Recap / Star Trek Voyager S 3 E 9 "Warlord"

Hell yeah, Evil Kes. Actually, it's a Body Snatcher, and a male one at that.

Kes is taken over by the consciousness of a former planetary dictator seeking to regain his throne.

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This episode contains the following tropes:

• Almost Kiss: Tieran is interrupted just as he's about to kiss his wife in Kes's body.
• Ambiguously Bi: Tieran takes to flirting with and kissing other men very quickly after assuming control of Kes's body.
• Antagonist Title
• Armor-Piercing Question: Tieran/Kes tells Ameron he's taking over as Autarch. When Ameron says that his elder brother is the rightful heir, Tieran/Kes asks, "How many times have people said the very same thing to you?"
• Badass Boast
  Tieran: Do you really think a child like this poses any threat to me? I've been fighting worse battles since the day I was born. When the doctor said I wouldn't live past my first year I proved them wrong. Even when my parents thought I was too sickly to be worth caring for, I survived on the streets. Even when my own ungrateful subjects forced me into exile I refused to accept defeat. I certainly won't surrender to this little girl!
  • Kes gives as good as she gets too:
  Kes: I'll find every little crack in your defences. You'll feel yourself crumbling from within, your sanity slipping away. I won't stop until you're broken and helpless. There's nowhere you can go to get away from me. I'll be relentless, and merciless, just-like-you!
• Bait-and-Switch Comment: A partially nonverbal one: Neelix watches Tom and Harry make changes to his spa holoprogram with a rather nonplussed expression, suggesting he’s disgruntled about the casual pool party atmosphere they’re creating... but it turns out he actually loves it!
• Battle Discretion Shot: The offscreen battle between Voyager in alliance with Demmas' forces, vs the forces supporting Tieran/Kes. We only see the action once Janeway and the others beam into the Imperial Hall.
• Beneath the Mask: Given that Kes breaks up with Neelix permanently, the implication is that Tieran/Kes was saying what Kes was secretly thinking about their relationship.
• Beware the Nice Ones
  Kes: You're losing, Tieran. Why won't you admit it?
  Tieran: I will admit that you surprised me. Who would have imagined that such fierce determination existed within that deceptively frail body?
• Big "NO!": Tieran shouts this when breaking free of Tuvok's Mind Meld.
• Blood from Every Orifice: And given that the Ilari have more than the usual number of nasal orifices for a Psychic Nosebleed, it can get rather messy.
• Body Snatcher: The other people possessed by Tieran were volunteers (presumably recruited from his more fanatical followers) but he jumps into Kes because he's dying on the medical table and Kes is standing over him. His surgeon urges him to transfer to a more willing host, but Tieran is reluctant to give up Kes' powers (or admit he's been forced out of his body by a little girl).
• Body Surf: While dictator, Tieran spent a major part of the planets' resources on research into how to become immortal, and now has the ability to move his consciousness to another person.
• Break the Cutie
  Kes: Everything seems so different now. My thoughts and perceptions, even my relationships with my closest friends. You, the Doctor, Neelix... How can I go back to my normal life as if nothing ever happened?
  Tuvok: You cannot. This experience will force you to adapt. You are no longer the same person, and the course of your life will change as a result. Where that new course leads, is up to you.
• Call-Back: Tom says "Some day you're going to show me how to do that" after watching Tuvok give the Vulcan nerve-pinch to a guard. The same comment was made by Kirk to Spock in "The Omega Glory". Their working together is also a Call-Back to "Future's End".
• Circling Monologue: Tieran is fond of this (as is expected of a villain) but Kes does the same to him in their Battle in the Center of the Mind.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Offscreen. With Voyager assisting Demmas' fleet, Tieran/Kes's own ships are hopelessly outmatched. Voyager is able to smash through them and start landing troops within minutes of the battle beginning.
• Cute and Psycho: General Resh isn't impressed when his fearsome leader turns out to inhabiting the body of a female alien waif. Tieran quickly demonstrates he's not to be fucked with in any body, especially one with psychic powers that make you bleed from your facial orifices.
• Decapitated Army: Why Janeway wants to concentrate her efforts on removing Tieran from Kes; it will avoid Voyager having to take sides in a Civil War (Voyager takes sides anyway, but the producers keep that carefully offscreen).
• The Determinator:
  • Kes. Not even a Body Snatcher can stop Kes from being a Badass Adorable.
  • Tieran is no slouch either, as evidenced in his Badass Boast. Say what you will about him, but giving up is not one of his character flaws.
• Discount Lesbians: Tieran almost kisses Nori in Kes's body and still behaves as if he has romantic interest in her even though he is a man's mind inside of a woman's body. Nori admits that his new body really complicates her feelings about their marriage (presumably, she's straight).
