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Star Trek Voyager (VOY) Season 3

Season 1 - Season 2 - Season 3 - Season 4 - Season 5 - Season 6 - Season 7

The episode descriptions are given in normal text, my comments in small text. Rating: 0=worst, 10=best (rating system)

Basics II See VOY season 2

Flashback Stardate 50126.4: Tuvok experiences a flashback, however, it is not an actual experience from his past. In order to repair the obvious damage to his synaptic patterns, he asks Janeway to engage in a mind-meld with him. In Tuvok's mind they travel back to his time on the U.S.S. Excelsior during the Praxis crisis when his crewmate, Ensign Valtane, was killed in a battle with the Klingons on stardate 9521, 80 years ago. It turns out that Tuvok's flashback has actually nothing to do with his past, but is a virus disguised as an unbearable memory that has to be suppressed.

The appearance of Captain Sulu alone makes this episode worth viewing, and overall the story fits well into the historical events shown in "Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country" - well, except that Valtane who dies in "Flashback" apparently has a twin brother who can be seen well and alive in the end. I have always wondered if Sulu might have tried to help his friends prior to the end of the movie - he did. It is insightful to see that Tuvok has undergone a development and used to be even more inflexibly logical than he is nowadays - as far as this is possible at all. Alpha Quadrant stories have been and will be a plausibility problem on Star Trek Voyager. Fortunately, this time it is accomplished to tell the story without the usual incredible plot that characters or objects from the Alpha Quadrant are coincidentally encountered in the Delta Quadrant. It is worth mentioning that Tuvok refers to "the other Vulcans on the ship", while the later episode "Unity" assumes there is no one except for Tuvok and Vorik.
Remarkable quote: "Those two men on trial, I served with them for a long time, I owe them my life, a dozen times over, and right now they're in trouble, and I'm going to help them. Let the regulations be damned." (Sulu)
Remarkable Vulcan humor(?): "The success rate of your culinary experiments has not been high.", "I would prefer not to hear the life history of my breakfast."
Remarkable fact: Tuvok's father served aboard the Yorktown.
Rating: 7

The Chute Stardate 50156.2: Harry and Tom find themselves in an Akritirian prison, surrounded by relentless prisoners. Implants stimulate violence and lack of reason among them, and Tom and Harry are even in danger of killing one another. The prison being a space station, there is no escape for them, but an away team invades the station and manages to free them.

Harry and Tom on Rura Penthe. Extremely dirty and brutal settings are usually not what the best stories are built upon, and this proves again here. Moreover, since Harry and Tom are mind-controlled the whole time anyway, their aggression towards each other is pointless and has no consequences. The only interesting facts are that the 47 is prominently featured once again as the number of people killed in the bombing and that the Delaney sisters are mentioned. The rest is 45 minutes of boredom in something like a buddy movie gone wrong.
Remarkable scene: the zoom-out from the hatch window, revealing that the prison is floating in space
Rating: 1

The Swarm Stardate 50252.3: Voyager runs into hostile aliens, the Swarm, who want to prevent the ship from entering their territory at all cost. In the meantime the Doctor suffers from memory loss due to the fact that he has been active much longer than originally scheduled. It is decided to use his diagnosis system to extend his memory capacity. Voyager is attacked by thousands of tiny Swarm ships, but by creating a feedback loop in their communication system most of the ships can be destroyed.

The episode skillfully combines the Swarm plot and the Doctor's problems. Furthermore it keeps a balance between tragical and comical aspects of the Doctor's program failure. Especially Kes has a couple of very good scenes when she intercedes for the salvage of the Doctor's personality, opposing a reboot of his program. The Louis Zimmerman hologram makes clear that the Doctor has developed his own personality since he was first activated and behaved much like Zimmerman in those days.
Remarkable dialogues: "I can see where you got your charming personality." - "Not to mention my hairline." (B'Elanna and the Doctor about the Zimmerman hologram), "It was only during my off-hours." - "You're supposed to be off during your off-hours." (Doctor vs. Zimmerman)
Remarkably "sick humor": The alien who was attacked by the Swarm eventually dies. Kes: "His injuries were too severe." - the degrading Doctor: "He's a very sick man."
Remarkable facts: The Doctor has "wasted" 15,000 gigaquads for personal subroutines. Didn't the entire Enterprise-D computer only store a few megaquads? -- The universal translator can't translate the Swarm's language.
Rating: 7

False Profits Stardate 50074.3: Voyager discovers the instable exit of the Barzan wormhole and the two Ferengi who got lost at this end of the galaxy after the wormhole had shifted. On an underdeveloped planet the Ferengi are now worshipped as gods and teach their wisdom, namely the Rules of Acquisition. An away team manages to get hold of the Ferengi - or rather save them because the planet's population strives to fulfill a prophecy by burning them. The Ferengi, however, escape through the wormhole that moves away before Voyager can follow them.

A Ferengi episode always has the problem that it can turn out either funny or ludicrous. This one has both of it. I liked to see that a story from TNG was picked up ("The Price") and I enjoyed the basic plot of the Ferengi being the gods of a primitive civilization and all its consequences, including the nifty legend of the "Sages" and the "ear cult". However, the plot was ruined at the very moment when the two Ferengi persuaded Janeway to let them return to the planet. Everything could have been so easy, but she yielded to unconfirmed speculations about the people's welfare. Bad enough. However, it all became ridiculous when Neelix appeared as the Grand Proxy (whoever this might be, he was never even mentioned in any of countless DS9 episodes). I know that disguise stories may be fun, but they have nothing to do with reality. Moreover, while the Ferengi are not exactly known as the most serious species and the Talaxians aren't either, this idea is even worse for the credibility of the maneuver. Not to mention that Neelix as someone from the Delta Quadrant is not likely to know anything about the Ferengi culture. It seems they just needed a job for the resident clown. The pinnacle of absurdity is reached when the two small guys succeed in overwhelming two armed Starfleet guards, destroy the shuttlebay door, destabilize the wormhole and, unlike Voyager, manage to escape to the Alpha Quadrant. Someone said *Ferengi* are dull?
Remarkable fact: The universal translator is capable of reproducing the alien rhymes of the tale of the Sages in English. More creative than I thought.
Rating: 5

