Innocence

This week on The Voycast,Tuvok crash-lands on a moon with a group of mysterious alien children, and Audrey is convinced they wandered over from the set of Reading Rainbow. Tuvok's reluctant babysitting adventure takes a turn, and one of the strangest aging stories in Star Trek. 🖖

Follow us on Instagram at thevoycast

Become a member on Patreon patreon.com/TheVoyCast

Visit our website www.thevoycast.com

Come hang out with us in the Delta Quadrant!

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:11

Hey listeners, I'm your co-host Saudrey, and I'm your co-host Terry. Welcome to the Voicast, your home in the Delta Quadrant for All Things Star Trek Voyager. Today we're watching season 2, episode 22. Innocence. Chuvak replaces LeVar Burton on the Benjamin Button episode of The Reading Rainbow and is annoyed for 45 minutes. Exactly. Teleplay is by Lisa Clean. Story is by Anthony Williams, and it was directed by James L. Conway. Honestly though, this episode is not too bad. Chuvak is like trapped on this moon with a group of small alien children that literally did walk off the set of the Reading Rainbow. On to the Voyager set next door.

SPEAKER_00 0:58

And when you say literally, did you look up these children from Reading Rainbow?

SPEAKER_01 1:05

I don't have to look that up, Terry. I watched the episode. I know I was raised to recognize them. The Reading Rainbow, it's obvious that that's the set they came from.

SPEAKER_00 1:16

It's also pretty obvious you were raised watching Reading Rainbow.

SPEAKER_01 1:23

Fair. That's not sure how to absorb that observation, but it's probably not a bad thing.

SPEAKER_00 1:33

No.

SPEAKER_01 1:34

I just I don't wear color clothing.

SPEAKER_00 1:38

You have a rainbow on your hat.

SPEAKER_01 1:40

I do.

SPEAKER_00 1:41

I do.

SPEAKER_01 1:42

Yeah, well, and I'm pretty uh lesbian, so did the reading rainbow make me gay? Ooh. Excellent question. Maybe that's probably reading Republican Republican next. Reading made me leave religion when I was at a young age. I don't know that that's what made me gay. Uh well, yeah, we've already derailed quite a bit here, so we're gonna pull it back before it becomes rated our observations.

SPEAKER_00 2:17

Probably not on reading rainbow.

SPEAKER_01 2:20

Not the version they were broadcasting.

SPEAKER_00 2:26

That's the robot chicken version.

SPEAKER_01 2:28

It's uh yeah, it's the adult swim version of Reading Rainbow. Okay, so Innocence. Innocence. Ironic after we just talked about that.

SPEAKER_00 2:40

But yeah, this episode was uh fun because it was so much Tuvok, and it put Tuvok in a position that we definitely haven't seen him in before, and we got to learn how he parents essentially, which was super fun. But beyond that, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:00

Which I feel like Tuvok in this episode is probably as close to like behind the scenes accurate to like any parent in America.

SPEAKER_00 3:10

Well, yeah. Well, on the Delta Flyers episode, they were talking about the actor who plays Tuvok at this point in time did not have children. And they were thinking this was like a little bit of him coming through the character being annoyed with these children. It was adorable.

SPEAKER_01 3:27

It throws you right in. There's no like warm-up on Voyager, and he's walking out the back of the shuttle, and there's a dying crewman, Ensign Bennett, there on the ground. Who we've had no introduction to. He's a rando. Did Tuvok like jog down to him, or was it kind of like a leisurely stroll down the back of the as I'm thinking about it, it seemed really leisurely actually. Right. And I'm like, okay, so we got the shuttle, it's open, but it's just kind of sitting there. It's not like crunched up in a ball against a rock. Yeah. And I'm like, how did Ensign Bennett end up 20 feet away?

unknown 4:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:12

On the ground. Out of the shuttle. He says he can't feel his legs, too. So we're thinking like spinal injury. Did Tuvok like not like him? And maybe, you know?

SPEAKER_01 4:27

Oh, that's pretty bleak. Did he do a murder?

SPEAKER_00 4:31

Uh I mean, you yeah, you know very quickly this guy's gonna die because he's like, I have no family, no one to miss me. And you're like, oh bye.

SPEAKER_01 4:39

Right. Well, and and he's new. So anyone like that's brand new and injured and actually says words, you know they're gonna die. So classic red shirt behavior here from Mr. Bennett, and T Voc is like our medical supplies are insufficient to deal with the wounds that uh that you somehow have. So he had to have been thrown from the shuttle. That's the only explanation. Were you suspicious? Like, was he on uh up against the back wall ramp thing of the shuttle? And when it opened, he just went just flew right out. I think that sounds right. He has no family to miss him, but he does feel sad. Um that he has no one, no one to leave behind. And I was like, I don't know, man, like I don't have kids right now. If I was in this situation without kids, I don't know that like, oh no, I didn't have kids would be the first thought I had when I'm about to die. On I would be like, oh no, I didn't, I didn't try Romulan ale.

