The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Timmorn on 2011-04-26 at 8:47pm:
  No Problems?
  What about the inhabitants of the void?
  
  Where do they come from if there is nothing in this region?
  From what ressources do they build their ships?
  Where do they get their energy from and what do they themselves consume?
• From Rick on 2013-01-07 at 6:08am:
  "History has shown us time and time again that conservative viewpoints are often self serving more than they are interested in serving the greater good."
  
  Wow, thats a bold one. Maybe the word "sometimes" would work better than often there. Often sure does imply that if you are a conservative than you more likely than not are a duplicitous, self-serving asshole who doesnt care about the greater good (like the character in this episode). History has also shown that progressive viewpoints "often" have many unintended negative consequences that far outweigh the potential good.
• From Adam on 2013-03-02 at 11:58pm:
  Problem: Why would the lights in the holodeck simulation go out as well? Makes no sense.
• From Bronn on 2013-11-16 at 10:33pm:
  Adam nailed a big problem with this. Either the power supply for the holodecks is completely independent and incompatible with the rest of the ship, in which case the lights shouldn't stop working, or else it's not, in which case the lights should go off, and all projections in the room should shut down. I mean, the holodeck does NOTHING but create light projections, so why would the lights stop working while the holographic environment remains? It's so idiotic that Tom can use a holographic flashlight while there's no power for regular lightning. HOLOGRAMS ARE LIGHT, WRITERS!
  
  Oh, but apparently the holodeck energy isn't incompatible with the rest of the ship, since Tom can reroute power to emergency subsystems from the holodeck. It's all...so...idiotic...it made me literally facepalm.
• From L on 2014-04-17 at 8:44am:
  Star fleet practice capital punishment by hanging?
  Or was she joking when she said they could all be hung for mutiny?
• From attractionmagnetical on 2015-04-24 at 2:23am:
  If the aliens who lived in the void evolved to "exist in complete darkness" without any natural radiation sources and whatnot... why do they have eyes?
• From Mike on 2017-05-31 at 1:03am:
  This one's got it all: eerily dark space, fascinating aliens, benevolent mutiny, and a funny holodeck spoof of the kind of 1950s sci-fi that eventually gave us Star Trek.
  
  The resolution of Janeway's crisis isn't the kind of thing I could see happening on any other series, but I do think it was interesting having her spiral into remorse over her decision. As if all the time in this void has left her alone with her thoughts on it for the first time.
  
  As for the void aliens: you make a good point, attractionmagnetical. They wouldn't need eyes if they evolved in total darkness. Then again, maybe they moved into the void long ago and had evolved eyes before that. And, maybe they live entirely aboard those vessels, which provide everything they need. Regardless of the problem areas, I think they're a fascinating species.
  
  And this dilemma, to me, was Trek doing an environmental theme the right way as opposed to TNG: Force of Nature. Emck was a good character, although very short-sighted. After the briefing on Voyager, he was the only member of his species who understood how the to purify and recycle antimatter waste. The technology may have rendered his current business useless, but he could've made a killing as the foremost expert on the new technology among his people. Bad move, dude.
  
  Great ending, too. Nicely shot with fitting music and a good moment on the bridge with everyone thankful to have come through the void and back on track.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From szycag on 2008-09-21 at 2:38pm:
  "Why would the Borg stop looking for the emitter technology after One died?"
  
  You assume the Borg collective was even able to assess the presence of the 29th century technology- also, for all we know, One could have sent false signals to the rest of the collective misreporting the whole series of events as a mishap, covering his tracks.
  
  I know it probably wasn't written like this, and the mobile emitter was just a way to give the doctor more possibilities on the show, but I think in hindsight there's a good way to excuse bringing future technology into the show despite how many sci-fi rules it breaks. Voyager was integral in undermining the Borg... the point of origin for the series of events in Future's End could have been making sure Voyager secured the technology necessary to either aid in defeating the Borg or change history by making the Voyager mission successful. What set that whole thing into motion anyways wasn't really clear, but you could totally write up a big Q conspiracy around it.
• From TheAnt on 2013-10-12 at 8:57pm:
  What made me jump when seeing this episode were Seven's comment: "I don't understand. The Borg assimilate, they do not reproduce in this fshion."
  
  So call me a nitpicker on details or say that I am wrong, but I clearly remember seeing a Borg baby already in TNG.
  
  The Borg is very good at assmiliating technology as a collective, granted, but I have a hard time beliving the Borg nanoprobes come with both intelligence and engineering skills, but that incredible and unbelievable idea is presented here or how else would they know how to utilize the 29 century technology from the mobile emitter?
  
  Also I find it weird that they find it so strange that the early (here 'proto') planetary nebula is expanding fast.
  
  Else from that I like some details of this episode, such as the mobile emitter sprouting nanotech roots in all directions.
  
  And the absurd idea that Torres would have a viewscreen in the shower. So overall I give this episode one 8.
• From RodimusBen on 2020-11-22 at 1:48pm:
  Seems like I forgot until my current rewatch that this is one of maybe five or six episodes of Star Trek that bring me to tears. In that and other respects, it's similar to TNG's "The Offspring," but to me it exceeds even that episode's emotional impact because One made a conscious decision to sacrifice himself to save his new "collective" (how very Spock-like of him). J. Paul Boehmer is one of Voyager's best single-ep guest stars and blows it out of the water with his range, from the cold and emotionless drone that emerges from the transporter accident to the cunning individual who makes the decision to resist the Borg.
  
  Jeri Ryan is at her absolute best in the series here, and episodes like this justify Seven of Nine's presence on the show. I think when she says that One is "hurting her" at the very end is usually when I lose it. Then the ep closes with the symmetry of her looking in a mirror again, this time with a genuine human emotion on her face instead of the phony one she was trying to conjure in the teaser.
  
  This is one of those episodes where I diverge from some of the Star Trek fan community (all respect) in that I don't really care about scientific inconsistencies or impossibilities. The premise is intended to drive the characters and emotion, and boy howdy does it do it in "Drone."
  
  Top 5 Voyager ep for me. Easily.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Pete Miller on 2006-11-13 at 5:38am:
  I detest the 'Torres' character in Voyager. She reminds me of how Counselor Troi was in TNG. Always having episodes centering around her stupid emotional problems. I never have liked Torres and I never will.
  
  This episode was your standard A/B plot; typical Voyager fare. I was pleased, though, that it featured Chakotay somewhat, something we will see less and less of, to Robert Beltran's displeasure.
  
  Also, Neelix has begun to be phased out somewhat, along with Tuvok. It's really unfortunate that Braga and those assholes decided to start obsessing over the Janeway/Doctor/Seven trio and giving less attention to the other characters. I really thought Neelix and Tuvok were wonderful characters with all kinds of room for development. But then again, that's the story of Voyager: Unrealized potential resulting in infinite mediocrity.
• From Rob on 2008-04-26 at 11:51pm:
  I have to agree with Pete: Voyager never reached its potential despite some powerfully entertaining episodes. It started right at the beginning when the tensions between Maquis and Starfleet personnel were ignored way too quickly, then we have Voyager's hidden factory producing all the torpedoes and shuttles they want completely undercutting the "we are all alone out here with limited resources" basis of the premiere, they continued the mistake by not showcasing the same "background/dayplayer" characters as if the population of Voyager was limited, and then finally they focused all of the attention on Seven of Nine until I was sick to death of the "Borg-implants save the day" plots.
  However, at least they didn't hand the series' last episode to a different show, i.e. Enterprise!
• From Bronn on 2013-11-24 at 4:39pm:
  The issue isn't that this is an episode about Torres' emotional problems. That could actually be interesting since it's actual continuity. The problem is that she would have learned the fact of her friends' death long before this episode, but her emotional problems start and end in this episode. She's perfectly normal the week before, and she's perfectly normal again the week after.
  
  If they had wanted to explore this, it would have made a great subplot, honestly. There's like 30 Maquis crewmen on board who have recently received news that all their comrades have died, except for the handful that Eddington managed to save. A lot could have been done with this. Even if they wanted to focus exclusively on Torres, they could have devoted a couple minutes in a few other episodes to showing her dangerous holodeck stunts, letting it build up until this episode when she's so detached that everyone notices. Heck, the opportunity was there-they did that whole "Captain Proton" thing for "Night," which was just a silly scene completely disconnected from the plot of that episode. The focus was on the Captain's emotional issues that episode, but it would have been a great opportunity to hint at what was going on with Torres as well.
• From pbench on 2015-09-11 at 7:54am:
  now THERE's some amazing pacing. this is the voyager i have always wanted. dark mood lighting--serious emotional range that these actors KNOW they are capable of. continuity from previous episodes (seeing tom's boyish enthusiasm about archaic control schemes, b'elanna's preoccupation with her maquis friends/past), not taking huge unnecessary leaps in plot but focusing, honing in on a very simple but compelling scenario: not a merely violent encounter but a race to the finish.
  
  this episode is phenomenal. i am surprised to see that kethinov said t was average, i was really pleasantly surprised by how serious the directing was for this episode, allowing actors more than the standard short shots to show facial responses, depth, etc. this feels like the seeds of what future, more melodramatic scifi would become, like BSG. very happy to see themes of suicide and depression dealt with as well, very real and important things to address.
  
  i also think that while we all know it's a plot device to suddenly introduce her depression, anyone who's experienced or been around trauma knows that it does not manifest itself in obvious ways--and indeed, it can often lay underneath the surface of normal social pleasantries until it starts getting worse. then to others it seems as if it is sudden when it has actually been there the whole time. i thought it was clever of the writers to finally write in a plot point that wasn't a contrived ret-con but was actually plausible: underneath appearances, b'elanna was actually deeply affected by the news. and thank god she was, as other commenters have pointed out, since voyager so quickly scuttled all of the potential that lay in the maquis/federation tension so early. at least here it is mildly, if briefly, resuscitated.
  
  seriously...i think if you watch this episode carefully, you'll see it is directorially much more mature than many of its counterparts. things actually are given time to build up (within the episode, series wise obviously no), we follow the character through each stage, it's not the rush job that many voyager episodes feel like.
  
  anyway i'll take 5 of these episodes over most of the camp any day! here's to the "emotions" that apparently bother folks! cheers!