Remember Stardate 50203.1: While a number of telepathic Enarans are on Voyager as guests, B'Elanna continuously dreams of being an Enaran. Her dreams turn out to be the specific memories of a young woman who once witnessed a genocide on her planet, her love interest being among the assassinated. The woman now being old and about to die, she transferred her memories to B'Elanna because she felt B'Elanna would not hide the secret as the Enarans had done for many years.

This is one of several Voyager episodes that present an encrypted, yet profound treatise on human history and present. It is obvious that Voyager continues this tradition of TNG, rather than DS9. "Remember", this is indeed the outcome of the episode in that another genocide might happen if no one talks about it. Denying the truth, even if it is for a good cause, might be the first step in a wrong direction. B'Elanna's attempts to convince the Enarans of what she had learned falls on deaf ears. This is an obvious reaction, meaning that they either can't believe the hearsay, or they fear the truth. That's the dilemma. The Enarans have built up a better society in spite of and maybe partially even because of the wrongdoings in the past, and telling the truth might lead them all the way back to those bad days. Who has the right to decide about such a development? Nevertheless, B'Elanna is pretty sure to do the right thing, and when the other Enarans wouldn't listen, she finds at least the young woman who promises to keep the memories. An open end, but who could expect a sufficient solution in 45 minutes or in a few days of story time? It is remarkable that Janeway largely tolerates the violation of the Prime Directive this time. It seems to be very much a matter of arbitrary personal conviction what she decides.
Rating: 5

Sacred Ground Stardate 50063.2: On a visit to a monastery on the Nechani homeworld Kes is rendered unconscious by an energy field surrounding a shrine. Janeway wants to save Kes, and in order to trespass the energy field and examine the phenomenon she undergoes strange rituals. As this does not help at all, she acts against all reason. She takes Kes back to the shrine where Kes unexpectedly recovers.

In my view the episode is nothing but psychobabble and mystic trash when Janeway is going through her exams, worse than the often criticized technobabble. While virtually nothing could have saved the episode from pure boredom, the attempts to give the plot more profoundness fail as well. Agreed, the episode gives Kate Mulgrew something to act in a classical sense. But scenes like the old people waiting for Godot, the end of the world or whatsoever are annoying because they lack any realism. They look like ripped off from a stage play, not like a part of a Trek episode. Does the monastery occasionally hire retired actors to utter a few pointless phrases? Religion is about faith. You either have the faith or not, but it is not possible to gain it in a crash course. Much less would it be necessary or useful to *prove* to someone that *faith* is the key. This would be paradoxical, but exactly this seems to be the only goal of the whole ritual: it is supposed to disprove itself. A typical TV version of religion.
It is also irritating that Earth apparently has no religion but science in the 24th century, whereas alien beliefs eventually rule over any kind of technology. I don't speak in favor of any of them, but Star Trek as a program that is supposed to represent all humanity on one hand and is technically oriented on the other hand should try to establish a more balanced attitude. Yet, Kes is not saved because of something that happened in the ritual, but because of - who knows? So it's not that Janeway, the science woman, is really disproved although exactly this impression is created. I'm not sure, should I give the episode a better rating just because it's so controversial after all?
Rating: 1

Future's End Stardate 50312.5: Capt. Braxton of the Federation timeship Aeon is about to destroy Voyager because the ship is made responsible for the destruction of the Sol system in the 29th century. The two ships, however, get caught in a temporal rift. The Aeon crashes on Earth in the 1960's and is found by Henry Starling. He uses its technology to start the microelectronic revolution and gain a fortune. In the year 1996 the Voyager crew arrive on Earth too, and they have to prevent Starling from starting for a flight to the 29th century, which was or will be the actual reason for the disaster. Despite all warnings Starling lifts off, and there is no way but to destroy his ship. The old timeline is restored, but Voyager is transferred back to the Delta Quadrant by Braxton. The Doctor is now able to exist outside the sickbay thanks to his 29th century mobile emitter.

Fun governs this episode, which features the Doctor on his first away mission, Tom applying his knowledge of 20th century Earth and Kes and Neelix being emotionally touched by a soap opera. One shouldn't ponder too much about the countless logical problems or even temporal paradoxes which, BTW, are further described here. Still, some annotations should be allowed. Capt. Braxton would have deserved a more credible profile, the young one is just a stubborn bureaucrat, the old one is a moron. At least he has one good scene when he runs around, hectically explaining the temporal paradox. A clear homage to Doc Brown of "Back to the Future" fame, maybe already a bit too obvious, but I liked it.
It seems the authors couldn't decide whether to make Henry Starling a formidable capitalist villain or an awkward ex-hippie. Janeway thinks the latter, but she is obviously mistaken. Yet, Starling does know enough about the technology to pose a serious threat to Voyager. Another problem is that he could hardly have developed microelectronics on the basis of the hardware found in the timeship. There must have been detailed plans how to fabricate "ancient" microchips, rather than exotic 29th century technology, for which neither the basic manufacturing processes nor the raw materials would be available in the 20th century. How could a hippie have built up a whole industry including all basic research from scratch? In this respect his plan to go to the 29th century to get more technology is idiotic, since there would be nothing to learn which could help him advance contemporary technology and earn more money with it. The right-wing extremists holding Chakotay and B'Elanna hostages were probably supposed to be a significant contribution to the plot, but they turn out an unnecessary and annoying detail, only corroborating that people of the late 20th century are either freaky or criminal (or both).
Remarkable quotes: "We could have worn our Starfleet uniforms. I doubt that anyone would have noticed." (Tuvok), "Your curves don't look so great." (Tom about Rain's Fourier analysis), "I'm curious, Lt., what does it mean, 'groovy'." (Tuvok).
Remarkable dialogue: "Ah, this sun feels great." - "Thermal and ultraviolet radiation are at hazardous levels." (Tom and Tuvok)
Remarkable nicknames: "Mr. Leisure Suit" (Doctor), "Freakasaurus" (Tuvok)
Remarkable fact: Starling is using his tricorder while caught in the transporter beam.
Remarkable prop: the mobile emitter, henceforth one more detail to pay attention to
Missed opportunity to get home: #8, or doesn't Janeway know the good old slingshot effect?
Photon torpedoes used: 1
Rating: 8

