B'Elanna's depression in "Extreme Risk"

[F. King Daniel]

WARNING: RANT

In "Extreme Risk", B'Elanna is suffering fron depression after learning her Maquis friends are all dead. The subject is treated terribly.

First of all, depression isn't cured in an hour. I realize TPTB's dislike of ongoing Voyager story arcs is probably to blame for this, but offhand comments about it being weeks or months old sound like bullshit when she's A-OK the episode before, and totally fine the episode after.

"Extreme Risk" bewildered me. B'Elanna's boyfriend is totally oblivious to what's going on. When he finds out, what happens? He doesn't even talk to her about it! He nods to Janeway, walks out the room and that's it! It's up to Chakotay of all the people (I would want to kill myself after having to listen to him drone on!) to help her through it. I can't imagine what the writers were thinking when they wrote Tom as such a totally oblivious retard. What happens when he finally talks to her again? We never find out *facepalm*

Rant over. Feel better now.

 

[henbane]

Got to agree here - dreadful treatment of the subject of depression (and not just the time factor either). Was disappointing, as Star Trek in general tended to excel in storylines relating to emotions, morality and/or ethics.

 

[SRFX]

I have a partner who suffers from depression and I found this episode offensive in it's treatment of the issue.

 

[Tomalak]

I completely agree, it's a dreadful episode. In a way I applaud them for trying something like this with a major character, but for it to come up out of the blue, and then never again be referred to? Absolutely terrible treatment of a very sensitive topic.

 

[SRFX]

I completely agree, it's a dreadful episode. In a way I applaud them for trying something like this with a major character, but for it to come up out of the blue, and then never again be referred to? Absolutely terrible treatment of a very sensitive topic.

Yeah I mean, I would've been glad if they had built this up over a few episodes at LEAST.

But no, that would've involved actually treating the issue seriously instead of this token lip service to the issue.

 

[Saquist]

I liked the episode.
It was not carried into later episodes but I'm not going to hold it against this one episode because Voyager wasn't a planned series.

 

[Destructor]

Yeah I mean, I would've been glad if they had built this up over a few episodes at LEAST.

But no, that would've involved actually treating the issue seriously instead of this token lip service to the issue.

From what I recall there were definitely at least two or more minor nods to Belanna's depression prior to this episode. And sometimes people are very depressed without the people around them noticing. I'm not saying the treatment was perfect, but they gave it a shot.

 

[Saquist]

Yeah I mean, I would've been glad if they had built this up over a few episodes at LEAST.

But no, that would've involved actually treating the issue seriously instead of this token lip service to the issue.

From what I recall there were definitely at least two or more minor nods to Belanna's depression prior to this episode. And sometimes people are very depressed without the people around them noticing. I'm not saying the treatment was perfect, but they gave it a shot.

I agree.
But also this is standard trek. It's episodic.
O'Brien had a 20 year sentence in a few minutes and there is no mention of his continuing problem...let's try and be reasonable. The characters can't be fully fleshed out in 24 episodes a year. Could Voyager have done more with it's character drama sure but this episode was well done and realistic. It's one of my Favorite B'Elanna episodes and I personally am not going to throw it out the air lock because the leave it at that. I appreicate what they did with it.

 

[SRFX]

Yeah I mean, I would've been glad if they had built this up over a few episodes at LEAST.

But no, that would've involved actually treating the issue seriously instead of this token lip service to the issue.

From what I recall there were definitely at least two or more minor nods to Belanna's depression prior to this episode. And sometimes people are very depressed without the people around them noticing. I'm not saying the treatment was perfect, but they gave it a shot.

Well, I'll have to wait until my review reaches this episode (and the ones preceding it) to make a better judgement, but my recall recollects that this issue came out of the blue.

So we shall see. :P

 

[JanewayRulz!]

I always took the entire 5th season as being a case study of B'Elanna's depression, one which she didn't really start to pull out of until the beginning of season 6 (Barge of the Dead).

There is foreshadowing during the premiere of the 5th season, foreshadowing that I initially mistook as a writer who didn't know what he was writing about, when certain words/phrases came out of her mouth. When ER played the next week... it was obvious that I was disparaging the author unfairly.

 

[froot]

It is a shame there was no follow-up, though. I think Barge of the Dead fit, in a way, but it didn't directly deal with her depression regarding the murdered Maquis.

Although - wasn't Nothing Human this season as well? I know, I know, that's a love-it-or-hate-it episode, but ER would explain why she was almost irrationally opposed to having Moset's help.

 

[JanewayRulz!]

"Nothing Human" was this season... which put another roadblock between her and Janeway, one not removed until Barge.

"Juggernaut" was also this season, which required her to undergo counseling with Tuvok... no Vulcan neural pressure... thankfully.

Rewatch "Night" with the knowledge of what's eating B'Elanna's gut, and you will see new layers in Roxanne's portrayal of B'Elanna. The way she's put out over Janeway's disappearance from normal shipboard functions, the way she's fighting with Tom in the messhall, the way she's suddenly (???) become an fan of klingon pain sticks in the holodeck (WHAT? I yelled the first time I heard that). And finally, most especially, the way she's standing on the bridge, when Janeway walks in for the (?) last time to say goodbye. Just look at the set of those Klingon shoulders ... by GOD she looks like she's ready to beat Janeway with her fists if she has to.