SPEAKER_00 5:46

Like I mean, family also means partner, it means parents, whatever. But honestly, it's kind of a blessing if you know you're gonna die that you don't have anyone that's gonna miss you. It's kind of like, cool, good. This is good, clean death.

SPEAKER_01 6:03

So it's like the most comedic part of the episode is where Tuvok says, Well, instant pull something out of this guy, McCormick will miss you a great deal, and then he dies.

SPEAKER_00 6:14

Yeah. I was like, oh no, that's so bad. It was a sad, it was a sad start to the episode, but this all went very quickly. We're spending far more time on it than was actually on screen.

SPEAKER_01 6:29

As we are obligated to do so.

SPEAKER_00 6:31

Yeah, we had to dive into that.

SPEAKER_01 6:33

Redshirt deaths are kind of one of our favorite things here on the podcast.

SPEAKER_00 6:38

So yes, and they should be examined, they should be ruthlessly analyzed. Tuvok creates a little force field around his body.

SPEAKER_01 6:48

Well, it's a stasis field, so I I assume so he doesn't rot. Rot, but also we don't see him again. That's a good point.

SPEAKER_00 6:57

We do not see his body again.

SPEAKER_01 6:59

Yeah, I assume when the other aliens, because technically we're all aliens on this planet, um, come down, they take him, they take his body.

SPEAKER_00 7:08

I don't know. That would be rude. It would be I also would be really confused if they came upon a dead body.

SPEAKER_01 7:16

Do you think this was just some inconsistency? Because his body was just sitting there behind the shuttle, and then a few seconds later, a bunch of young children walk out of the jungle. And I feel like we forget about this. There is not a like dis discussion with the children about, hey, I know you just you're standing next to this dead guy. Um, it wasn't me. Uh, do you have any existential questions before we move on?

SPEAKER_00 7:49

Yeah. There is no talk about like, what is death to Voc? Which could have been very provocative.

SPEAKER_01 7:55

Right. We do talk about death. I mean, I kind of thought that's why he I was like, is that the connection? Like to have someone die and then they talk about how they're afraid to how the kids are dying. I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 8:07

Yeah, I guess this episode is all about death, and this was just our first little taste.

SPEAKER_01 8:12

Yes. So this girl literally runs out of the jungle and starts running past Tuvok, and he like grabs her. So random. Snags her. She was just running between sets. She'd just been on Reading Rainbow, and she on the way somehow got like a triangle sparkles tattoo on her forehead.

SPEAKER_00 8:37

On her forehead, which is the only thing that looks unhuman about her. She tries to struggle free, but like literally can't move. Tuvoks just holding her there.

SPEAKER_01 8:47

He talks about how the ship crashed and what the hell are these children doing in the jungle?

SPEAKER_00 8:52

Yeah. Um, she apparently apparently her ship crashed too. So that's just a thing that happens on this moon, I guess. She says that all the adults are dead. And he does question her about are there other children? And she tells the other children to come out. So there are there are three kids just on this moon alone.

SPEAKER_01 9:13

Now, now we're on Voyager. I think we were just thrown into it. Like I think she they had already contacted this alien race called the Drayans? Drayans, yeah, because the planet is called Drayan 2. They have the sparkle tattoo on their forehead, but they also wear wedding veils or black ones.

SPEAKER_00 9:36

So like morning veils. Morning veils. Wow.

SPEAKER_01 9:44

But they're not like super black. They're like a gray. I feel like they're just through them. Yeah. That's like the alien costume. And um honestly, the the fact that there was very little done to change their anatomy, I I never mind that because it almost like the more crazy the like nose ridges are, or the crazier the like forehead is, or like fish style lips. I don't know. Like they add some weird stuff. And whenever it's just like, I don't know, we did some face paint and had these like wedding veil costumes sitting around from the princess bride and figured why not use these. Is that like that's so original series? That's so like Yeah. Like in in the original series, they just would everyone just looked human for the most part, and it was just fantastic, right?

SPEAKER_00 10:48

Well, it in this series it seems like kind of an indication that the the storyline is the main focus here, I guess.

SPEAKER_01 10:57

That is such an interesting observation. Yeah, that could be I don't I don't know that that's an actual written standard they followed, but that's interesting.