Warlord Stardate 50348.1: The consciousness of Tieran, the former dictator of Ilari, takes over Kes's body. Kes/Tieran and his followers invade the capital of Ilari, kill the rightful ruler and try to persuade his weak younger son, Ameron, to back them. The older son, Demmas, has escaped and supports Voyager. Janeway insists on saving Kes and sends Tuvok to try to bring Kes's consciousness back to the surface. When Demmas's troops occupy the palace, Tieran's consciousness has already been transferred to Ameron, and can be destroyed using a device developed by the Doctor.

Kes as the cutest dictator ever. While this idea was obviously supposed to give Jennifer Lien the opportunity to play someone different than the ever kind and compassionate nurse, it largely fails to convince, as does the rest of the plot. Although the contributions of the guest stars to the story are unusually important, they are too stereotypical to be credible, especially the contrasting brothers Demmas and Ameron. It's too much like a farce. The episode features the first appearance of the Paxau Resort holoprogram that, after a few improvements like the addition of the female volleyball team, will appear several more times in the 4th season.
Remarkable ship: Tieran's vessel is a re-use of the alien ship from TNG: "Unification", and it explodes again.
Crew losses: 1
Rating: 3

The Q and the Gray Stardate 50384.2: Q appears in Janeway's quarters and expects her to mate with him to rescue the Q Continuum. She naturally refuses. A female member of the Q continuum claims she is bonded to Q for billions of years. There is a riot in the Q continuum which is manifested in multiple supernovae endangering the ship. Q abducts Janeway to what looks like the American Civil War, while the female Q stays on board. Q and Janeway are captured by the Confederates, or the other Q fraction. The female Q and the Voyager crew manage to enter the Continuum, and the conflict is resolved when Q and Q beget a child.

I don't know if it's rather relieving or disturbing to see that the other members of the Q continuum are no more sensible than Q. Anyway, the necessary sequel to "Death Wish" was fun, as have been all other Q episodes so far. Leaving aside Q's enormous powers, the most striking difference to humanoids seems to be that Q doesn't have any sense of decency, nothing can ever be too embarrassing, and this proves once again. I also liked the female Q with her refreshing impertinence.
Remarkable quotes: "Out of all the females of all the species in all the galaxies I have chosen you to be the mother of my child." (Q), "By the way, did I tell you how smart he is? I already taught him how to knock small planets out of orbit." (Q about his son)
Remarkable dialogue: "What did he want?" - "Let's just say he had a personal request." (Chakotay and Janeway, after the incident in her quarters)
Missed opportunity to get home: #9, this time with countless Q's that could possibly help
Rating: 6

Macrocosm stardate 50425.1: When Janeway and Neelix return from a diplomatic mission, they find Voyager occupied by alien viruses and the crew unconscious. The virus grows to a macroscopic version after leaving its victim's body. Janeway is attacked by a virus and infected herself, but with the help of the Doctor she manages to destroy all viruses with an antigen bomb.

Voyager goes "Terminator II", Janeway gets a phaser rifle, you get the idea. Somehow the episode seems like a crossover of TNG: "Starship Mine" (Picard's "Die Hard") and TNG: "Genesis" (the Barclay-to-spider de-evolution) to me. There is not much of a unique plot, it's mostly a fierce struggle, but at least it's thrilling, and the viruses succeed in being disgusting.
However, they are also connected with lots of mistakes, and this could be the runner-up in the category of scientific nonsense, "Threshold" being the unattainable winner. First of all, how can the virus contained at the microscope grow without any nourishment? The air and water inside the forcefield is hardly sufficient and, moreover, if it is photosynthesis it could have been easily stopped by turning off the light, a viable way to destroy all the viruses. A more fundamental problem is how the big virus can be a copy of the small one at all. There is the scaling paradox that would make the large version nearly immovable, but they have even the miraculous ability to hover. Finally and most important, the shown macroviruses are obviously airborne and complex lifeforms that have nothing in common with single-celled viruses in a bloodstream, and they wouldn't probably have been killed by the antigen (unless the antigen would have been scaled up to half a meter). Another possible mistake: How can the virus escape from the transporter pattern buffer that is supposed to contain the matter in the form of a matter stream?
Remarkable fact: Janeway notices that Neelix seems to have problems with his "lungs", and Neelix only replies "Lung." (see "The Phage").
Remarkable oddity: The miners are called something like the "Garraners" in the dialogue, which sounds much like the Garenor civilization eradicated by Annorax in "The Year of Hell". However, the end credits and Encyclopedia II call them "Garan".
Rating: 5

Fair Trade Stardate not given: Voyager arrives at a space station at the edge of the vast and unexplored Nekrit Expanse. Here Neelix meets his old buddy Wixiban who helps the crew to find supplies. Neelix fears he might be useless for Voyager in the future, since he never traveled beyond this point. Hoping to get hold of a chart, he takes part in an illegal drug deal arranged by Wixiban who shoots one of the drug dealers in self-defense with Neelix's Starfleet phaser. When Tom and Chakotay are arrested for the crime, Neelix can convince Wixiban to go to the station administrator and confess.

