The Host | First Contact | Skin of Evil

As i said, it's one of my comfort shows, and it comes out when things get nasty. Kindof warming, everythings very secure. It's like a house with double-glazing - you know the bugs can't get in and everything's all clean and nice. Plus there's Will and Deanna. Mmm.. At the moment i can't work out which one of them i want more, so i'll settle for wanting both.

Will Riker has always annoyed me slightly in some ways, but i think he's gorgeous so i'm forced to watch anyway. Deanna also has her little girl screaming moments, when she goes pathetic, and sometimes she's far too stereotypically 'counsellor', but mainly she just looks gorgeous too. The Host is one ep where they both do absolutely nothing wrong, so i'm gonna talk about that one first.

The Host

I have a love/hate relationship with this episode. Actually it might be love/love/hate, seeing as Riker is one love, and Deanna is the other. The hate is something that happens later on, that really shouldn't have happened at all, and that i really can't believe the writers thought could just be dismissed.
The basic plot is that an alien with whom Crusher is having a relationship, becomes ill. He's supposed to be negotiating a treaty for two planets, and when they discover that he's a symbiote Will volunteers to carry him for the length of the negotiations. He's ever the man of duty our Will, doesn't even give it a second thought. I thoroughly agree with the reviewer over at StarFleetLibrary who said it was the best performance Frakes gives. I can't stop watching him in this ep - he suddenly loses Riker's jollyness (and that's what normally bugs me i think) and becomes someone else in Riker's body. He really does it well, and i fell in love with him over again when i saw this ep. He gets steadily iller through the ep, always looking very pale, which is something tv shows sometimes neglect to pay attention to.

There's also the matter of the sexual tension between Beverly and Odan (in Rikers body) which actually works really well. The looks they are giving each other are really good, and there's alot of angst flying about the place. I think actually, what is happening with Will is that when he's Will he's acting the hero, but when he's Odan he IS the hero. Plus there's no overacting, which is normally rife with Will. Deanna has some really nice scenes with Beverly, one in the beauty-parlour and one in ten forward. Everything about her body language, speech and attitude in these scenes are just adorable, she looks like a bar of chocolate to me - deep brown eyes and hair, and those pale smooth lips. Want. She also tells a really sweet story about her dad, and it wasn't overdone at all - it was just right. I loved it. I also quite liked the look she has on her face when Will comes into ten forward. She's focused on Beverly's angst, but you can see the detachment and controlled distress on her face when she sees her Will with someone else controlling his body.

There's lots of comfort coming from Beverly's direction, as you would expect (relationship or no) and Picard is constantly pushing the fact that Odan is in pain and must take painkillers. Eventually, it becomes clear Odan has to leave Riker's body or risk his life. There are moments when Will comes through in character, and it's unclear whether this is voluntary or just a side-effect of sharing his mind. The first thing that bothers me is that no-one asks to talk to Will directly - to check how he is or what he wants to do in respect to carrying on and risking his life. No-one wants to check that Odan isn't supressing him, or not allowing him to talk. Perhaps i've watched too much Stargate (with the Goa-ould) but i'd have thought it'd be natural for them to want to talk to Will at least once.

And the above points brings me to the 'hate' bit. Towards the end of the episode, Odan finally gets through to Beverly, and she accepts that it's really him just in a different body. And then they kiss. And make love, i think we are to believe. Crusher has sex with Odan, in Will's body. What the fucking hell is going on there?? HELLO, can anyone spell rape? Will Riker's body is used by Odan and Beverly, whether he's there or not. If he was aware of what was going on (which i think is highly likely) then jesus you'd think he'd be trying to stop it. And if he wasn't there we're still talking major violation of privacy. I can't honestly believe that Crusher would even kiss Odan when he's in Wills body, i can't believe she didn't give a thought to Riker. Even that is going to be fairly traumatic for Will. I can't believe the writers wrote it, and then didn't give it a second though, follow-up scene, or anything. Am i the only one that this troubles?? I bet not actually, i wouldn't be surpised if there were missing scene fics to address the fact. I certainly hope there are, anyway, as i'd hate to be the only one to have given this thought.
Poor Will.  :(

That shot of Will in sickbay is the last one we get of him, we don't get any kind of conclusion for him, which is darned annoying. Ahwell, such is canon.

First Contact

Whoop! Whump ep ahoy! I bought the season dvd's for this one, and it was worth it. Will is part of a final team investigating a planet they are planning on making first contact with, when he gets caught in some riots and is taken to the hospital. There they find the physical differences that raise doubts as to his species, and it runs from there. I remember seeing it on tv ages ago, and really loving one scene in particular. The bit where Will escapes his captors and makes a run for it, and they beat him in the corridor, then there's manhandling (SQUEE) and all is good. Henceforth, we shall cap...

There's a fairly hilarious bit where a nurse helps him escape prior to that, by asking that he make love her! I'm still trying to work out what she's been in before, but my brain isn't working properly. Apart from the hallway scene, he's mostly flat on his back for the ep, and it doesn't get much more exciting than that. At the moment all i can think about is Kelly Robinson, and how much more wincing and painful sounds we'd get from him in a similar situation. Mmmm... ::gallops off to the I Spy fandom page::

Skin of Evil

No caps, curses, because i don't have this season on dvd yet. But soon, because i want beardless-Will and his foray into the skin of evil. I love the premise of those episode anyway, whumping aside. A skin composed of all the evil of one society - full of bitterness at its abandonment, how it's been used and cast aside, it's sadism, it's gross hatred of everything. I love the idea, and love the fact that Will gets dragged in (of course). All i have at the moment is a trailer clip, so gotta get the dvds soon. I can't remember what it's like when he gets spat out, but hey it's canon so i won't get my hopes up.