No, I mean for everyone.
My Thoughts on Voyager's Prospective Romances
- Thread starter Oddish
- Start date
No, I mean for everyone.
Out of curiosity, was there a Voyager romance that you did like?
No, because that wasn't what I was watching the show for. If I wanted to watch a show with a lot of romance, I'd watch a soap opera.
I don't really have anything to add to your specific thoughts on these pairings, though it was an interesting read. I'll just do what you did, and share my own thoughts on each pairing.
Tom Paris/B'Elanna Torres: The only well-written romance on the entire show, one of my favorite romances in fiction. They compliment each other so perfectly. Their relationship develops naturally, with pivotal moments all being memorable. I started to go on a tangent and write an essay, but I'll just say that I think this relationship was done phenomenally.
Janeway/Chakotay: Can be a fine pair when well-written; my problem is that it so often isn't. The Starfleet captain devoted to Starfleet ideals, and the Maquis rebel leader devoted to following his personal morals and damn the rules, could've been an interesting couple. Storeis where they're equallly supportive of each other can be sweet to read. But what we got onscreen, and tend to get in fanfiction, tends to be very one-sided. It's usually just Chakotay simping for Janeway, who sometimes remembers that he exists.
Chakotay/Seven: Could've been absolutely fascinating if developed properly. Chakotay is arguably the least-Borg person onboard, with his spirtuality, nature-based culture, and rebel heart. Both characters seem stoic on the outside, but can be emotional volcanoes deep down. Plus the fact that Chakotay is the one who first saw Seven's humanity to begin with, being the one who severed her from the Collective and first called her name "Annika." It was a strange writing decision to immediately follow that up with Chakotay declaring that she was past saving and couldn't be de-Borged. When they did finally hook up, exactly none of these things were addressed, and instead it was treated with generic romance cliches. And like JC, Chaktoay seems to exist only to serve Seven's character in their episodes.
Seven/Harry Kim: I support this for the same reason as C7. Harry is one of the most human characters onboard. I see the potential for this pair in early Season 4, and I strongly suspect that the writers' contempt for poor Harry's character/actor is the only reason it never happened.
Seven/Doctor: I could never get into this one, despite loving both characters. Somehow it just feels like Seven giving up on her humanity. Not that the Doctor isn't a real person. But I feel the proper conclusion to her arc involves her ending up with someone who is human, both literally and figuratively.
Kes/Neelix: Kes is Neelix's mail-order bride. Think about it. She's from an isolated society. She was abused and enslaved, and her ticket out of hell was an older foreign man. She's too sheltered and naive to know anything else. That said, they could be okay as a couple had they been written better. My main problem isn't that Kes is technically two years old, it's that Neelix treats her like a child...while also dating her. Had she been portrayed more maturely, and Neelix less patronizing to her, the relationship would have worked far better.
Tom Paris/Harry Kim: A bit too obvious for my taste, but it's easy to see why it's so popular. The earlier seasons especially make it difficult to take the "slash goggles" off.
Tom Paris/Chakotay: They are so ex-boyfriends.
Tom Paris/Kes: YUCK. This is like pairing Han Solo with Snow White. I can accept Tom being mildly attracted to Kes for her looks, and because she's "off-limits" to him, but that's it. I love "Before and After" despite this ludicrous pairing, and have to jump through hoops to justify it. (I head-canon that in that timeline, Kes underwent a major personality change during the Year of Hell, becoming a better match for Tom.)
Janeway/Tom Pairs: Mostly impossible for me to take seriously, largely due to "Threshold." However, a movie called "Mrs. Soffel" gave me a new perspective on this pairing, as the two lead characters reminded me a lot of Janeway and Tom Paris. J/P could work for me in an AU story, where the circumstances are radically different. But for the canon storyline, I just don't see it happening. Tom is like one of Janeway's children, on Voyager.
Janeway/Seven: I'm not adverse to either character being into women, but Janeway is a mother to Seven. Again, I can only get behind this pairing if it's an AU where their relationship isn't so parent-child from the start.
Samantha Wildman/Joe Carrey: I read a fanfiction where they had an affair, that ended with Joe's death, and Sam returning to her husband after Voyager gets home. While I can't say I ever found Carrey terribly interesting, I support the idea of these two married people ending up having an affair because they're stranded together. But I think Sam would return to her husband if and when it's possible.
Seven/Raffi (on "Picard"): It was as out-of-nowhere as all of Seven's romances. But it's the first to be decently executed. Raffi's average personality and problems no doubt made her more endaring to Seven, because Raffi is so incredibly human.
Seven/Hugh: This is the pairing I was rooting for when watching "Star Trek: Picard." Ah well.
Seven/What'sHisNuts: That tool from "Unimatrix Zero" was so bland, they didn't even bother to give him a species. Just a generic forehead alien. I once wrote a fanfic developing him as a Cardassian/El Aurian hybrid, and even with that I struggled to make him feel like a real person. Q knows how we were supposed to care about her relationship with this doofus, and I don't blame her for completely forgetting about him (seemingly twice!)
Kes/Lon Suder: I'm dead-serious. Both come from telephathic species, but have been denied thier full powers. (Kes because her entire race stopped using them; Suder, due to a birth defect, where he couldn't sense any emotions, even his own.) After "Meld," Suder loves gardening and trains with Tuvok, just like Kes. Kes likes to explore dangerous things and push the limits. Suder would think such a pure sweet woman is obviously out of the question for him. Kes would find the most dangerous man onboard the most intriguing. Think of the possibilities.