I would have conceded Neelix more self-confidence than he shows here. Frankly, his cooking has become rather in demand than his abilities as a guide anyway. So why his sudden panic that he might not be useful any longer? Also, can't Janeway anticipate that he doesn't know what is inside and beyond the Nekrit Expanse? After he has become an appreciated member of the crew, he now gets annoying again. He bugs Tuvok, B'Elanna, Vorik and Paris with his wishes to perform more tasks. It could have been more credible if Neelix had developed a desire to return to the Talaxian homeworld, which would have seemed impossible once he had been beyond the Nekrit Expanse. Neelix's motivation to engage in the alleged medicine deal is a bit strange too. On one hand, Neelix owes Wixiban more that just a favor, since Wix was once arrested for him. On the other hand, even in this situation the map of the Nekrit Expanse to improve his situation is still his main concern. Some less selfishness would have suited Neelix better.
Wixiban almost appears like the better character. Although he was close to ruining his and Neelix's lives with the drug deal, he pays very much attention to Neelix's problems. Wix is definitely very glad so see his old pal Neelix again, although he had a lot of trouble because of him. When he persuades Neelix to engage in his business, he doesn't make it look like an opportunity for redemption, but rather like a deal among friends. He does everything to deliver the required supply and information, he even praises Neelix's talents in the presence of Chakotay. When Neelix finally decides to report to the station administrator, he has no objections. I think this time Janeway is correct to take the wrongdoings of a crew member personally, after all the cause is Neelix's personal problem which she should have been aware of.
Remarkable absence: I wonder why Kes is missing in an episode especially dedicated to Neelix.
Rating: 3

Alter Ego Stardate 50460.3: While Voyager is monitoring strange plasma explosions that seem to be constrained such that no chain reaction occurs, a new female holodeck character, Marayna, gains the attention of both Harry and Tuvok. To end their rivalry and the emotional confusion, Tuvok erases Marayna. Yet, she appears in his quarters briefly after and tells him she wants to stay with him. Marayna is actually a lonely woman in charge of controlling the plasma reactions. When she threatens Voyager to force Tuvok to stay with her, he can convince her that he would never be able to share her feelings and she releases him.

What I liked most about the episode is that two plots are combined to one, and that two problems that are inexplicable as long as they remain separate suddenly become plausible. A very satisfactory episode for those who pay much attention to plot logic. I have a problem with Harry's behavior, rather than with Tuvok's. Agreed, Harry is quite young, but a Starfleet officer is just not supposed to behave like a teenager in love, foolish, inattentive, easily embarrassed and jealous. I think this spoils a lot, and it is not exactly likely to expand the possibilities of the character Harry Kim. Tuvok, on the other hand, is so eager to eliminate Harry's "bad" emotions that he seems to get emotional likewise. We know this is not the case ;-), even not when he falls for the "Minuet Effect". Minuet was the hologram in TNG: "11001001" where she was not just interactive, but virtually read Riker's and Picard's minds and did exactly what they expected. It's good to see that the nature of the holodeck phenomenon is different this time, and the "renegade hologram" explanation is not used once again. Finally, there is sort of a parallel to TOS: "All Our Yesterdays" where the lonely woman was equally left behind by the Vulcan who wanted to rejoin his colleagues by all means. A detail I liked: Kim states that it would take a few weeks to run simulations and modify the deflector accordingly. Usually such things can be accomplished in a few minutes, according to technically challenged authors.
Remarkable scene: the Hawaiian nightmare in which B'Elanna gets strangled with a wreath of flowers. You probably shouldn't watch the episode just before leaving for Hawaii.
Remarkable fact: Tuvok is obviously beamed through raised shields. Chakotay states that the shields are down to 47% just after the transport.
Rating: 6

Coda Stardate 50518.6: Janeway and Chakotay approach a planet, their shuttle crashes and they are killed by the Vidiians. Suddenly they find themselves back in the shuttle on the way to the planet, and experience a kind of déjà vu. Several more apparent time loops occur, until Janeway remains dead as it seems. She can still perceive her environment, while the other persons cannot see her. Her long-deceased father appears and tries to convince her to leave her life behind. Her father is actually the manifestation of an alien being that has occupied her brain, while Janeway is still on the planet after the shuttle crash.

A shuttle crash is probably the least promising teaser, announcing an episode dominated by fatigue dialogues. However, the plot develops quite differently than expected. A time loop? This seems to be a reasonable explanation, and it is a nice homage to TNG: "Cause and Effect". There are first doubts when the continuity of the time loops is broken and everyone, including Chakotay, looks at Janeway like she's a lunatic. There is definitely something wrong when the Doctor sees euthanasia as the only solution of her alleged infection with the Vidiian phage. Agreed, the episode plays with extreme situations and measures, but it largely succeeds in not getting silly. Another tip of the hat: B'Elanna mentions the possibility that Janeway might have undergone a phase shift (TNG: "The Next Phase"), this is exactly what I thought of as soon as she got invisible. A less creative idea is the alien lifeform that behaves much like the virus in "Flashback".
When I first saw "Coda", I liked it because there were so many unexpected changes and it was far from being boring. The next time, I found it unintentionally ludicrous because nothing made sense. The third time I enjoyed it again, since I watched it with the knowledge in mind that everything crazy that happens is actually Janeway's thoughts, wishes and reason, and also her struggle with the alien organism. Therefore it is quite revealing to see how Chakotay cares about her and cries when she is about to die, suggesting she is much more than the captain to him, and to hear what Tuvok has to say about her in her imagination. Finally, there is a definite parallel to "Resolutions". In both episodes Janeway was shown as a person who will never give up, even if the situation appears to be hopeless.
Remarkable quote: "I would like the record to show that I have lost a good friend as well as one whom I can never replace." (Tuvok in Janeway's imagination)
Remarkable scene: The memorial service. Maybe not only Janeway, but also some of the viewers had tears in their eyes.
Rating: 6

