As has been pointed out in other comments, the lack of instadeath we saw in the previous episode sets this episode up as a huge disappointment within the first 15 seconds or so.
Deleting the Doctor's ethical subroutines may mean he would be willing to do things he normally would not, but it doesn't mean he would turn on a friend. Ethics and friendship are not the same things. Removing one does not remove the other.
And speaking of ethics, we can see that Janeway doesn't really have any. She is mercurial and her crew means less to her than being the one in control. Any vestiges of respectability and moral superiority are completely eradicated from her character. She has become an evil character.
About par for the course for Voyager...
I said my piece about the first part but I like to add to that.
Despite the fact that again there are several conveniences in the writing it was interesting to see a Starfleet crew who did the opposite of what Voyager did and I can understand, even believe, something like that. Ultimately it's the flip side of the coin and went a little bit too far. Imagine the show where it would have been right in the middle, I would have liked to see that.
We are by now used to see Janeway doing what she deems best and only thinking about herself so there is no surprise in that. How she turns from total vengeance to trying to rescue Ransom in mere seconds was completely garbage. The writers always go the route of least resistance. Whatever is neccessary just happens.
Janeway's confrontation with Chakotay would be noteworthy if not for the fact that you knew it would all be settled by the end credits. No carry over. Why not for once go a couple of episodes with someone else as First Officer ? The producers had little guts when it came to things like that.
Like I said before: Equinox exposes all of Voyagers problems.
"Uneasy is the head that wears the crown." This remains true of every Captain in the entire history of Star Trek, and I can never understand why Janeway gets so much more hate than the others (though I can assume the reason). Truth is, they've all made some really shite choices (some more horrific than others), which we choose to overlook in favour of our own affinity toward them. They're only human... or humanoid... or sentient... whatever the species, they're all imperfect, hauling personal baggage and hefty responsibility.
Well. I was entertained. Chakotay stands up to the captain. That's good to see. The doctor charade is certainly interesting. The other, law-breaking (until he isn't) Captain is like a mirror to Janeway (well is he really? That's the question Janeway will ask herself but this is a constant topic of this show regarding Janeway's character).
Like in part 1, FX didn't age well. It's an action packed, fast paced and ambitious episode (two crews, two ships, plenty of FX).
Is it it an outstanding double header? Do I really like it? Nah... To start with, I don't really buy its central premise. A once unheard of ship and a crew - pacified by some sort of metaverse VR devices - that's also trapped in the quadrant unexpectedly encounters Voyager (how small are the odds?): this crew forgets every bit of human ethics (and Starfleet protocol) and decided to start a war with a species from a different realm in order to harvest energy from their bodies? Really? The other Captain suddenly rediscovers basic principles. Janeway turns from good to bad to good to bad and back. I don't really believe it.
Review by LeftHandedGuitaristBlockedParent2018-08-16T16:15:33Z
I'm trying to come up with some eloquent way of expressing myself, but all I keep coming back to is that this was just a pile of turgid shit.
It's a shining example of Voyager's absolute mediocrity, predictability and lack of meaning. Ooh, look, we've found another Starfleet crew stranded out here! Oh, it turns out they're bad, well who saw that coming? Hmm, seems like a couple of the crew members are actually kind of decent people really - oh, look at that, they're the ones who survive.
I could almost have handled that stuff, but the real thing which drags the episode down is yet another example of Janeway's inconsistent character. I think I have to admit I absolutely hate her by this point. She has a reckless disregard for her crew and her attitudes towards things seem to rely on the flip of a coin. Remember at the start of season 5 when she blamed herself entirely for stranding the crew here and decided that there was nothing more important than getting everyone home? Yeah, all that's forgotten here. Apparently Captain Ransom pushed her buttons enough that she's willing to let everyone die just as long as he understands how angry she is. WHY is she so angry? There is no personal stake for her. It's nonsense to add conflict where there is none.
Speaking of whom, Captain Ransom is a terrible bad guy. The actor never seemed to have his heart in the role and delivered his lines with apathy. The rest of the crew fared a bit better, but everyone of them fell into a cliched stereotype. It's nice to see a young Titus Welliver but he never got to actually do anything. After hinting at a past relationship with B'Elanna (I did like the BLT nickname), no further developments are given and at the end he just says "I guess you're gonna die, good luck with that!". There could have been some fun stuff with him and Tom at odds, not to mention some meaty stuff for B'Elanna herself, but no.
The aliens were threatening until they weren't. Even though we saw them attack and kill people instantly at the beginning, when they do the same thing on the bridge of Voyager then everyone is more or less fine. Why? Because they can't kill off the main cast, that's why. One of the worst resolutions to a cliffhanger between episodes that I've ever seen.
Deleting the Doctor's ethical subroutines seems like a very simple task. It seems like it's something that's all set up and ready to go just in case it's needed, with the only defence being the computer flashing up a window with "Are you sure you want to make your EMH evil? OK/Cancel".
Some good things were there. Nice to see Chakotay standing up to Janeway, even if it's kind of halfheartedly; Riker would have relieved her and assumed command pretty sharpish once he saw how she was endangering the ship - but it's ridiculous that there is no ending to their conflict, they just shrug it off. Seriously?
The moment where the evil Doc knocked out our Doctor's mobile emitter was a really nice surprise moment with great timing on the delivery. And I'm happy to see that some of the Equinox's crew join Voyager at the end (including sci-fi TV stalwart Rick Worthy), although I'm intrigued as to whether we'll actually see them again.