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Why Didn't They...

I'm not sure I can agree with you on this one Prax. Seven was a loner who didn't care about the crew and was not very empathetic. She also had no telepathic skills.

Kes was like a ship's counselor. She championed causes like seeing if the Vadiians could cure the Captain and the Commander in Resolution. She went to Janeway about how the doctor was being treated in Eye of the Needle. She even knew where all the crew quarters were in Twisted.

Her psychic powers played into Then and Again, Persistence of Vision, Cold Fire, and Scorpion to name a few.

7 was never that.
The characters/personalities of Kes and Seven were quite different, yes, but the roles they filled for a segment of the audience were similar. The target groups for each were slightly different, but not all that far off from each other overall. Seven is obviously more overtly "sexual", but both characters had a feminine, sensual component to them, as well as portions of their personas that were more naive, vulnerable, and childlike. Both had aspects of humanity without being human (or in Seven's case, 100% human). Both gave Janeway something to nurture and guide (this is more pronounced with regards to Seven, but also evident in Kes' relationship with J). And both also give something in the neighborhood of "eye candy" for the male (or female) set. Again, this is way more obvious with Seven but also clearly evident in Kes imho. She even wears something akin to the cat-suit in at least one episode.
 
The characters/personalities of Kes and Seven were quite different, yes, but the roles they filled for a segment of the audience were similar. The target groups for each were slightly different, but not all that far off from each other overall. Seven is obviously more overtly "sexual", but both characters had a feminine, sensual component to them, as well as portions of their personas that were more naive, vulnerable, and childlike. Both had aspects of humanity without being human (or in Seven's case, 100% human). Both gave Janeway something to nurture and guide (this is more pronounced with regards to Seven, but also evident in Kes' relationship with J). And both also give something in the neighborhood of "eye candy" for the male (or female) set. Again, this is way more obvious with Seven but also clearly evident in Kes imho. She even wears something akin to the cat-suit in at least one episode.

I agree they are both feminine. In fact I thought Kes was more feminine than 7. She just had a way about her.
 
The characters/personalities of Kes and Seven were quite different, yes, but the roles they filled for a segment of the audience were similar. The target groups for each were slightly different, but not all that far off from each other overall. Seven is obviously more overtly "sexual", but both characters had a feminine, sensual component to them, as well as portions of their personas that were more naive, vulnerable, and childlike. Both had aspects of humanity without being human (or in Seven's case, 100% human). Both gave Janeway something to nurture and guide (this is more pronounced with regards to Seven, but also evident in Kes' relationship with J). And both also give something in the neighborhood of "eye candy" for the male (or female) set. Again, this is way more obvious with Seven but also clearly evident in Kes imho. She even wears something akin to the cat-suit in at least one episode.

Sorry. My reply was cut short. Called away.

I can kind of see what you are saying about Janeway and Kes but I didn't feel that way until the end of Kes' run. In the beginning I felt Kes stood on equal ground with Janeway. True she had an innocence about her but right from the start she stood up to her people in Caretaker and was in a serious romantic relationship. She championed the doctor's cause and brought a new perspective for Janeway to consider. She also brought stability to Nelix, even if he was jealous. It didn't throw her off her game.

7 was much more childlike with her lack of emotional connection and her volatility. Janeway had to hold her hand because 7 couldn't function without it at first. She, much more than Kes, became Janeway's cause imo.

Kes functioned just fine so while Janeway loved Kes I dont see her guiding her much. I felt the whole maternal thing with Kes was sort of thrown in at the last minute, maybe because Mulgrew felt that way about the actress.
 
I agree with both/all of your understandings of the characters @cosmic mouse and @catshadowsi8 . It is interesting recognising that Kes was childlike to us because of her visual youth and yet in terms of being an Ocampa she was less so. Seven was visually this sexualised woman but her humanity had been stunted when she was a human child. Comparing the two 'women' they are quite different examples of strengths and vulnerabilities. Their power coming from different sources. Seven's from a collective and Kes' from within. Even their appeal - so different. Seven so obviously this in your face presence and Kes like tinkerbell. I personally liked them both and felt there was a place for them both.
 
Asimov's humanoid robots don't speak like Data, in fact, their speech is indistinguishable from a very urbane human being's. When R Daneel Olivaw appears in public nobody even notices anything strange about him. I don't think they needed Data's affected speech or his golden skin to remind us that he was a robot.
 
Sorry. My reply was cut short. Called away.

I can kind of see what you are saying about Janeway and Kes but I didn't feel that way until the end of Kes' run. In the beginning I felt Kes stood on equal ground with Janeway. True she had an innocence about her but right from the start she stood up to her people in Caretaker and was in a serious romantic relationship. She championed the doctor's cause and brought a new perspective for Janeway to consider. She also brought stability to Nelix, even if he was jealous. It didn't throw her off her game.

7 was much more childlike with her lack of emotional connection and her volatility. Janeway had to hold her hand because 7 couldn't function without it at first. She, much more than Kes, became Janeway's cause imo.

Kes functioned just fine so while Janeway loved Kes I dont see her guiding her much. I felt the whole maternal thing with Kes was sort of thrown in at the last minute, maybe because Mulgrew felt that way about the actress.
That's no problem... I've been offline for awhile anyway. :)
Yes, you are correct that the mentoring/bonding piece between Janeway and Kes was developed later on. I'm rewatching the series right now and I'm in mid-season 2 and it'snot really noticeable yet. But it is there eventually, even for a brief time. And, yes, Seven is more childlike/damaged/volatile vs Kes since the characters' personalities differ from each other, but generally-speaking they are similar in terms of some of their basic "functionality" within the context of the show, and I can see how TPTB wanted to continue along the groundwork that Kes laid out using the character of Seven (despite some of the differences in character type/back story, etc).
 
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