I actually really liked this two parter. one, it gave us a contrast as to the fact that Janeway's crew lived in relative luxury while in the delta quadrant. what would they have done in Ransom's shoes? Could they have done that? that was one of the main questions.
Rransom: "It's easy to stick to your starfleet principles when your bulkhead's are in tact and your people aren't starving."
Janeway: "Irrelevant" or something to that effect.
Actually it's very relavant, and i think her behavior is a typical reaction when you consider that the goings on of her mind was probably telling her that it could've easily come to that more than she would like to admit. so her reaction to ransom was a reaction to her 'evil' self. it's a jekyl and hyde psychological dilemma.
Also, as for Janeway being relieved...I don't think that in Voyager's situation that is the best idea. Janeway has carried that crew for years, so she would have a lot of people loyal to her, and yes it would prolly cause a lot of unrest. To have a mutiny on board without any starfleet support would be disasterous, which is one of the things pointed out in the end between Janeway and Chakotay...ultimately, chakotay held his tongue and decided the future of the crew was more important, and obviously had enough respect for Janeway to think that she wouldn't do anything too extreme (at least in their specific situation.) Tuvok, being the logical Vulcan, probably trusted Chakotay's reluctance to relieve Janeway, and followed suit being a subordinate officer. And not doing it himself only supports how well he is supposed to know Janeway, so that he is not completley surprised by her reaction tells me that she is like this in extreme situations and circumstances. And come on, the needs of the many (the lives of those aliens) outweigh the needs of the few(the lives of the crew of Voyager and Equinox), so right there supports his actions.
Also, to cause a chain of command upheaval on a small ship with no outside support or incoming crew would also be disasterous, and set precedent for doing things in the future, and at that point who knows how long they knew they were going to be in the delta quadrant. There is a reason that Kim never got past ensign, or promotions were not normally given (except in cases where it didn't involve a transfer of duties, IE Tuvok or Paris' promotions). To relieve a Captain would require tremendous effort in the transfer of overall duties...Chakotay would have to be Captain, Tuvok most likely first officer, Kim to tactical, Paris probably still at the helm (being the best on board) but with a promotion, and an entirely new ops position would be open. That's the tip of the perverbial iceberg. To do this on a ship, again, with no outside support is really a last ditch effort, and I'm sure that if Janeway had gone too far and Tuvok saw another way out that didn't involve the destruction of Voyager or Equinox, he would've phasered Janeway on stun in a heart beat. But clearly Tuvok trusted janeway. Remember when the captive was in the cargo bay and the sheilds were dropped:
"He'll break..." - Janeway. "HE'LL break..."
This to me says she has experience in interrogation, war times, and other instances which might require extrodinary command decisions. She would've been around during the Cardassian wars, and more than likely during other times as well of tense political relationships.
Removing a Captain requires extrodinary reasons and circumstances, more so than a reaction of a Captain to an extrodinary circumstance. To remove her, she had to be even more crazy than ransom, which I never believe she was. Captain's are tasked with the job of making decisions that not even the first officer has experience to make.