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Bron on 2013-11-19 at 4:56am:
  Not sure if it's a "problem" that there's multiple Ferengi in Starfleet, since they're still learning about the Alpha Quadrant-they can get some of the details wrong and be consistent.
  
  I agree with your assessment, though I think your grade is a little too generous. This is a 2 or a 3. 8472 had a lot more story potential than this, but isn't that always the case when it comes to Voyager? Setting up plots and adventures with poential and failing to realize them, that's the legacy of Voyager.
  
  I guess the idea was to do an 8472 episode without having to do SFX shots every time they were on screen, thus saving money. But then they have to recreate the whole Starfleet Academy set, you still end up doing an effects shot at some they, and in the end, they've written them completely out of character and inconsistent. I don't mind "wrapping up" the plot thread, and I don't mind that they came to a peaceful resolution, but the road toward it did not flow logically. For one, at some point, Species 8472 is going to say, "Hey, stop calling us by that Borg designation, we're called Twileans" or something to that extent.
  
  The whole subplot where they recreated Starfleet academy...that's a cool image and makes for a nice teaser, but it feels out of place in this plot. Earth shouldn't factor into this at all. There's many reasons that it's kind of silly, but from a dramatic standpoint, it makes more sense if it's only Voyager they're specifically antagonistic toward. Voyager is much more alone, vulnerable, and easily threatened by them, and it's the only ship they've interacted with. Bringing earth into it adds an element that hasn't been previously justified by the story in any way. But once earth came into it and the writers established that 8472 was AWARE of earth, they were forced into a pat TV ending where everyone shakes hands at the end, or else we would be left wondering if they were busy invading earth while we were stuck watching Janeway. If the dispute remained solely between Voyager and 8472, the threat is not only more personal, they'd have at least had the option to end on an ambiguous note. They agree on some things, maintain some disagreements, but go their separate ways for now with this potential looming threat remaining.
• From pbench on 2015-09-11 at 8:45am:
  previous poster is right. lots of potential but the same old voyager mediocrity. doesn't stop me from being addicted, but boy am i an ungrateful addict.
  
  i digress. ultimately i was shocked that they took 8472 so out of character. and then blatantly lifted from the ds9 dominion plotline??? am i wrong that these were on at the same time?? come on, two species with the exact same plan? but yeah--my take was that 8472 were higher-order beings, to the point where verbal communication itself was almost beneath them. even as they are 'practicing' to be human they just come off as very...well, human, and not at all like this grand powerful species. what are they doing hanging out in this dimension anyway?
  
  so yeah the episode was contrived. for some reason at the opener i hoped it was about chakotay's past and how he became maquis.
• From Mike on 2017-07-28 at 1:26am:
  Pon Farr night at the Vulcan Club? This has to be the result of Species 8472 misapplying some of what they learned about Vulcan culture. Otherwise, if such a place existed, no one in Starfleet HQ would get any work done, ever.
  
  This episode is kind of eerie, in a way. They are having these conversations with people who look and act like Starfleet officers, but are members of the ominous Species 8472. Since the only communication with that species was telepathically through Seven, it was a bit off-putting to hear their normal, "human" conversation. I think I liked them better when they were shrieking praying mantis apex predators in bio-ships. But, the episode, on its own, is a pretty good one.
• From Mitchell O on 2023-09-14 at 1:40pm:
  I feel like there is an additional problem that could be added to that section.
  
  During negotiations with species 8472, message in contact with Earth over four years, which isn’t true.
  
  They first made contact when the doctor travelled to the USS Prometheus, and the second when Starfleet replied later in the season.
  
  I would be very surprised if the doctor didn’t make Starfleet aware of a 8472 during his visit to the Alpha Quadrant considering the threat they pose.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Pete Miller on 2006-11-06 at 2:49am:
  That holodeck program is the most inane thing I have ever seen. Naomi seems way too old to be entertained by such nonsense, and I frankly felt insulted being subjected to watching it. I kept jumping every time it came on in case my roommate was about to come in.
• From Vincent on 2011-10-05 at 11:25pm:
  I find it odd that the shuttle crew were running out of air on an M class planet. The away teams sent out to rescue them were able to breathe the atmosphere without aid, so why couldn't the Paris or Tuvok find a way to ventilate air between the interior and exterior of the of the shuttle?
  
  Placing the manufactured danger to the shuttle crew aside, I thought this was an enjoyable exploration of the way different people prepare for their own death (the shuttle crew), handle the death of family (Neelix), and the ethics of censuring the truth from a child.
• From Jadzia Guinan Smith on 2015-06-15 at 5:27pm:
  Wait, they had Holographic entertainment when Janeway was a kid? She's in her early-mid 40s in the 2370s, which means this stuff had to be around in the 2340s. But wasn’t it established, in TNG: Encounter at Farpoint, that this was brand new technology during that time (circa 2360s)? I seem to recall Riker seeing the newfangled programs (which he had vaguely heard about) for the first time when he came aboard the Enterprise. Anyway, totally boring episode, aside from Naomi expressing her fear of the “Borg Lady” and trying to fake out Neelix with “I am borg”....
• From Dstyle on 2015-06-20 at 3:52pm:
  I actually really liked this episode a lot. Perhaps it's because I lost a close family member when I was young and just became a father myself, but I got a bit misty several times while watching this.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Mitch on 2013-07-30 at 8:52am:
  "But as far as I know, synthehol isn't supposed to get you drunk!"
  
  I think the explanation lies in the TNG episode "Relics". Data tells Scotty that the intoxicating effects of synthehol can be easily dismissed, which would indicate you can indeed be intoxicated by it.
• From Rick on 2013-10-24 at 5:41pm:
  In regards to your full impulse problem: isnt full impulse describing how much force the engines are creating? Yes, that results in near light speeds in space but full impulse in an atmosphere would be much slower. With a shallow enough angle of impact its possible voyager would survive.
• From SilverDragonRed on 2014-02-03 at 3:29pm:
  This episode was an excellent character piece for Harry Kim and Chakotay (mostly Harry). It was nice to see the writers do something with the character since 'The Killing Game'.
  
  My only problem with this episode, once again, has to do with the quantum slipstream. It was bad enough that the writers just casually threw that into 'Hope and Fear' without thinking of the ramifications of it; but now, they made it even more ridiculous by making a modified version that is 111x faster than the original alien design. Once again, no thoughts to the repercussions of this insane speed; just treat the revoluntionary device as if it was just another casual machine.
  
  They say in the episode that the ship would only be able to maintain the slipstream for ten seconds. In actuality, Voyager held it for three minutes before the future abort code forced them out. According to Janeway's log after this, the test flight covered 10,000 light years.
  
  So, this MODIFIED slipstream drive has a speed of 1,752,000,000 c that can traverse the entire Milky Way galaxy in only half an hour. If there is a new series set in the old continuity, they need to address the impact this thing will have on the Federation and its neighbors.
• From Dstyle on 2015-06-22 at 3:17pm:
  I find it incredibly hard to believe that they popped the champagne before anyone did any holosimulations of the new quantum slipstream drive. That just seems like it would be a no-brainer standard procedure for something like this.
  
  Also, why couldn't they contact Seven the day before they used the slipstream with a simply decoded message that said, "Hey, don't do this, you're all going to die?" Although I guess doing it this way shaved 10 years off their journey.
• From Andy on 2015-07-26 at 10:31pm:
  "Full impulse is pretty close to the speed of light. There wouldn't have been a ship left to excavate if they hit the ice that fast. Just an impact crater."
  
  At full impulse, there wouldn't be a planet anymore.
• From Rick on 2016-04-18 at 4:55am:
  In response to your third problem about consecutive slipstream jumps......It took me awhile to think of this but I think that Harry had to give them precise phase corrections that would "safely" throw Voyager out of the slipstream. If they tried this again all of the relevant factors (whatever they are) would be different and Harry wouldnt know what phase corrections would safely throw Voyager out of the slipstream. The only reason he knew the first time is that he had a decade to study the situation.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Pete Miller on 2006-11-06 at 6:02am:
  I'd just like to point out that for all of Voyager's flaws, it sure succeeds at one thing: humor. This episode showcases some of the best humor I've seen so far on the show, making full use of Tuvok, Torres, Seven, and the Doctor. More humorous scenes than I can count!
  
  I actually rather liked this episode; despite the awful-sounding premise, they managed to execute it well. It's too bad they didn't do more with that virus-creating species. They seemed pretty cool.
  
  And I've got one question (I guess I missed something; maybe it has some super force field or something): Why in the HELL didn't they just phaser the crap out of that vinculum in space?
• From Dstyle on 2015-06-22 at 1:32pm:
  Seven is strapped to the biobed and is starting to hear the voices again. The doctor says something to the effect of, "Just try to focus on my voice!" and then stops talking. Not very helpful, doc!

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Tony on 2008-08-31 at 1:54am:
  One interesting aspect of this episode that I really like is the aliens. Far too often in Star Trek, the aliens are humanoid, and with similar technology. I understand that this allows for plots and subjects that would otherwise not be able to be done, but this episode provides a glimpse at an alien species that's as far from humanity as real aliens would probably be.
• From Tony on 2008-08-31 at 5:40pm:
  In my first Comment, I mentioned the great part of this episode, but I forgot to mention the horrible part, the Doctor deleting Moset and his research. While deleting Moset is understandable, deleting his research is just wrong. Even if it was gathered in a bad way, the information gained may help save lives. It should have never been obtained, but now that it is, it might as well be used for good.
• From fan Ive on 2009-12-14 at 7:33pm:
  end of this episode is absurd in my opinion. unlike ethics in episode "dear doctor" from enterprise.
  it was wrong to delete Crell's program.
  sorry for grammar mistakes, official language in my country is not english.
• From Tallifer on 2011-04-24 at 4:20am:
  Some of you might be unaware of the very pertinent and actual history: the Nazis and Imperial Japanese tortured hundreds of prisoners for the sake of medical research. Most of this research was spurious and unscientific, but some results concerning extreme environments and biological warfare have been the source of ethical debates within the scientific and medical communities.
• From Deggsy on 2012-03-30 at 11:36am:
  The ethical decisions behind the Doctor's decision were shaky at best. Taking it to logical extremes, warp drive technology should have been banned because the first practical application of it on Earth, Zefram Cochrane's ship the Phoenix, was built in an ICBM missile, the type of which helped wipe out hundreds of millions of people in the Third World War. And didn't the decision to wipe the data go against the spirit of Janeway's decision in the first place? And if people really objected to Crell, why not change his holographic appearance/identity?
• From Dstyle on 2015-06-24 at 3:23pm:
  Harry: "Uh, Doc, this guy is a Cardassian."
  Doctor: "So?"
  Harry: "Well, half the people on this ship committed their lives to fighting the Cardassians. This might not sit well."
  Doctor: "So? That was four years ago. I'm trying to save B'Elanna's life!"
  Harry: "Yeah, all the same... Computer, change Crell Moset's appearance to make him look human, and have him respond to the name, uh, Chris... Moss."
  Doctor: "Was that really necessary?"
  Harry: "Well, it sucks all of the dramatic tension out of this episode, but then again the episode was suffering from an easily avoidable manufactured controversy. And this way you get to keep your assistant."
  Doctor: "Very well then."
• From pbench on 2015-09-13 at 9:53am:
  this is exactly the kind of false dichotomy i spoke of in my comment on 4x14, "prey". here we have the potential for a rich ethical dilemma that ends up almost forcing the viewer to "side" with the less forgiving option, but more for reasons of aesthetics than actual moral ones.
  
