER_03 43:07

I thought it was gonna be interesting. It turned into like a weird Were you disappointed? Oh, extremely.

SPEAKER_00 43:14

Which I think was kind of the point, right? Like, so we show up in on this desert road in the middle of fucking nowhere.

SPEAKER_03 43:22

Danmy's like, this is a continuum, a road in the middle of the desert. Yes. Literally just the road like north of uh Santa Clarita, where it's like where all the like Boeing plants are. It's just that road.

SPEAKER_00 43:39

There's just there's nothing there. Um, but they do walk a little ways and they come up to this farmhouse, and it's got some old timey people there that are just reading or playing pinball. They're not talking to each other. There's no like real. Action or movement, they're just existing. They don't actually say anything the whole time. No, they do not. And um Q explains that the road well, basically that he's created this view for mortals to kind of explain what the Q continuum is like, and that the road symbolizes basically the universe, I guess. And he's like, I've traveled that road many times and come back here. And I have played all the games that we have here. I've done everything there is to do. I've been the dog. I've been the scarecrow that we see here.

SPEAKER_03 44:41

Like he's tried different existences. Oh, and then John Delancey is like, everyone does the scarecrow. Yeah. Like everyone are you talking about?

SPEAKER_00 44:49

Um, and they just don't nobody there even reacts to their coming. It is just very like, I get it. These people are super fucking bored.

SPEAKER_03 45:00

I guess as a representation of where people are in the cute continuum. It's just he's I feel like he's saying that it's it stopped progressing. Yes, right. Like that was the point.

SPEAKER_00 45:18

He said they've discovered, seen, and heard it all. They all of it. They no longer have discourse. That's why they're not speaking. And he starts to talk about Q himself and how he started basically acting out, as we saw on The Next Generation, and how it was because Q needed entertainment, because there was nothing there, nothing for him to do, nothing for him to figure out. And he understands why Q had those urges and why he was acting out. He said that Q was fascinating and ungovernable and um really starts kind of talking Q up in this, like, yeah, he was a troublemaker, but it was great sort of way.

SPEAKER_03 46:07

I thought it was really interesting dialogue. I I don't know if this is the it's interesting uh set with metaphors, but I I thought that the dialogue was much more interesting. And uh I thought it was interesting that he said that Q was his inspiration for taking the stance he did and talking about how he was over the continuum and was planning on taking his own life.

SPEAKER_00 46:38

Yeah, he's over life.

SPEAKER_03 46:40

And he, I'm not sure how if this was a metaphor or literal, but he said he's like, This is the last article I wrote about taking my own life. There's like a little newspaper article, and he's like, they stopped the presses after this.

SPEAKER_00 46:56

Uh yeah, so Quinn was seen as a societal threat, essentially, because he wrote this article saying he's ready to die. And then he goes on to this kind of, I thought, very enlightened speech about how his life's work is complete, but they've cheapen it by forcing immortality on him. Life has become futile and meaningless. And I yeah, I feel like I get it.

SPEAKER_03 47:24

Yeah, and I I don't think they should be throwing him in comets and telling him what he should do. I don't actually think that it's I don't understand how it's that much of a crisis. Yeah. But if he's the first one to do it, then I guess it it represents a a change, right?

SPEAKER_00 47:44

Yeah, it's that societal threat. It's like, well, will everyone want to commit suicide now? What do we do? How do we handle this? Um but he does turn to Janeway and he's like, what if Voyager had nothing left to explore? And I think that that really drives it home to Janeway.

SPEAKER_03 48:00

Yeah. So this is where Q has this interaction with Janeway in her ready room, and it's extremely inappropriate. He's in her bed, which he does sub card all the time, um, to be fair. But but he feels different when he's like sexually aggressive in a way, and says, you know, if you rule in my favor, then the continuum will return Voyager to Earth. Um, he there are some quotes, you know, basically he's like whispering in her ear and up against her and being very dominating, and she is not having it at all.

