Projections

While the concept of this episode is intriguing, the layers of reality when it comes to holographic technology were quite confusing. As a matter of fact, I assume that Kes walking away at the end, added another layer of confusion which we though had been solved. It was interesting to see Mr. Barclay (Broccoli from STNG) show up. I'm pleased to see the Doctor becoming more and more significant in this series.

This episode is like the movie Inception or the Matrix. Multiple layers of reality inside a holographic projection. As a viewer you ask yourself which version of reality is the real one and which is another illusion inside a holo projection. It feels like being trapped in a dream not knowing that you are dreaming.

And we meet Barclay again. He tries to convince the doctor that he is a real person inside a holographic program that is trapped inside the program because of an accident. The only way to leave the simulation is to end it as it was programmed to end: Either by returning Voyager home or by destroying it. The doctor gets dragged deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole. He tries to figure out what and who is real and what is just an illusion. But how can you prove an illusion inside an illusion? Every action while being inside a holo program is just interacting with the hologram itself.

This episode is tense until the end. And just like you think, the doctor has made it, he is just fooled by the program again.

There aren't a lot of episodes from the first 3 seasons of Star Trek voyager which I would call "must-see" for science fiction fans. But this episodes I'd argue is one of them. The others would be: Eye of the Needle, Deadlock, Distant Origin, Worst Case Scenario, and Scorpion part 1.

What makes this episode great is that it's mysterious from the start. And it keeps the viewer engaged throughout. It even adds an extra twist at the end after one thinks that the writers ran out of tricks.

The episode largely explores the idea of one character not knowing what is or isn't real. And being put in a situation where it's seemingly very important for him to make the correct determination about reality. All of these sorts of stories are very relatable because we know of people who are convinced of things which are false to their detriment. We know that many likable characters are still easily fooled.

And although this sort of story has been done before many times, it's interesting and different to see this sort of story from the perspective of a seemingly artificial form of life questioning if he isn't artificial. It's usually the other way around. It's easy to forget some of the important story details of this episode as well. And that makes it fun to re-watch. This episode also, although confusing, doesn't rely on time travel for creating the confusion or trying to resolve the confusion. And that's something that I appreciate given how common it seems for sci-fi writers to use time-travel or space-time anomalies as their tool for establishing confusing and interesting scenarios for their characters.

The doctor takes a trip through the universe of Philip K Dick. As PKD would put it, "Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away."

The android, I mean doctor, is unable to distinguish between what is reality and what is an extension of his own holographic universe, whether he is a real human being or just an identical simulacra. Its great for his own character arc but unlike a classic PKD story the lines between what is real and imagined identity, and furthermore what the protagonist can trust of their own fundamental perceptions and consciousness, is neatly tied up. Even the doctor smirks knowing that he no longer has any illusions of whether his entire system of perception is real or fake. Compare this to say other PKD inspired movies like Blade Runner or Total Recall where the story leaves you with the distinct possibility that the protagonist is choosing to live in the reality they would prefer. Not as a replicant, not in a virtual mental vacation.

Even the relationship between Kes and the doctor felt very Dickian to me. She has another man sure but...does she love the doctor anyway? Is she trying to help him or hurt him? When she walks away into her own universe where he can't follow she leaves him one last time asking if it (his life, their feelings) was real.

It's a lot more palatable to know that it ends so that every thing is as it should be for the next episode. But it leaves me without that bewildered craving for the total disruption of the senses and basic human comprehension of reality that a book like The Three Stigmata of Eldritch Palmer could give me.

The Doctor appears to find the ship abandoned.

This is a strong episode with enjoyable performances.

The plot is elaborately written and obviously meticulously thought out, but you never think for a second it's going to to do anything but press the reset button at the conclusion. Plus the concepts of life and reality are quite familiar from episodes of The Next Generation.

For me the main reason to watch is the Doctor's fun journey back to reality, which has some clever twists and as it unfolds the tension increases. One scene that returns to the events of an early episode is particularly good.

The entertainment provided by pairing Robert Picardo with Dwight Schultz gives an added edge, as the charisma levels are off the charts.

Visually it is very good, which helps the storytelling and the various reveals when they happen.