Three former Borg drones seek Seven of Nine's help to become full-fledged individuals. What price must they pay to regain their autonomy?

Additional credits
Scarlett Pomers -- Naomi Wildman
Vaughn Armstrong -- Two of Nine
Bertila Damas -- Three of Nine
Tim Kelleher -- Four of Nine
Jonathan Breck -- Dying Borg

Quotable moments
Drones [eating kebabs around the campfire]: "The bio-matter is ready." "It tastes similar to a bird I once ate."

Linked ex-drones [more or less in unison]: "We're not individuals -- we're not Borg -- we're nothing."

The Doctor: "But whoever removed their implants was a poor surgeon. Their internal organs were damaged during the process, and their bodies are covered with scars."

Analysis
A reasoned individuality is better than mindless adherence to the dictates of a collective. This is the basic lesson of all Borg-related episodes, and it is surely a valid lesson. But it's getting a bit threadbare through repetition.

"Survival Instinct," fortunately, maintains some freshness by complicating the issue: The ex-drones pay a high price for their regained autonomy in sharply curtailed life span. Moreover, they remain ambiguous characters throughout, deserving of help but not particularly likeable.

The episode is notable also for its moody atmospherics, particularly in the flashback scenes.

Dangling plot threads
One of the three ex-drones chooses to live out her remaining weeks aboard Voyager. Will we see more of her?

Reality check
The three ex-drones have a neural link through the "left parietal node" of their brains. Present-day neuroscientists think the parietal lobe is concerned largely with sensory input and motor output. So how come the three don't see the same things or walk in lockstep, rather than just sharing thoughts?