  this is part of voyager's, and TV's in general, "tell don't show" policy. that is to say: they think that the mere appearance of disagreement ("we should do it!" "no we shouldn't!) is evidence of "tension" between characters and some kind of riveting existential struggle for the viewer. i don't think it is, as we know that a million and one factors go into the 'feeling' or 'mood' of any particular scene, dialogue being only one of them. this misunderstanding also explains why so many of the interview quotes i read on memory alpha talk about the "intense rivalry" between the captain and seven of nine, which i have never sensed; it is extremely mild and the captain always wins anyway. it is obvious what the arch of the show is and we never truly feel it to be in danger or question.
  
  here, we have different characters being puppeteered to very clearly adopt different parts of the moral spectrum, not necessarily proceeding from their characters' natural tendencies, but to "create" tension where there is none (i.e. no imagination. okay that was harsh, but you get my meaning).
  
  this is an artistic, qualitative failure: one is inclined to agree with moset's position less for any actual philosophical reasons than for the parlour trick of mere plot progression--and in fact his argument would seem pretty reasonable to anyone who didn't think through the consequences truly (thanks to commenter tallifer for bringing up the real precedent for this). because the characters, as written, ARE being almost absurdly stubborn in a scenario which could very easily be argued is an extenuating circumstance--and with good precedent, considering all the other decisions Voyager's crew has had to make over the years. instead of appearing like two truly divergent threads in the plot, it really is just a fake screaming match between star trek telling us it is star trek ("look, think twice about things, okay!") and the logical action-sci fi conclusion (save the protagonist). the argument to try to save the creature appears as weak as most other star trek "rights" scenarios that know little more than how to repeatedly assert and state the nature of said rights...a nice progression for tv, but so much less than we know is possible in the right hands.
  
  that's why it was so frustrating that there were several times where the true qualitative difference between the methodologies could have been drawn out: not in the abstract puritanism of "not using something useful" (which can easily be cast as a mere "cultural" bias getting in the way of "actual" issues, which is how most characters deal with b'elanna and the bajoran crewmember...though this is their right regardless), but because as we saw in the surgical scene, it actually plays out in qualitatively DIFFERENT decisions IN THE PRESENT. moset's mentality may have led to killing the alien, which may have resulted in an even fiercer battle with its rescuers. i was glad they were finally showing this difference beyond the mere ideological and then they just completely left it.
  
  this same thing always happens on star trek, and voyager especially: the tables are flipped and the other character starts accusing the protagonist have being too high-minded...while the protagonist looks concerned and has nothing to say in reply. don't get me wrong--i agree w/ kethinov that star fleet deserves to be put down and i would love to see the dark side of things, including the very real accusation that much of earth's science is tainted in very deep ways as well, and not just by animals (tuskegee experiments, sterilisation of indigenous women, women of color, nuclear experiments on entire populations of hiroshima, nagasaki, etc.). there's rich possibilities for the "other" side too!
  
  but the argument instead is supremely facile: "are you so different than me?" the doctor easily could have said, "you almost killed that thing! we survived BECAUSE we chose to prioritise its life instead, a decision which never would have come to you naturally!" that is the ACTUAL reason--any horizon determines the direction you walk. if you see it close or far, high or low, or taking different forms, it all affects you in the NOW, and moset's fake apolitical apathy actually greatly informs his "practice". this could have been richly drawn out, and instead we get two options where one seems like a no-brainer and the other pure showmanship. good job star trek...
  
  my point is, just as a murder mystery inherently couches all character interactions thru the lens of suspicion, an action-based tv plotline is always going to go for the path of least resistance. now, if you're star trek, and you're trying to introduce higher-order thinking into that, that's all well and good...except if you don't really know what you want or what you even are. so we have characters in torture episodes simply saying "it is wrong" without really delving into all of the myriad ways that *procedurally* it fails, that it actually *proves* its own idiocy and evilness by the manner in which it handles things and achieves the opposite results of what it intends, and spirals into a never-ending, cascading cycle of suffering and loss of humanity for the torturee and the torturer. this applies just as well here.
  
  if it all seems inefficient, all you need to do is think of the following scenario: suppose you are talking about a child whose body became fused to an adult's through some kind of bomb blast (just imagine). it would be a non-starter to simply say, "yeah just kill the child to get to the adult." from the get-go it would be clear that there was a lot to work through before you just chop the body up, no?
  
  anyway yes...end rant. props to the voyager team for going with a non-humanoid alien for once, yes. it is a refreshing change of pace. also yes to dstyle's comment that the doctor could've just changed moset's appearance. :P
  
  ultimately i did enjoy this episode since it had the HINT of something deeper...i just like picking shit apart. :D i did sigh in frustration and wish upon a star for something else, but glad we got something more than the average far here...
• From tigertooth on 2016-11-21 at 8:26pm:
  If I was subjected to awful, unethical research, would I prefer that that the useful information gleaned from the research be discarded or would I prefer that it be used to help save innocent lives?
  
  I mean, obviously my first preference would be not to be the subject of the inhumane experiments. But once that ship has sailed, might as well use the knowledge to help people. Should we tear up all the railways in this country because they were built with a great deal of slave labor?
  
  So yeah -- I agree that deleting Moset and his research was dumb, and as others have stated, I was asking "Why don't they just change his appearance?"

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From mnp on 2011-11-12 at 12:41am:
  After Tom gets out of solitary, B'Elanna calls him on the comm and says she's heard he's "free for dinner", which she then schedules for "0700".
  
  In regards to what is a download or an upload, that's a matter of perspective. If they logged into the gravity core and started the copy from there, it would technically be an upload:
  
  KIM: Looks like the reactor's controlled by a core computer. I'll try to upload the database and get some answers.
  PARIS: Initiate the interface.
  
  ... could go either way.
• From pbench on 2015-09-13 at 12:00pm:
  amazing episode. for once i truly didn't know which direction it was going to go either way, down to the moment that both crews yelled "fire!". all the characters were allowed to play on their strengths--tom's strongheadedness and hidden idealism beneath the cynical exterior (though surprised that b'elanna didn't mention the maquis when he said 'i'm not one for causes'), janeway's liberality but ultimately stern hand as a ship captain...
  
  so many great moments in this episode--dealing with themes of cultural conflict, political impotence, environmentalism, and even the unintended consequences of poorly-thought out projects...was great. loved the scene of the monean ambassador staring down paris in that moment of cultural chauvinism, even though he's probably a snake on his planet, like climate deniers on our own.
  
  all in all was very impressed with this episode. here's how you do a TRUE moral dilemma, each choice really truly mixed, with great directing and subtlety; loved the novelty of it being recounted backwards. kudos voyager!!!
• From tigertooth on 2016-11-21 at 5:14pm:
  Kind of jarring that Janeway sentences him to 30 days solitary confinement when it's well documented that solitary confinement of even a few weeks is psychologically damaging and is widely considered to be torture. Maybe they have figured out ways to make it less damaging by that time.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From carsonist on 2010-01-19 at 10:22pm:
  This plot would have worked much better if there had been any chemistry at all between Janeway and Kashyk. I could see they were implying a relationship when they were working together, but there was no spark whatsoever. When they kissed, I was surprised because it simply made no sense.
• From Lennier on 2010-06-14 at 4:26am:
  Doesn't Kashyk's organization massively resemble the Psi Corps from Babylon 5?
  
  So the episode has some originality regarding the music choices but also some striking unoriginality there.
  
  "Black uniforms, jack boots, giving orders... Some days, they scare the hell out of me." - Michael Garibaldi
• From Kenobie on 2011-04-10 at 9:01am:
  There seemed to be 2 glaring mistakes on this episode. #1: when they found out about the location of the worm hole in the solar system, it was said that it was 8 Light years away, the enemy commander said that there was a problem with the solar system, as it has a sensor array that would pick them up. It had a sensor range of 10 Light years. Would that not mean they are already in range?
  
  #2: At the end when the telepaths leave in the 2 shuttles.the commander, gives the ship back to Jane-way, as the telepaths are gone and the failure would look bad. Where are the Vulcan Tovok and the engineer. surly they did no leave too!
• From plus on 2011-11-01 at 7:29am:
  Holy crappoly... this just ranked itself into my short list of favorite voyager episodes. It has an almost magical elegance to it. Everything flows smoothly, one scene to the next - unlike some episodes which seem jerky and abbreviated, like a movie trailer.
  
  I love the complexity of the relationship between Janeway and her counterpoint, Kashyk.
  
  Mahler and Tchaikovsky make for a great soundtrack as well.
  
  I could probably say more but the point is, this is a very well written and well directed episode.
• From Rick on 2013-01-08 at 6:46am:
  I agree with an above poster: where the hell were Tuvok and the other vulcan at the end of the episode? I guess held in transporter suspension in a different part of the ship?
  
  And on a separate note, relating to the entire series: is voyager the slowest ship in the quadrant? because it sure doesnt seem like they can ever outrun anyone. It wouldnt matter too much if you were outgunned by 10 warships if you could just outrun them, but obviously that wouldnt make fore very good episodes.
• From TheAnt on 2013-10-12 at 10:13pm:
  "The Sting" episode.
  
