YMMV / Star Trek: Voyager S3E25 S4E1 "Scorpion"

• Broken Base:
  • Depending on who you ask, Janeway's allying with the Borg was either such a massive atrocity that Chakotay would have been fully justified in removing her from command, or it's the best of a bunch of bad options, and proof that she was actually strong enough to make tough decisions when there was no "Take a Third Option and neatly avoid the moral dilemma" choice available.
  • The episode itself, while generally held in high esteem, is also considered by some to be the point where the series — and by extension, the franchise as a whole^note This was also the point at which the Dominion War began on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine — completely gave up on Gene Roddenberry's ideals and embraced a Darker and Edgier, more action-focused style.
• Franchise Original Sin: The episode taken individually is epic in scale with Voyager caught in a terrifying war between the biggest enemy in all of Star Trek and a new, inscrutable alien species that can handle them with ease. But this was the first real Borg episode of Voyager, who proceeded to use them extensively and resulted in an acknowledged Villain Decay as it became evident that Resistance is Not Futile, and numerous other Borg weaknesses would be discovered and exploited. However, there is an argument to be made that such a narrative change was necessary, otherwise it would be completely implausible the Borg couldn't curb-stomp all of Starfleet, much less a single ship, over time, on their own home turf.
• Growing the Beard: If the "Future's End" two parter from earlier in the season was the point where the show's quality started to improve, this was when Voyager really hit its stride. In addition to being a strong story in its own right (and even a contender for the best-ever Voyager story), it not only introduced a memorable new villain, but also Seven of Nine, one of the more popular members of the cast.
• Harsher in Hindsight: The alliance in the light of "Hope and Fear" and "In the Flesh". The former episode had a member of one of the races assimilated by the Borg in-between the episode give Janeway a What the Hell, Hero? speech over her actions here, which she tries to justify by claiming that 8472 would have destroyed his race if the Borg hadn't, but the latter episode essentially concedes that yes, Janeway's decision here was ultimately the wrong one (albeit 8472 were similarly at fault).
• Hype Backlash: On its initial airing it was seen by many as this show's "The Best of Both Worlds", and still enjoys an overall very strong reputation among fans. However, a sizeable minority of the fanbase have come to regard Janeway's allying with the Borg in order to help destroy a new, unknown life-form as an atrocity that's completely against the spirit of everything that Star Trek embodies, and also resent the episode for introducing Seven of Nine, who would become something of a Spotlight-Stealing Squad in the years ahead.
• Special Effect Failure:
  • Most of the effects, both CGI and practical, from this episode still hold up pretty well after a couple of decades. But the scenes of Janeway transmitting from the Borg ship used a really glaringly obvious green-screen.
  • There's also one shot in Part 2 of Voyager in flight where she looks like a very rough computer model.
• The Un-Twist: The episode treats the Borg having been the aggressors as a major revelation. Considering their track record, that should have been the default assumption, which makes Janeway seem incompetent in addition to a Designated Hero and leads to an impression of Chakotay being the Only Sane Man for preparing a contingency plan for after Species 8472 were dealt with.
• Win Back the Crowd: Not only did it make up for the over-hyped but ultimately So Okay, It's Average "Unity" from earlier in the season, it helped Voyager in general win over a good few of its previous doubters and, likely with a bit of help from the success of Star Trek: First Contact, saved the show from the premature cancellation that would eventually befall Star Trek: Enterprise.

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