First of all, I must tell you how excited I was to see this episode. I must tell you I'm a sucker when it comes to the usual pairings. You know what I'm talking about? Those really fun episodes that deal with Tom/Harry, Janeway/Chakotay, B'Elanna/Tom, Doctor/Seven, Janeway/Seven, and of course Neelix/Tuvok! I absolutly enjoy watching the two characters grow in their relationship together. For example, I love the episode, "The Chute", there is nothing more enjoyable than watching Tom and Harry, stuck in a prison and going insane together. Another diamic that I enjoy is Tuvok and Neelix, the foil that they share is pricless, ever since Neelix first called Tuvok Mr. Vulcan and then preceeded to hug him. So watching this episode was a real treat. Anyway, enough with my usless banter, on with the show.

First of all, this wasn't just another 'Tuvok explores his emotions episode'. To me this wasn't about Tuvok loosing his logic, it was about all the of the people in the world today who have lost a piece of themselves because of an acident. Like Christopher Reeves who is paralized because of a horse accident Tuvok feels stranded because he can no longer do the things that he was once able to do. He feels usless and insagnificant, no longer able to serve Voyager with his amazing intelligence. Showing how Tuvok could turn his lost intelligence into a new sense of creativity was inspiring. It was one of the many wonderful reasons why Trek is so well liked, because of the everyday experiences and tragedies that we in the twentieth century can relate to.

Another part of the plot that I truly enjoyed was the friendship shared between the two obviously different men. From the very first episode we have been led to believe that these two "friends" have had a strange relationship. Neelix is obviously cherishes Tuvok, and enjoys his presence, but we've never been sure what Tuvok's thoughts are on this so called "friendship." Sure, there has been small sighns that Tuvok feels a bit of something for Neelix, but I emphasize slight. Most of the time Tuvok is truly perturbed by Neelix's over zealous efforts to be "friends." In the episode "Meld" Tuvok fantasizes about killing Neelix because of Talaxian's annoyance. So I thought that it was about time that we see Tuvok's true emotions for Neelix. I found it comforting to know that if Tuvok could show his emotions then he would consider Neelix to be one of his dearest friends. It was a touching moment in the episode when Tuvok desperatly didn't want to return to himself because he would not be able to show his affection for Neelix. It was a nice close to the episode to see Tuvok contributing to the riddle, it showed Neelix that somewhere in his Vulcan heart he will always consider Neelix a very close friend.

The writting for this episode was exellent. The story was truly a wonderful idea. The actors, as always, did a supurb job. Tim Russ did a touching portrayal of a man in emotional distress. Ethan Phillip's portrayal of Neelix as caring friend, was as always, heart warming. Neelix would make the perfect nurse or friend for that matter.

Last but certainly not least, Roxann Dawson's direction in this episode was supream! She deffinatly should direct more episodes in the future. The scene transitions were smooth, and the character interaction with each other was enjoyable to see. The character movment and interaction with one another had the beauty of a woman's touch. Not to be a feminist because I'm not, but sometimes what an emotional Star Trek episode like this one needs is a woman's touch, to soften the rough edges of sci-fi. Brovo again to Roxann and an amazing job on her first attempt at directing!

All in all this was an enjoyable episode that's worth watching again! So far my wish for this season is comming true, these are quality episode's. Voyager's Back!!!

Next Week: Really cool visual effects, and a sleeping alien species.