Blood Fever Stardate 50537.2: Ensign Vorik enters the state of Pon farr and also infects B'Elanna through a telepathic link. While Tuvok strives to help Vorik on Voyager, B'Elanna gets out of control on an away mission on the devastated Sakari planet. She wants to mate with Tom, but he refuses her attempts, knowing that she would not normally behave this way. When he finally agrees, Vorik appears and demands to perform the Koon-ut-kal-if-fee. B'Elanna accepts the challenge herself and fights with Vorik, until both of them have overcome the Pon farr. Remains of the aggressors are found on the Sakari planet: the Borg.

Usually a plot with crew members exhibiting emotional unbalances is fair at most, but this one becomes special because of several small tidbits. Firstly, there is a good continuity to the events shown in TOS: "Amok Time", and it's surprising that it has taken 30 years before the topic is revisited. Secondly, it is a nice idea to give one of the minor recurring characters, namely Vorik, a considerable part in the story, after many of them had been killed off in "Basics". Thirdly, the mini-cliffhanger with the dead Borg instead of the usual closing scene "Voyager warps into space" is a surprise. Some more things I noticed: It is interesting how freely sexuality is discussed in the episode; I have missed the same open-mindedness on other occasions. B'Elanna remains remarkably calm and polite when Vorik asks her to mate with him. I would have expected her to break his nose upon his request. I also wonder why the climbing gear with the obviously insecure mechanical anchors is rather primitive compared to the one used in TNG: "Chain of Command".
Remarkable dialogue: "For such an intellectually enlightened race, the Vulcans have a remarkably Victorian attitude about sex." - "That is a very human judgment, Doctor." - "Then here's a Vulcan one: I fail to see the logic in perpetuating ignorance about a basic biological function." (the Doctor and Tuvok)
Remarkable absence: Harry doesn't show up a single time in the episode.
Remarkable fact: There are 70 male crew members.
Rating: 5

Unity Stardate 50622.4: In response to a distress call Chakotay lands his shuttle on a planet where he is immediately attacked and his accompanying ensign killed. He is rescued by an obviously human woman. Meanwhile, Voyager discovers an abandoned Borg cube. The rival fractions on the planet are actually all former Borg whose link to the Collective has been severed. A group among them, the Cooperative, strives to establish a neural link again to achieve peace. They use a connection to Chakotay's mind to direct him to the cube and reactivate the neuroelectric generator.

The Borg are back - almost. It wouldn't have been a good idea to let Voyager run into an operational Borg vessel, so the abandoned cube was a good idea. The episode has nearly everything that a good story is made of, especially the frequent new revelations and turning-points. Interestingly, Riley Frazier is much like a prototype of Seven of Nine, who will show up a couple of episodes later. Could it be the producers wanted to test if such a character would be accepted? 
There are, however, numerous oddities. First of all, how can Chakotay find a faster route with a much slower ship (Warp 4), while Voyager is supposed to be at high warp most of the time? Secondly, it is incredibly careless to land the shuttle in what should have been identified as a war zone. Chakotay is at least partially responsible for the ensign's death. "You're human" is about the first thing that Chakotay says to Riley. How can he know, considering that countless aliens, also in the Delta Quadrant, are human look-alikes? All of the former Borg seem to be from the Alpha Quadrant. It wouldn't have changed anything about the plot but considerably increased credibility if they had been Delta Quadrant aliens. Why didn't anyone think of collecting technology from the fairly intact Borg cube? The crew wonders if there can be anyone "more powerful than the Borg"? Since this is not the case in this episode, why the allusion to the upcoming appearance of Species 8472? How could the Cooperative conceal their hidden agenda from Chakotay while they shared all other thoughts with him? Finally, especially the last five minutes become somewhat ludicrous, when the Borg become fully functional again although the Doctor has clearly stated that this would be biologically impossible.
Remarkable quote: "I must say, there's nothing like the vacuum of space to preserve a handsome corpse." (the Doctor)
Crew losses: 1
Shuttles lost: 1
Rating: 7

Darkling Stardate 50693.2: The Doctor attempts to improve his program by adding behavioral subroutines while Kes falls in love with Zahir, a Mikhal Traveler. The Doctor develops unexpected emotions, including jealousy, and he even attempts to kill Zahir. The evil Doctor suffers from a rapid decay of his program and he tortures B'Elanna to make her delete the original Doctor. When he does not succeed, he kidnaps Kes and threatens to kill her. Kes and the original Doctor can be saved in the very last moment.

A boring routine episode with very few interesting aspects. It's rather annoying that once again a holoprogram, namely the Doctor, runs out of control. Kes's departure at the end of the season is anticipated, but her recent break-up with Neelix is only casually mentioned instead of elucidated, at least it could have been stated that it may have something to do with the events in "Warlord". It just has to be plausible that Kes falls in love with the very next alien she meets, and this again is nothing more than the basis for the "evil Doc" plot. I usually don't like if a story focuses on the crew's personal affairs while more serious problems are imminent. This time, however, I would have wished to see a Kes-Neelix story. It seems all relationships on Federation starships are ill-fated, they hardly play a role in the storyline and they break up silently.
Remarkable scene: the holograms of famous figures after being tortured by the "evil Doctor"
Rating: 3

Rise Stardate not given: While Voyager strives to help a planet of the Nezu that is permanently struck by asteroids, Neelix, Tuvok and the Nezu scientist Sklar crash on the planet. Not being able to contact the ship, they repair an orbital lift to climb up to a point from where a comm link can be established. Janeway finds out that the asteroids are actually remote-controlled by the Etanian Order and Tuvok and Neelix succeed in unmasking Sklar, who is a spy working for them.

