Review

This is probably one of Voyager's most controversial episodes, as much of the trivia seems to contradict TNG. The Hansens made first contact with the Borg, not Picard. And it seems the Borg Queen somehow survived the ordeal in Star Trek VIII: First Contact. This stuff isn't as bad as it seems though. The Hansens were chasing after a Borg "myth". Nobody in Starfleet took them seriously at all. Also, they crossed the Neutral Zone to do it, which seems continuous with the Romulans complaining that their outposts were being picked off in TNG: The Neutral Zone. Additionally, in TNG: Q Who, Picard said the Federation needed a "kick" in its "complacency", this could be loosely interpreted as Picard saying, "looks like the Borg rumors were real after all." As for the queen, another body was probably selected to represent her, much the way the Founders are presumed to work on DS9. In short, I don't think this episode really conflicts with TNG. Getting to the good stuff, it's awesome that Janeway is finally starting to realize "hey, let's steal Borg engines and get home really fast!" The writers gave us a convincing model of how it could be done without looking too easy or too hard. I like how they made it possible through a unique situation, mostly explaining why they never tried it before. The Borg Queen's interest in Seven of Nine remains something of a mystery, but then her interest in Picard or Data wasn't exactly easy to explain either. Overall, a highly exciting episode with a decent cliffhanger.