SPEAKER_00 11:06

No, I doubt it, but Janeway has invited these basically ambassadors from the drains on board. And um Oh, but it's the planet's leader though. Doesn't she come on board? Shh. Yeah, uh she's the leader? Yeah, she's the first prelate, but that doesn't what's a prelate?

SPEAKER_01 11:29

It's the planet's leader because she says it in her captain's log. She says, Meanwhile, I've arranged a meeting with the le the planet's leader.

SPEAKER_00 11:37

Oh well, that's great. I like her even less. Yeah, she's actually she's a bitch.

SPEAKER_01 11:46

Honestly. I mean, yes. Her communication skills uh need work.

SPEAKER_00 11:53

Well, she's very judgmental. I don't I mean, I think she she didn't mean to come off nice and she sure didn't. Correct.

SPEAKER_01 12:02

Um they just they don't want their, I think Voyager's looking for like a mineral, and they don't want them there.

SPEAKER_00 12:09

They're yeah, get out of our space. Jamie is trying to like make friends with these people so that they will let them mine on their moons. And she does not get to the point and tell them that. She's just like, we're gonna be diplomatic and we're gonna be able to do that. Oh, I yeah, it was very frustrating. So she takes these aliens straight to engineering, which is where they need these minerals, and she does not approach the fact that they need these minerals. She just shows them their warp core. And I'm like, wait, so now we're just showing aliens our technology.

SPEAKER_01 12:46

Uh yeah, I this is not this is Janeway in poor form. Like, not her best episode, in my opinion. The way they wrote this story uh could have been much more like I don't know, uh logical because especially when it focuses on Tupac. Yeah, I was waiting for you to laugh at the pause. Um good job. Thank you. It it just it was so lazy. Like you're right, Janeway should have been like, hey, look, we're looking for this mineral. Uh one of our guys uh is out there looking for stuff or a couple of our teams, and uh, you seem great, but we really need this mineral. And um and how can we make that happen? How can we make this happen? Like, we're here to trade. I I'm not a representative, like sure, I represent Starfleet, but like not Starfleet interests. Right now, I represent getting the hell out of your space. And yeah, yeah, it was just kind of odd that she'd be like, Well, we could meet again and what do you think? Two weeks? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:00

That's exactly just like we'll we'll follow up, we'll circle back, drill down. Not great. Um, but the these aliens, when they see the warp core and when they're like, Oh, the first place you took us is engineering, is when they first start to get really like condescending. And they're like, Oh, does your species feel like advanced technology is your highest achievement? And I was like, Oh shit.

SPEAKER_01 14:26

I mean I was like, I don't know, lady, that's kind of a loaded, also very narrow question. Uh yes and no.

SPEAKER_00 14:35

Like, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:37

But the point, like, we could say yes, warp technology, but also the Sistine Chapel. Like, sure.

SPEAKER_00 14:46

If it still exists on Earth, you're right. There was a nuclear Holocaust at some point before the Federation formed. Uh but the reason that Jane Way took her to engineering was because that's that's where they need this mineral. And she could have said that right there, but she didn't. So they continue on their little tour. And this alien tells them about how their people were like super focused on technology and were extremely advanced to the point where they stopped thinking about their people, and I guess their society almost collapsed.

SPEAKER_01 15:21

That part of the storyline is obviously like a reflection on how technology can become, you know, dangerous. I'm not sure that it really made sense the way they like this species talked about it. Yeah. But I was thinking about like, okay, this is like in Dune history. The, you know, we we get to the singularity and we create AI and it helps basically run society for a few thousand years, and then they decide to wipe out humans, and there's a war. Same thing with like the foundation series. There's a war against machines. We win, but afterwards, you're not allowed to have like advanced thinking technology. Obviously, these guys have like advanced spaceships. You see some here and there throughout the update.

SPEAKER_00 16:10

Which I was surprised about actually, because she was so condescending about technology. I was like, oh, they must not have spaceships and stuff, but they do. They do.

SPEAKER_01 16:18

And I think I think the point she was so passive aggressively trying to communicate is that they're they're no longer pushing to progress technology or they're no longer making that a priority um over like society and civil repair and um pupil priorities and things like that, which is great. Um, just don't know why she needed to be such a bitch about it.

SPEAKER_00 16:45

Yeah, she's definitely looking down her nose at them.

SPEAKER_01 16:48

Weird thing to do to a ship that's stranded.

SPEAKER_00 16:54

Just wow. Wow. Um, they also go to sick bay and she talks to the doctor briefly, but not a whole lot happens there. He's like excited about being a diplomat, I guess.

SPEAKER_01 17:08

He's like, Yeah, and Cass has been teaching me some diplomatic protocols. Mm-hmm. Cool. Well, they're not gonna get used like at all. Uh this at least this episode.

