The secondary storyline involves Kes leaving the ship because they couldn't handle having so many characters now that they bring in Seven of Nine, and rather than get rid of Neelix, the guy everyone hates, or Harry Kim, the other guy everyone hates whose actor actually can't act, they get rid of Kes.
Meanwhile, Seven of Nine discovers she's been disconnected from the Borg Collective. SHe is a prisoner of Captain Janeway of Starfleet. There is no other way to put it.
Probably the worst part is that Janeway tries to justify her ill treatment of Seven by claiming that the Borg did it first, and they took her away and stole her identity and assimilated her. In exchange, Janeway says she is giving Seven her old life back.
Except she's not, she's FORCING it upon her. Seven of Nine does not want to become her old self again; she wants to return to the Collective. There are plenty of logical reasons not to do so, dealing with security against the Borg, but none of these reasons are addressed even in passing.
Seven of Nine was once human, therefore she should become human again. That is the message of this episode and of Janeway.
There is actually precedence in this case; when someone abducts a child and raises them as their own. That child cannot simply be torn away from their "parents" and given back to their biological parents; this can cause severe emotional distress, and causing them to suffer for the crimes that are entirely the fault of their "parents", and not themselves.
In the event that the child becomes an adult, they cannot decide at all; the adult can choose their own path.
This does not excuse someone kidnapping someone else's child and raising them as their own, but that does not make it in any way legally OR morally acceptable to take a person away from their entire way of life and bring them back to the life they had when they were a child.
But since this is Voyager, that's of course the exact RIGHT thing to do, and it all works out in the end and Seven of Nine is happy. It's not a miracle, it's just bad writing!
Meanwhile, Seven of Nine discovers she's been disconnected from the Borg Collective. SHe is a prisoner of Captain Janeway of Starfleet. There is no other way to put it.
Probably the worst part is that Janeway tries to justify her ill treatment of Seven by claiming that the Borg did it first, and they took her away and stole her identity and assimilated her. In exchange, Janeway says she is giving Seven her old life back.
Except she's not, she's FORCING it upon her. Seven of Nine does not want to become her old self again; she wants to return to the Collective. There are plenty of logical reasons not to do so, dealing with security against the Borg, but none of these reasons are addressed even in passing.
Seven of Nine was once human, therefore she should become human again. That is the message of this episode and of Janeway.
There is actually precedence in this case; when someone abducts a child and raises them as their own. That child cannot simply be torn away from their "parents" and given back to their biological parents; this can cause severe emotional distress, and causing them to suffer for the crimes that are entirely the fault of their "parents", and not themselves.
In the event that the child becomes an adult, they cannot decide at all; the adult can choose their own path.
This does not excuse someone kidnapping someone else's child and raising them as their own, but that does not make it in any way legally OR morally acceptable to take a person away from their entire way of life and bring them back to the life they had when they were a child.
But since this is Voyager, that's of course the exact RIGHT thing to do, and it all works out in the end and Seven of Nine is happy. It's not a miracle, it's just bad writing!