#s3e23

[atomiccollectionanchorme]

Star Trek: The Original Series - Season 3 Episode 23 "All Our Yesterdays"

Spock: Can we go back? Zarabeth: I don't know. I only know that I can't go back.

[atomiccollectionanchorme]

Star Trek: Enterprise

Star Trek: Enterprise - Season 3 Episode 23 "Countdown"

[iicraft505]

[jurassic-cunt]

somebody does something bad. foreman accuses house. house accuses cuddy. cuddy accuses wilson. wilson accuses cameron. cameron accuses chase. it was house

[atomiccollectionanchorme]

Star Trek: Voyager - Season 3 Episode 23 "Distant Origin"

STAR TREK: VOYAGER - S3E23 Distant Origin

[lerry-hazel]

Random PoI Ramblings

S3.E23 ∙ Deus Ex Machina

In fact, now that I think about it, s3 final is simply too much: there is not only Grace, but Control, and Samaritan, and Decima, and Vigilance, and also Root with her servers –

Would have made much more sense if s3 was mostly random numbers, some of them Vigilance-related, and finish with Colier organizing some outlandish disaster to lure out the “creator of governmental surveillance system”, and Harold is about to reveal himself when Arthur Claypool metaphorically stands up and says “I did it!”    

Then s4 could be about trying to prevent the rise of the Samaritan, ending with its coming online, and shortened s5 with the last stand.

Would have made for a much smoother pace, don’t you think?

[azure-firecracker]

When the episode description looks like silly goofy campiness and then the episode provides some of the most heart-wrenching scenes you have ever watched.

[ghosthorse-tracks]

couldn’t believe what I was hearing when I first watched this episode

but it is real, and it is beautiful 💖

[atomiccollectionanchorme]

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Season 3 Episode 23 "Family Business"

3x23 - Family Business

[iicraft505]

[katinacrisis]

idk what it is about the patterned jeans and thin white button down but kono is so hot in s3e23

[squidballsinc]

Why Trigger's Songs Have Left The City

a very bad idolish7 season 3 part 2 episodes 1-10 (14-23 of s3 overall) summary by a (completely sane) sogo fan

it all started when ryo shitface, that crusty fuck, took over tsukumo and wanted to dominate the idol industry as revenge for being unwanted by an idol who promised to want him while shitfaced drunk and depressed and so he the little bastard made an edgy alt idol unit abt it and then started spreading rumors about other idol groups and their companies in order to make his seem more "trustworthy" starting by targeting trigger with a dating scandal first from their playboy idol archetype and then with the fucking president of their company who is also gaku's dad with the ultimatum they will only stop the bad press if yaotome productions turns trigger in or dies with them yaotome (the president) goes for a mystery 3rd option of letting trigger go turning them legally into an indie group but not before ryo tries to kidnap all of them right before their last major televised performance thus i7 splits to rescue all of them with 4 strangely competent oldest members in hostage situations and iori coordinating everything with a groupchat a singular earpod and a dream cut to ryuu being the only member of trigger not even the gods can kill and putting ryo in place with only his eyes and his words as the shrivilign little man he is before going on stage to solo slay

trigger is now indie but are basically blacklisted from all major publications and news/tv outlets because ryo is blackmailing them all and so i7 and revale set out on their epic avengers endgame banding together to destroy the beast (fucking shriveling snivilikng motherfucker) mission some members mezzo (and maybs yamato and/or mitsuki i cant rmm if they are there in that meeting) visit trigger in their now shared(!!!) apartment to offer any help they can namely sogo offering to invest their money for them of which they are godly ryuu learns sogo's family situation is not daijoubu and tries to convince him to reconcile with his dad-tamaki protests this loudly-sogo is conflicted, eventually sogo makes up his mind to stay in mezzo and i7 because this is his dream his real dream (of being an idol singing and dancing to their songs and finally having the freedom to truly pursue music) and decides that more than anything he wants to help the people who are not only his seniors but also the idols who gave him the courage to pursue his dreams in the first place