The essence of the plot didn't really touch me. Actually, I didn't like the episode at all when I first saw it, but subsequently I discovered the great moments of both Neelix and Tuvok. As a matter of fact, it's the first time that Neelix and Tuvok are confronted with each other in a non-humorous situation. After he had gone the wrong way in "Fair Trade", Neelix now proves a worthy crew member in many respects. He is resourceful in doing repairs on the orbital lift (although I didn't like the technobabble about using Federation technology) and he is the one who feels that the dying doctor's remark that there is something on the roof (the plans of the Etanian ship) should be taken seriously. Moreover, his social skills turn out more suited than Tuvok's "I have the superior logic" attitude towards the other passengers. For once, Neelix feels like telling the Vulcan what he has always wanted to, that Tuvok is hiding behind his logic, relying only on his physical and mental strength and not caring about people's feelings. On the other hand, it wouldn't have been possible to regain control without Tuvok's Vulcan superiority. In some way, they complement each other much like Bones and Spock did. The closing scene in which they are picking at each other and each of them is trying to have the final word seems like a homage to the famous disputes in TOS.
Remarkable quotes: "It's strange. I like him. I'd just wish the feeling were mutual." (Neelix), "Do it. Do it for Alixia. She would be proud of you." - "I'm glad to see your interpersonal skills are improving." (Tuvok and Neelix)
Remarkable fact: Actually, Neelix has never built a real magnetic lift, but only models. This reminds me of the old movie "The Flight of the Phoenix" from the 50's where Hardy Krüger plays an alleged aircraft engineer and actual model aircraft builder who devises a plan to rebuild the crashed plane.
Photon torpedoes used: 1
Shuttles lost: 1 (most probably)
Rating: 6

Favorite Son Stardate 50732.4: Ensign Kim fires on a Nasari ship without authorization, and he seems to know the current region of space. Moreover, he is suffering from an inexplicable DNA mutation. Voyager is welcomed on the Taresian homeworld, a planet seemingly populated by no one but beautiful women, where Harry is surprised to learn he is actually a Taresian. Harry decides to stay at least for a while, and Voyager leaves to deal with the Nasari. The Nasari claim the Taresians are dangerous and warn Janeway that they would fire at any ship with one of them on board. On Taresia Harry learns the truth about their culture: Taresian women kill their mating partners by virtually "sucking off" their lives. Since Taresian males are rare, they infect alien males like Harry with their DNA and let them come to their homeworld to preserve their species.

Harry in paradise! I would have understood if he had actually decided to stay on Taresia. Somehow I had wished that only this time everything was exactly as it appeared to be. However, it was easy to predict that this wouldn't be the case. The absurdity of the situation -beautiful women chasing Harry, eager to kill him- was interesting and was credibly presented. I only don't understand the Taresians. Their method of reproduction can hardly be natural. I wonder whether the women are consciously deceiving and finally killing their mates, or if they have to accept it as a necessary evil of their culture. I would rather tend to the first interpretation, seeing how Harry is chased by a horde of horny women. A discussion about their motivation would have been both better for the episode and more Trek-like. I also wonder how the Taresians can preserve their population with male space travelers who are supposed to arrive only occasionally. There can hardly be more than only a few thousand Taresians.
Remarkable quote: "Perhaps you are experiencing a paradoxial state-dependent associative phenomenon." - "A déjà vu." (Tuvok and Janeway about Harry's precognition)
Remarkable scene: Harry thanks the Taresian woman by touching her cheek. Tom seems to be both upset and jealous about it.
Remarkable ships: The Nasari use a Romulan science ship painted beige, the Taresian ship is a re-use of a Miradorn vessel. This episode obviously didn't have a big VFX budget.
Rating: 5

Before and After Stardate not given: Kes has reached the morilogium, the end of her natural lifespan of nine years, and the Doctor tries to prolong her life with a biotemporal chamber. A few moments later she finds herself at an earlier time of her life. She has a husband, Tom, a daughter, Linnis, a son-in-law, Harry, and a grandson, Andrew. Kes suffers several more temporal leaps which take her further to the past each time. It is found out that the phenomenon is caused by residual chronitons in Kes's body after a Krenim attack in the so-called "Year of Hell", but each time a treatment is attempted another leap occurs. Kes even reaches a time prior to her conception, but eventually she can be stabilized in "the present".

Despite all the obvious oddities of the time travel, especially the fact that not Kes's body but only her consciousness is jumping, I liked the story very much. Few episodes have been that dramatic. Kes is very desperate, especially since she has to tell the same story time and again, a bit like in TNG: "Cause and Effect" and TNG: "Parallels". Fortunately and surprisingly, there is enough time left to show emotions. It is a family story, comprising the past, the present and the future. Parallel realities are always an opportunity to show crew members in unusual roles, and this episode brims over with such tidbits. We see Doctor "Van Gogh" with lots of new hair, Chakotay as the captain, Neelix as a security officer, Tom as Kes's husband, Harry as Tom's son-in-law, Kes's cute daughter Linnis and Kes's grandson Andrew who has inherited a lot from his father, Harry. Not to forget the long-missing Carey, who is at least mentioned as being dead in this reality. Moreover, we get to see not only one Ocampa birth, but even two of them.
Remarkable quotes: "I wish I had told you this before, but better late than never. You're the finest friend I've ever had." (the Doctor about Kes), "I think one day she'll see the sun." (Kes's mother)
Remarkable in-joke: "It is good to see that old lung is still working, Kessie." (Neelix)
Remarkable fact: The relationship between B'Elanna and Tom is anticipated, although it is only in a parallel reality. This reminds me of Deanna and Worf who were shown as a couple in TNG: "Parallels", before they became one in our reality.
Rating: 8