SPEAKER_00 17:21

Poor guy. But the the prelate takes an emergency call while they're in sick bay, and she's just like, I have to go, and normally we don't talk to other people, and I shouldn't have now, so goodbye, essentially. And uh since Jane Lee has not ever talked to her about wanting anything, and she still doesn't now, she's just like, okay, we're not wanted here, so we'll leave. And I was like, what the heck? What? Jane Lee, how badly do you want to get home? Do you want to at all?

SPEAKER_01 17:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:56

Yeah. We do. So they leave, and Janeway starts calling back the away teams that were exploring these moons.

SPEAKER_01 18:11

I was not happy. Why are you acting so weird, Janeway? Stop. T-Vox working on repairs, the children are kind of hanging out, and we have these like moments where Tvox getting frustrated with them because they won't stop touching things or talking or like pestering each other, like children do. And more and more frustrated, and it's hilarious at some point that one of the kids is like, Hey, what what uh what does this do? And he's like, That's an electrodynamic turbulence detector.

SPEAKER_00 18:46

Um just plankster, right? He is using big words with them, and it's not, they're not getting it.

SPEAKER_01 18:55

He's trying to figure out why they're here. They're like, We didn't we crash, but um, some of the kids that were with us got killed by this monster and taken. Yes, and there's con very conveniently a massive cave right next to like across the clearing from the shuttle crash. Yeah, it's basically where the shuttle crashed. And this is apparently where the the quote unquote monster lives. The morok. The moorok, which uh have you seen that movie Time Machine with Guy Pierce? It's like 1999 or something or 2000.

SPEAKER_00 19:33

This is the one where he continuously tries to save his girlfriend. Well, at the beginning. And he fails.

SPEAKER_01 19:39

Yeah. He like builds a time machine in like the 1800s and then like goes way, way, way into the future, like millions of years, where humans have now become like two separate races. There's like the race where like there's still sexy women that he can like be attracted to as the primary character, and then there's like evil living underground monsters that uh there those are called more locks. And so I thought of that movie when they said more ox. That's very similar. And it sounds so I watched it as a kid, so it's like kind of scary.

SPEAKER_00 20:16

I did too. And all I've I only remember the first part where he tries to save his girlfriend and then gives up. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:21

Pro tip like, if you show movies that are even remotely terrifying to an eight-year-old child, they will never forget.

SPEAKER_00 20:33

My dad showed me uh King Kong when I was about that age, and I dreamt that King Kong was looking in my window that night, and I screamed and ran out of my room, ran to my parents' room, and their door was closed. So I ran into the door and gave myself a bloody nose. And my dad was not allowed to show me for baby Terry.

SPEAKER_01 20:58

Uh no. I also like I think when I was like eight, my dad just started showing me stuff. So just showing me stuff late, late, yeah, late 90s. He's like, okay, my oldest is old enough to just literally watch anything. And honestly, I love, I love everything. I I'm so into movies because of that.

SPEAKER_00 21:23

Um that's so funny. We went like opposite directions. I hate, I hate all horror and scary movies.

SPEAKER_01 21:30

I don't like horror really. Uh okay. Mostly because I just get bored and I feel like it's a they just it's not ever to the standard I want. But like the mummy. Like I watched the mummy when I was eight.

SPEAKER_00 21:44

The mummy's not horror.

SPEAKER_01 21:46

It's his action. It is when you're a fucking eight. That's actually fair, yeah. Plus, there are some scary scenes, like that scene where uh Brandon Fraser first like he's running around in the corridors and They've already woken the mummy, but they don't know what. And like the mummy is like, he's like coming out of his like sarcophagus. It's like leaning up, and Brandon like runs like into the room, and then the mummy's like, oh, and I was just like, ah. Uh the mummy's just good though. It's so fun. I love all that stuff. Like Indiana Jones style.

SPEAKER_00 22:26

Oh, yeah. All action. I am into it. Uh so uh the Moroccus. It's I really love how Tuvok keeps comparing these children to Vulcan children and just gets super annoyed because he's just like Vulcan children would never.

SPEAKER_01 22:46

Like Tuvok, I know you've been around like human children before. Has he? I mean, don't tell me Tuvok hasn't like worked on a starship with children at some point in his career.

SPEAKER_00 23:02

I mean, I guess, but starships with children are real big, and you can probably avoid the children pretty well. I would.

SPEAKER_01 23:10

I don't know. Anyway, he's doing his best, and he basically says, like, the monster's not real. Uh, your stress levels are elevated, and I want you to uh do some meditations, which works great with children. It goes over really well. Like, they're all like doing this thing with their hands, and one of the kids is like starts going blah blah blah blah blah blah. And then this the the primary child actor, this girl, she's like quiet. We're doing she like repeats verbatim what what he said and just made me laugh.