  The story is excellent, and told with a good flow without interruptions this time. Almost like one actual movie.
  Professor Torat made for one very good alien, and not just another humanoid with nothing more than a funny bump on the forehead, and good acting there as well.
  
  @carsonist: I hope you read this and go see the episode again, the attraction between Janeway and Kashyk is so strong I expected they would jump each other any second. Even though it turned uot it were faked by Kashyk, it rather did show good acting and quite a sign that his character were supposed to have one heck of an ability of manipulation.
  
  But yes there's one inconsistency, the whereabouts of Tuvok and the Vulcan from engineering named Vorik is unaccounted for.
  
  Also I have to chime in with a tumbs up on the selection of music, good choice and very nice to have one departure on the variations of Gustav Holst "The planets" which we hear so many times on Voyager.
  
  So why do I call this episode 'The Sting' well like in that film the viewers are kept in the dark on several details - first the whereabouts of 2 crewmembers and the fact that Voyager hold refugees. But also in the conclusion, that Janeway and the crew created a what appeared to be a wormhole in the predicted location - which were false, and that the telepaths already were on their way to escape in another location in space.
  A solid 10.
• From Dstyle on 2015-06-24 at 5:02pm:
  So Kashyk let Voyager go because... wait, why did Kashyk let Voyager go? As far as I'm concerned this is the end of the series. Voyager is impounded by the gestapo aliens and the crew is sent to a detention camp, where they languish and die. Kashyk's "Let's just pretend this whole failure never happened" thing is ridiculous. And then Voyager, I guess, just leaves their space, which isn't apparently all that large, at least not compared to species like the Kazon or the Malon who seem to control vast reaches of the Delta quadrant.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Jeff Browning on 2011-09-07 at 12:52am:
  You missed some huge technical problems. The premise is that there is a ship-wide conspiracy to hide facts from the Doctor. If so, why does Harry Kim make things worse by denying knowledge of his surgery? Wouldn't he instead come up with a plausible alternative explanation? His response did nothing but increase the Doctor's curiosity. Likewise, why did Seven restore the Doctor's missing holoprojector files? She also simply makes things worse. Either they were not in on the cover-up (and how could Harry not be?) or they were incredibly inept. And the most inept is Capt. Janeway. Not a likely scenario. Altogether a very flawed and illogical episode.
• From thaibites on 2014-11-30 at 9:43am:
  What was the point of this episode? The ending was flat and kind of a let down. It seems like they're saying it's a new beginning for the doctor, but if watch the next episode, he's still the same condescending, egotistical, smarmy, know-it-all jerk that he usually is.
  So............I repeat, "What's the point of this episode?" The doctor hasn't changed or grown for his experiences here, so why should we care? This whole episode is just pointless.
• From Dstyle on 2015-07-07 at 2:42pm:
  I love the scene where the Doctor tells Janeway about his discovery that he performed surgery on Harry. They're both so casual about it!
  
  This episode unfolded in a really spectacular fashion. Very well written!
• From Martin on 2016-04-16 at 8:29pm:
  IMO one has to view these type of series with an opened eye. There's a part of this episode which is simply art. And what art is all about is making you feel something. Despite all the technicalities and flaws in this episode, the important part to consider is that, for the first time, the doctor made and irracional decision, and has to confront all the feelings that decision holds for him.
  In this episode we see the doctor, a hologram, dealing with really hard feelings, attempting to make sense of some new part of his existance which just doesn't make sense. The irracionality of the human emotions.
  Reminds me a little of data feeling like sh*t for not being able to save geordi in First Contact.
  This one has art written all over it. I give this episode a 9, wonderful.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Pete Miller on 2006-11-16 at 4:29am:
  That robot walking around awkwardly running into things was the absolute best part of this episode. I also loved seeing Tuvok's extreme irritation regarding the whole silliness of the Captain Proton story.
  
  I think this is my favorite of the main holodeck programs that characters in Star Trek use (Sherlock Holmes, Vic Fontaine, Dixon Hill, Leonardo Da Vinci, and that stupid other thing Janeway did at the beginning that seemed like some Jane Austen novel)
• From Tallifer on 2011-04-24 at 9:50am:
  I would religiously watch a whole seven seasons of a series of Captain Proton!
• From packman_jon on 2012-07-05 at 4:02am:
  A holodock malfunction episode? I'VE NEVER SEEN THIS BEFORE!
  
  Kidding aside, this episode parodied more than just classic Trek: The intro to "Captain Proton" seemed to feel like the serials (like Flash Gordon) of the 1930-40s - especially with the recaps and "chapters." There's a great quote also in the cold open for - "Cliffhangers - the lost art of hyberbole" - very applicable for the 1940s adventures to even now!
  
  (On a side note, Paramount probably really appreciated the intentionally cheap sets!)
  
  Easily one of my favorite Voyager episodes!
• From Zac on 2014-10-24 at 5:35pm:
  One of the best humor episodes I have seen so far in all of Star Trek. Question/problem though: when Paris is introducing himself and Tuvok to the alien, he says "I'm Ensign Paris and this is Lieutenant Tuvok." Shouldn't Tuvok at this point be referred to as "Commander Tuvok" as he was promoted to Lt Cmdr earlier on?

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From spline on 2014-01-20 at 11:09am:
  I certainly dont think this was generic. This was a character piece, not just of Tuvok but of Vulcan culture. The reason for the crash, the whole side plot of the alien ship closing the sinkhole etc. was just an excuse to focus on Tuvok, and well worth the suspension of disbelief we have towards the Photon Torpedo and Shuttle Factory we've already developed. 8)
  
  I have a soft spot for Lori Petty, and she did a great job with her alien language. The chemistry between her and Tim Russ (Tuvok) was remarkable for it's restraint, and yet it was clearly there. Great job on both the actors.
  
  And the ending was really good, I liked that it didnt try to tack on some kind of tragic or hopeful thing.
  

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From McCoy on 2017-09-18 at 3:13pm:
  Qatai was indeed a great character. I would like to see him joining the crew. But that would be a bit out of character for him. Ahab must hunt the whale... I really liked the last scene with him.
• From J B on 2021-06-03 at 11:18pm:
  Finally, a good episode after a run of many in a row that I found unpalatable. I think the framing of this episode, bookended with those scenes of Qatai-as-Ahab, is what makes it land so solidly.
  
  Early on, I also noted similarities to TNG: The Game, but for me the similarities ended when the crew became incapacitated. From there it became its own episode. Best of S5 so far.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Dave on 2009-08-03 at 6:36am:
  Not quite so sure I would dismiss the continuity problems with TNG's Borg history quite so easily. I'm sure they can be rationalised away - perhaps it would have been nice for Janeway or one of the crew to have at least expressed some curiosity about it. After all, in Scorpion, Janeway does say "from the moment Q flung the Enterprise into the path of that first cube" - meaning it was still believed Picard had first contact with the Borg.
  Besides that - having just seen The Raven again, I'm puzzled. Janeway says files from the USS Raven have been "gathering dust" in Voyager's database for a year. Really? When were these obtained? Presumably from the encounter with the Raven, of course, but how exactly? Neither Seven nor Tuvok had time to download them, as the ship was under attack from the Bomar aliens of the week. And once they left the ship, they saw the Raven fall to pieces before being beamed out by Paris. Hardly an episode breaker - but a bit annoying!
• From Spacebard on 2012-10-28 at 10:13pm:
  Not too long after the Doctor had deleted the Crell Moset hologram on ethical grounds in “Nothing Human”, he is seen enthusing over a piece of Borg medical equipment presumably derived from the forced assimilation of billions of sentient beings. Then, under Janeway’s direction, the crew formulate a plan to steal a Borg transwarp coil with seemingly no ethical qualms. A touch of double standards, methinks.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Kenobie on 2011-04-13 at 5:22pm:
  What kind of person gives this episode a Rating of 0. I would love to hear there reason. Personally I think that if you did not enjoy this 2 parter then you can't really be a fan of Star Trek.
• From Tallifer on 2011-04-24 at 10:25pm:
  My favourite scenes were the scientific examinations of the Hansens. Like real life zoologists risking life and limb to study tigers up close. Except even more dangerous and thrilling.
  
  There were many other good things about this: the Borg harbour; Naomi Wildman; assimilation scenes; the wonderful queen.
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-09-07 at 7:31pm:
  One problem you missed: the Borg Queen states that Seven is the first Borg to become an individual. But we know that's not true. Voyager has encountered Borg individuals before, and so did Enterprise. Remember Hugh?
• From Alan on 2012-01-22 at 11:17am:
  Good point Jeff, but what about Picard in 'Best of both worlds' in TNG season3. He was assimilated by the Borg , but was saved and turned back into a human.
• From thaibites on 2015-01-02 at 10:55am:
  I thought this 2-parter was the best I've seen from Voyager yet (chronologically). The writing was crisp, the story moved at a brisk pace with very little padding, there was action, suspense, and mystery - outstanding! The scenes where the people were being assimilated were really disturbing because of the constant screams of agony in the background - very unsettling. Even the vile holodeck worked well in this episode.
  I'm a happy boy!
• From Jadzia Guinan Smith on 2015-06-22 at 5:34pm:
  I have to second the sentiments above. How can someone possibly give THIS episode a 0? How can there be THIRTEEN such people? What are they smoking?
  
  Borg queen assembly, transwarp in action, Seven's "betrayal", Seven's resistance, the Hansens, Janeway at her courageous best... the queen and Janeway fighting over Seven, Naomi (who has quickly grown into an impressively strong performer and can hold her own alongside anyone), all moving, exciting, terrifying, touching, blood roiling... amazing. But, the most poignant moment for me was when Seven received Janeway's transmission "we're searching for you, try to hang on" and involuntarily responded "Captain"... wow. It was so overwhelming, I had to hit pause!
  
  If it wasn't for a slight, continuity-related discomfort, this two-parter would be a 10. But as is, it's a 9 or 9.5, for sure.
  
