Did Chakotay and Janeway ever have secret romantic feelings for one another

[cosmic mouse]

Well, it`s nice to read, BUT- I think it`s interesting that Kate`s comments towards J/C have changed over the years. In the early seasons she wasn`t against J/C. This is from Fedcon VI 1998:

"You know everybody wants to know about Chakotay and Janeway having a romance. Why? Why is it always about sex? Why not, right? I think this season something interesting will happen between Janeway and Chakotay. Because enough is enough. Right? I think Janeway's been just a little bit too businesslike in the old ready room. It's time to have those late night dinners, don't you think? Champagne in the holodeck with her first officer. Why not? She's not dead yet. " She went on stage after Robert Beltran and she began the panel with this words about the crew: "Now I can go on and on and on about Star Trek. I can tell you how much I love everyone. You just saw my 'most beloved'. Is he handsome, or what? I think they should do an episode between the two of us called 'The Gaze' and all I'm going to do is gaze at him - for 60 minutes. And at the very end I'll turn to the camera and say " It's the only way to fly". Shall we do that?"

I think, this is really different than her newest comments.

Yes, those are very different comments. I can only assume that future experiences and reflection may have caused her to change her line of thinking. Or she was just playing with the audience (and Beltran). If they had ever filmed 'The Gaze' I would have auditioned as her stand-in though!

 

[Ghislaine H. B. BRAEME]

In reading again and again the question of this thread, I end to wonder if it is it really important now, because regardless of whether Janeway & Chakotay experienced feelings for each other through their journey of 7 years, they never dared to cross the red line, one because of a rule by which she had acceded a very long time ago (the no-fraternizing between a captain and one of her subordinates) and the other for fear of a possible rejection ... fear which wasn't meaningless according to "Resolutions", especially the very last minutes.

In any case, if love was in the air, that only ran in first 3 seasons (when Jeri Taylor was still in charge of Janeway's storylines), before being totally dismissed by amongst other, the arrival of Seven' of Nine onboard (after Brannon Braga was promoted and agreed with Mulgrew on the "no sex with a subordinate"), which had only the effect of focusing Janeway's attention on the new crew member, while stating that Janeway's love/sex life was still on and proving it thereafter, with Krashyyk (even if they didn't take action, what was Mulgrew's biggest regret, to the point of wanting his return,... but the request was refused because, hey, Janeway could not sleep with a bad guy!), Michael Sullivan and Jaffen. And no doubt that once on Earth, given the effect she seems to have on men (Chakotay included), she would have her pick of suitors/lovers. ;-)

Having said that, I would be curious to know what's happened behind the scenes to explain Mulgrew's "J/C all the way" to "everything except J/C"!

 

[Sophie74656]

Having said that, I would be curious to know what's happened behind the scenes to explain Mulgrew's "J/C all the way" to "everything except J/C"!

Maybe something happened between her and Beltran. At this point he was quite vocal and negative about the show. Perhaps that turned her off of him.

 

[Ghislaine H. B. BRAEME]

Yes, those are very different comments. I can only assume that future experiences and reflection may have caused her to change her line of thinking. Or she was just playing with the audience (and Beltran). If they had ever filmed 'The Gaze' I would have auditioned as her stand-in though!

It is known that actors love to play with their audiences, telling them what they want to hear, showing them what they want to see. In fact, some actors rarely stop to play, whether on and/or out screen, what can become quickly ‎awkward, sometimes, like for ex, Gérard Depardieu,. ;-)

 

[Ghislaine H. B. BRAEME]

Maybe something happened between her and Beltran. At this point he was quite vocal and negative about the show. Perhaps that turned her off of him.

I'd say that ‎this is almost certain! Not only he was vocal & negative about the show but his passive/aggressive attitude on sets ‎didn't have been to her liking, while ‎she struggled (as Picardo and even Ryan) to continue to be at 100% and to continue to make live Voyager, because let's be honest, Mulgrew quitting, the show was over, neith the Doctor or Seven would have been able to take over!

 

[Sophie74656]

I'd say that ‎this is almost certain! Not only he was vocal & negative about the show but his passive/aggressive attitude on sets ‎didn't have been to her liking, while ‎she struggled (as Picardo and even Ryan) to continue to be at 100% and to continue to make live Voyager, because let's be honest, Mulgrew quitting, the show was over, neith the Doctor or Seven would have been able to take over!

Honestly, I've seen him at conventions and I've seen a lot of videos of him at conventions and he always rubs me the wrong way. If he was my coworker I would not like him. But I'm sure Kate would continue to give her best even if they were paired up. I know her and Jeri Ryan didn't get along but it definately did not impact her performance at all.

