VOY: Juggernaut

         I really felt like this episode took Torres' character back at least a few seasons in terms of growing into more of an actual character. But I guess she is just mad all the time. Also the Malon are back and I would have an easier time taking them seriously except for the part where Janeway and Voyager know the solution to their grand societal problems and are willing to give it freely but haven't bothered to offer it again after the first jerk they offered it to turned them down.
         We open on a Malon ship which is of course leaking radioactive waste but of course they just call it radiation because the writers aren't actually aware of how reality works. Something goes wrong and the ship is threatening to explode which will contaminate a huge area of space. Back on Voyager Tuvok is trying and mostly failing to teach B'Elanna to meditate which seems to mostly be here for comic relief. They get a distress call from the escape pods from the Malon ship and by the time they arrive there are only two survivors. Once aboard they learn the Malon ship is going to explode which will wipe out everything within 5 light years. Janeway orders the ship to safety but the warp engines go down due to the radiation. For some reason after they learn this the Malon still oppose going back to try and stop the explosion on their ship. For some reason they think Voyager can make it 5 light years in 3 hours without faster than light drive. Or I guess they just wanted to give Torres another reason to get mad, in this case she is clearly right.
         Neelix (ugh, I know) comes up with a plan to vent the Malon ship one deck at a time to get to the controls and maybe stop the explosion. Things go ok, but one of the Malon is killed by something we are lead to believe is a fantastical monster from Malon lore created by their radiation. Chakotay gets injured but also makes it to safety leaving Neelix and Torres to work with the surviving Malon to save the day. And they don't. Torres has to kill the monster who turns out to just be an irradiated Malon with an iron bar and Janeway has Tuvok fly the detonating ship into a star which somehow saves the day even though I am pretty sure that isn't how stars work.

         Review: Not one I am going to remember very long to be honest. Pretty bland environmental message that is pretty much ruined by the knowledge that the Malon would probably take the tech from Voyager and fix their society, but no, lets not offer it after that one jerk turned it down. 

4 out of 10