Unimatrix Zero Part II

The plot is mainly good. I liked the idea of the virus and the Queen's reaction. Everything is done in a clever way as opposed to a big fight, which is pure Trek.

There is another good exchange between Seven and The Doctor with lots of unspoken emotion from Robert Picardo. The standout performance is the Borg Queen, who gives a strong presence with natural menace. Her scene with the child in Unimatrix is quite memorable, along with her handling of the threat to the collective.

The only negatives are the convenient resolution to Janeway, Torres and Tuvok's situation and the lack of chemistry between Seven of Nine and her unimatrix love interest. I think their final scene together lacked imagination, similar to the Anakin/Padme scenes in the Star Wars prequels.

Overall, an entertaining two-part story.

The ultimate showdown between Janeway and the Borg queen is a bit too predictable. On the one hand, this is because nothing ever happens to the main characters anyway, regardless of whether their DNA is altered to that of an alien species, they turn into slimy mud-crawling salamanders or are assimilated and mutate into Borg drones. After a few doses of hypospray, the doctor usually has everything under control again and all bodily functions have been completely restored - including a perfectly fitting hairstyle. On the other hand, the Borg queen also succumbs to the typical film and TV mistake and reveals her secret master plan with all its itsy-bitsy details to the hero, who then of course thwarts this plan with a snap of his fingers.

The only bright spot is the Borg queen's ruthlessness. She doesn't hesitate to root out the evil (from her perspective) and detonates entire Borg cubes and spheres just to destroy a handful of rogue autonomous drones. According to the motto: The best way to prevent a virus from spreading is to kill the host. Basically, the approach could have played into Janeway's hands, because this unconventional way of combating individualism would have weakened the Borg collective for years.

Unfortunately, the last encounter between Seven and Axum was pretty callous. If these were the last words of two lovers who may never meet again, then the fire of love between the two was more of a tiny flash in the pan.

In the end, of course, everything is fine again. Some of the autonomous drones take over their Borg ships and launch the counterattack. However, I wonder what happens to all the Borg drones on these ships that are still connected to the collective. Simply severing the link should result in fear and despair for these drones. However, keeping them linked would pose a potential risk to the ships. Four to five autonomous drones against almost 64,000 in a cube, which still operate under hive mind. I wouldn't place a bet at these odds.

This is the second of a two-part episode involving the Borg. In episode one, Voyager learns that there is a virtual world called Unimatrix One where a small number of Borg drones can somehow live during their time recharging in the alcove. In other words, during these sleeping hours, they live as non-drones in a happy world. Because they have individuality during this time, the Borg queen ain't happy and is determined to find this place and wipe everyone out.

By this episode, Voyager is not only encouraging the drones in Unimatrix One but is trying to find a way to get the drones to become individuals during waking hours as well. That way the hive can be destabliized. However, Janeway isn't content with JUST destabilization--she's hoping that they can destroy this hive. To do so, she and some other crew members allow themselves to join the Collective! How can they do this and maintain their individuality? See the show...and the thrilling finale.

Excellent. Violent, creative and deliciously evil--this one is a show to see!

The Borg queen is bent on keeping things her way. It's interesting. She is really an individual, thinking pretty much for herself. When she is in combat with Janeway, it appears that her reasons are personal. She is at the center in decision making, hence, individual. This is a good episode with a lot of close calls. One advantage is that the Borg have enemies throughout the galaxy, and so finding comrades is not so hard. One problem with this series is the Doctor's ability to seemingly come up with devices and substances to counter almost anything.