The Gift

Well, that's it for Kes. They really made it quick to get her of the show. It all feels rushed without explanation on why Kes suddenly developed her telepathic skills in such an extreme short way.

But, the showrunners didn't dump her in exchange for Seven of Nine in skin tight jumpsuit. Jennifer Lien had real life problems, which negatively impacted her work as many participants of the show later said. It was hard to work with her. And later she completely broke down, her life became a mess although she claimed she never regretted to leave the show and had no hard feelings. From drinking and driving to exposure to minors. Also, if you google her, there is not much left of that young and fragile woman. She looks like a different person. Sadly, Lien's life went downhill, but obviously she never let others help her or opened up on others. In real life she was a completely different person than the character she played on the show.

Also, back when Voyager was aired, #metoo wasn't a thing yet. Today you would not add a female character anymore to such a show that is put into tight clothes to attract young male viewers. At least Star Trek redeemed itself when Annika reappeared in Picard and played a crucial part there. Grown up, tough and focused on character.

The transformation of Seven of Nine from Borg drone to human is unfortunately too fast. They could have shown so much more character building if they showed us this transformation in the coming episodes with all up and downs. This whole episode feels rushed: Kes turns into an omnipotent energy being from now to then, flings Voyager 10,000 light years closer to the alpha quadrant and out of Borg territory which comes in quite handy in eliminating a major threat. And Seven of Nine suddenly is human and has accepted her new life. It's quite a hard cut in this series to start a new chapter.

I rewatched this episode last night ,instead of a new episode from Discovery (s3 e8) and I liked so much so I don't regret a thing ,VOY and DS-9 deserve an HD treatment for sure.

It's an old show now so who cares what we think about it now, but, I still want to add something since I just watched it again and it bothers me.

Why couldn't they have kept Kes on Voyager too? She had a good unique personality and was important in helping the Doc. They shouldn't have made her some mystical weirdo. She and 7 may even have become friends.

Some say they'd rather Neelix or Kim were taken off because, as someone said here, they're the most hated? No way. I think the Neelix character and Harry Kim were great. They were excellent in their roles and I always enjoyed their personalities. As long as certain ideas didn't go too far.

There's a lot wrong with all the Star Treks, and I don't watch all the episodes for that reason. I hate the ones with views I can't support. Other than that, it's fun to watch, and for me, the real science fiction-y ones are the best, with plenty of humor.

Again, who cares? It's an old show now.

Seven of Nine struggles to adapt to human life, whilst Kes' powers increase considerably.

Kes' powers go off the chart, making Tuvok nervous and contriving a situation that suited the show runners' agenda back in '97. These scenes are well made, but the timing and suddenness makes it feel forced in to the show narrative to remove a character from the series.

The scenes involving Seven are easily the highlight of the episode, with well written dialogue and memorable performances from Jeri Ryan, Robert Picardo and Katie Mulgrew. It's good that the writers do not apply black and white logic to the situation, but make it more complex with the varying perspectives on the Borg and Janeway's actions.

Visually it has some very memorable imagery, particularly the effects that involve Kes' transformation and the semi-Borg makeup applied to Ryan.

Whatever the true reason Jennifer Lien's departure from Voyager might be, I personally think she did good job in the role and was not always helped by the material provided for the character, such as the short lifespan and romance with Neelix.

For me it's a 7.5/10, but I round upwards.