so he gathers his courage to finally explain himself to his father and ask for his support and tamaki (of what im assuming is his own volition and was his idea bc hes a good boy like that) accompanies him for moral support (by which i mean he is fully ready to beat sogo's dad's face in to hell and back if he does anything to hurt him) only to be shut down immediately as his father refuses to listen to him at all and falls into the same pattern of ignoring and stopping any train of thought/action/pleading/explanation/reasoning sogo can/might've provided in his own egotistical mindset of needing a perfect heir to inherit his business and tries to force him to leave idoldom

fearing for sogo's inability to stand up for himself tamaki speaks up against this spurring sogo to remember whats really important to him and how far they've come and changed and he tries once again, renewed, to reason with his father who is still refusing to listen but this time sogo is not willing to give up, not if it means leaving tamaki (his spiritual son/brother) and the rest of i7 (his family) and so when his father order's his secretary to kick them out sogo pushes him off him, accidentally shoving him into the wall his father, the bastard, twists the narrative into an assult he'll report to the police and makes the secretary swear it was tamaki, a delinquent orphan nobody, who will take the blame the only way out being if sogo leaves and isolates himself for the rest of his life which he is determined to do because going to jail is already bad enough for a teen but a teen thats in the media spotlight, has no strong legal adult supervision to fall back on, and already had to fight back against a nasty reputation as a "bad child"? his child? deal taken

sogo is allowed to go back to his last job at the radio station, where mezzo is meant to appear each night to talk about music, his greatest passion in his safest place, now turned into a prison, a figurative holding cell for the last remains of his dreams, where his inevitable (ego) death awaits and manifests as the disappearance of tamaki who he has (forever, that he will) leave behind hes a man of his word but more importantly hes a man who only has a few fleeting moments to cling to his dream and he tries, dear god he tries to stay composed as he delivers his (only his, only he will know these where his) final (parting) words but as he speaks something in him breaks, a dam he thought had long surpassed what was asked of it, a box he'd placed the shattered remains of a child into, the casket of dreams he'd only recently had the courage to pry open and he realizes: "this is my last moment" and what comes to mind is the words, the last words, sweet precious good boy tamaki said to him-- 'speak loudly', so for the first time ever he opens his mouth, and decides to put himself forth, one last grand hurrah to show the world everything sogo, is, was---truly is and the only thing, the only thing he wants to talk about: is his dreams, his idols, himself. the idols that made his dreams, the life that shattered himself, the world that killed his spark, and the wishes that made him a person again, in those moments what he wants to deliver is a vision, a dream, a secret shared with the only people who'll understand him. the lonely, broken, hidden people of the night who are fans like him, who understands the wishes and longing and love and dreams he'd never gotten to express in full. he wants the people to dream those dreams again. to never give up idols like he is forced to. he wants his secret to last eternally, in the dead of night, in the hearts of fans who feel like themselves supporting the people they love, who have people they love. to carry it in his stead

and then badda bing badda boom good boy tamaki comes in clutch again and guilt trip lecture slays sogo's dad so hard he can go join the horde of sogo's (rightfully) crying and supportive army of fans to make sogo cry (of joy) and pick him up to take him home (their real home) and as they sit in the taxi together they are both filled with a sense of pride, for each other, for how they've grown, and how they fall into place the end.

[departmentq]

[a-continuous-cutting-motion]

I feel like a race that ignored their emotions in favor of cold logic alone (Vulcans) would somehow destroy themselves in big and small ways?

[just-tell-him-you-love-him]

oh my gOD

(s3e23, The Jerk)

[self-made-purgatories]

Running "Interference": Lots of thoughts about Turnabout Intruder through the lens of the big Spirk fight arc in Season 3. I'm sorry to say that I'm pretty sure Spirk have broken up for good now.

