S7E21

Friendship One

Aired 2001-04-25 60 min ★ 7.7/10 our take
⚠ Spoiler alert This recap gives away what happens in this episode.

Episode Summary & Review

Summary

Janeway must gain the trust of an alien society crippled by the advanced knowledge of anti matter contained inside a first contact probe launched from Earth in 2067.

Our Take

A solid premise episode that gives the Doctor and Paris decent material while asking a genuinely uncomfortable question about the cost of first contact. The irradiated planet setting is appropriately grim and the guest characters feel like real people rather than victims on a set. It sags in the middle when the moral debate gets repetitive, but the ending lands well enough to make it worth watching.