 

[cosmic mouse]

I'd say that ‎this is almost certain! Not only he was vocal & negative about the show but his passive/aggressive attitude on sets ‎didn't have been to her liking, while ‎she struggled (as Picardo and even Ryan) to continue to be at 100% and to continue to make live Voyager, because let's be honest, Mulgrew quitting, the show was over, neith the Doctor or Seven would have been able to take over!

Well, blast! Nothing outside of logical expectations, but I prefer it when my onscreen crushes don't have a questionable personality in reality.... and I really do not like passive-aggressiveness. It's one of my pet peeves.

 

[Sophie74656]

Well, blast! Nothing outside of logical expectations, but I prefer it when my onscreen crushes don't have a questionable personality in reality.... and I really do not like passive-aggressiveness. It's one of my pet peeves.

Oh well uh....don't watch convention videos of Beltran or read interviews

 

[cosmic mouse]

Oh well uh....don't watch convention videos of Beltran or read interviews

Eh, I probably still will at some point (I am a glutton for the truth/reality, even if it's not all that "attractive") though I typically am not into "celebrities" very much to be honest. These onscreen crush things are pretty rare for me actually.

 

[Sophie74656]

Eh, I probably still will at some point (I am a glutton for the truth/reality, even if it's not all that "attractive") though I typically am not into "celebrities" very much to be honest. These onscreen crush things are pretty rare for me actually.

I'm mostly the same except for Trek people.

 

[Odonna]

Ghislaine, that is interesting that you think Chakotay and Seska were discreetly carrying on on Voyager (but never J & C…). Myself, I think it’s adequately conveyed that he and Seska had broken up long before they ended up in the DQ. Jeri Taylor states it pretty clearly in her character background stories in Pathways. We will just disagree. And who would be speaking about command codes during pillow talk? :-D “Oh Chakotay, you’re so hot and commanding. Won’t you whisper the command codes in my ear!” “Well, I guess I can whisper just a few of the command codes…” I don’t think so… (Ha!) I think they establish that Seska has some pretty terrific computer skills, abilities she didn’t divulge to her former shipmates.

Re: Jaffen, I didn’t say his family was on the planet, but somewhere in the general interstellar vicinity. Jaffen said he went to that planet for work. He was born somewhere, presumably not too terribly far away. Certainly not as far as the Alpha Quadrant. And he and Janeway had only recently met. Too soon to be meeting the family.

Mareika, LOL, that quote from Mulgrew was hilarious! Sixty minutes of The Gaze! And without commercial interruption! I had heard she wasn’t always against J/C having a romance, but didn’t know any primary sources. Thank you so much for sharing this. Of course, the actors know their audience and know just what to say. I tend to take what they say at appearances with a grain of salt. Still, Mulgrew has said on multiple occasions that when she was first introduced to Beltran as her co-star, she thought to herself, “Wow, I’d do this for free.”

That quote was from 1998 but don’t know the month, mmm… I wonder if Mulgrew is looking ahead to Season 5 and when she “orders” Chakotay to her candlelight dinner in Timeless…

Sophie:

Honestly, I've seen him at conventions and I've seen a lot of videos of him at conventions and he always rubs me the wrong way. If he was my coworker I would not like him. But I'm sure Kate would continue to give her best even if they were paired up. I know her and Jeri Ryan didn't get along but it definately did not impact her performance at all.

Re: the Beltran Bashing in general--You know, everyone has her or his own taste. I’ve seen a few of the convention videos, and I went to one of Beltran’s Galaxy Balls, and I thought he was fine and even pretty funny, as well as considerate of his guests, fans etc. Ethan Phillips thought he was hilarious on the set. What RB said about the show in interviews was always spot on in my opinion. So I don’t know what this “passive aggressiveness” was supposed to look like, but until I run into a concrete example or hear more from Mulgrew herself, then this current discussion is just unfounded speculation or gossip IMO.

 

[cosmic mouse]

You make me want to delete my posts on the topic, Odonna... and I don't know any better, just from what I've read here and a few other places. Good to hear it may be at least part speculation or perception because I do like Chakotay! (and, consequently, want to like Beltran as well, but that really doesn't matter).

Anyway, I agree, no gossip! I'm down with that...

