Mortal Coil

[gdog243 0]

I saw this episode last night for the first time in years. While it was still a very good episode, I was having a hard time about what the show was trying to say about faith, and maybe some of you might be able to clear things up. Before that though, here were some great things about it. For the first time since Fair Trade, Phillips was fantastic. It was great to see him really start to have doubts about his faith and see him go over the edge. The episode reminded me somewhat about DS9's hard time. In that episode, Obrian is tought not to be savage, but when he kills Ea'char, he is so torn about what he did, that he almost committs suicide. This episode works the same way, but it was Neelix questioning his faith. I also liked that the writers brought back Naomi and used her to symbolize Neelix's life.

 

However, dispite all the good things, as someone who is fairly religous, I was confused about what the episode was trying to say. Star Trek is nortorious for side-stepping (the only series to really tackle the issue was DS9, and I wish they could have done more) the issue of faith and what it means. It seems like here they do the same thing. Neelix is a character that loves his people, so when he does his vision quest and is told that his faith was a lie, I really have a problem with that. I've been trying to interpret the meaning of the quest too, and this is where I need help. Is the episode trying to say that faith is a lie, that living is so much more important and faith shouldn't matter? If it is, than I am conflicted because as a catholic, this episode is a bit insulting. I really hope I'm wrong because on the other hand, it was a well done show.

 

There was also a great inside joke that is probably voyager's best so far. It was when Seven was talking about the Kazon and said, "Their biological and technological advancements was not remarkable. They were a step back from the perfection we required."

Edited October 6, 2004 by gdog243