Retrieving a sentient lifeform from a crash site, the crew are thrown into danger when it turns out to be a weapon of mass destruction and puts the ship in jeopardy when it takes over the Doctor's program.
This actually kicks off rather reminiscent of Kirk's encounter with Nomad in The Changeling, as the Doctor attempts to bond with a piece of machinery. Robert Picardo must have felt pretty stupid doing some of the earlier scenes in the episode. However, things get more tense when the warhead takes over the Doctor's program, giving Picardo a chance to broaden his range once again, which he does extremely well imbuing the weapon with a quick-tempered personality. It's really his performance that allows the whole concept to be taken seriously, as it could so easily have been laughable.
There's also some good work from Garrett Wang as Kim here, proving that his character can be interesting when given some material to work with. His abilities to make command decisions are excellent, and it's clearly past time he got a promotion. Admittedly he gets Voyager into its original situation, but at least he also finds a way out. It's just a shame that B'Elanna doesn't do much more than stand around, but you can't have everything, can you?
As an examination of sentience and the ability to make your own choices, this is an average tale that drags a little in places, but still remains watchable thanks to its central performances. Not great, but it could have been worse.
***
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