The first half of this episode was very uncomfortable. The crew makes contact with a race known for its hospitality (essentially Risa 2.0), and spends the first part being lavished with gifts and attention. The crew is made uneasy with all this generosity, and that feeling very easily spread to me. The leader makes very sleazy passes at Janeway, which she seems a bit put off by, but at the same time disgustingly intrigued by as well. Kim also gets some romancery, but it is pulled off in a much geekier puppy-love kind of way - but as soon as he discovers that this species may have a way home for them he politely informs the woman that sex can wait if there's a chance he can get the crew home.
What I found shocking was that the race introduced here was intended to be a recurring villain, because we know how well that worked with the Ferengi. For those who don't: in TNG, the Ferengi were essentially one big metaphor for how ugly greed is. Completely one-dimensional. And their presentation was so goofy that it didn't work at all, and they were eventually adopted in a more natural role as the comic relief in DS9. Here, the Sikarians are instead so obsessed with hedonism and novelty that they won't give Voyager any help to get back home because they want them around for their entertainment. That is apparently what the writers saw as a great concept for a new villain. Fortuantely, they had enough insight to see that it didn't really work here, and we never have to see them again.
So that's the first half of the episode. For the second half we have a reverse-prime directive sequence, with Janeway hoping to barter for the ability to get back home, and the Sikarians refusing for the reasons stated above (but the reason told to the crew was that it would be against their laws to share the technology). Even when offered an under-the-table deal from a Sikarian political hopeful, she opts out. What is cool and character building is we also have four crew members who all take matters into their own hands for different reasons. Seska, getting more lines as a background character than before, plays the quintessential Maquis who doesn't care about crew integration (and therefore Federation rules), and just wants to get home and give Janeway the finger. Joe Carey's (Remember the guy who was the other option for chief engineer up against Torres? He has lines again) first priority is to get home to his family, and is willing to break the rules of Starfleet to do so. Torres is skeptical at first, but is swayed by the arguments of the others that this really isn't a prime directive situation, and even if they get in trouble, the chance is worth it to get home.
What is really compelling to me is that Tuvok is also willing to help break the rules. Again going to Memory Alpha, you see the debate that the actor, Tim Russ, had with the writing staff about Tuvok's reasons for betraying Janeway. The writers wanted it to be a very cliche "logic led me astray!" motivation, but Russ thought that that was dumb and wanted to play the "logic convinced me to save you from a mutiny by taking the action which you were bound by duty not to." The writers thought that made Tuvok too infallible (and thus challenging to write for) - I think it makes him sound like a person who cautiously thinks things through and can sometimes surprise you, which would be very good for later writing. The writers get their way for the most part, and I think the episode is weakened because of it.
Watchability: 2/5
Bottom Line: Uncomfortable episode to watch, without anything else interesting to really distract me.
(Wife/watching companion) Though I really hated this episode overall, I did want to point out two things that I really did like: 1) When Kim is done describing their story/journey to a Sikarian woman, she asks permission to share it with others. He is surprised by the request (as, really, anyone would be), but she is genuine in her belief that a person's stories are theirs to share or withhold. It's almost viewed as a sort of social or political currency, and I really liked that. 2) When the technology fails, instead of hiding her complicity or risking getting caught in a lie, we see some solid leadership and character from B'ellana. I don't know why this particular point appealed to me so much, but I appreciated a more mature approach to mistakes.
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