to inspectors, revealing himself as a counter-agent for the Devore. However, when the Devore re-materialize the transporter buffer, they only find mundane shipping containers filled with vegetables. The Devore become aware of two of Voyagers shuttles en route to the wormhole, containing the telepath refugees, and are unable to catch up to them in time. Janeway reveals she never completely trusted Kashyk's motives, and created this deception. Kashyk and his inspectors, unwilling to have such a failure on their records, are forced to leave the ship alone and unreported, allowing the crew to continue their journey and reunite with their shuttles outside Devore space. Reception In 2012, Den of Geek ranked "Counterpoint" as one of the top ten episodes of Star Trek: Voyager. The romance between Janeway and Kashyk was praised by Screen Rant as one of the couples that helped the show, noting the tension between their emotions and duty to their respective morality. Screen Rant also noted that although there may have been real emotions, there was also deception. In 2017, Business Insider listed "Counterpoint" as one of the most underrated episodes of the Star Trek franchise. WhatCulture ranked the relationship between Janeway and Kashyk as the 6th most romantic-sexual moment of Star Trek. In 2017, Den of Geek ranked Mark Harelik as Kashyk as the ninth best guest star on Star Trek: Voyager. In 2017, Vulture listed this episode as one of the best of Star Trek: Voyager. In 2020, SyFy said this was the sixth best episode of Star Trek: Voyager, but also the most underrated episode of the series. They note that it is Kate Mulgrew's favorite episode of the series, and call it an "acting showcase" for her. They point out that her character must make "hard choices" as she navigates a suspicious romance in a plot, which they describe as "The Diary of Anne Frank in space." In 2020, Gizmodo ranked this one of the "must watch" episodes from the series. In 2020, The Digital Fix said this was the best episode in season five, with tense battle of wits, action and a tease of romance. Releases On November 9, 2004, this episode was released as part of the season five DVD box set of Star Trek: Voyager. The box set includes 7 DVD optical discs with all the episodes in season 5 with some extra features, and episodes have a Dolby 5.1