10 Star Trek Burns That Still Sting
6. Shall I Flog Them As Well?
Scientific Method is an episode of Voyager that sometimes flies under the radar, most likely because it comes just before the phenomenal two-parter Year of Hell. However, the episode is an excellent meditation on exactly how far the crew can be pushed before they snap. It could even stand in as a test for their encounters with the Krenim.
Captain Janeway suffers particularly badly in this story. The invading scientists decide to push her to her absolute limits, keeping her away for five days straight. Along with this, they subject the crew to horrible experiments, leading Janeway to truly begin to break under the strain. Early in the story, she gives Paris and Torres a thorough dressing down for their public displays of affection. To be frank, she is done with excuses.
When Tuvok comes to give her the morning report, he enters the room with a standard 'good morning', to which she snaps 'that's a matter of opinion'. She then goes on to list the number of crewmen who have been slacking and who need to be brought back into line. Tuvok, in that dry tone that only he can muster, asks:
Shall I flog them as well?
The question is obviously rhetorical but it is enough to wake Janeway up from her rant. Well played, Tuvok.