SPEAKER_00 23:54

Trying to achieve a meditative state. Thank you. Come on.

SPEAKER_01 23:58

We've all done this before.

SPEAKER_00 24:00

Come on. Yeah, it's very cute, but I I don't expect any child to be able to sit there and meditate, especially the first time. That's absurd. Um, they do ask him about his own children, and he's kind of talking to them about controlling their fears and controlling their emotions and how Vulcan children can do this. And they were like, Don't you feel anything to Voc? And he's like, Well, I just I control my emotions. And they were like, Do you love your children? And He was like, No. Um, yeah, I mean, no, but I thought what he said was nice. Just kidding, he didn't say that. Well, I mean, I mean he didn't say he did love them. He said that they were a part of him and that he's incomplete without them, which I think is very nice, but he very specifically left out the love word. I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 24:54

A lot of men ha struggle with that kind of emotional truth. So true. Oh, also, um, well, women struggle with that too. So sure. From experience, we all do, but I just thought that was funny that he dodged the question a little bit. But he did say a night, he does he does feel for his children. It seemed more in an effort to like deepen the explanation of how Vulcans feel love rather than Yeah to say he be like, well, I don't love my children, but I do. Like, I don't think it was like that.

SPEAKER_00 25:31

No, fully. They have on Voyager determined that Tuvok is missing at this point. Their other away team, which was Balana and Nelix, came back. Um, so they're trying to find they're trying to find Tuvok, but like also not? They're like not super concerned. They can't really see stuff on the moon. But yeah, I mean, why would they be concerned at this point? They just can't contact him.

SPEAKER_01 26:00

It was like one of those um episodes from a a comedy where like Bolana comes in and Jane Wa's like, hey, where's Tuvok? She's like, I thought he was with you. She's like, I thought he was with you, right? Oh no, we've lost Tuvok. Uh, well, hopefully the ensign that was with him padded his landing. And deal with this uh diplomatic stuff first. Yeah, maybe Tuvak did land on him. Could be.

SPEAKER_00 26:30

That could be may have happened. There's a little bit more with like Tuvok. We just jumped back down to the moon. He's repairing his shuttle and he sees that there is an incoming ship. With his limited sensors, he's able to identify it by its shield harmonics and believes it is a Drayan ship. So this is the the people that the kids belong to. And they immediately are like, hide us, Tuvok. They're here to kill us. Which is terrifying. That sounds awful.

SPEAKER_01 27:00

Yeah, I was like, whoa, whoa, whoa. I mean, the monster and the crash made sense, but now the children are being hunted by others in their race. Like very confusing. So I was like, oh my god, like, what are these? This is like a classic TNG episode where like you you step on the grass and you you get executed, right? Yes.

SPEAKER_00 27:28

Cause that's I was like, all right, if they left them here to die or wanted them to die here, why did they come looking for them? You could just literally leave them here and they would die, right?

SPEAKER_01 27:39

Yeah, and they're like away team that comes down looking for them and they hide in like the bushes and use a sensor field to to mask them. They have like they're like crawling around the the shuttle in these like black ninja suits. This is like what I remember from the episode. Yeah, it just looked like all black like medical garb, even with like little head things.

SPEAKER_00 28:06

So yeah. And then with mesh over the top. With mesh. Don't forget the mesh. Because apparently mosquitoes are a thing, I guess. I don't know. Um they they don't find Tuvok and the kids, even though they are not hiding very hard. Uh well, one kid like rattles a bush. I was like, What are you doing?

SPEAKER_01 28:27

He like stands up like an idiot kid, but it's they don't they don't find them, they leave, and Tuvok comes out and continues his work on the ship.

SPEAKER_00 28:41

So they start like they build a fire, which they can do now because the Dran's left and um the kids are really lighter. Yeah, of course. It was his classic Zippo lighter. It's the last thing he gave to Tuvok as he died.

SPEAKER_01 29:00

This is the only thing I care about. Take my Starfleet Academy Insigno lighter available on our merch store now.

SPEAKER_00 29:15

He the kids are again scared that they say like the morot comes out at night and and they're just afraid to be there. And he's again just like, you guys are guys, you're crazy. This is this is too much. Chill out. But they want like they want bedtime stories and they want their hair brushed. I thought that was so cute.

SPEAKER_01 29:37

They're like, Tuvok, I want, you know, tell us a story, tell us a story. And he's like, All right, all right, give me a second. Boop, boop, boop, boop, boop, boop. La bar, are you there? Could you come over? I know you're like literally just got off lunch and you're one set over, like in paramount. He's like, I'll be right there. What book should I bring? He's like, just whatever. The latest, like, caterpillar eats a bug book. So he comes over and reads them his story.