SPEAKER_00 48:46

Yeah, if anything, this is like not working in his favor. Uh she um he says that he can show her a good time, and he's like, I've never done anything like this for Jean-Luc.

SPEAKER_03 48:58

Yeah, I'll give you a ticker tape parade.

SPEAKER_00 49:01

Oh my god. So he's basically giving the impression that he's becoming some sort of obsessed with this woman in a uh mate type situation. And like strong woman. Yeah, and it's it's almost as if he wished Ricard was a woman so that he could fall with them. Um, but here we are, and Jane May gets up out of bed and basically tells him to leave.

SPEAKER_02 49:31

Yeah. So it's the next day she says she's going to do her ruling on this case.

SPEAKER_00 49:42

And she says that she uh she sits down and she says that she doesn't want to be responsible for suicide or the effect that it has on the continuum.

SPEAKER_03 49:55

Uh so Q has asked the members of the continuum and persuaded them into basically giving Janeway what she asked for.

SPEAKER_00 50:07

Yeah, this is what she asked for earlier was let Quinn re-enter into their society so that he doesn't he doesn't commit suicide, and that she would feel better about ruling in Q's favor if he did that, which has figured that out.

SPEAKER_03 50:23

And Q tells her that uh she's won and um anyway, goes on about like, oh, we should celebrate together. So comes back out, says, um, you know, Quinn, I've considered the implication that granting asylum would lead to a death. And even if the death is self-inflicted, she's also considered the consequences of a suicide on the Q continuum, which are potentially large. The idea of making this decision um that would have such a large effect uh has been difficult for her. And um she still decides to side with Quinn and say, yeah, you deserve um or you you are granted asylum.

SPEAKER_00 51:21

Yes. She says that uh very pointedly, she does not believe that Quinn is mentally unstable, but she does believe he is suffering. So he did convince her, and she says she cannot condone forcing immortality on him. And so once that happens, Q Q is obviously upset, but he snaps his fingers, and Quinn is now mortal as we find out because Quinn tries to do something magical and he can't.

SPEAKER_03 51:54

Yeah, I I think he tried to like transport him somewhere in transport himself somewhere maybe. Yeah, and he's just like oh he's like, oh, I'm mortal. And um, and I assume just Q leaves because that's kind of the last we see. He's like, all right, peace.

SPEAKER_00 52:12

My job is done. Oh, good reddance. But then Jane when he starts to go on about how Quinn Quinn now has a whole new experience to explore. He has never been a whole new existence to explore. He has never been mortal, he has never lived that type of life. And you know, he should try to live among them and just see, like maybe he wants to live a full life now.

SPEAKER_03 52:38

Yeah, I mean, I I thought that was a little inspirational, like she's kind of excited.

SPEAKER_00 52:44

It was insightful. I I thought she was definitely correct. Like he's never lived life with the with the knowledge that it will end.

SPEAKER_03 52:53

And I thought that was a really good way to end it too, if that is the way it had ended, because uh it it gives him the opportunity to die um on a timeline that is fairly short, considering his existence. It's not like a young man, I assume. But it's also um kind of poetic.

SPEAKER_00 53:19

Absolutely. So they apparently welcome him onto the crew, and Janeway and um Chicote are trying to figure out what they're gonna do with him. Like, where where can they put him on the ship that will not only interest him but benefit them? And they're like, if we put him in stellar cartography, we could just like shut the whole thing down. He knows all of it. Like it's so it was it's a real challenge for them.

SPEAKER_03 53:48

Takes poison and dies.

SPEAKER_00 53:53

Yeah. Bye. Thanks for hanging out with us. Um yeah, essentially the doctor calls and is like, you should come down here because Quinn is dying. And Quinn took a poison that the doctor can't cure, and they're like, Where the hell did he get that? The replicator won't give it to him, we don't have it on the ship. And then Q bot Q just pops back in. Me, I gave him Shoot, that was me. I gave him that. He's gonna die now.