 

[Sophie74656]

In terms of Beltran. I honestly don't give a f*** what is personal opinion of the show was. Lots of people hate their jobs and complain about it. But what you DON'T do is go on a public forum and bad mouth it. No matter what line of work you're in. That is what I don't care for. Not his own opinion, I don't care if he hated the show. But as long as he was on the job he should have been professional and done his job and not trashed the show in public. Just as with any job. While you're at work you should be doing your best. (and as an actor interviews and for a trek actor conventions are part of the job)

Not reading his scripts and bad mouthing the show is not only in poor taste but terribly disrespectful to his costars and the crew. If he was that unhappy with the show and his character there are propper channels for that. Other actors have said that when they didn't like something that was proposed for their character they would go to a producer and talk about it and it was changed....and guess what, those characters got more focus and more development.

 

[Odonna]

You make me want to delete my posts on the topic, Odonna... and I don't know any better, just from what I've read here and a few other places. Good to hear it may be at least part speculation or perception because I do like Chakotay! (and, consequently, want to like Beltran as well, but that really doesn't matter).

Anyway, I agree, no gossip! I'm down with that...

CM, hey people can think what they want, but it just seemed like the opinions were straying farther and farther from any facts. I hated to see your mind poisoned against him before you had a chance to check anything out and form your own opinion over time. I mean none of us know what it would be like to work with RB. And like you say, it doesn't matter. Actors are a mix of good and bad like anybody else. I read he does or did work with at risk young people, which I thought was a good thing. And he has a brother with Downs Syndrome so does these Galaxy Balls for the DS charity. And yes, he would make statements identifying problems with the show, hoping it might be improved (back in the day). I never saw it as "trashing the show" myself. So yes, much is perception.

 

[Odonna]

Sophie, don't you think he had been talking to the producers and writers without any satisfaction?
And frankly, he isn't the first actor I've heard of who didn't always read the entire script, but would find the scene or scenes he or she was in. That is not as uncommon as you might think. And there were some Voyager episodes where he is literally in one scene that has little to do with the rest of the story. But I respect that you have a different opinion.

 

[Sophie74656]

Sophie, don't you think he had been talking to the producers and writers without any satisfaction?
And frankly, he isn't the first actor I've heard of who didn't always read the entire script, but would find the scene or scenes he or she was in. That is not as uncommon as you might think. And there were some Voyager episodes where he is literally in one scene that has little to do with the rest of the story. But I respect that you have a different opinion.

But he said he didn't even open the script at all. He would literally have pages taped to his console.

I don't know what happened behind the scenes. I can only go by what I've read in interviews and hear at conventions. He never said he went to producers to talk about his character. Robert Picardo, Robert Duncan McNeil, Roxann Dawson, Kate Mulgrew DID talk about going to producers and their characters had much more growth and development. And personally, if I was a writer and an actor was trashing my work, I wouldn't be writing great things for that actor....as his badmouthing the show became more frequent, his screentime decreased...I wonder if that was related

All I'm saying is that I think that badmouthing the show he was on was disrespectful and in poor taste.

 

[Mareika]

Well, blast! Nothing outside of logical expectations, but I prefer it when my onscreen crushes don't have a questionable personality in reality.... and I really do not like passive-aggressiveness. It's one of my pet peeves.

Well, cosmic mouse, this reminds me on the day, when I realised, that RB will be at Fedcon convention in 2006. I had a crush on Chakotay and RB, but I didn`t want to go to the convention. I didn`t want to watch him in person. I was afraid, I wouldn`t like him after that anymore. But many fans, who met him before told me (via internetforum) to go and watch him. What can I say- I was overwelmd by his personality (and his looks). He was so friendly and nice and funny. He was critical about some aspects of the show, but in a friendly manner.I liked him more after meeting him.

 

[Guy Gardener]

'kay so what if Kellin (Virginia Madsen from Unforgettable) was having threeways with Janeway and Chakotay?

What would Chakoty and Kathryn remember?

 

[Refuge]

'kay so what if Kellin (Virginia Madsen from Unforgettable) was having threeways with Janeway and Chakotay?

What would Chakoty and Kathryn remember?

She is beautiful. No one remembers anything.

 

[Ghislaine H. B. BRAEME]

Honestly, I've seen him at conventions and I've seen a lot of videos of him at conventions and he always rubs me the wrong way. If he was my coworker I would not like him. But I'm sure Kate would continue to give her best even if they were paired up. I know her and Jeri Ryan didn't get along but it definately did not impact her performance at all.

Exactly. If Kate Mulgrew had been ordered to finally make J/C a romantic item before Voyager reaches Earth or at least, to make Janeway up to the idea, in order to please the JCers, she would have complied and played the role of the lovesick puppy at 100%, regardless her point of view about this storyline or Beltran's professional attitude.

God knows how Mulgrew & Beltran were aware of this expectation (through interviews & fans questions to which they responded throughout the series) form the beginning.