History Recap / StarTrekVoyagerS2E23TheThaw

* ICannotSelfTerminate: Janeway theorizes that the Clown brought her into the virtual world because of this trope--deep down, he ''wanted'' to be defeated, because the whole reason Fear exists is to be overcome. Since the Clown couldn't overcome himself, he needed someone to find a way to do it for him.

* ILied: Janeway claims that she's linked herself into the computer system, but it's actually just a holographic simulation designed to model her brainwave patterns without actually entering the virtual world. The Clown is ''not'' happy and pouts that Janeway lied to him.

* RapidAging: Also done to Harry as part of the Clown's mind games.

* ShuttingUpNow: Neelix suggests making the Clown laugh -- that ends fear, right? Everyone just stares at him until he sits down in embarrassment.

'''All:''' ''(mocking)'' The only thing we have to fear is fear itself!\\

'''Janeway:''' I've known fear. It's a [[MotivatedByFear very healthy thing most of the time]]. You warn us of danger, remind us of our limits, protect us from carelessness. I've learned to trust fear.

* FauxAffablyEvil: The Clown makes occasional overtures to making his simulation fun and entertaining the three trapped aliens. In response to talk of escape, he grouses, "You never appreciate my hospitality!" However, it's clear that he gets a sadistic kick out of tormenting all of the living inhabitants of his simulation.

* NoRespectGuy: Neelix suggests laughter is the best medicine and [[TakeThatScrappy gets stared down by everyone]], but that solution was used successfully in TOS [[Recap/StarTrekS3E7DayOfTheDove "Day of the Dove"]] and [[Recap/StarTrekS2E14WolfInTheFold "Wolf in the Fold"]].

* ImStandingRightHere: The Doctor doesn't take offense when B'Elanna says that an artificial brain simulated for the Clown wouldn't be as good as a real one. At this stage in the series the Doctor hadn't developed the sizable ego, and sense of his own rights, that would become an important part of his character.

* LotusEaterMachine: Which becomes NightmareFuel when it backfires.

* GoneHorriblyWrong: The system was supposed to give the frozen survivors a LotusEaterMachine to keep their minds occupied. Needless to say, the whole thing turning into nonstop NightmareFuel wasn't part of the plan. Bit of a lack of imagination there.

* DangerouslyGarishEnvironment: The simulation dimension in the minds of the people in stasis features a circus that looks fun because the characters wear colorful clothes and it has bright lights and objects. However, it is run by a program that has had a AbstractApotheosis into fear itself!

* CessationOfExistence: What does fear itself fear most? When its conquered and fulfilled its purpose, it vanishes.

* DistressedDude: At least the Clown explains why Harry is such an enticing hostage -- with a mind full of technical details, he needs to keep Harry close by because Harry might just think of a way to rescue the other prisoners. Being dragged to the guillotine and having his neck feathered-dustered before the chop is the final indignity.

* DoubleTake: When the Doctor corrects the Clown on [[DoWrongRight the proper way to hold a scalpel]] the Clown nods in appreciation, and then the Doctor yanks it out of his hand and frees Kim. Cue Doubletake.

* CutTheJuice: Averted because it takes several minutes to revive the {{Human Popsicle}}s without causing brain damage, so they can't just shut the system down without the Clown killing everyone.

* IKnowWhatYouFear: After a few seconds, anyway.

* TheBabyOfTheBunch = LiteralMetaphor: The Clown [[ForcedTransformation turns Harry into a squalling baby]], as he hates being treated as the [[EnsignNewbie baby of Voyager's crew]].

* GrayscaleOfEvil: The color scheme for The Clown which makes him stick out like a sore thumb in the simulation.

* MonsterClown: Guess who! See Trivia section for more information.

* DwarfsAreSurreal: The Clown's dream domain prominently features a Little Woman in a brightly coloured tutu, played by Patty Maloney.

* KickTheSonOfABitch: Janeway offers no sympathy to the clown that had murdered several survivors.

* PayEvilUntoEvil: Janeway has NoSympathy whatsoever for the Clown, and rubs it in as he fades away into nothing.

* SimulatedFantasyPostApocalypticReality: A once-thriving colony has been wiped out by an apocalyptic combination of solar flares, magnetic storms, and major glacial freeze. The last survivors of this disaster have put themselves into cryogenic stasis and have spent the last nineteen years waiting for the chaos to subside while their minds are kept stimulated by a shared virtual reality environment. Unfortunately, it's quickly discovered that the survivors have been trapped in VR long after it should have been safe to leave; upon entering the simulation, the ''Enterprise'' crew discovers that the survivors have been imprisoned and tortured by the Clown - and soon find themselves becoming the Clown's latest playthings.

* TheBabyOfTheBunch = LiteralMetaphor: The Clown [[BalefulPolymorph turns Harry into a squalling baby]], as he hates being treated as the [[EnsignNewbie baby of Voyager's crew]].

* BrokenRecord: The Clown has the odd tendency to repeat himself when talking to the star fleet personnel when they first appear but this falls by the wayside about halfway through.

* RealityWarper: The Clown can do anything he wants inside the virtual world, from conjuring objects to changing people's ages to teleportation. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] in that he's the computer program running it, so it's his to play with.

* IKnowWhatYouFear: After a few seconds, anyway.

* AbstractApotheosis: The Clown is a personification of Fear itself.

* GoneHorriblyWrong: The system was supposed to give the frozen survivors a LotusEaterMachine to keep their minds occupied. Needless to say, the whole thing turning into nonstop NightmareFuel wasn't part of the plan.

* MonsterClown: Guess who!

* NoRespectGuy: Neelix suggests laughter is the best medicine and [[TakeThatScrappy gets stared down by everyone]], but that solution was used successfully in TOS "Day of the Dove" and "Wolf in the Fold".

* RedAlert: The Clown shouts this when he realises Voyager's crew is trying to delete him manually.

* VirtualRealityWarper: Now in complete control of the simulation, the Clown is capable of doing almost anything if it allows him to make his prisoners suffer: he can conjure up items, [[RapidAging age]] or [[FountainOfYouth regress]] users at will, and even read the minds of people connected to the simulators - albeit with a slight delay. Worse still, he even has the power to kill the users by exposing them to enough stress to cause heart attacks.
* WeNeedADistraction: The Doctor is sent in to distract the Clown with a false offer while B'Elanna tries to unplug the system. Unfortunately the Clown realizes what's happening as his supporting characters start vanishing.

* DefrostingIceQueen

* FamousFamousFictional
-->'''Clown:''' [Janeway] would give me an ultimatum? Did Napoleon give an ultimatum after Waterloo? Did Chulak of Romulus give an ultimatum after his defeat at Galorndon Core?

'''Janeway:''' Like all fear, you eventually...vanish.\\

'''Janeway:''' ''[[PayEvilUntoEvil I know]].''\\

* IronicEchoCut

* MasterOfIllusion: The Clown conjures up all manner of horrors to torture his prisoners, with a [[ForTheEvulz giddy smile on his face all the while.]]

* WhamLine: "I'm not Captain Janeway".

'''Janeway:''' I've known fear. It's a [[MotivatedByFear very healthy thing most of the time.]] You warn us of danger, remind us of our limits, protect us from carelessness. I've learned to trust fear.

* CessationOfExistence: What does fear itself fears most. When its conquered and fulfilled its purpose.