Lineage

Even as we power forward to the end of the series, Voyager is still finding time to expand on her characters, embracing their flaws and cracking open their weaknesses for exploration… what makes this character do the things they do, why is this character so drawn to this other character.

We get alot of those answers for Torres in this episode, including – I think – why she was so attracted to the man she despised in the beginning of their journey home… Tom Paris has the same traits as her father and that’s something she’s ashamed of missing out on, believing that she drove her father away.

For Tom, too, we see a very softer side of the man who came aboard against his will seven years ago, now he is ready to tackle family life and all the craziness that’ll bring. While this was a slower episode it certainly builds the care we fans feel for these characters.