What is your favorite female character from Voyager?

[BohandiAnsoid]

Voyager had four main female characters over the entire run, three at the time. And, despite not having much of a secondary cast, there were still a few recurring ones, especially early on. I would like to ask you, which one you think is the best. With whatever criteria you want.

If I get enough responses, I will make the male one later.

My favorite is Kes, followed by Seven of Nine, then B'Elanna Torres.

 

[BillJ]

Seven of Nine. She was the only one that had an interesting backstory.

 

[Oddish]

1. Kathryn Janeway. She was inconsistent at times, due to dubious quality of showrunners... but she was a boss.
2. Seska. An awesome villain, gone before her time.
3. Naomi. Since we're discussing female characters, not WOMAN characters, our winsome little captain's assistant deserves mention.
4. Kes. Liked the way she didn't have preconceived notions, especially about the Doctor. Plus, her abbreviated lifespan gave her interesting story potential.
5. Seven. Liked her "ice queen" style, though I do wish they could have kept Kes too.
6. Samantha. Nice lady, good mom, not much else to say.
7. B'Elanna. Didn't dislike her... but she did the bulk of her character growth in one episode, and spent the next 150+ on the "angsty about being Klingon" treadmill.

 

[Gaith]

Torres is my favorite female Trek character, period: smart, tough, bold, spirited, funny, loyal, supportive, and, as a bonus, beautiful. Mulgrew and Ryan may be better actors, and Seven was probably the most complex character, but my vote goes to Torres any day. And now it occurs to me it's a shame she never got a scene (or, ideally, episode) with Worf...

 

[fireproof78]

Torres, easily. Interesting character, better twist on the ridiculous Klingon tropes of the Berman era, and I think she demonstrated some good growth, even with Seven.

 

[Michael]

I would have to say that I love all four of the female main characters on Voyager:

Kes’ nine-year Ocampan lifespan was ridiculous, but I think they managed to make the character interesting despite that. I loved her wide-eyedness, her eagerness to learn and experience life and the way she was discovering her full potential. And I appreciated how she stood up for the Doctor's rights as an individual. Plus, I have to admit that I just love her voice.

I don’t think I used to enjoy B’Elanna as much as I have been doing on my current rewatch. I recognize in her traits of actual people I know in real life who sometimes struggle to keep their aggression in check. And ironically, even though she’s an alien character, she sometimes comes off as one of the most realistic people in the cast. I’m also a big fan of her relationship with Tom Paris, which feels to me like one of the more grounded and authentic relationships Trek has to offer.

Seven of Nine might be the most interesting character, thanks to her nuanced backstory and complexity. There’s a lot of tragedy and apparent contradiction to her character: Outwardly she’s this bombshell of a woman, yet her whole demeanor is so stoic and aggressive, and then on the inside she still seems to be the fragile, innocent child she was when she was abducted by her tormentors. Of all the characters she’s probably the one with the most character development in the course of the show.

But my favorite would have to be Captain Janeway: Some inconsistent writing and morally questionable decisions aside, she embodies the kind of leader I would want to work for or aspire to be if it ever came to it. I love how they made her such a hands-on captain, who’s really a scientist at heart. She won't let herself be taken for a fool easily and can kick some ass when she needs to. And yet she has a warm side, can be very emotional, romantic and motherly. Kate Mulgrew often played her larger than life and in the process created an iconic television character.