SPEAKER_00 30:11

He sings them his story, actually. And he does preface that as it is a 348-verse song story. Um, and he's like, maybe, maybe I won't sing all of them. Yeah, well, the kids fall asleep after like 10 seconds. Immediately, yeah. Immediately. Which it was very fun to see Tuvok sing. I would not have expected that's a thing we would ever have seen. He really did such a great job with the verses that he sang.

SPEAKER_01 30:43

Yeah, there was gratuitous vibrato, but otherwise, it was good. I like how you said that. Um and then the camera pans down, and there's like a little like medical hypo spray, and he's like spraying like, go to sleep.

SPEAKER_00 30:58

Shh, go to sleep now. Leave me alone so I can fix things.

SPEAKER_01 31:05

Basically, the next morning, the I forget her name. I think Tessa Tessa. That sounds right. Tessa wakes up, the other two kids are gone. They're gone. And that was freaky.

SPEAKER_00 31:22

Oh, and I'm like, did did Tuvok not set up some sort of perimeter? Like, how did how did this happen? How could anything come close enough to take these kids? Like, this is insane. He's Tuvok is a little bit like, oh shit, and he's scanning around. He yeah, he can't find there that there are any living beings like within range of them at all.

SPEAKER_01 31:43

He goes into the cave and finds this is so creepy. He's like got his little light, and he's shining it around, and he finds their clothes just like hanging out, like uh Master Jedi clothes.

SPEAKER_00 32:01

Yeah, right. Or like exactly like they just vanished right out of him.

SPEAKER_01 32:05

Like Tom Cruise War of the Worlds, where like the laser can't penetrate the the Wrangler Wrangler jeans, right? Yes like just hanging out. Yeah, so he is properly shook by this.

SPEAKER_00 32:22

Pete he does go back and tell this girl that, you know, what does he say? Because he doesn't fully say, like, I found their clothes.

SPEAKER_01 32:30

I won't shield you or something from any fear. I don't like they're gone. I don't know what has happened to them, but I do know that I will protect you, do anything I can to keep you safe, basically.

SPEAKER_00 32:45

Yeah, that's very sweet. The Tessa does kind of tell him a little bit more about her people think that she should be happy that she's going to die here, and that they say that the energy that is them uh rejoins, like it dissipates and rejoins some other body of energy. I don't remember her exact words. I remember being like, oh yeah, that's that's religious mumbo jumbo. That ain't a thing. Right. That was like, all right, more crazy origins story. But that does seem like what has happened to these kids, but their clothes are just lying there. Like they've just evaporated. Yeah, truly.

SPEAKER_01 33:28

Something's up. And Voyager knows it. They have noted that I think Tom was like, the drains have sent another search party to uh the surface of this moon. Yeah. And they are able to communicate with Tuvok very briefly.

unknown 33:49

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 33:49

He's like, I'm alive, I'm crashed, I've got some kids. I had I had some kids here, they're gone. I have one kid here. I have one kid left. Don't ask me questions, it wasn't me. And you know, help, basically.

SPEAKER_00 34:06

Um yeah, and he tells them, like, the this child believes that the Durands are here to kill her.

unknown 34:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 34:14

And yeah, Dane was like, excuse me. I had tea with these people.

SPEAKER_00 34:24

And so and they're murdering children? Those bastards. So that's that's why they want us out of here. That's why they don't want to talk to us.

SPEAKER_01 34:34

Yep. And a lot of things happen at once. Basically, like Tuvok is able to get the the shuttle moving, and he says he's offered the the little girl asylum. At the same time, Janeway and Voyager are kind of facing off against this other very large, very cool looking ship, like of the drains. It's got like it's like a super thin, like flat, like almost Delta Wing looking ship, and it's got these tubic blue engines. We only see it from behind, but it was really cool looking. We only see its butt their shuttle is boring. Um, but they like tried to use the same design language. So they're like, Well, we're going down. Sorry, you can't tell us what to do. And she's like, This is a huge mistake, we're gonna attack you. And she's like, We're going anyway. Um, yeah, done with your bullshit. I don't know what's happening here. You haven't communicated anything with us. As far as I know, you are murdering children. Yeah, and you're a bitch, and you're forcing me to abandon my crew on this moon, not gonna happen. So she does she actually go down with Tom? Yeah. That I'm like, that seems like a horrible decision.

