| While taking cellular level holographic snapshots of the crew, the Doctor discovers that eighteen months ago he performed surgery on Harry Kim - but no one, including himself, can remember those events. Seven helps him uncover more clues, but when she activates him again, his memories of the past day have been erased, deepening the mystery. The next time he deactivates himself, he sets the computer to automatically restore any files that are deleted while he's offline, and positions his holographic recorder to capture the image of anyone who comes in to tamper with his files. He catches the culprit: Janeway. She tells him that they are deleting those files for his own good, and he is understandably irate. Seven, disturbed by this treatment of the Doctor, confronts Janeway about her actions, saying the Doctor deserves an explanation. Janeway reluctantly relents: eighteen months ago, the Doctor had been in a situation where he had two patients with equal injuries, equal chance of survival, and had to choose which to treat first, with the understanding that the other one would likely die. In the moment, he chose his friend, Kim (rather than the ensign we've never seen), but later developed a feedback loop between his personality and ethical protocols as a result of that decision. Because he could not come to terms with that choice, Janeway had been forced to have Torres delete part of his program. Upon learning of these events, the loop is refreshed, and the Doctor is once again beside himself with regret and remorse. This time, rather than give him the easy way out, Janeway decides that this is an important milestone in his development, and makes sure he is kept online but not on duty, with someone to talk to at all times, while he works his way through this hard time. |
I'll start with the bad news: this episode would have been much more powerful three seasons ago. While we wouldn't have had Seven at that point to act as the Doctor's advocate, it would have occurred during the time when Janeway was acting more outwardly dismissive of the Doctor. It seems out of place when she starts equating him with the replicator; I thought she had moved past that a while ago. If this were to replace an episode like Lifesigns it would have given a more consistent arc for the Doctor's development. Similarly, if The Measure of a Man had happened later in TNG's run, it would have felt a little out of place.
But it still would have been a great episode, just as this one was. Picardo acts the hell out of this episode; the mess hall scene alone, when he begins breaking down for the first time, throwing food around, was amazing. He has been forced into a horrifying choice, one that wouldn't have been as hard if all he had were his ethical subroutines; after all, two patients, but one is senior staff, that makes it an easy choice for, say, a Vulcan or an Android to make. But the Doctor is different, this is where his character diverges from that of Spock or Data; he has emotions that, for better or worse, complicate things for him. And because he has been running for so long, so much longer than intended, he has grown in unexpected ways.
Which is why it is so hard, as the viewer to see him like this. We've accepted him as a member of the crew from the beginning. It wasn't hard: he is easily the best actor, and the most likeable character - he has more personality alone than any eight other members of the crew combined. To see him frantic, manic, and distraught like this is awful. To see that some members of the crew still don't buy into him the way we do is chilling.
I am grateful that, while I have been in triage situations frequently, I have never had to make a decision like the Doctor had to here. The initial choice is bad enough, but it would happen so quickly that this episode is right, the worst part would be dealing with it afterwords. Even if you could point to the enumerated reasons for making the choice you did, it would be a struggle to prevent yourself from running the events over and over in your mind. And if your mind moved at the speed of a computer...
Watchability: 5/5
Bottom Line: It's in the wrong season, but I won't hold that against a powerful story like this one.
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