Star Trek: Voyager – Season 6, Episode 17: “Spirit Folk”

Synopsis: The Fair Haven holodeck program breaks down.

This episode can be seen as an illustration of Carl (C. G.) Jung’s concept of a complex. A complex, in Jungian terms, is not necessarily negative. It instead can be seen as a learning opportunity, being one way in which bits of material from the Eros-driven irrational unconscious come to the attention of the Logos-driven rational conscious ego.

At the beginning of “Spirit Folk” viewers learn that the Fair Haven holodeck program has been running nonstop for quite a while, well at least the last six weeks. This might have something to do with the breakdown of the program’s designed hospitality toward crewmembers that enter it, as well as the safety measures going offline. Also, Ensign Tom Paris is seen in the program using the holodeck’s technology to do things that appear as “unnatural skills” to the townspeople (Fuller & Livingston, 2000). Captain Kathryn Janeway returns to the program to speak with her friend, the barkeep Michael Sullivan, who accuses her of lying to them. At this point, Janeway orders the program shut down until repairs can be made. Janeway then returns to the program to speak to Sullivan. She tells him the truth and that: “just because we’re from different worlds doesn’t mean that we can’t care for each other” (Fuller & Livingston, 2000).

In this episode, when the Fair Haven holodeck program breaks down due to overuse, this can be compared to when the conscious ego becomes stressed to the point that it can no longer suppress some bits of unconscious material, and these bits of unconscious material erupt into its awareness through a complex. Jung called complexes feeling-toned, as they are created when a psychic wound has been suppressed by the conscious ego. When Janeway returns into the program and tells Sullivan the truth about their relationship to one another, and that this does not mean that they cannot care for each other, this can be analogized to when the conscious ego acknowledges and incorporates the bits of material from the unconscious that come into its purview, to make the ego stronger and the psyche more whole.

Reference:

Fuller, B. (Writer), & Livingston, D. (Director). (2000, February 23). Spirit Folk (Season 6, Episode 17) [TV series episode]. In B. Braga & R. Berman (Executive Producers), Star trek: Voyager. Paramount Television.