Review

TNG: Lower Decks meets Voyager. Or, Voy: Learning Curve done right. This episode lacks the profoundness of TNG: Lower Decks, but also does not make as many of the mistakes of Voy: Learning Curve. Still, this episode would have been better suited for showing in an earlier season. I enjoyed many aspects of the otherwise mediocre premise. Janeway and the three guest crewmen all gave marvelous performances. They are all characters I would enjoy seeing again. The actual alien of the week plot wasn't very interesting, but I felt the character story made up for any deficiencies in that department. Finally, while the episode was perhaps belated, I am pleased to see Voyager exploiting its premise. None of these crewmen would have remained aboard Voyager if the ship were still in the alpha quadrant. They could have been put off the ship for their underperformance. But since Janeway doesn't have that option, she feels personally obligated to help them. As such, this episode has a certain charm to it that I enjoyed very much.