Regardless of why Jeri Ryan was added to the cast of Voyager, as an actor she was the best part of the show. The eps focused on her were better than all the rest, and she exhibited more range than the rest of the cast except perhaps Katherine Mulgrew (Janeway).
I couldn’t find it on YouTube and it’s been twenty years since I watched it, but there was one episode where Seven was talking about her difficulty in integrating back into human society after the trauma of being assimilated into the Borg and then the further shock of having to leave that behind and adapt to a now-foreign culture. It was just perfect and heartbreaking. Jeri did a lot with a little and I always appreciated how much she gave to what could’ve been just a trivial eye candy part.
Unfortunately, she helped elect Obama by accident. She didn’t mean to, so I don’t hate her for it.