SPEAKER_00 35:45

Oh my gosh, so much about this. I mean, they're talking about the atmosphere around this moon is really crazy for some reason, which is why the shuttle crashed to begin with. They can't really take Voyager down there. They're talking about how can we get another shuttle down there, which just seems like a bad idea. And then, of course, Janeway is like, I'm going, Tom's going, because he's a good pilot. And as they're leaving the bridge, Chicote like tries to stop them and is like, Jane Way, like maybe you should think about this. And I'm like, part of me was like, is he just afraid that those two are gonna go have some more alien babies?

SPEAKER_01 36:22

You wish. I don't think that's what I was thinking. I was thinking more like Janeway, like, you've literally like done this before where someone else has asked you to go, and you're like, no, I can't. I must stay on the ship. And it's like in next generation, outside of the rare occasions where like Jean Luc is super pissed, and like, no, I'm going. Fuck them. Uh Riker goes. Riker always goes. Yes. And and it makes sense that like Chicote would go with Tom and they could have had like a repair our, you know, relationship.

SPEAKER_00 37:00

Yeah, they do need that.

SPEAKER_01 37:02

Yeah. So I was like, okay, that's weird. Like, this is a very volatile situation where the shuttle is likely to be shot down at the very least.

SPEAKER_00 37:11

Yeah, either be shot or crash in this atmosphere. And you're going yourself. Yeah. I do feel like Shikote has obviously been left out of a lot of stuff recently, and this is kind of just his punishment for how he took off on his own a few episodes ago.

SPEAKER_01 37:28

I mean, I feel like him dying in a fiery shuttle accident would be punishment. That would be pretty good punishment.

SPEAKER_00 37:35

Like, that's terrifying. J Way makes the excuse that like this is still a diplomatic situation. So I need to do it. It is no longer a diplomatic situation. It is a wear a war now. Yeah. We're gonna save these children. We're behind enemy lines. So I don't know, they are able to make some dielectric fields around the shuttle to help with the atmosphere.

SPEAKER_01 37:59

Yeah, obviously they use the dialec fields. And this moon is called Crisada. So they're on their way down to Crisada, they're being pursued, and there's like lots of them flying through stormy clouds and being shot at, and then they're being shot at from the ground. Um, and Tuvok is coming up to like meet them, and he's being shot at, and he can't like maintain the shuttle's flight for much longer. So at some point during all this, Jane was like, go ahead and land, and yeah, we're coming to you. Uh-huh. And the prime of the Darians, Dra Drayans, um, also apparently on a shuttle, um, firing at them. And I'm like, does like no one have security? I'm just like, she is the leader of an entire planet, and like I know that the US is a little over the top with how we like protect our leaders, but like whole planet, entire starship, both of them with like just some three, two or three other people just kind of like shooting at each other on a I just is it worth it?

SPEAKER_00 39:16

Like, it's what is happening? Yeah, it was, yeah, it was wild. And at some point, the prelate like hails Tuvox shuttle, and Tuvox just like, this child says you're gonna hurt her, and she's seeking asylum, and I'm gonna protect her. And the prelate's like, I will use any possible means to stop you. And that's when they start firing at him. And I was like, okay, they really want this child to die.

SPEAKER_01 39:44

He's like, it's a warning shot. But yeah, I was like, that's insane. Are you what are you literally you are trying to kill the child? Yeah, you're trying to kill this child. Um obviously. She also says, I forget if it's to Janeway shuttle or Chewbox shuttle. She's like, you don't understand. You don't understand any of this. I was like, well, fucking explain it then, lady. Like you never explained anything. And the the breakdown of communication. I mean, I've certainly been been guilty of this in my life, but like not to this extent. Sorry. I think I would explain some things. They all end up landing, they all meet in person, they all come out into the clearing from different angles at the same time, which I thought was amazing.

SPEAKER_00 40:29

Very well timed. So now the pre-light feels like she can just tell them shit, all the shit all at once.

SPEAKER_01 40:37

Her demeanor is much more cordial for some reason. She got the shooting out of her. She's like, Oh, yeah, I got that out of my system. Feel better now.

SPEAKER_00 40:48

So we learn a good grief. This child is 96 years old.

SPEAKER_01 40:54

She's got the Benjamin Button syndrome, uh-huh.

SPEAKER_00 40:58

But they all do. Soul race. Yeah, this entire species ages backwards. And of course, their end of life is this childishness, and she's like, she's confused, she, you know, doesn't know what's happening. So they come to this moon to die, essentially. And I think that they do just like disappear.

SPEAKER_01 41:19

Uh apparently, apparently, though, they skip the baby form. Right. They just think they go from like seven-ish to just poof energy.

SPEAKER_00 41:31

And I don't know. Does that mean that when they are born they are full-sized adults? Do they give birth the same way humans do? What?

SPEAKER_01 41:43

All these questions and more next week on the boycast.

