Message in a Bottle

This episode begins with B'elanna complaining to Chakotay about Seven's behavior. She is angry that Seven took something from engineering to astrometrics and then locked herself inside. She says Seven is treating astrometrics like her own private domain. I don't really blame her. It's the only space on the ship that she has any connection with, and probably a lot more comfortable than the cargo bay where her alcove is.

While B'elanna is talking to Chakotay, Seven summons him and the captain to the astrometrics lab to tell them about a Starfleet ship in the alpha quadrant that can be contacted through an alien sensor network. She clearly realizes that the captain would risk a lot to contact Starfleet and is willing to spend all her free time working toward getting Voyager home as soon as possible. She stays locked in astrometrics working on finding a way to send messages through the relay for most of the episode, forgoing regeneration for days.

B'elanna encounters Seven in astrometrics and accuses her of being rude. Seven has settled into the somewhat abrasive, low voice she uses for most of the rest of the series. She doesn't seem to agree with B'elanna's assessment. Later, when the Hirogen are jamming the link, she sends a mild shock through the relay to incapacitate him and stop him. Janeway seems less than pleased, but B'elanna approves. The tension between B'elanna and Seven seems dissipated--for now.

Side note: At the end of the episode, the doctor gives the crew the good news that he was able to contact Starfleet and that they have begun looking for a way to get Voyager home. This is a turning point in the series--they finally have contact with home and are no longer alone. Janeway then declares that 60,000 light years seems closer today than it did yesterday, but this, as I have previously pointed out, is probably not how far away from home they should be. I'm not sure how much space they should have travelled without Kes, but I think it's more than 1,000 light years.

Revulsion

Seven of Nine is assigned to work with Harry to upgrade their astrometric sensors and create an astrometric lab. Harry is nervous to work with her, because last time they worked together she rendered him unconscious and tried to contact the Borg. Not to mention he has a growing crush on her. One of my favorite lines from Seven ever occurs when Harry nervously tells her he has always wanted to learn Borg, and she doesn't laugh at his feeble joke. She responds with "I am familiar with the concept of humor. It may not be apparent, but I am frequently amused by human behavior." BURN. She also makes her first mistake, albeit a minor one, and surprisingly takes it in stride, declaring her humanity must be reasserting itself. Harry tries to make small talk with her, and it proves to be a waste of time, since her free time is mostly spent "contemplat[ing] my existence." Seven seems almost meek in this episode, at least at first. As she gets to know Harry, though, she becomes more assertive; her voice becomes less soft and she seems more certain.

Seven of Nine experiences her first acknowledgment that she has become weak when she slices her hand open while working with Harry. Harry is concerned that she feels vulnerable, but I'm not convinced. She seems to get over these little things pretty quickly in the early days. He tries to woo her while they work, but instead of exploring a budding romance, he learns that she considers beauty and comfort irrelevant, and is treated to her diagnosis of his condition: she figures he is in love with her and wants to copulate and then demands he take off his clothes. She's game to exploring her humanity, but doesn't understand the way human relationships work, thereby putting Harry off from helping her explore. Harry asks to be reassigned from working with Seven, but Chakotay rather cruelly forces him to carry on.

I think some of the character inconsistencies in Seven's character are mostly due to the fact that her character is still in development. Perhaps the writers aren't so concerned with continuity at this early stage, but in retrospect, she seems simultaneously unconcerned and unaware of her new humanity and frightened that she is becoming weak.