This 2 parter started out intriguing and exciting, that they encountered another ship from the alpha quadrant that was sent to the Delta quadrant the same way as Voyager, yet there was an underlying feeling of "this is too good to be true". I kept waiting for the full story as to how they got there but it never came. And I feel like there was a plot hole: so the science ship was sent there BEFORE Voyager?? And if so, did it happen practically just before them, or by the Caretaker's mate? I ask bc all this time, it has seemed that Voyager is the only ship lost in the delta quadrant: Starfleet has made NO mention in their transmissions about another ship being lost, and if it was addressed in this episode, I missed it. And they couldn't have been sent after Voyager bc Janeway destroyed the array.
Janeway's erratic behavior was rather surprising and very much out of character for her; however, I believe it stemmed from the fact that she has held the prime directive as her guiding light, struggling with it at times, but never breaking it during the crew's journey. I think it flew in her face that this captain barely hesitated to break it, even in the direst moments. He valued his crew more than any new life they encountered and decided it was worth sacrificing this new life to save his people. Had the new life volunteered this (!?!) it would have been one thing, but after the accidental death of the first one, he actively sought out the creatures to kill them for energy. This went completely against her own ethics, as well as Starfleet's, so much so that she saw red and wanted vengeance. Honestly, in some ways, I can't say I blame her. She snapped. I do feel she regretted it and was ashamed of her actions, so an apology to Chakotay and Tuvok would have gone a long way towards making amends, which we sadly did not see. Having a hesitant "aww shucks" kind of conversation about a pot luck just didn't suffice for me.
Bottom line: the episode could have been better. I liked some parts and not others, and was left feeling conflicted at the end. If that's what the writers were going for, they were successful.
Janeway's erratic behavior was rather surprising and very much out of character for her; however, I believe it stemmed from the fact that she has held the prime directive as her guiding light, struggling with it at times, but never breaking it during the crew's journey. I think it flew in her face that this captain barely hesitated to break it, even in the direst moments. He valued his crew more than any new life they encountered and decided it was worth sacrificing this new life to save his people. Had the new life volunteered this (!?!) it would have been one thing, but after the accidental death of the first one, he actively sought out the creatures to kill them for energy. This went completely against her own ethics, as well as Starfleet's, so much so that she saw red and wanted vengeance. Honestly, in some ways, I can't say I blame her. She snapped. I do feel she regretted it and was ashamed of her actions, so an apology to Chakotay and Tuvok would have gone a long way towards making amends, which we sadly did not see. Having a hesitant "aww shucks" kind of conversation about a pot luck just didn't suffice for me.
Bottom line: the episode could have been better. I liked some parts and not others, and was left feeling conflicted at the end. If that's what the writers were going for, they were successful.