SPEAKER_02 41:49

This totally makes sense.

SPEAKER_01 41:52

I've no, no, all those questions went through my head too. And I was like, um, okay, so like, why do they skip the baby form? Do they like, wouldn't they slowly become little babies? And then you could like place the newborn prenatal baby on like a little stone altar, and then they go Manger. Uh Major, yeah, let's make it Jesus religious. And um I don't know if any of you knew this, but I'm not religious at all. Uh or like when they're born. I just like some like just middle-aged woman is just pooping an entirely formed old, old what old, just an old, naked, old, shriveled old man just coming out.

SPEAKER_00 42:53

I mean, I guess, okay. If they're not even possible, if they explode into like nothing when they die, then they probably form out of nothing when they come to life.

SPEAKER_01 43:04

They're probably birth process. The Benjamin Button movie where they like CGI make Brad Pitt super old and creepy-looking little baby man. Um, which I've actually never seen that movie. Most of what I know about that movie I searched after I watched uh The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, where they make fun of it. And I was like, ooh, what are you making fun of? I think he's like born an old shriveled man, but like baby-sized.

SPEAKER_00 43:38

Yeah, I think that is correct. Which is a better image for me to absorb. So my theory on why the prelate is being much more open now is that she sees that Tuvok was really trying to protect these children and these or these old people children, and They were supposed to have people there to help them through this process who all died in the shuttle crash. And so Tuvat kind of took over that position and she seems really like she feels like it's an honor to be in that position and that he's done a good job and that maybe makes her feel like she can open up about all of this. But it still feels so wild.

SPEAKER_01 44:25

Careful who you elect as your leaders, people, because some of them are not labor um great with communication.

SPEAKER_00 44:32

They were in medical bay together. They could have been just been like, fun fact, we age opposite.

SPEAKER_01 44:39

Yeah, he and the doctor could have been like, What? Tell me more. Yeah, let me study that for a bit. Tubok talks a little bit about the Vulcan death journey, and they have this like a cute little moment, like, I'll wait here as long as you like, and but he does say he cannot protect her from the natural conclusion of life, which is obvious. She says something about like you remind me of my grandchild. And I was like, Oh my grandson. I was like, that's really weird coming from so weird the child. So I'm gonna move past that. It was honestly like the weirdest part of the whole episode. I was just like, oh my god. It was so yeah. Because they she's also been like a child, and now she's now she remembers this the whole time, or is she remembering at the end? Uh box like, thank you.

SPEAKER_00 45:47

Fascinating. So they hold hands and they walk into the cave, and it is assumed that she vanishes.

SPEAKER_01 45:59

And then five years from now we find out she didn't vanish, and now she's back for revenge. Revenge against whom? I don't know. That's the Disney version of this. I don't understand.

SPEAKER_00 46:12

The yeah, literally the end, there was no discussion about can we mine these minerals now? Maybe we'll find out in the next episode if they were able to. No, I'm at that point I would have been like, let's just get out of here and kind of forget that this happened. It was bad all around. We all did poorly.

SPEAKER_01 46:29

Yeah, not the best performance by uh Janeway's quote unquote diplomacy. No. Um they all have their moments though, to be fair. What episode? Is this 23 or 22? Oh! Oh I've seen this one referenced in Lower Decks 2, so it must be another infamous one. The crew of the Voyager encounters a planet that has recently entered an ice age. They discover a series of stasis chambers where a small group of people are mentally connected to an artificial environment that has turned horribly wrong. Wronger than an ice age? Michael McKean plays a character called the clown.

SPEAKER_00 47:25

Oh no.

SPEAKER_01 47:26

So if you're afraid of clowns, this is not an episode for you, Terry.

SPEAKER_00 47:30

I'm not afraid of clowns, but I do not see how it fits into the entire genre of Star Trek.

SPEAKER_01 47:38

Michael McKean is. Did you ever watch Better Call Saul? No. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 47:44

Well, I think I've never actually watched any other TV other than Star Trek.

SPEAKER_01 47:52

Essentially, yeah. He plays um opposite of uh oh god, I almost forgot his name. But he's he's in that show. He's like the brother. He was in Spinal Tap too. I don't know if you've ever seen Spinal Tap. I have seen Spinal Tap. He's the like artist. The leader artist, but Okay. Yeah, so that's him. Well, now I'm kind of excited. Yeah, you'll recognize him if you look him up. But that should be fun. Clown episode. I feel like this is the first Star Trek clown episode we've ever had. I'm not sure how I feel about that. Embracing myself. Thanks all for joining and uh listening to us ramble about Benjamin Button for 45 minutes. And we'll see you next time on the Voicast. Bye.