• Dressing as the Enemy: Tuvok tries to get close to Tieran/Kes by dressing as one of his Faceless Goons, but Tieran/Kes recognises his thoughts from their sessions on Voyager.
• Dutch Angle: During the mental battle between Tieran and Kes.
• Evil Costume Switch: Once Tieran takes power, Kes changes into a black Spy Catsuit that would make Mirror Universe Kira proud.
• Evil Feels Good: During his Battle in the Center of the Mind, Tieran tries to tempt Kes over to his side by talking of how wonderful it is to wield ultimate power. He does the same thing earlier with Ameron (with more success).
• Evil Is Hammy: Oh, My Gods! yes — Jennifier Lien swaggers, vamps and rants at everyone in sight.
• Evil Sounds Deep: When Tieran is in control, Kes' voice is noticeably deeper.
• Fanservice: Chez Sandrine is replaced by Neelix's Paxau Resort program (with Hotter and Sexier modifications by Tom, Harry and B'Elanna), all so the audience can see the cast in swimsuits, plus some gratuitous Fanservice Extras.
• Female Gaze: Neelix worries that B'Elanna might not like his new holodeck program due to all the babes Harry and Tom recently added. She replies that she's made her own additions, whereupon a handsome, well-muscled masseur in tiny shorts drapes a towel around her neck.
• Fighting from the Inside: Kes fights Tieran from inside her mind.
• Foot Focus: The teaser features at least two close ups of Neelix's Talaxian spotted feet.
• Forceful Kiss: After taunting Tuvok over his desires for Kes, Tieran/Kes grabs him for a passionate snog, which is a mistake because it enables Tuvok to start a Mind Meld.
• Foreshadowing: Like "Cold Fire", this episode hints at a Dark Side to Kes that will come out fully in "Fury".
• Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: Tieran rants over how he was abandoned on the streets by his parents because he was assumed to be too sickly to survive.
  Kes: I know all about your life. I know about your suffering. It doesn't justify what you've become. You're a monster, Tieran, and I have no compassion for you.
• High Collar of Doom: The Autarch's symbol of office is a metal collar. Immediately after gunning down the previous Autarch, Tieran/Kes takes the collar from his corpse and puts it around her own throat, bringing this trope into play.
• I Fight for the Strongest Side!: Although Demmas is the rightful ruler after his father is assassinated, he points out that many will support Tieran because he appears stronger, including his weak-willed younger brother Ameron. It's for this reason he wants the technologically superior Voyager to fight on his side.
• I Gave My Word: Tieran gives this as his reason for letting Voyager depart in peace, despite Demmas' presence on board. It's actually because Kes is influencing him, but there's no way in hell he would admit that to anyone, least of all himself.
• "I Know You Are in There Somewhere" Fight: Tuvok is able to Mind Meld with Tieran, briefly bringing Kes to the surface, advising her on how to defeat Tieran.
• Innocent Flower Girl: Just to remind us of her innocent nature before she turns evil, our first sight of Kes in this episode is of her attending to plants in her quarters. Tieran gets a shock when he suddenly finds himself going on about the pleasures of gardening and issuing an edict that all his subjects should have one.
• Instant Expert: Tieran almost immediately begins using Kes's Psychic Powers with amazing proficiency, even though his description of them as "unique" implies that he has never possessed a host body with such powers before. Once he is gone from her mind, Kes cannot use her powers the way Tieran did.
• Jerkass Has a Point: As Kes, Tieran breaks up with Neelix by telling him that he's too possessive and jealous to allow her to have any life of her own outside of his involvement. Tieran is only doing this to facilitate his escape, but he has access to Kes's memories, and he's completely right. Neelix's critical flaw throughout the show so far has been his jealousy.
• Large Ham: Tieran, Demmas and Resh.
• Last-Second Word Swap: Kes & Tieran re Tuvok/Kes.
  "All those hours you spent alone together, all that time you spent touching each others...minds."
• Let's Get Dangerous!:
  • Kes, oh yes. At the end of her mind-battle, she makes even a 200-year old warlord back up against the wall in fear.
  • Neelix insists on going on the mission to free her.
• Madness Mantra: "This momentary lapse will pass and I'll be stronger than ever! Stronger than ever! Stronger than ever... Stronger than..."
• Mood Whiplash: Kes, who for all appearances is normal despite a tense break-up with Neelix, suddenly draws a phaser and kills an alien diplomat and Voyager's transporter chief.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Captain Janeway saves some aliens, only for them to murder a Red Shirt and take over Kes.
• Not Herself:
  • Kes gets annoyed when Neelix complains about the time she's spending with their guests and dumps him. Given that most audience members agreed with her, few realised she was Not Herself until she starts gunning people down.
  • And with Tieran Kes himself; s/he's going around the Imperial Hall tearing down wall hangings and smashing vases...until s/he comes to a flower vase. As Kes keeps Fighting from the Inside, these lapses in behaviour become more obvious.