Tom Paris/B'Elanna Torres: The only well-written romance on the entire show, one of my favorite romances in fiction. They compliment each other so perfectly. Their relationship develops naturally, with pivotal moments all being memorable. I started to go on a tangent and write an essay, but I'll just say that I think this relationship was done phenomenally.
Janeway/Chakotay: Can be a fine pair when well-written; my problem is that it so often isn't. The Starfleet captain devoted to Starfleet ideals, and the Maquis rebel leader devoted to following his personal morals and damn the rules, could've been an interesting couple. Storeis where they're equallly supportive of each other can be sweet to read. But what we got onscreen, and tend to get in fanfiction, tends to be very one-sided. It's usually just Chakotay simping for Janeway, who sometimes remembers that he exists.
Chakotay/Seven: Could've been absolutely fascinating if developed properly. Chakotay is arguably the least-Borg person onboard, with his spirtuality, nature-based culture, and rebel heart. Both characters seem stoic on the outside, but can be emotional volcanoes deep down. Plus the fact that Chakotay is the one who first saw Seven's humanity to begin with, being the one who severed her from the Collective and first called her name "Annika." It was a strange writing decision to immediately follow that up with Chakotay declaring that she was past saving and couldn't be de-Borged. When they did finally hook up, exactly none of these things were addressed, and instead it was treated with generic romance cliches. And like JC, Chaktoay seems to exist only to serve Seven's character in their episodes.
Seven/Harry Kim: I support this for the same reason as C7. Harry is one of the most human characters onboard. I see the potential for this pair in early Season 4, and I strongly suspect that the writers' contempt for poor Harry's character/actor is the only reason it never happened.
Seven/Doctor: I could never get into this one, despite loving both characters. Somehow it just feels like Seven giving up on her humanity. Not that the Doctor isn't a real person. But I feel the proper conclusion to her arc involves her ending up with someone who is human, both literally and figuratively.
Kes/Neelix: Kes is Neelix's mail-order bride. Think about it. She's from an isolated society. She was abused and enslaved, and her ticket out of hell was an older foreign man. She's too sheltered and naive to know anything else. That said, they could be okay as a couple had they been written better. My main problem isn't that Kes is technically two years old, it's that Neelix treats her like a child...while also dating her. Had she been portrayed more maturely, and Neelix less patronizing to her, the relationship would have worked far better.
Tom Paris/Harry Kim: A bit too obvious for my taste, but it's easy to see why it's so popular. The earlier seasons especially make it difficult to take the "slash goggles" off.
Tom Paris/Chakotay: They are so ex-boyfriends.
Tom Paris/Kes: YUCK. This is like pairing Han Solo with Snow White. I can accept Tom being mildly attracted to Kes for her looks, and because she's "off-limits" to him, but that's it. I love "Before and After" despite this ludicrous pairing, and have to jump through hoops to justify it. (I head-canon that in that timeline, Kes underwent a major personality change during the Year of Hell, becoming a better match for Tom.)
Janeway/Tom Pairs: Mostly impossible for me to take seriously, largely due to "Threshold." However, a movie called "Mrs. Soffel" gave me a new perspective on this pairing, as the two lead characters reminded me a lot of Janeway and Tom Paris. J/P could work for me in an AU story, where the circumstances are radically different. But for the canon storyline, I just don't see it happening. Tom is like one of Janeway's children, on Voyager.
Janeway/Seven: I'm not adverse to either character being into women, but Janeway is a mother to Seven. Again, I can only get behind this pairing if it's an AU where their relationship isn't so parent-child from the start.
Samantha Wildman/Joe Carrey: I read a fanfiction where they had an affair, that ended with Joe's death, and Sam returning to her husband after Voyager gets home. While I can't say I ever found Carrey terribly interesting, I support the idea of these two married people ending up having an affair because they're stranded together. But I think Sam would return to her husband if and when it's possible.
Seven/Raffi (on "Picard"): It was as out-of-nowhere as all of Seven's romances. But it's the first to be decently executed. Raffi's average personality and problems no doubt made her more endaring to Seven, because Raffi is so incredibly human.
Seven/Hugh: This is the pairing I was rooting for when watching "Star Trek: Picard." Ah well.
Seven/What'sHisNuts: That tool from "Unimatrix Zero" was so bland, they didn't even bother to give him a species. Just a generic forehead alien. I once wrote a fanfic developing him as a Cardassian/El Aurian hybrid, and even with that I struggled to make him feel like a real person. Q knows how we were supposed to care about her relationship with this doofus, and I don't blame her for completely forgetting about him (seemingly twice!)
Kes/Lon Suder: I'm dead-serious. Both come from telephathic species, but have been denied thier full powers. (Kes because her entire race stopped using them; Suder, due to a birth defect, where he couldn't sense any emotions, even his own.) After "Meld," Suder loves gardening and trains with Tuvok, just like Kes. Kes likes to explore dangerous things and push the limits. Suder would think such a pure sweet woman is obviously out of the question for him. Kes would find the most dangerous man onboard the most intriguing. Think of the possibilities.
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And I greatly enjoyed your alternate perspective.
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