B’Elanna has a pretty bad day, what with the being marooned in space and all.
This is the kind of thing that Voyager has done badly in previous seasons. We’ve got the alien race of the week being annoying, one of the crew learning a Very Special Lesson ™ about the value of being in the team, and the B’Elanna/Paris relationship show. This *should* have been awful.
But somehow, it actually turns out to be pretty darn good. The aliens are believably pushy and angry, and in a way that makes you feel sorry for them at the same time as wishing they’d stop bugging the crew. Seven is creepily effective as an ex-Borg learning how to be human again – against her own wishes. And Tom and B’Elanna actually make sense, and have a real conversation.
483 down, 254 to go.