Real Life Stardate 50836.2: While the crew is investigating the destruction of a Vostigye space station, the Doctor has created a holographic family to improve his social skills. B'Elanna visits his family for dinner. She finds that they are ridiculously perfect and programs them to behave like real humans. The result is that henceforth the Doctor's wife has a life of her on, his son is under the bad influence of Klingon friends, and his daughter suffers a fatal sports accident. Unable to cope with this situation the Doctor interrupts the program. In the meantime Tom is trapped somewhere between space and subspace with his shuttle, and the only chance to escape is to follow one of the vortices that already destroyed the space station. Back in the sickbay on Voyager, he can convince the Doctor to end his holodeck program and say farewell to his deadly injured daughter.

I have rarely seen an episode with both so much fun and so much grief. Considering that the holodeck programs represent the ideas of their creators, the "ridiculously perfect" family is credible as the Doctor's vision, and so is the "problem family" reflecting B'Elanna's bad experiences. On the other hand, while the Doctor's version is at least a nice place for recreation like a 24th century Disneyland, B'Elanna is not fair exaggerating the problems of a real family and burden too many problems at a time on the Doctor. I could have understood if the Doctor had ended the program when it seemed to become unbearable. Anyway, he is courageous enough to face the death of his daughter Belle, and Tom gets a nice scene when he convinces the Doctor to continue. It must be taken into account that, since he himself is a hologram too, Belle may be as real to him as an actual biological daughter. Her death scene makes it the most touching episode since TNG: "Inner Light" and DS9: "The Visitor". The opening credits should recommend to keep a box of Kleenex ready. The secondary plot of Tom flying into the subspace eddy was completely unnecessary and didn't contribute anything of interest.
Remarkable quotes: "I want this home to be his sanctuary, the place he can come and have all the cares of the day disappear." (Charlene), "They are ridiculously perfect. This is a fantasy, You're not gonna learn anything from being with these...lollipops." (B'Elanna), "This whole meeting is a vulky idea and you can have it without me." (Jeffrey)
Remarkable scene: The holofamily stands in a line, unisonously saying "Good-bye, Daddy". Looks a lot like a TV commercial from the 60's.
Rating: 8

Distant Origin Stardate not given: The scientist Forra Gegen finds the remains of a human Voyager crewman with a genetic pattern related to his own race, the saurian-like Voth. He knows this is the keystone to his theory that the Voth actually evolved on a planet far away from the Delta Quadrant, on Earth. He heads for Voyager and abducts Chakotay who understands Gegen's motivation and helps him prove his theory. However, the Voth government, due to their strict doctrine that they are the "First Race" and superior to warm-blooded animals like humans, prohibit any further research in this field. Gegen refuses, but when the court threatens to destroy Voyager he eventually complies and retracts his Distant Origin Theory.

This is an outstanding story about Gegen/Galileo's daring yet unsuccessful struggle for his theory in particular and the freedom of science in general. I can hardly remember an equally intellectual Star Trek episode. If there is still a proof necessary that the show has evolved beyond simple plots where the roles of good and evil are clear and the good always wins, I will most likely refer to "Distant Origin". Few other episodes are so full of pointed dialogues. This applies in particular to the dispute of the minister on one side and Chakotay and Gegen on the other side (I don't know if this was intentional, but "Gegen" is the German word for "against"). Gegen doesn't succeed, and to save Chakotay and Voyager he even has to completely retract his claims and give up his research. A change of mind for the records only. No, the truth doesn't prevail here, even though the minister neither manages to disprove Gegen nor seems to be very convinced herself of the doctrine she is lecturing. It is anything but a happy ending, still, there is hope that some day some Voth will insist on the truth again and will succeed.
There are several more things about the episode that I liked very much. Gegen's perspective remains predominant throughout the whole episode. It takes about 20 minutes until Voyager crew members play a role at all. It is obvious that such an "alien" kind of story wouldn't have been possible in the first season. To see a dinosaur excavate the bones of a human seems paradoxical, since we only know it the other way round; it was an ingenious idea. It is also funny to see how the saurians analyze the "mammalian mating ritual" of B'Elanna and Tom and that the first thing Gegen says to Chakotay is "Your instinct is to flee". I liked the continuity with the station at the Nekrit Expanse. It's a nice ironic detail that the Voth believe the green fake plasma is actually Voyager's warp plasma. The Voth are definitely the best aliens-of-the-week ever featured. I hope to see them again, hopefully not as enemies of the Federation. Finally, I am somehow glad that Hogan's death on the savage planet in "Basics" was not entirely useless.
Remarkable dialogues: "Simple binary system - I've downloaded their database." (Gegen), "The males appear to be subordinate to that female. Perhaps a matriarchy." - "My conclusion exactly." (Veer and Gegen)
Remarkable quotes: "Eyes open." (Gegen), "I know from the history of my own planet that change is difficult. New ideas are often greeted with skepticism, even fear. But sometimes those ideas are accepted, and when they are progress is made. Eyes are opened." (Chakotay)
Remarkable scenes: Gegen stretches out his tongue to catch insects buzzing around a lamp. -- In the end, Chakotay hands a little globe to Gegen: "Some day, every Voth will see this as home."
Remarkable facts: The Voth have transwarp, and their sensors cover a range of at least 90ly. -- According to their scans there are 140 lifeforms aboard Voyager. -- The Voth and the humans share 47 genetic markers.
Remarkable ship: The Voth city ship seems to be some 15km long.
Current crew count: 140, according to Voth sensors
Rating: 10

Displaced Stardate 50912.4: Nyrians frequently appear on Voyager while crew members disappear. Finally, the Nyrians have replaced the whole crew, who are now prisoners in an environment obviously especially created for their convenience on a huge ship with different habitats. The crew succeed in finding the control station, and they can transport the Nyrian leaders from Voyager to an arctic habitat, to force them to release all alien prisoners.

