3.14 alter ego

Voyager investigates a nebula composed of plasma strands, which normally would ignore and self-destruct, but this one is different. Meanwhile, Harry Kim falls in love with Mirena, a blonde holodeck woman. Unable to control his infatuation, he asks for Tuvok to help him control his emotions. Tuvok and Kim confront the woman on the holodeck, and Tuvok finds himself quite intrigued with her – and she with him. As his time with her becomes more frequent, Kim gets jealous and confronts Tuvok, believing that he is attracted to Mirena. Tuvok says he is not, but Mirena has other ideas. Even after being deleted from the holodeck program, she appears in Tuvok’s quarters, wearing the doctor’s holo-emitter and a Starfleet uniform. She has also infiltrated the computer system and disabled the engines, forcing Voyager to stay in the nebula. The reason for this becomes evident after Paris, Tuvok and Torres are attacked by holodeck luau characters (including smiling Polynesian women who try to strangle Torres with leis); Mirena is being controlled by someone in a space station inside the nebula. Tuvok beams there and meets the alien female whose job it is to control the nebula’s plasma explosions. Isolated, she has often tapped into other passing ship’s computer systems, but she found the holodeck particularly intriguing, and she has fallen in love with Tuvok, who, like her, is isolated even while being among the crew. She threatens to ignite the plasma strands around the ship unless Tuvok agrees to stay with her. Tuvok admits that he is attracted to her, but he also tells her that he has a spouse and a mission. He tells her that if she really cared for him, she would not force him to stay. Reluctantly, she realizes he is right and she releases him and the ship. He suggests that she stop isolating herself, that it has affected her, that she should get a replacement and spend some time on her home world with her people. She agrees, then wonders aloud how Tuvok will deal with having to remain alone.

This is one of my favorite episodes. I thought the resolution was surprising, with enough twists that you never expect it to go in that direction. I thought Kim’s acting at the beginning was both realistic and humorous. The first scene in the holodeck with Kim, Tuvok and Mirena is hilarious, especially this segment:
"Mirena: I tried a reverse curl today, and I think I pulled a tendon. (She places Kim’s hand on her leg). Feel this.
Kim: (Leaves his hand there, but turns away from Mirena and looks directly at Tuvok) It’s like a knot.
Tuvok: I’m sure it is.
(Camera changes to low angle shot with Mirena’s leg in the foreground, Kim and Tuvok in the background, a la The Graduate)."

Another subtle touch happens in the scene when Janeway ‘orders’ Tuvok to attend the luau. When the camera focuses on Chakotay’s amused look, the normal Trek background music plays a subtle Polynesian riff.