To recap: Spirk were still all over each other, touching shoulders, staring at ass, making double entendres, in The Lights of Zetar (S3E18). But everything changed in Requiem for Methuselah (S3E19), when Kirk broke Spock's heart, Spock broke his personal boundaries, and an immense strain was placed on their relationship. They were still fighting and drifting apart in The Way to Eden (S3E20). They were finally speaking again, but cautiously, and with lots of baggage and a surrogate fight, in The Cloud Minders (S3E21). By The Savage Curtain (S3E22), Kirk was already checking out Spock's ass again, and their personal space was once again waning to pre-Methuselah size, and I had hoped they were working things out. But then All Our Yesterdays (S3E23) happened, and Spock went to hell and back with Bones, uncharacteristically partook of both meat and pussy, barely looked at Kirk, and showed what an intense internal crisis he is still going through. Now we arrive at the last episode of the entire series, Turnabout Intruder (S3E24), and while there are some beautiful nods to their relationship in this episode, there is still an awkward distance between them. I think that they have broken up.

The context of this episode is important: Kirk's body has been stolen and switched places with an ex-girlfriend of Kirk's (of course), Janice Lester, who is now pretending to be Kirk. So any interaction with "Kirk" is actually an interaction with Lester in disguise, and any interaction with "Janice Lester" is actually an interaction with Kirk.

We begin here, where a flustered Lester-in-Kirk makes several mistakes in a row on the bridge and Spock calls him out on it. (Keep in mind that Spock still thinks this is Kirk.) Lester-in-Kirk responds to repeatedly being corrected by making a scene, forcefully reprimanding Spock in front of the whole bridge. Spock keeps his cool, calm exterior, of course, but his voice is dripping with ice when he responds:

SPOCK: Since the captain usually deals directly with Starfleet in these matters, I assumed that my suggestions might be deemed interference.

The word interference is really interesting here. Call to mind What Are Little Girls Made Of? (S1E7). When Kirk knows that he will be replaced with an imposter android, he plants a virus in the code, as it were. He "teaches" the android the sentence, "Mind your own business, Mister Spock. I'm sick of your half-breed interference, do you hear?" It is a sentence he would never actually use, and his hope is that Spock knows that. And Spock does. The android uses the phrase against Spock, and Spock figures out the truth right away. With only one sentence, a sentence referring to Kirk seeing Spock's involvement as interference, Spock is able to see right through the imposter and realize that Kirk needs help. He knows Kirk and their relationship so well that he realizes that the words "interference" and "half-breed" from (someone who looks like) Kirk amount to a lie. That is the level of the intimacy they used to share.

But now? Spock, his voice shot through with resentment, dangles that word interference, and Janice-in-Kirk doesn't correct him, and yet he still doesn't see the imposter for who she is. In the next few scenes, he admits that the Captain is acting strangely, but he chalks it up to some sort of mental illness or madness and enlists Bones' medical help in solving the issue.

What has changed between Spock and Kirk? It's the fight they're having. Their relationship is strained and it has affected the intimacy of their connected thoughts and the intimacy of knowing each other inside and out. What other hurtful words have been exchanged between them that has ruined their trust of each other to this degree?

A few scenes later, Kirk-in-Lester finally gets Spock alone (not entirely alone; there is a guard in the room with them and you have to wonder how having an audience affects this conversation). Kirk-in-Lester tries to explain what has happened. And Spock doesn't believe at first. Spock has always seen and known Kirk clearly; quickly recognizing such imposters as that android who said "interference." But this time, Spock hesitates, citing the need for proof.

Kirk-in-Lester starts by trying to appeal to Spock's memories of their adventures together, bringing up events of the episodes The Tholian Web ("you wouldn't leave me") and The Empath ("we wouldn't leave Bones"). Spock quickly points out that those events are a matter of public record and therefore not definitive proof.

And then, Kirk-in-Lester appeals to Spock with the following words:

JANICE: You are closer to the captain than anyone in the universe. You know his thoughts. What does your telepathic mind tell you now?

