The Swarm

It was like the writers had trouble deciding what this episode was to be about. Starts out with an alien attack, but then shifts between two stories that could have had their own episodes. This episode is the embodiment of what is wrong with Voyager, an ongoing identity crisis with commitment issues.

Also, what's with Janeway wanting to get through the region of space as fast as possible, yet stopping off to investigate a damage freighter? Its like a child distracted by a shiny penny. Then she drags her feet with the swarm catching up and doesn't go to warp despite asking to go to warp? This character is so inconsistent, the series is becoming hard to watch.

Robert Picardo is the redeeming quality of this series, always a fantastic performance.

The Doctor's memory starts to degrade and Torres attempts to "cure" the problem.

This is a decent episode with good character moments and performances.

The Doctor is my favourite character and this story has a great premise. Alzheimer's disease is a prevalent condition in my family and Robert Picardo captures some recognisable traits. Additionally he plays Zimmerman superbly well to complete and impressive double performance. Kez and Torres also contribute well to the story.

There is little of interest to me in the technobabble heavy sub-plot and if I watch it again I might even skip the bridge scenes entirely.

"The Swarm" is a standout episode of Star Trek: Voyager that skillfully weaves two compelling plots into one engaging hour of television. On one side, we have a tense sci-fi thriller as Voyager faces off against the mysterious and territorial Swarm species, bringing suspense and high stakes. On the other, there's an emotionally rich story centered on the Doctor, whose memory degradation puts his very existence at risk. Both narratives are strong, and the episode strikes a great balance between action and character-driven drama. Robert Picardo delivers a touching performance, and the Swarm aliens add a layer of menace and mystery. Altogether, this is a well-executed and memorable episode.

An alien system comprised of thousands of little space ships, rears its compositefhead and gets in the way of Voyager's route home. Janeway decides she would rather put her crew in danger than take a year to get around these things. Meanwhile, the Doctor is beginning to degrade. He is losing his memories. Kes sets about trying to get him back on course. Unfortunately for crew members, if he is re-initialized, he will lose all of his personality and memories (for instance, even knowing who Kes is). These two events are flip-flopped throughout the episode. There is some comic relief. We forget what a piece of machinery the guy was at the beginning of the series. Once again, Janeway is able to pull some amazing rabbits out of her hat.