Around the time The Gift was produced, the series' regular cast took Jennifer Lien out to dinner. She had a poignant discussion with Kate Mulgrew on the same night. Mulgrew later remembered, "I drove her home and said, 'This could be serendipity, Jen. You're so unusual and so deep and fine. I believe it's the beginning of a stellar career.'" Unfortunately, Lien only had one more minor acting role, some voice work, and retired from acting upon the birth of her son, leaving Hollywood for Tennessee. From 2012-2019 she's shown increasingly erratic behavior and had several run-ins with the law resulting in multiple arrests.
In this episode we learn that Lt. Ayala has been demoted to ensign. The reason for this is unknown.
The producers originally wanted Seven of Nine to have short, slicked-back hair, but Jeri Ryan refused to cut her hair. Hence, Seven of Nine's signature French braid hairstyle.
This marks the first time where Ayala has more than one word of dialogue.
This was originally planned to be the fifth installment of Star Trek: Voyager's fourth season; however, due to a change in scheduling, it ultimately became the second. Bryan Fuller, who joined the series as a writer and producer after this time, stated it was "because of Jennifer Lien's schedule."