Grima Wormtongue guest stars here as Lon Suder, a non-empathic Betazoid who joined the Maquis because he is a sociopath who just wants to kill. He murders a crewman in cold blood, and when Tuvok confronts him with the evidence, he admits to the crime and (very creepily) details the manner in which he did it. He doesn't give a satisfactory explanation as to why, which haunts Tuvok because he feels that there must be a motive. I don't know why Tuvok hasn't heard of sociopathic serial killers in his "hundred years of studying crime" - but it gives him an excuse to mind-meld with Suder in order to satisfy his curiosity.
The meld imbues Suder with some Vulcan composure, but Tuvok is deeply troubled. In an especially chilling scene, attempting to vent his new violent impulses, Tuvok coldly and brutally strangles Neelix to death for annoying him - in a holodeck simulation of course. What's great about Tuvok is that he has the insight to see when he is out of control and seals himself in his room. The Doctor is just brimming with "I told you so" but everyone else is so upset about Tuvok that they don't give him the chance, which disappoints him to no end. Trek writers love giving the emotionless characters (Spock, Data) a chance to act out, and I'm surprised that it took this long to happen to Tuvok. I'm also pretty surprised that he does it well - not that I don't think Tim Russ does a great job (quite the opposite), but his deliveries are usually so deadpan that I just assumed he was naturally inclined to play the flat-affect part. Tuvok breaks free of his captivity, and goes to kill Suder, citing it as the only logical course of action - but also just wanting to kill. Suder gets to play the calm Vulcan right back at him, and Tuvok tries to work himself up to the act, but ultimately fails and slumps over, spent. He makes his recovery, and apologies, and everything is all right.
It had to happen eventually that we'd really need to explore what Voyager does for people who break the rules. We've had a lot of wrist-slaps so far - but what if someone committed murder? You couldn't very well just keep them in the brig the whole time, that would be akin to a vacation on what is clearly a starship full of hardship. On the other hand, the Federation isn't really part of the death penalty crowd, so I wouldn't see them going that route either. For a crime as sinister as Suder's, I'm personally in favor of dropping him off at the nearest M-class, uninhabited planet with a survival guide (maybe) and saying "good luck!" This episode is a pretty obviously an "issues episode" for the death penalty, and isn't terribly subtle about it. Tuvok, post meld, suggests considering execution to Janeway, and she dismisses him out of hand. Janeway does this a lot; I think it is because she is often the proponent of the answer the writers consider to be obviously correct, and I feel like there's often more middle ground than Janeway is willing to concede.
I think that it is important, if you're going to do an "issues episode," to be as fair as you can to either side, and explore the middle ground too. Don't have one side of the death penalty argument be represented by a guy who is only suggesting it because he is possessed by the pathology of a bloodthirsty murderer, not only will you alienate part of your audience, but you also start to veer off into the after-school-special-territory. Granted, having a captain who talks to everyone, even her hyper-intelligent, 100+ year old security officer and old friend, with grade A condescension will predispose your show to heading that way, but it would certainly make me happier. Anyways, Suder is confined to quarters (even nicer than the brig!) for the rest of the trip home.
B-Plot: Paris starts a betting pool (using replicator rations) about some daily space scan result, and Chakotay shuts him down. Mostly just some throwaway fun, but it ends with Paris having a melancholy moment where it seems like he's actually a little disappointed in himself for continuing to be the irresponsible one - or maybe it's just for getting caught. It isn't explored much, but maybe that's just because we'll see more of it.
Watchability 4/5
Bottom Line: There are a lot of very potent scenes in this episode, but I feel it is dragged down a bit by being such a blatant "issues episode."
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