SPEAKER_03 54:25

Um to to be clear, he gave it to him to take.

unknown 54:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 54:30

He wanted to take it.

SPEAKER_00 54:32

Yes, oh yes.

SPEAKER_03 54:33

You didn't like poison him.

SPEAKER_00 54:35

Yeah, no, Quinn Quinn is there on his deathbed, just like this is what I wanted. It you know, but the what we really get from this scene is that Q has decided to act out again.

SPEAKER_03 54:50

Which I love. I'm glad we're back to it.

SPEAKER_00 54:53

And I guess we didn't discuss this just briefly. We talked a little bit about how Q had been acting out and then was reined in. Yeah, he got in trouble and was reined in by the continuum.

SPEAKER_03 55:06

And I think this whole conversation with Quinn, where Quinn was like, You're my inspiration. Look at you being a good little Q again. Yes. I think he's like, Oh, yeah, maybe I shouldn't be a good little Q. I didn't like being a good little Q.

SPEAKER_00 55:18

Yes, that is the inspiration for Q to now but go back to being a pain in the ass. And he says, We'll see each other again. And I was like, God damn it.

SPEAKER_03 55:30

And I was like, Yes. At least, I mean, if this is a three-part arc, at least two more times with Q. Oh. And he's in Deep Space Nine as well. Great, he's also well, he's also in Lower Deck.

SPEAKER_00 55:47

He should be in all of them. Yeah, he's he's Q.

SPEAKER_03 55:50

I think he's actually. Did he ever end up in Enterprise? I never watched Enterprise. I don't know either.

SPEAKER_00 55:56

Oh no. God, I wonder what it's like being that actor. He used to be in all of those.

SPEAKER_03 56:01

John Belancy? Yeah. The last thing I saw him in was Breaking Bad. I did not realize he's in Breaking Bad.

SPEAKER_00 56:08

Did you watch the show? No.

unknown 56:10

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 56:12

I am one of the few people that never watched Breaking Bad. Um yeah, that's kind of the end. He was just like, cool, I'm gonna do my thing again, so I'll be around.

SPEAKER_03 56:25

Well, I mean, Janeway says the continuum won't be happy with you. And he says, I certainly hope not. I don't give a fuck. I'll see you very soon. Great episode. It was so great. It got Star Treky, like boardroom discussions at the end there, but I really loved everything.

SPEAKER_00 56:49

I don't mind the boardroom discussions, and I actually enjoy the waxing philosophical on suicide and this discussion about immortality, I think is very fascinating. I think Q had to be there in order to facilitate this episode, but otherwise I could have just he could have just not been there, and I would have been happy. Oh, it was good because Q was there.

SPEAKER_03 57:18

It was good without It was good because there were two Qs. It was two times Q. One of those Qs was not like the other. Uh alright, let me pull up next week's episode. Yes, please let it not be a Q episode.

SPEAKER_00 57:34

Part two is good. In this one, I hope Jane tries to seduce Q in order to send them home.

SPEAKER_01 57:50

I love to hear that.

SPEAKER_03 57:55

Okay, well, when I Uh alright. The doctor falls in love with a Vidane patient whose life he saved. Oh how? Okay. Meanwhile, Tom Paris Tom Paris' insubordination starts to go out of control.

SPEAKER_00 58:15

We're gonna finally address that.

SPEAKER_03 58:18

And oh boy, Harry, it's the Susca Arc 4 of 9. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 58:27

Stop giving me numbers out of nine. I get so confused.

SPEAKER_03 58:33

It's only that one. That is the only one. It's just into nine. There's nine arcs. There's nine arcs. It's just the way it is. There's a lot going on in the next episode. Thanks for hanging out with us. Thank you, Q. And thank you, Q. We're gonna queue up some more episodes for you. I'm getting uh glared at right now. Uh thanks for embracing my opinion of you. Goodbye.