#PaxFedVGRewatch-along with #MissionLogPodcast and #TheDeltaFlyers goes on the worst head-trip ever, with the one and only Michael McKean in "The Thaw". In this episode, the mind-fuckery goes to eleven.
The stasis tech gone awry at the heart of this episode is a bit reminiscent of Dr. Giger's "cellular entertainment chamber" from DS9 "In The Cards". What could possibly go wrong? Well... a fear clown, apparently. Who needs soulless minions of orthodoxy when you have McKean?
Perhaps "clown" is a misnomer, though - McKean's embodiment of fear is more like the mercurial, ultra-creepy, all-powerful ringmaster of this bizarre circus of the mind, where Kim becomes trapped along with three - then two - alien hostages.
The clown expects to break Kim as easily as he did the others, but instead Kim becomes his foil, buying time for Janeway, following the eternal wisdom of Sun Tzu and Green Day to "Know Your Enemy", to use her understanding of fear in mounting a rescue.
The final scene with McKean and Kate Mulgrew, where the clown realizes he's been outmaneuvered by Janeway and literally fades to black, is one of the most underrated scenes in all of Star Trek. Fear only exists to be conquered - in this case, by understated badassery.
A final observation: At one point, the clown notes that Janeway is "like a dear old mother" to Kim - thus going all bonk-bonk-on-the-head with a character dynamic that's only been implied up until now. Keep that in mind going forward, as it explains quite a bit about Harry...