• Not Quite Dead: Tieran is forced out of Kes, but Kes realises he had time to Body Surf to Ameron and presses the synaptic stimulator against his skin. Cue a scream of fear and rage as Tieran finally gets his comeuppance.
• Not So Stoic: Tieran Kes is able to slip past Tuvok's mental barriers and read the emotions beneath his urbane Vulcan exterior — embarrassment over having failed his mission, concern about her advanced mental powers, anger (which she identifies as Tuvok's Fatal Flaw), and (she suggests) desire for her.
• Oh, Crap!: The look on Ameron's face when Kes introduces 'himself'.
  Kes Tieran: You and I haven't had a chance to get acquainted. I'm Tieran.
  Ameron: Tieran?!!
  Kes Tieran: (smirks) I like the way you say that.
• One-Man Army: When launching his coup d'etat, Tieran bursts into the Imperial Hall and guns down three bodyguards plus a couple of servants.
• Playing Possum: A guard gets the drop on Tom Paris this way.
• President for Life: Tieran started off as a great military leader who brought stability to a troubled world. Unfortunately, he not only refused to relinquish this power, but he also tried to achieve immortality due to the belief that he was the only man capable of ruling the planet.
• Properly Paranoid: The Autarch sends someone else up to meet Nori and Adin on Voyager, though it only delays his assassination a few hours.
• Really 700 Years Old: Tieran is over 200 years old, which is quite old for most species, who all seem to have lifespans comparable to humans unless specifically mentioned. Compared to Kes, who is only about three years old, this is quite ancient.
• Red Shirt: The transporter chief is killed by Tieran Kes during her escape.
• Rule of Symbolism: Tieran craves sleep because Kes keeps haunting his dreams. In their Battle in the Center of the Mind Kes first appears standing in front of a bed. Also the side where Kes stands is her quarters on Voyager, while Tieran's side is the Imperial Hall. By the end of the dream, the entire room is Kes' quarters.
• Sanity Slippage: Tieran starts to go off the deep end the more Kes waylays his mind.
• Second Law of Gender-Bending: Tieran finds that possessing an attractive female body gives him a useful weapon in the struggle for power. He even announces a political marriage to Ameron, then strongly implies to his squicked-out wife Nori that he'd be quite interested in a threesome.
• Ship Sinking: Kes breaks up with Neelix, but because it happened under Tieran's influence, it took several episodes before the audience realised they were no longer an Official Couple. Given that this is Voyager, neither character hooked up with anyone else (despite some Kes/Tuvok Ship Tease in this very episode).
• Ship Tease: Tieran Kes tries to seduce Tuvok, suggesting that with all those times sharing Kes' mind in their private sessions, he must have come to desire her.
• Superpowered Evil Side: Tieran is able to make use of Kes' Psychic Powers much more effectively than Kes. So Tuvok advises Kes to tap into Tieran's strengths and make them her own. She takes the advice to heart.
  Tieran: You may resist and try to fight me, but eventually I will defeat you. I haven't existed for two centuries to be brought down by a child!
  Kes: You're already deteriorating and it's only going to get worse. I'll find every little crack in your defences. You'll feel yourself crumbling from within, your sanity slipping away. I won't stop until you're broken and helpless. There's nowhere you can go to get away from me. I'll be relentless, and merciless, just-like-you!
• Swiss-Cheese Security: Justified — the assassination and escape is made from the transporter room, enabling Kes!Tieran to beam a shuttle from its bay into space, then themselves onto the shuttle. Tieran has all of Kes' knowledge plus several days to plot things in advance, so he's able to block the crew's attempts to shut down the transporter beam, lock on a tractor beam or track the shuttle after it goes to warp.
• Torture Always Works
  Tuvok: You know that I will not provide you with any information.
  Kes Tieran: You'd be surprised how often I've heard that.
• Umbrella Drink: Tom Paris turns all the Gallia nectar drinks in the Paxau Resort into Rekarri Starbursts.
• Villainous Breakdown: In his Back Story, Tieran was only defeated after a destructive year-long siege of the Imperial Hall. By the third act this famous military leader wastes time on frivolities and paranoid ranting instead of coordinating his defenses or organizing a fighting retreat, so they're quickly overwhelmed.
• We Can Rule Together: Offered to both Ameron and Kes.
• Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?: Demmas has little patience with Captain Janeway's attempts to drive Tieran out of Kes with the synaptic stimulator, which has to be pressed against the skin to work. "If I could get anywhere near her, I'd use a thoron rifle to be absolutely sure."
• With All Due Respect
  Resh: The Voyager is leaving orbit.
  Kes Tieran: Let them go.
  Resh: Yes sir, but, with all due respect; why?
• You Killed My Father: When Ameron points this out, Tieran quips, "Let's not dwell on the past."

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