 

[Destructor]

the way she's suddenly (???) become an fan of klingon pain sticks in the holodeck

I believe this is what I was thinking of. I was like: "Uhm... red flag! Red flag!" So, it was hinted at.

 

[Tomalak]

the way she's suddenly (???) become an fan of klingon pain sticks in the holodeck (WHAT? I yelled the first time I heard that).

Ha, I always thought that was a bad joke from Tom. I never even considered it was serious, just a petty attempt to get a rise out of her.

 

[henbane]

I just rewatched this episode - it was on TV this morning, so the details are a little more refreshed in my mind.

It really is a very poor treatment of the topic of depression (which is unusual for Star Trek which since it's creation has relied on moral, ethical and emotional fables to set it so far apart from other "space programs".

The "symptoms" BeLanna experiences are more consistent with a short term "reactive depression" (eg as in the sudden loss of a family member), and not longer term depression, as the storyline indicates. In protracted depression, loss of motivation is a key factor and in most cases the person becomes so demotivated that they are unable to do anything (like participate in holodeck programs with safety off). This is why suicide is a greater risk in those recovering from depression rather than in the more depressed stages. Also they are more likely to engage in self-mutilation (eg cutting themselves) rather than more engaging or demanding activities such as those on the holodeck.

Had they run this episode closer to news of the Marquis disaster and removed reference to the fact that it was protracted depression, it would have been more believable (but still a poor episode).

People do NOT recover from protracted depression (or even reactive depression) within hours or days. Even antidepressants (if they even work at all) often take weeks to have an impact on depression (even though they may have an immediate hypnotic or anti-anxiolytic effect).

 

[kimc]

I always took the entire 5th season as being a case study of B'Elanna's depression, one which she didn't really start to pull out of until the beginning of season 6 (Barge of the Dead).

An interesting take - never thought of it that way.

 

[JanewayRulz!]

I always took the entire 5th season as being a case study of B'Elanna's depression, one which she didn't really start to pull out of until the beginning of season 6 (Barge of the Dead).

An interesting take - never thought of it that way.

Consider that, then rewatch "Unimatrix 1"...specifically the part where B'Elanna "forces" her way on to Janeway's away mission to the borg cube.

Its one of the reasons why my fanfic "Counting in Time" hinges on her relationship (and vice versa) with Janeway.

 

[brcarthey]

I just rewatched this episode - it was on TV this morning, so the details are a little more refreshed in my mind.

It really is a very poor treatment of the topic of depression (which is unusual for Star Trek which since it's creation has relied on moral, ethical and emotional fables to set it so far apart from other "space programs".

The "symptoms" BeLanna experiences are more consistent with a short term "reactive depression" (eg as in the sudden loss of a family member), and not longer term depression, as the storyline indicates. In protracted depression, loss of motivation is a key factor and in most cases the person becomes so demotivated that they are unable to do anything (like participate in holodeck programs with safety off). This is why suicide is a greater risk in those recovering from depression rather than in the more depressed stages. Also they are more likely to engage in self-mutilation (eg cutting themselves) rather than more engaging or demanding activities such as those on the holodeck.

Had they run this episode closer to news of the Marquis disaster and removed reference to the fact that it was protracted depression, it would have been more believable (but still a poor episode).

People do NOT recover from protracted depression (or even reactive depression) within hours or days. Even antidepressants (if they even work at all) often take weeks to have an impact on depression (even though they may have an immediate hypnotic or anti-anxiolytic effect).

i understand what you're saying, but i don't think they were saying by the end of the episode that b'elanna was cured--merely that she recognized her illness and was on her way to recovery.

as for her depression not happening closer to her finding out about her friends' deaths, TPTB actually wanted the episode to happen during season four but couldn't make the scenes work due to roxann's pregnancy.

 

[JanewayRulz!]

I prefer the "depression" happening in season 5, since in actuality season 5 was a wall that EVERYONE seemed to hit "head on". I refer to it as Voyager's "Dark Night of the Soul", something everyone "went through" in one form or the other.

Janeway being the most obvious, in the premeire, "Night".

B'Elanna following close behind in "Extreme Risk", "Nothing Human", "Juggernaut".

Tom in "Thirty days".

The EMH in "Latent Image".

Harry Kim in "Timeless", "The Disease".

Chakotay in "The Fight".

Seven in "Infinite Regressions" and "Dark Frontier".

Neelix in "Once Upon a Time".

Tuvok in "Gravity".

They all went through that "dark night" and eventually came out the other side. B'Elanna's journey is just more obvious to us, because its been a character arc for her since season 1's "Faces", and will continue through season 7.

Many complain that B'Elanna's drama spun out of control for too long, but I always took it as a sign that the writers finally DID realize that you can't cure years of conditioning and self esteem problems in one 42 minute episode.

 

[Lord Manitou]

If one attempts to be careful about 'Extreme Risk' the ep. doesn't start-out with her depression but just her being B'Elanna. Her depression is something she hid from everybody, being Klingon and all that, which is better than being human. What is wrong with her suddenly comes to a climax when she was assigned to help build the Delta Flyer. This was quite obvious. It took counseling from Janeway and Chakotay to set her out straight again on the right path.
Obviously the writers sold the ep. to the general public taking advantage of their characteristics- and this is good.