  Also, a bit of a treat for me, was seeing an episode of this magnitude where the major players were all women, without gender being an issue. The hero, the villain, the prodigal (and brilliant) protégé, all smart, all bad ass, all morally and emotionally deep (and/or complicated).... it’s not often you see such robust and dynamic women characters in a story with no male leads unless sex/gender is an explicit issue and/or the women are totally androgynous. This storyline could have easily fit male “action” stars, but just happened to be female ones. These are strong and capable women, but not “masculine” ones. And the great this is, it doesn’t matter at all to the storyline whether they’re men or women! I love that! Don’t get me wrong, I love my guys (Data, Spock, Picard, Tuvok, Doctor, Giordi, Worf, Wesley, McCoy, Trip, Odo, Kirk, Sisko,... etc. etc.... all of them), but it’s really, really, great to see the girls get a fair shake too. Here is gender equality as a matter of COURSE, not a matter of “exception”! At long last!!! Thank you, Star Trek!
  
• From Dstyle on 2015-07-07 at 2:04pm:
  Do you want to know why someone would rate this episode so low? It completely defangs the Borg.
  
  So a lone, isolated Federation ship is stranded in the Delta Quadrant, cut off from the support and resources of the Federation (which incidentally lost a whole fleet of ships at Wolf 395 to a single, undamaged Borg cube), and yet somehow this lost Federation ship is able to fly a shuttlecraft undetected into the heart of Borg territory and get within transporter range of the Borg Queen? No thanks. I like my Borg terrifyingly unbeatable. Janeway, like the Hansens, got cocky: they should have been crushed like bugs.
  
  Also, you'd think the Borg would have at some point assimilated a species that could move a little quicker, wouldn't you think? The Borg move like shuffling 1930s movie monsters.
• From Jadzia Guinan Smith on 2015-07-13 at 3:03am:
  
  Two words my sibling: David. Goliath. Most of us just can NOT root for David to keep losing so that Goliath can keep terrifying us to ecstasy.
  
  Yes,the Borg are great when scary, but only cuz it's so much more awesome when our intrepid heroes find a way to best them! They were 'beaten' in Best of Both Worlds, too, and First Contact. Did you have problems with those too? Or is it just that this is a lone ship in the delta quadrant? It is the essence of heroic tales the bad guys are bigger and badder, not so that they can beat the good guys in the end but so that it's that much more satisfying when the good guys beat them!
  
  Also, a 'low score' is one thing, but a zero??
• From Rick on 2017-05-22 at 11:30pm:
  I agree with Dstyle (although its not a 0, Id give it a 5, which is really bad for me). The motivations of the Borg make no sense and the worst part for me is how the Delta Flyer got away. They are numerous cubes chasing them but none of them go to transwarp to catch and destroy them and voyager. Why not? Only one tiny ship sneaks into the Delta Flyer's transwarp conduit, but why dont all the other ships create their own? It makes absolutely no sense. The cubes shouldve followed the Delta Flyer and destroyed them all. You cant just outrun the Borg.
• From Mike on 2017-06-07 at 4:15am:
  I've just never understood why they ever had to come up with a Borg Queen. I didn't like it in First Contact, and I hated it even more in this series.
  
  The obvious answer is that they are expanding on the notion that the Borg are like bees, and giving us a villain with a face. The Hansens even say in this episode that the Borg Queen acts like the queen of an insect colony. Except that in colonies of ants or bee hives, queens don't coordinate and direct the activities of the others. They are there almost entirely for reproduction, to birth the colony's offspring. Bees and ants activities are directed by instinct and a web of communication. In other words, they act collectively, just like the Borg did when they were first conceived. They were interested only in assimilating technology and life forms. They were apolitical and amoral, with no ambitions or quest for power and resources, no cause or culture. You couldn't negotiate, make peace, or reason with them. The only way to defeat them was to somehow use their collective communication and existence against them, which is exactly what happened in TNG: Best of Both Worlds. The existence of a Queen gives the Borg a leader with almost personal, individual motives. It takes away what made them so ominous, and it also makes them much easier to defeat. THey were better when they were faceless drones.
  
  Anyway, that's my anti-Borg Queen rant. I do like this episode for what it does with Seven's character. The dilemma she faces of hearing the collective calling her back and choosing whether to remain with her family on Voyager was a great premise for the story, and it works well overall. The assimilation of Species 10026 definitely brought back that ominous dimension to the Borg. It was so brutally efficient and so unconcerned with the individuality of the people...and left you with the eerie reminder that they've done this to thousands of worlds.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From David Chambers on 2009-06-30 at 5:42pm:
  Just an observation; Anyone notice how Harry's accent changes when he's arguing with Janeway. It seems to become (I stand to be corrected) more 'Korean'.
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-09-08 at 1:40am:
  I found Harry's decision to remain with Voyager to be reprehensible. He causes Tal, a beautiful alien woman to fall in love with him. Problem is for that species love is a physical bond which requires years to recover from, and carries grave risk if not continued, possibly even death. Despite this, and although Harry is supposedly devoted to Tal, he abandons her to her fate. Obviously, he would have been free to either join her, or have her join him. I would have found either ending much more satisfying. Certainly, Harry's supposed "love" for Tal is shown to be very shallow, given his callous disregard for her welfare.
• From Inga on 2013-12-12 at 8:51pm:
  I really hate those cheesy "one day romance" plots. Those cheap love stories with zero chemistry have become a sort of plot device in Star Trek.
• From thaibites on 2015-01-07 at 10:18am:
  I knew this one would suck because every time there's an outstanding episode like Dark Frontier, the next one is awful.
• From Dstyle on 2015-07-07 at 5:13pm:
  "I'm violating about half a dozen regulations by just being in this room. And what we did earlier... (chuckle) I don't know if Starfleet even has a regulation for that. Except, you know, that regulation I quote to Janeway later in the episode, from the manual that is 3 centimeters thick. I guess maybe Starfleet has a regulation for this after all. Not that anyone reads it or cares about it, though--probably because it's printed on paper for some reason. James Kirk, Will Riker, Tom Paris, Harry Kim. Has a nice ring to it, don't you think? It's like the Mount Rushmore of Interstellar Booty Calls! Yeah, nevermind Tal: I'm pretty sure I'm not going to get in trouble for this at all. Now back in that bed! Let's get all glowy again!"
  
  Okay, ignoring the fact that inter-species sexy time happens ALL THE TIME in Star Trek, I thought this episode was actually pretty great. It was visually stunning, with that amazing opening shot of the ship that pans right into Tal's quarters and the long, single-take shot during Janeway and Kim's argument. And Harry Kim, a character who is usually just a wet mop in a Starfleet uniform, is actually pretty interesting and relatable here. And since this "disease" will take months to get over I look forward to seeing him broken and lovesick for the rest of the season (HAHAHAHA just kidding with that last part obviously: we all know he'll be completely back to normal next episode).
• From Smoking Blonde on 2016-02-03 at 4:53pm:
  She is so pretty. She also says Har weeee which makes me laugh.
• From Martin on 2016-04-18 at 5:45am:
  Nice episode, decent plot, above average filler.
  Still, there's something i've got to tell about this one: When janeway speaks to chakotay about reprimeading harry, she says, and i quote: You're my first officer, he's an ensing! He hasn't earned the right to question my orders, whatever he's personal views. endquote
  
  That does the trick for me right there. That reminder of our own hierarchical system and values, and, IMO, those values are against the hole federation's ideologies and phylosofies.
  
  Anyway, i give this one a 6, just above average.
• From McCoy on 2017-09-21 at 3:11pm:
  Well... One big problem. I can't sympathize with Harry, because he obviously didn't love Tal. I know what I'm saying, trust me. He wasn't forced to break with her, so... That's it. Till now he was just paper figure for me. From now, I despise him.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Sir Brando on 2006-05-10 at 4:59pm:
  The idea behind this episode may be flawed, but it is still very unique. It gives you a very creepy feeling. I like it.. it's not the best but I don't think it deserves a 0. just my opinion!
• From Pete Miller on 2006-11-26 at 4:37am:
  HAHAHAHA!!! I was watching this episode, and thinking that I was about to give it a zero because I didn't even consider it canon, and then I see you've already made the same conclusion. You wonder what the hell the writers were thinking. Or should I say what kind of alcoholic depression binge they were on. Besides the complete absurdity of the episode and the fact that it has absolutely no effect on anything, it also happens to be DEPRESSING as FUCK!!!! Wow. Thanks for tying up that loose end, writers. This episode really contributes a lot.
  
  Zero. Second episode of Voyager to get one.
• From Tony on 2008-09-26 at 7:13pm:
  My opinion is slightly diferent; I think that the idea of bringing back the duplicated crew from "Demon" was a good one (despite the obvious flaw of the entire ship having been duplicated), but the writer(s) did not create a story that create a story that lived up to the potential of that idea, or even come close. All we get to see is the entire duplicated crew die with hardly a storyline at all. A better idea would have been to have Voyager and duplicated Voyager discover each other and try to find out why there are two of them, then have the duplicates begin to degrade, they discover that the real Voyager is causing duplicated Voyager to degrade and they also find out what duplicated Voyager is. Now that the degradation has been started, it cannot be stopped. As a side story, hostile aliens couls have attacked the real Voyager at the beginning, and were driven off. They attack again, but because the aliens are only aware of one Voyager, duplicated Voyager sacrifices themselves to make the aliens think Voyager is destroied and the rear Voyager can continue on it's way. But no, we have to watch a dumb story of people dieing that deserves a zero.
• From Tallifer on 2011-04-25 at 11:12pm:
  10/10
  
  This story is an extremely moving tragedy. Up until the end we are given some sliver of hope that something good can still happen for this doomed crew. We come to identify fully with the plight of these "people" who are fighting for their "humanity" and "Federation values."
  
  It is a fascinating coda to an equally interesting story. Star Trek was ever brilliant for this kind of story: a once-told short story. Episodic television can be terrific: forty minutes of speculation, drama and escape. Not everything needs to be a twenty-six part epic arc like the dreary Battlestar Galactica.
• From spline on 2014-01-26 at 11:18am:
  "I think it's an episode people either love or hate," observed Nick Sagan. "The 'hate' category seems to say, 'Why do we follow a crew that isn't even our regular crew?' and they feel cheated. But it really is the story about the poignancy of Voyager's journey. There's something about trying really hard and not being quite able to achieve it, which is a reality to a lot of people [....] [The episode's] about a need to be remembered, a need to be recorded, and that's the special tragedy about making a log, a kind of capsule – we know that the 'Demon' crew dies. It's about loss and remembering, death and grief."
  
