Prime Factors

Huge surprises in this episode...I like the twist and turns, but overall the story is slightly weak. It causes me to realize that Vulcans are not flawless beings, and they can make rash decisions. It's not bad, and has an interesting ending.

Voyager discovers a race with a unique technology.

This for me is the strongest episode of Voyager since 'Eye of the Needle'.

The story not only creates an interesting dilemma for Janeway, but it has some quite suspenseful points and memorable character moments.

I think it starts fairly generic, with the crew meeting a fairly uninspired group of aliens with no creature design, but once a particular technology is revealed to exist, events turn compelling.

Numerous characters have great material such as Janeway, Tuvok, B'Elanna, and Seska.

All performances are strong, particularly Katie Mulgrew and Roxann Dawson.

The crew really becomes human for this episode, almost sacrificing their personal bill of rights. On a hedonistic planet, they see that there are those who could drive them back closer to their destination. Unfortunately, this gift comes at great expense and little certainty. But they don't separate themselves from the prime directive so easily when they face their loneliness and hopelessness. After experiencing so much togetherness, this episode brings us back to our own human traits. It's pretty interesting to see the results of desperation.