Review

On the surface, this is an above average episode, but an analysis reveals several weak points. The technical problems which I've outlined in the problems section contribute quite negatively to the plot, seeing as how they do much to ruin the premise. I also was annoyed that the Nightingale was just a reuse of the Maquis raider. There isn't much excuse for that in today's high budget Trek. Finally, I was rather annoyed Janeway didn't put a stop to Harry's mission. It had obvious negative consequences for Voyager, and even considering the actual events of the episode, there's no way to be sure Harry was in fact helping the "right" side. It would have been much smarter for Voyager to stay out of the conflict, complete the trade negotiations, and leave peacefully, rather than being escorted out of the combat zone having not completed repairs and not made any trades. There are several nice details about the episode though which keep me from rating it any lower. I loved the plot concerning Icheb's mistaken romance. I especially love the way it ended. Torres just played along and let Icheb believe whatever he wanted to believe so she didn't have to explain to him what her actual motives were. Seeing Kim complain about his rank and get some time to play captain on another ship was nice too. And to be honest, despite the inherent flaws, I much enjoyed the "smuggle the cloaking device behind the lines" story. In short, this episode is a lot of fun if you don't think about it too much. So I tend to be fairly forgiving.