Insidious: The Nyrians appear to be awkward and harmless, but they manage to capture the ship largely without violence. The first act of the play is a nice "alien takeover" variant, but the initial thrill dwindles in the following, because control is regained with too much routine and predictable tricks like using the mobile emitter. Thousands of other aliens have spent many years in their prison, until the resourceful Voyager crew comes along and resolves the situation in only one day. A routine episode in any respect, and therefore rather below average. I somehow liked the way the Nyrians were characterized, because they were not really convinced of and consequent in what they were doing, unlike typical TV villains who prefer to go down with their ship. When Janeway overwhelms them, they seem helpless like kids who have just been arrested for shoplifting.
Rating: 4

Worst Case Scenario Stardate 50953.4: A holonovel in which a Starfleet security officer has to decide whether to support a Maquis mutiny led by Chakotay and Seska or not has become popular among the crew. The program was created by Tuvok to train his crew for such a case, but later abandoned when Maquis and Starfleet worked well together. By popular demand, Tuvok and Tom start to write an ending for the program. Seska, however, has detected the program prior to defecting to the Kazons and reprogrammed it in a way that the participants would be killed. With Janeway's help from outside the holodeck and a number of tricks Tuvok and Tom can fool the holographic Seska and survive.

Of course, renegade Starfleet members such as Eddington or Seska in this case have nothing better to do than tamper with computer programs, hoping that perhaps some day it might happen that there could be a chance they would possibly be able to take potential revenge. I also wonder if it is quite normal to create holograms of the crew on Voyager, whereas such a great deal was made of Barclay's holographic characters in TNG: "Hollow Pursuits". Nevertheless the story is exciting, and it's also interesting in that it's not until 20 or more minutes into the episode that the real idea of the plot is revealed which is usually the case in or directly after the teaser. This leaves fewer time than usual to solve the problem and gives the story a fast pace.
Rating: 7

Scorpion I/II Stardate 50984.3: When Voyager approaches Borg territory, there is the option to turn around and stay in the Delta Quadrant or to use the so-called "Northwest Passage", which appears to be free of Borg activity. Actually this passage is occupied by a new, even more dangerous enemy known to the Borg as Species 8472. The Borg do not succeed in assimilating Species 8472, whose bioships frequently destroy whole armadas of Borg cubes. Kim is infected with their cells and the Doctor attempts to save his life with the help of modified Borg nanoprobes. Janeway develops a daring plan: giving the Borg a means to defeat their enemy in exchange for a free passage through Borg territory. Despite Chakotay's objections she negotiates with a representative of the Borg, Seven of Nine, a formerly human female. When the Borg cube is destroyed by Species 8472, the work is continued on Voyager, but Janeway being severely hurt Chakotay terminates the cooperation he never wanted. When Species 8472 attacks Voyager, Janeway uses the weapon. It proves successful. Seven of Nine stays on board, and Janeway decides to sever her from the Collective.

An exciting two-part episode in the tradition of TNG: "Best of Both Worlds". When I first saw it I wondered if there was any enhancement possible in the future. Frankly, my positive impression is mostly because of rather superficial "Wow!" effects such as "more Borg cubes than ever" or "someone more powerful than the Borg". Still, these elements are deliberately embedded in a story that otherwise focuses on Janeway-Chakotay controversies and gives new insight into the Borg civilization.
As always, there are a number of deficiencies. The odd pile of Borg bodies in Kes's vision and its actual appearance exactly as predicted is pointless, an irritating detail that could easily have been omitted. The Borg vessels are destroyed 5.2 light years away, and Janeway orders to go there at Warp 2. Dear Kathryn, this trip would have taken around 7 months! There is a huge plot hole concerning the purpose of the Voyager-Borg alliance. When Janeway makes the proposal to the Borg, the only weapon she has is against the cells of Species 8472 itself. It is discovered later that accidentally the nanoprobes can be equally employed to destroy their bioships, which should have been the Borg's only concern. A minor mistake: How can Seven speak after the cargo bay has just been depressurized? Finally, there is one question: Why don't they try to collect any Borg technology from the debris. This would have been a great opportunity, whereas they will engage in risky and reckless attacks for exactly this purpose one year later ("Dark Frontier")?
Remarkable quotes: "I'm reading two Borg vessels. Make that three, ...four, ...no, five. Fifteen Borg vessels." (Harry), "Seven of Nine, Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix Zero-One, but you may call me Seven of Nine." (Seven)
Remarkable cliffhanger: the Borg cube and the tractored Starfleet vessel drifting away, even better than the famous "Fire!" in BoBW
Remarkable Okudagram: The diagram proposed "multikinetic neutronic mine" (Borg technobabble rules) actually depicts the Renegade Borg ship from TNG: "Descent".
Remarkable fact: There must be very few human drones in the Collective. While it is already a coincidence that there is a (formerly) human, namely Seven, on the vessel at all, it is surprising that she appears within a few seconds when Janeway asks for a contact person. This mystery will be -partially- solved in "Dark Frontier" when the Queen tells Seven that she has been selected to infiltrate Voyager.
Photon torpedoes used: 5 out of allegedly 32 at this time (actually there should be at most 38-20=18 torpedoes left)
Rating: 9

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