Kirk-in-Lester could have just shared something kind of private, something that only Kirk would have known and Lester wouldn't. There must be hundreds of other things that could have been said. But instead Kirk-in-Lester digs deep and pulls out the t'hy'la card. The "closer than anyone in the universe" card, even. The come to me, be inside me, and then you will know that you know me card. And yet, Spock still does not believe.

All of this is a parallel for where they are as a couple right now. Kirk is asking Spock to take a leap of faith, to see and believe the truth of who they are to each other before it's too late, and Spock cannot.

I am of the opinion that Kirk is still in love with Spock, but Spock is so hurt that he will not allow their relationship to continue as it was before. I have also said before that mind melds are a stand-in for sex numerous times in this series. Is that what this is? Is this one last deep, intimate, penetrating goodbye to what they used to be?

Spock draws near to Kirk-in-Lester, places his hand on her face, and starts the mind meld.

First his head recoils slightly, then his eyes snap open and his face registers surprise for a quick moment. What did he see there? What did Kirk say to him in the deep intimacy of his innermost self? But then Spock pulls his hand back, turns away. He thinks for a moment. Then he says, finally, resigned, "I believe you."

But the response is heavy-hearted. It is true; he would know him anywhere. But there is no joy in the realization. (Imagine if, instead, he would have brightly responded with "Jim! It is you!" or a sweetly sarcastic remark about how Kirk is always getting into situations, or even a measured but cordial "Hello, Captain.") Remember how dynamically overwhelming and soothingly pleasant Spock's feelings were about visiting with Jim's mind in the past. There is none of that now. There was a time when his heart would have leaped with the light of recognition, a time when he used to brighten up as soon as the Captain would walk in the room. That light is now extinguished and it's so painful to see.

He turns away. And when he turns back, it is to respond in duty alone, devoid of the passion that once used to leak out of his hardened exterior whenever it came to his captain, his love. Now it is just a fact: I believe you.

So, in the name of duty, Spock sets out on a one-man mission to restore the captain to his rightful body, as well as his rightful position in command.

As they leave the room, attempting to trick their way past the guards, Spock grabs Kirk-in-Lester by the wrist, and much has been made of this motion. It is a beautiful, intimate, protective gesture, just a little bit possessive, almost like holding hands. It is also a way to continue communicating telepathically. What are they saying to each other?

This wrist-hold is also something Kirk sometimes does to Spock. (Remember this moment in Errand of Mercy?)

It is short-lived, but it is one of those beautiful nods to their relationship that are peppered throughout this final episode.

Spock confronts Lester-in-Kirk, earning himself a court martial trial. While the other crew members eventually rally behind the real Kirk, Spock stands out as being the first to recognize the real Kirk (even though he didn't recognize him as fast as he used to when they were closer) and to stand with him no matter what.

It is also Spock who is able to reverse the effect of the alien technology that caused this switch situation. Using his mind powers, he is somehow able to pop Kirk-in-Lester's neck in a way that restores both Lester and Kirk to their own bodies.

In so many ways, throughout the whole series, Spock and Kirk have cared for each other, saved each other's lives, believed in each other no matter what. They have shared what Bones (in Requiem for Methuselah) referred to as "the ecstasies, the miseries, the broken rules, the desperate chances, the glorious failures, the glorious victories" of love. And now, sadly, the series is ending with one last misery, one last glorious failure. The series is ending with their connection still dampened with pain and grief and misunderstanding and missed connection. But, even though the warmth and passion between them has cooled (at least on Spock's end), Spock's professional loyalty to Jim as his Captain remains as unwavering as it ever was.

Spock's last action in the whole series is this: to restore Kirk and Lester to their original selves. This shows us something important to the whole series: in essence, it is Spock who makes Kirk who he is.

And the very last words of the series: Spock and Kirk walk away together (with Scotty), as Kirk says, "If only, if only."

If only.