Reginald Barclay transmits a holographic version of himself to Voyager with an idea of how to get the crew home...but it turns out that the Barclay hologram is actually working for the Ferengi to steal Seven of Nine for her nanoprobes.
This episode provides examples of
- Astonishingly Appropriate Interruption: A lieutenant giving some schoolkids a tour of the Pathfinder facility asks if they can name a species found in the Delta Quadrant. Barclay rushes in yelling "THE BORG!"
- Beware the Nice Ones: Do not mess with Deanna's friends. Leosa's smug demeanor promptly crumbles when Troi threatens to have her committed.Troi: Tell me, what's the longest you've ever been incarcerated?
Leosa: (laughs) You can't send me to prison, Counselor. I didn't do anything wrong.
Troi: Maybe not. But I can order you held for psychiatric observation — extended observation.
Leosa: I may not be a Betazoid, but I work a dabo table, and I know when somebody's bluffing.
Troi: (Death Glare) Try me. - Call-Back: Tom mentions Arturis' quantum slipstream drive and the telepathic pitcher plant when referring to other times when they thought that they'd get home soon.
- Cassandra Truth: The real Barclay tries to get Starfleet to listen to him about what happened to the Barclay hologram he tried to send to Voyager with no success. He turns to the only Starfleet officer who would listen to him, Deanna Troi, and with her help succeeds in getting through.
- Character Overlap: Deanna Troi from Star Trek: The Next Generation makes an appearance.
- Circular Reasoning: When the Doctor says that the inoculations are only the standard ones, Barclay says that they're designed to work with the shield modifications. Later he says the apparently insufficient shields are designed to work in conjuction with the inoculations.
- Fanservice: Deanna Troi wears a swimsuit with quite a low cut top during the beach scene. When Barclay turns up she consciously covers herself. Though in several later shots she happens to be leaning over right at the camera.
- Foreshadowing: The black market trade in Borg technology returns to haunt Seven in Star Trek: Picard.
- Genre Savvy: Tom has noticed the pattern that Failure Is the Only Option, when it comes to getting home, and so refuses to get excited about the prospect.
- Honey Trap: Leosa. Posed as a teacher for Barclay; actually a dabo girl acting as The Mole for the Ferengi.
- Kick the Dog: Leosa says that she left Barclay because he was boring—with Barclay still in the room. All he can do is leave
with an utterly heartbroken look on his face.- She then twists the knife further when he asks her Was It All a Lie? Her response: "Just the parts where I showed affection for you."
- Kinky Role-Playing: Leosa, who's all-but-stated to be a prostitute, mentions that she's been a schoolteacher, and even a Bajoran Vedek, depending on what the client wants.
- Last-Second Word Swap: Leosa refers to Nunk the Ferengi as "my...employer." Just guessing, but "pimp" might be more accurate.
- Lobe Expansion: What the three Ferengi fantasize about getting from the sales of Seven of Nine's nanoprobes.
- Mama Bear: Deanna does not take Leosa messing with Barclay well, and thoroughly shatters her smug confidence when Starfleet interviews her in response.
- Not Himself: The Doctor suspects that the Barclay hologram isn't behaving the way he would expect the real Barclay to act when he threatens the Doctor.
- Nothing Personal: Or so Leosa says regarding her betrayal of Barclay. He's not at all comforted.
- Only Sane Man: Tom and the Doctor are the only people to question Holo-Barclay's method of getting them home, and the Doctor gives up after the examination of Barclay's matrix turns up no errors.
- Pleasure Planet: Risa appears yet again in this episode.
- Pun: The Barclay hologram imitating Janeway says "we have an egg-mergency" when talking about Tom Paris eating all the scrambled eggs.
- Rousing Speech: Holo-Reg delivers one to the senior staff."If this were any other ship, I'd have my doubts. But this is Voyager, the Miracle Ship. You've survived six years in the Delta Quadrant. You've evaded the Kazon, the Vidiians, the Hirogen, you've even faced down the Borg. I think, with a little teamwork, we can pull off one more miracle and take Voyager home."
- Smug Snake: Leosa is almost casually cruel to Reg when she confesses her role as a Honey Trap. She even dismisses Reg as "boring" to the entire inquiry while Reg is in the room and apologetically tells him her affection for him was just a front. And she remains convinced that Starfleet has no grounds for pursuing her further. Deanna very quickly shuts her down, and Leosa folds like a deck of cards one Mama Bear moment later.
- That's an Order!: Harkins has to order Barclay to take some time off.
- Third Wheel: When Deanna invites Barclay to hang out with her and Riker, he says that he doesn't want to be a "third nacelle" until Deanna tells him that Riker is bringing a date for him.
- Voice Changeling: The Barclay hologram does a comedy routine using Janeway's voice. He also imitates Tuvok's voice when he comically tries to do a mind meld on Tom Paris. On a serious note, he imitates Seven's voice when he kidnaps her.
- Workaholic: When Harkins asks Reg how much leave he has, he says "only" 50 or 60 days. Maybe things are different in Starfleet, but by current standards one would have to work years without a break to accrue that much.