  I'm with Tallifer. I think those who give this silly ratings like 0 or 1 are being unjust and hypocritical. How many pointless episodes about Harry Kim's love life, alien of the week, shuttlecrash of the week, and reset buttons get a pass? Ninety percent of this series' episodes do not advance the overall plot *at all*. And criticizing it because it's not the "real" crew utterly misses the entire point of the story.
  
  This is a 9/10 episode easily, one of the best of the series.
• From spline on 2014-01-26 at 11:50am:
  Also, one last thing to think about:
  
  The writers also wanted to leave certain issues unresolved. "We didn't want to answer a lot of questions," Ken Biller stated, "like, how long has that ship been out there? Some of the episodes that we saw earlier in the season, was it that crew? Or was it the real crew? It's kind of intriguing to think about."
  
  (quotes from Memory Alpha)
• From janus on 2014-10-16 at 10:05am:
  An episode which tests issues of personal identity, loyalty and motivation to destruction (literally!)
  
  When Janeway says that she's determined to get them home, only to be reminded that *their* home is a demon-class planet in the Delta Quadrant, and when Harry Kim is told that, even if they did get "home" to Earth, his family would not want a duplicate of their real son, but only the original, we see a fundamental conflict which cannot be hand-waved away - and that is *true* drama.
  
  That it starts with Tom and B'Elanna's wedding, and ends with Voyager's destruction, makes clear that the writers meant to create a truly tragic episode. That the probe with the record of all of their mission-data is lost, and that the other Voyager encounters only their wreckage, adds to the tragedy, and maybe even makes us contemplate our own mortality.
  
  On a side-note, how is it "unlikely" that a fictional substance could perfectly replicate a human being (complete with past memories!) but couldn't replicate inanimate ship components, too? It seems no more unlikely than time travel, which violates our understanding of physics but happens in science fiction all the time.
  Also, it seems irrelevant to object that this isn't the real crew, since they have the same personalities and memories; what about the *backup* Doctor in Living Witness? He's also "just" a copy.
  
  Let's be honest: plot devices like these are a dramatic conceit. The real point is that, given the setup, the characters act in a consistent and believable way, so that we can relate to their feelings and choices, and be invested in the consequences.
  
  Of all the stories which show Voyager's crew trying to get home, this is the only one which explores what it would mean, to them and us, if they failed. (Voyager's destruction in Year of Hell was done knowing that it should restore the former timeline.)
  
  Just for that, this episode is exceptional.
  
  10/10
  
  PS: This one reminds me a lot of DS9 "Whispers", which I also liked. Our reviewer gave that a low score too, so at least I'm (or we're) consistent. ;)
• From thaibites on 2015-01-21 at 1:04am:
  When the story opened with Paris and Ms. Miserable getting married, I thought "Oh no, not another stupid soap opera episode!" Luckily, I hung in there and found a quirky little episode that managed to take Voyager out of its predictable rut.
  
  1) Why is it so unbelievable that the ship was copied? If you think that the holodeck is believable, then you're just being a hypocrite. How many times have we seen the holodeck defy physics and make a room into a huge outdoor scene where people walk for miles. Now that's unbelievable!
  
  2) The copy crew needed to have an enhanced warp drive so they could be ahead of the real Voyager and almost meet them on the way back. (I wonder if this causes problems in the future for the real Voyager. Maybe they'll run into aliens that the copy crew had a problem with?)
  
  3) I liked the fact that the copy crew was allowed to die at the end. They violated the crew of Voyager and were an abomination in the eyes of the Lord! Star Trek endings are too nice and orderly, and it was nice to see something different for a change. With X-Files being so popular during this time period, you would think Berman et al would emulate them more often.
  
  It's obvious this is an episode that people either love or hate. The little gayrods that act like Comicbook Guy on the Simpsons hate it because it doesn't fit into their nice, orderly Start Trek canon world. These people obviously have never had sex with another human, and their real lives are more meaningless than the copy crew's. The people who love this episode are free-thinkers and lovers of science-fiction (NOT soap operas in space). These people long for Berman and friends to push the boundaries of ST in the great tradition of Gene Roddenberry. I think this episode does that quite nicely!
• From Dstyle on 2015-07-09 at 3:06am:
  Before watching the episode I came to this site to check it's rating and almost gave it a pass as a result, but I decided to watch it because the fan rating was just a little below average. Boy, I sure am glad I watched this one: one of my favorites of the season so far.
  
  I guess it definitely is a love it or hate it kind of episode, and I can respect the opinions of those who thought it was a weak episode. Personally, I enjoy science fiction that utilizes the possibilities of a technologically advanced future to explore abstract philosophical problems in a tangible way. Remember Tuvix, and that whole episode that used transporter technology to explore the nature of identity and individuality? To me this felt like an episode in the same vein. What if you discovered that you were not really you, and that the real "you" was out there in the world somewhere living a separate existence? Is your existence any less authentic? What would it take for you to accept that you are the copy and not the other way around? (In this case, it was extreme physical degradation: evidence that you are, in fact, a lesser copy.) Do your experiences and feelings still have value? Should you be afforded the same respect that the "real" you had earned? It was fascinating, and I found the end to be rather beautiful and poignant.
  
  I'm going to resist the urge to pick apart kethinov's review line by line, with the exception of the final line. Watch this episode. Yeah, you might hate it, but it's a "you love it or you hate it" kind of episode. Don't deny yourself the opportunity of finding out which you are.
• From dominic on 2016-06-10 at 4:00am:
  It doesn't matter that they're not the "real" crew. They think they are, they react the same way the real crew would, and they are just as heartbroken when they realize they will never see Earth.
• From tigertooth on 2017-06-20 at 4:06am:
  I was okay with the premise. Some of the flaws that have been mentioned hurt it a bit, but I could deal with it.
  
  To me, the main problem was that outside of the premise, the episode was just kinda boring. It's like 45 minutes of "we're melting" and then they die. There's no dramatic arc. From the moment they learn the truth until the end, nothing really happens except slow decay and death.
  
  I wonder if they should have held off the reveal that they were all duplicates for a while longer. Like they realize it's related to the Demon planet, then they start to think that they're being infected by their duplicates. They could even given a technobabble explanation of how a duplicate Voyager could have been created. They run into the other Voyager, thinking it's the duplicate. Then they come to realize they're the duplicates. Then you go to the valiant sacrifice idea somebody mentioned earlier. At least it would have given them something to do....
• From QuasiGiani on 2017-08-25 at 8:49am:
  Excellent episode. It _is_ canon. Those that don't realize this don't understand the term (though they are so obviously just itchin' to use it; like a Vocabulary Of The Week word)... so object if you must but you really shouldn't must.
  
  Excellent episode. It is _also_ part of a (apparently preciousssss) story arc... so again, embrace this episode.
  
  Excellent episode. It is _also_ _also_ (as a few have pointed out) an episode that harkens-back to TOS as a sci-fi short-story format that needn't answer to every goddamed negative, niggling, nebbishmal, nay-saying, neurotican, nerdling, nabobbing natter... so, to those who enjoyed it: Nanu... Nanu!
• From McCoy on 2017-09-22 at 3:19pm:
  I don't understand all that low ratings. Looks like you people prefer utopian, happy space adventures. This was a great tragedy with good use of s-f elements. Certailny better than most high ranked action episodes (like i.e. Dark Frontier).
  I expected that they will somehow contact the original Voyager and send them a beacon. But the writers made bold choice and served us hard, depressing, moving end. Bravo! 9/10 from me.
• From minnie on 2017-12-01 at 2:15pm:
  I'm with Spline on this one. I found it haunting and it stayed with me afterwards. It's one of the most memorable episodes - many of them aren't. I don't think it matters whether the story arc is advanced. It is still about the crew, eg. Janeway sticking to the mission despite all evidence saying she should turn around and so forth. Very interesting, a proper sci fi story, and a sad one. A tragedy. So I gave it 9.
• From jbense on 2018-03-04 at 8:12pm:
  Gotta say: I completely disagree with those who consider this a poor episode.
  
  To me, it is one of Voyager's best.
  
  User janus above pointed out similarites with DS9's "Whispers." It also brings to mind the DS9 episode "The Visitor," another tangential side-plot episode written in the poignant style of a classic sci-fi short story.
  
  I advise strongly against skipping this episode.
• From notaduck on 2020-04-03 at 3:14pm:
  I'm on the "love it" side of the fence! Watching the whole series for the first time. This one stuck with me for all the reasons I enjoy science fiction: spectacular possibilities (cloning), centered on real human emotions (loss, home, protection), not afraid to face hard philosophical questions (identity, being remembered, the meaning of principles), wrapped in a short story. There are some slow parts, but I feel like the uncertainty of their fate and the struggles of the duplicate captain more than made up for it.
  
  A point I think can be missed is the tragedy at the end isn't just about loss of life, but loss of accomplishments, recognition, and respect for these lives. Imagine if the real Voyager had picked up the secret of the advanced warp drive! Imagine Tom and Elana reading their twins' marriage vows! It's a thoughtful, subtle statement I think can be lost in the prosthetics.
  
  Man, I'm glad I made it through the early seasons to get treats like this...
• From Ralph on 2021-10-25 at 5:26pm:
  I think this episode is the one where I am furthest away from Kethinov's opinion - with whom I'm generally quite in agreement with. I think this was a wonderful episode. A real tragedy that was well written. Up until the very end I had my hopes up for something to come out of the duplicate crew. Even at the very last scene after it was clear that the time capsule was lost, there was hope of the real Voyager finding a remnant of their counterparts.
  
  Star Trek almost never writes an episode like this. At least not this era of Star Trek. I find this easily one of the better Voyager episodes.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Richard on 2012-12-13 at 5:28am:
  It's really not such a bad episode. It advances the Star trek scientific framework pretty solidly, and deserves to be canon - although it clearly did not come off as the writers intended. The notion of "chaotic space", where the laws of physics are in constant flux, is a rich and plausible one. Boothby is a great character. But the narrative is sluggish and unconvincing in several spots, as if poorly edited. Beltran's performance is somewhat stilted, with way too much dissonance with Chakotay's established character traits.
• From L on 2014-04-20 at 6:36am:
  God, utterly awful. The previous episode about the doomed clones was way better than this.
  An episode that amounts to an over-emoted hallucination in a boxing ring? No thanks Star Trek.
• From Dstyle on 2015-07-10 at 1:39pm:
  I have no interest in watching this episode again, but if I did I'd time the hallucination sequences to see how much of the episode they took up (answer=too much). I'm sure hallucination sequences are fun to shoot and edit together, but they sure are a drag to watch.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Jem Hadar on 2010-04-06 at 12:04am:
  "Jason Alexander does a wonderful job as Kurros, showing us the same deceitful and conniving personality she showed us as George on Seinfeld."
  
