I'm not even going to wait till this weekend. After thinking about it some more, I'm giving this episode a 9.
After a week where I watched the new episode of Picard and felt depressed about being a Star Trek fan to the point where I stopped my Voyager rewatch for a few days, Picard came back with probably the best episode since the pilot, even though I did like episode 4. We didn't have violence that felt exploitative. Instead we had a well crafted story that pushed plots along and call backs to Voyager and the prior series that I totally forgot about even though I'm currently doing a Voyager rewatch now. We had some amazing scenes with Picard and Hugh (They both have come a long way since I, Borg) and overall it was just an episode that felt like a series turning the corner and actually giving us Star Trek ideals again. Maybe last week I did come across as a "Hater" (I guess these days, if you don't like an episode you are a hater even if you have been enjoying the overall series), but this week felt like a Star Trek episode again and I really do appreciate that.
I'm also really starting to like this crew, except for maybe Elnor. I'm afraid he's becoming too comic-y for my liking, and I found it odd that he ties himself to Picard as the Millout way or whatever and Picard tells him to stay on the ship. This was after last week him complaining about not getting pop up, or asking if they are stopping pretending now. I would like Elnor to be a little smarter than he has shown, but that nitpick is minor. I am liking Raffi's story, and before last week my favorite character might have been Jurati. I think now it's Raffi, and I do like how they are exploring drug abuse with her.
Last week might have been a little rough. This week was a much needed improvement and turnaround. I'm looking forward to next week and seeing Riker again. Hopefully the season finishes strong and the violence level is about the same as it was last night and not Icheb's torture from a week ago.