  Typo, or funny diss? ;)
  
  I thought this was a very good episode with an interesting story.
• From QuasiGiani on 2017-08-27 at 10:14am:
  Problem(s)?
  
  Okay, no we have a very problematic and frankly, therefore, boring episode:
  
  Why would such a powerful "Think Tank" ever need to bargain with anyone? For anything? They wouldn't.
  
  But let's ignore that hugely, unavoidably ridiculous mess for just a mind-numbing minute...
  
  Howzabout:
  
  Why would they ever stop monitoring Voyager and allow that silly collusion and planning session to catch-them-up-and-out? They, of course, wouldn't.
  
  Howzabout:
  
  Why would they need to have Janeway allow them access to the "databank" as Kurros requested just before or after he told Janeway he'd just then and there tapped into it? They, of course, wouldn't.
  
  Howzabout:
  
  Why would these geniuses, who apparently did just huddle-up while the plans were being attached back on Voyager, _all_ fall to utterly moronic pieces the moment they lost their ability to communicate with each other? They wouldn't.
  
  Dopey episode. Glaring.
• From Axel on 2018-06-09 at 3:13pm:
  I don't quite understand a couple of QuasiGiani's complaints. Why does this think tank bargain? Well, because they aren't some kind of non-profit research institute. Their whole purpose is to market their problem-solving services in exchange for resources, new technology, knowledge that advances them or can be used to bargain with later, and even new members. Such a group would only ever need to bargain. I think they were desperate to get Seven on board because her collective knowledge would be worth the risks they might have to take.
  
  As for what happens at the end, I guess there's a key fact to remember about think tanks: despite their genius, sometimes they get things wrong. This particular group also obviously had a lot of hubris and had also become used to working as a group; their collapse at the end didn't seem all that far-fetched to me.
  
  To me, the main drawback of this episode was that the issue of getting Voyager back to the Alpha Quadrant never comes up. Once Janeway leaves the decision up to Seven, it would've been fitting if either of them had raised the possibility with the think tank about somehow getting help so Voyager makes it home sooner.
  
  Overall, though, I liked this one. It was an interesting premise and had some nice twists even if they made the think tank a little too obviously sinister.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From 2 of 14 on 2009-10-22 at 2:49pm:
  Perhaps the Malon simply travel this far out of their territory to find suitably uninhabited areas in which to dump their lethal cargo. Fesek did actually tell Torres she had no idea how much effort the Malon went through to locate suitable locations for their toxic waste. Sort of like an Earth sea vessel travelling into the ocean zone of another nation to illegally dump waste.
• From Gul Darhe'el on 2012-04-04 at 2:25pm:
  One of the best aspects of TNG, DS9, and Voyager is getting to watch the characters grow and change throughout the series. The character growth aspect holds true for every character in these series, except one -- Torres. Here we are in Season 5 and she is still the immature, volatile, half Klingon from Season 1. Running holodeck programs with the safety protocols off, breaking the doctors camera, etc. I know the writers wanted to get as much mileage as possible out of her anger, but unfortunately they never let her character grow beyond a spontaneous tantrum thrower who just happens to be a brilliant engineer.
• From onlinebroker on 2012-04-10 at 3:03pm:
  2 of 14, your explanation would be good, if that same malon hadn't told Torres that he's a sculpturer in his "dayjob", so it makes no sense that they would have travelled 10 years.
  He also said that his lifespan would be cut in half, so it makes even less sense, that these trips would take even a few years.
• From Hugo on 2015-01-18 at 8:55pm:
  The long range scan detects massive amounts of technobabble ahead!!!
  I think there are loads of problems in this episode (in addition to Malon and the distance), and the story did not engage me. I do appreciate the look into the Malon's society though.
  * I don't buy that they have some much problem finding a place to dump the waste, even in ST the galaxy is not that densely populated, and in the end they are throwing the freighter into a star, which seems to be ok - radiation/pollution-wise
  * Why not send the doctor to the ship? He would have no problems with the radiation or breating.
  * it is odd that the physiology of Malon, Neelix and humans is so close that they can use the same medication without any problems
  * I got annoyed when B'Elanna tried to reason with the bad guy in the end, while the clock was ticking...
• From Mike on 2017-06-09 at 11:07pm:
  I have to agree, Gul Darhe'el. I don't know if it was the writers intention for Torres' character or if they just didn't see any potential with Dawson, or if they were just too focused on other characters. But by this season, Torres had long become very irritating to watch. Her dealings with Fesek in this one are especially annoying because it's almost as if they are wanting the audience to tire of her baseless hostility.
  
  But, speaking of Fesek, it was a pleasure once again to see Ron Canada. He was great in TNG: The Masterpiece Society, and was truly excellent in DS9: Rules of Engagement as the Klingon advocate accusing Worf. And I agree that he gives us an interesting look at the Malon beyond what we've seen so far. They have good reasons, in their minds, for doing what they do. Some are purely profit-driven, like Emck in VOY: Night, while Fesek is doing this because he believes it's worthwhile.
  
  onlinebroker, he says he only sculpts half the year, and the rest he spends aboard the waste disposal freighter. All during this episode, I couldn't help but think of people working oil drills in Alaska, or fishing for king crab. High paying jobs that only require a few months labor each year, but extremely hazardous with a high burnout/injury or even death rate.
• From QuasiGiani on 2017-08-28 at 1:39pm:
  Pretty good episode. And lots of good critiques.
  
  Loved the unacknowledged (between them and also here!) jokes in the 7Of9 and Tuvok scene... 7Of9, (after offering-up plan "C") asserts she will furthermore start ~"factoring in Janeway's 'luck' into her calculations"... both of them deadpan... and the deadpan continues as Tuvok then just before leaving asks if ~"there is a plan 'D'"...

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Rob UK on 2013-10-26 at 11:08am:
  I enjoy this episode for the quirky backdoor feelings and insight you get into the crew and life onboard, the confrontation about hearing the intimate relations was great, being on a starship in the future is like living in a tower block in modern day, i could do a nature reserve study on any one of my neighbors with great accuracy.
  
  The key swing comedy factor for me is the doctors slideshow
  
  "Here we see how fortress ovum is besieged by countless little warriors" with all the arm movements and hand gestures is a classic.
  
• From thaibites on 2015-02-14 at 12:56am:
  Another horrendous soap opera episode that gets an 8 rating from HRM Eric Newport. Are you people all gay? Unbelievable...
• From parkbench on 2016-02-12 at 9:54am:
  well, a truly mediocre episode with lackluster pacing and based purely on the novelty of seeing the characters in a banal situation. but rather than explore this in any profound way or use it to get behind some of the themes of voyager, we get more voyager aimless meandering--another crappy love interest episode that star trek is famous for, recycling a hundred stereotypes a minute and wielding them all in the least-thought out, least creative and safest character on the show--seven of nine, unfortunately little more than eye-candy in most of the episodes. it's like they felt bad for having janeway for the first few seasons and had to pander even more than they usually do. so embarrassing.
  
  apparently the writing for this one was so bad that it caused the above commenter to lower several grades of intelligence and equate mediocrity with emotions, and emotions with gay people. the discovery of the century, no doubt. i fear for this (no doubt) man, anyone who must care for him, and whatever offspring he may one day produce. be on the lookout for profound moments like this one. oh, i'm gay, by the way.
  
  anyway, back to seven. really i can't stand most episodes about her, because they read like poor imitations of Data episodes, and even some of those aren't that amazing! i found myself compelled to skip at the beginning and now wish i had.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Pete Miller on 2006-12-04 at 7:43pm:
  I didn't think this episode was that bad. It was kind of stupid in a lot of parts, but the humor was great and the story was pretty cool. It added something about the self-sustaining ecosystems later used on Mars, so it's not like it doesn't contribute ANYTHING. Contributes more than "Take Me Out to the Holosuite" that's for sure.
  
  Voyager meets Fargo, minus murder
• From Mike on 2008-08-10 at 12:46pm:
  Yeah I think you missed the boat on this review.
  
  1) The theme of 'the negative impact of progress' is rarely shown on the generally optimistic ST. Here we see at least a bit of a human cost to building something like the "millennium gate".
  
  2) The 'its a self-sustaining city' vs. 'its just a mall' theme brings up another ST issue. This isn't the optimistic 60s anymore, and we're not going to get a massive government-funded space program. Progress is going to be done by corporations, or its not going to be done at all. So that means profit and exploitation, symbolized here by the destruction of the small town way of life.
  
  3) The theme of "revisionist history" is a rare one in popular culture. It also ties this episode to 'Living Witness'.
  
  The episode was FAR from perfect, and the ending was incredibly rushed (all of those ends tied up). But it's a very thoughtful and intelligent episode.
• From Baronvonellis on 2011-09-29 at 3:36am:
  I liked this alot. It was very well done and thoughtful. It was also a nice change of pace from all the explosions and "shields down to 20%" junk that is in every other episode.
  
  I feel like people are too critical of Voyager compared to TNG. This was very trek and explored alot of scientific and culturally issues in an entertaining story. What more do you want from it.
• From Rick on 2013-01-10 at 8:48pm:
  Boy, this have to be a tough episode for a liberal to watch. Do you root for the large corporation or the conservative that its trying to bulldoze? Tough choice.
  
  I thought it was a very good episode for the reason that an above poster made. The liberalism going on now is mostly through large corporate entities looking to monetize any trend they can.
• From Hugo Ahlenius on 2015-01-30 at 9:27pm:
  So he has a giant bookstore with no customers, in a small town - doesn't a buyout deal with a good price sound pretty decent? I didn't find their chemistry and connection worked out very well. The history/reveal stuff was a tad interesting though. Felt mostly like a soap/tv-movie otherwise...
• From parkbench on 2016-02-20 at 7:57pm:
  I have to say I am really shocked at how negatively the site's author reacted to this episode. I'm glad some commentors came with a counterbalance, because this was one of the best episodes I have seen in awhile. Let me explain...
  
  I have gotten to a point w/ Voyager where I usually keep it on in the background, even when I'm watching a brand new episode--why? Because the writing is so consistently mediocre, there are so many missed opportunities, so many actors straightjacketed by milquetoast dialogue that they come off as outrageously corny or artificially human, that it's hard to watch sometimes. But I love Star Trek, so I power through--and perhaps this is what the site's author really had a problem with.
  
  Because having a "non-sequitur" episode isn't, in and of itself, a bad thing--what's bad is that Voyager is so aimless and so grasping for straws that when an episode like this comes along, all the storytelling could appear, to the untrained eye, to just be more meandering away from the plot.
  
  But if you pay attention, this was a very lovingly crafted episode with tons of real social & political themes which, though flawed, drives to the very heart of the scifi and Star Trek formula: reflecting on the fragile potential of mankind.
  
  If anyone--site author included--is surprised about the plotline, then they could do with some reading. Almost every major sporting event, from the NFL to the Olympics, major development project in the U.S. or elsewhere, major cultural site or monument, runs into this issue: and it's not pretty.
  
  In fact, though the episode sort of gives out its legs towards the end--pitching the story as one merely about "progress" vs. "tradition", "the future vs. the past"--this is often what the (real-life) script looks like. Major projects want the prime real estate, not just random land in the middle of nowhere, and they will often do anything they can to get it. I have been to a major park in Kentucky that is totally rustic except for 2 or 3 random houses smack dab in the middle that STILL have functioning mailboxes and families living in them because they refused to cede their land, so the park built around them.
  
  Hell, look at the railroads, the colonisation and destruction of indigenous lands that made most of this country possible, or even just any major fracking or resource-extraction project. Look at Appalachia, the health problems the majority of its residents face, the polluted water (a la Flint), the unemployment, joblessness, and total abandonment by the very powers that claimed they had come to save the area.
  
  And when it comes to Olympic stadiums, it has been shown time and again that the promise of "business", jobs, and cultural notoriety is short-lived, while the costs are consistently stacked against the poor: people are evicted and streets are cleansed of any hint of poverty or decay, rent is driven up, and a temporary luxury economic bubble is created mostly for people from out of town to come and be a part of a brief media spectacle. And then what? It all leaves and usually what's left is like a monorail in a dying, de-industrialised town: a big eyesore that has done nothing but contribute to the already-existing massive inequalities and disparities between people living very different realities in these urban landscapes.
  
  Or just look up the city of Shenzhen in China, which in the 1970s was a small fishing town. Through the incredible macro-social acrobatics of giant multinational firms and international finance capital, they systematically turned this tiny town into a (now eerily-familiar) post-apocalyptic landscape of a metropolis, hyper-polluted and hyper-segregated between the lower classes of workers and dagongmei and the business elites whose sole purpose in living there is to extract every bit of value they can from it before they leave. And I encourage you to do your own research if you don't believe me--have a look at any number of the problems facing the average citizen in Shenzhen, and tell me if the "progress" the town was granted was not a Pyrrhic victory.
  
  This is the actual world we live in. It's not sci-fi, it's horrific shit. So if sci-fi manages to even reflect a PIECE of that, I'm all ears, because it's rare and it's brave to have that kind of honesty.
  
  So my point is--the show, to a point, actually accurately depicts a lot of this dynamic, showing what community complacence OR resistance can look like (many people take the pay-out, while others launch grassroots media campaigns). It also hints at some kind of corporate exploitation, as some in the comments have noted; but as I said before, I wish this didn't end in a simple "past vs. future" morality tale. They bring up the idea of the "big shopping mall" and just leave it there; I wish more of the supposed benefits vs. deficits had really been teased out, so that if they really ultimately wanted Janeway to close his shop, it would be less an easy victory (we, the viewers, unconsciously want O'Donnell and Janeway to be together and a happy conclusion) and more of a melancholy turning-point, as the town's independence becomes subordinate to this massive social-engineering project--the times indeed they are a-changin'.
  
  And that's another thing--it was a really neat narrative trick to tell us the conclusion of the plot and then to reconstruct it. Not the first time we've ever seen this, but seeing how well Shannon O'Donnell and Janeway get along, but knowing what must happen according to "history", creates a lot of mystery and curiosity in how it's all going to go down.
  
  And speaking of narrative tricks, how about an "earth episode" that didn't boil down to some crazy holodeck caper but actually filled in, however messily (as ST is wont to do), the universe's actual timeline? That was very welcome for me.
  
  Again, hearing Harry talk about his family, or Janeway talking about the fragilities of reconstructing history was a huge breath of fresh air for me. This was a script with real pacing, with dialogue that actually expanded on the plot and enriched the story's world, and reflected real themes while deepening them through an imaginative thought-scenario. Its flaw is less in the episode itself than in the whole trajectory of Voyager that allows a gem like this to be buried so mercilessly under layers upon layers of colorless dust.
  
  And I suppose, coming to expect less than mediocrity from Voyager, I am willing to be forgiving about an offering that doesn't exactly "advance" the plot--I mean, this was the original idea of Voyager, wasn't it? "Return" to the old TOS style, have a "general missrion" peppered with vignettes? I will always think this is inferior to the DS9 formula, but as a one-off, it's mighty fine.
  
  I was amazed, too, when at one point I became lost in Kate Mulgrew's acting, during one of the later scenes where Shannon and Janeway are arguing in the library. And I found myself thinking, really? Her? Well, for starters, it's because she's rarely given the breathing room to use all the skills of her trade. That is, they actually wrote her a dynamic character! And she clearly has fun with it. It was a pleasure to see her as a true actress and not as a two-bit daytime space opera mouthpiece for once.
  
  Give this to me over any stupid episode about men and women and dating and uninspired gender stereotypes that plagues this series, any half-brained Buck Rogers adventure that thinks it's a parody of the past but is really a parody of itself, or overwrought melodrama filled with fake gravitas. This was a sensitive, if flawed, offering, and gives me a little faith that the Voyager series is not completely screwed, as long as they keep these writers on board somewhere in there.
  
  Thanks again to kethinov for maintaining the site.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Vincent on 2011-10-10 at 2:58am:
  In this episode, Braxton cites his time in the 20h century as a reason to try to eliminate Voyager from the timeline. However, if I recall correctly, after the events of Future's End, Braxton says he never experienced that timeline. This is only a minor problem in a very entertaining episode.
• From Wes on 2012-03-02 at 2:29pm:
  Isn't it a problem that Seven went to Voyager in dry dock in the beginning and the weapon was already placed, yet it was already placed? Then, she went into the FUTURE (to the battle with the Kazon) not into the PAST to find when the device was placed. What!? You go into the future to find the guy placing the device who actually placed the device in the past. That's a real temporal paradox--one that seems like it was more of a major problem that the writers chose to look over to include Utopia Planetia in this episode and something familiar to us (the Kazon battle).
• From JR on 2012-07-11 at 5:49am:
  I like how the "present" 29th century Braxton is arrested for something he might do in the future. That particular "future" Braxton did commit time crimes, but as we know from episodes like Parallels, STXI, etc, there are infinite possible futures.
  
  Therefore, arresting "present" Braxton and merging him with that particular "future" Braxton seems kinda like punishing "present" Braxton for a thought-crime...or maybe a possible future thought-crime.
  
  Anyway, I liked seeing Dutch from The Shield. It's interesting how certain actors get typecast. He was sort of a detective here, and will be again in at least two shows I recall.
• From Mitch89 on 2013-03-24 at 10:30pm:
  I found Carey's chat with Seven in engineering somewhat amusing, considering he's married with children!
• From Jadzia Guinan Smith on 2015-06-29 at 8:50pm:
  I’m with JR; it’s highly disturbing that Braxton would be arrested for a crime he has not yet committed nor even has the present intent to commit! For all the federation’s claims of enlightenment, this is the kind of draconian future they have to look forward to? And no one in-universe is troubled by this?
• From Dstyle on 2015-07-16 at 7:55pm:
  I don't mind a good time travel episode--really, I don't--but I wish I din't always have to turn off the part of my brain that processing things intelligently and logically in order to enjoy it. Seriously, every Star Trek time travel episode always seems to have one character who is grappling sophomorically with the whole thing, trying to spell it out simply for the folks at home, and someone usually tells that character something to the effect of, "It's best if you just don't think too hard on it." This episode was FULL of "just don't think too hard about it" moments. This episode was just a mess. Probably one of the weakest time travel episodes I've seen, honestly.
• From QuasiGiani on 2017-09-02 at 3:21pm:
  If you want to "intelligently and logically" in enjoy anything to do with time-travel you MUST BEST JUST "don't think too hard on it."
  
  This is the point; these are the facts. Even with the slightest bit of intelligent logic, time-travel is always going to be caught in a "mess" of paradox.
  
  This is the joke. This is the fun. This is the funny. This is why this is a really great Voyager episode. Because Janeway, of all characters, of all time(!), is especially aware of and attuned to this and here we have her dropped right slipstream of what a might be the most convoluted such and such... of all time!
  
  Honestly!
  
  Excellent Episode.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Wes on 2010-06-01 at 7:39pm:
  Where's Tuvok for most of this episode? There were a lot of instances where he would have something logical to say, but he wasn't there to say it.
• From Rick on 2013-04-07 at 4:27am:
  Wait, so now WMDs have a right to survive? So apparently the way to defeat the federation is to make all of your weapons smart enough so that they wont destroy them. Voyager continues to get more and more annoying as the show goes on. Yes, we get it, Torres has anger problems. Yes, we get it harry sucks with the ladies and sucks up to the higher ranks. Yes, we get it, the doctor thinks everything with a frickin circuit board has rights. And of course, Seven is emotionally damaged. Oh yeah, and chakotay is native american, lets reinforce that in every episode he does. Basically, most every episode that Voyager does where they focus on one character are useless. cast works well as an ensemble though, as long as the writers use them that way.
• From Hugo on 2015-02-07 at 9:26pm:
  Is it just me that found the bomb's change of mind at the end went too quick and easy?

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DH on 2008-02-29 at 11:47am:
  I like Voyager, but this beaming through shields annoys me everytime!