Seven of Nine confronts mortality. Mortality backs down.
It’s the second episode of the season, which means it’s time to put Seven through the wringer.
“Imperfection” manages to succeed where many earlier Voyager episodes fail: it’s a Seven story which also deeply affects the characters closest to her, but without letting them steal her spotlight. There came a point where I thought to myself, “Man, this is some really good Star Trek: Voyager, I forgot what that was like.”
And this is after a scene where the Doctor accuses Seven of being emotional and she’s like, “Uh, no I’m not,” and it turns out she is indeed not having an emotion. It’s not a promising start, but it’s also totally in character for Seven to pretend she’s not having feelings when she absolutely is, so I am prepared to be forgiving.
First, we farewell three Borg children
I’m very sad to lose Mezoti, but less cut up about the departure of the twins, who never really developed personalities (shared or otherwise). I loved Mezoti, I enjoyed that she was an Evil Deadpan Child AND a BFF for Naomi, and I still think she should return in Modern Trek, ideally played by Aubrey Plaza.
On the other hand, I quite like how the departure of the younger children frees Icheb from his role of eldest brother/leader, and he immediately begins making plans for his future and entering adulthood. Without impinging on Seven’s arc, this is a coming-of-age story for Icheb, and one which I think is particularly well-executed and thoughtful.
As for Seven, she’s getting slightly better at goodbyes, in that she is not actively raging against the children for leaving her. This is progress! Like Icheb, I worry that she’s moving on too fast, but hey, it’s a journey.
Second, Icheb has plans
Icheb is a challenging character — even setting aside the fact that his actor grew up to be thoroughly odious, Icheb himself is deeply earnest, and his main interactions come with the equally earnest Seven of Nine. There’s always a risk that their scenes will end up being monotonous.
But I think these characteristics are well-used in “Imperfection”. Icheb’s emotional expression is relatively muted, but sincere, and I appreciate that he gets to interact with people outside of Neelix and Seven. He has conflict with Janeway and the Doctor, and it feels real and revealing.
I’m also interested that, in addition to seeking to join Starfleet himself, he proposes that Seven pursue the same course. We don’t usually see mature cadets in Star Trek, although we get glimpses of middle-aged junior officers which suggests such people exist.
Seven declines the suggestion, feeling that she’s had quite enough of Starfleet for a lifetime. Star Trek: Picard will tell us that she comes to want very badly to join Starfleet, but I remain unconvinced; that series developed a real “Starfleet is the only good and proper career path” problem — even moreso than other Treks.
But Icheb’s idea positions them as equals. Earlier, they were framed as surrogate mother and son, but with the younger kids gone, Seven is more like an older sister, and explicitly referred to as Icheb’s friend.
I love this. I’ve spent so much time whinging about Seven and Janeway being put in the Mom Box, and here, Voyager asks, “What if those roles were flexible? What if the important thing is the love, not the label?”
Naturally, Star Trek: Picard will undo this as well. Truly it is my nemesis. It would be weird to threaten to fight a streaming television series behind a dumpster in a McDonalds car park, but I would fight Star Trek: Picard anywhere.
Third, Seven of Nine’s brain is broken
It turns out that Seven deals with the prospect of her own impending death the same way she deals with a friend or loved one leaving her: denial, passive-aggression, rage and working through it. By which I mean, sidelining her feelings in favour of work, but also, eventually, confronting her emotions.
Her friends respond in their own ways:
- the Doctor resorts to reverse psychology in order to get her to spend time with Neelix, then gets on with obsessively finding a solution
- Neelix spends time with her, providing snacks and entertainment and friendship
- Janeway goes on a mission to extract a fresh cortical node from a dead Borg, and when that fails, she briefly contemplates getting a node from a live drone — classic Janeway, extremely hinged, outstanding work
- Icheb is variously confused, sad, angry, and finally proves his bona fides as Janeway’s grandmentee by going for self-sacrifice
- B’Elanna, a brand new entry in the list of People Who Are Seven’s Friends, helps her hide out from the Doctor — this is a tiny scene in a busy episode, but it’s also my favourite, I need a whole two-parter about these two becoming buds. A tie-in novel, at least
What I love about “Imperfection” is that, ultimately, it doesn’t turn on the technobabble, or Janeway getting into a firefight with scavengers, but on Seven’s relationships with Icheb and Janeway. She needs to accept that Icheb is an adult, and capable of making adult decisions even when they endanger his life, and she learns that Janeway does not regard her as a faulty or even failed experiment, but as a friend.
Both storylines essentially come back to the idea that relationships change, and what may have begun as something unequal can evolve beyond that, into a true friendship based on affection and respect.
Fourth, Janeway is … you know
In a lot of ways, the trip to steal a cortical node from a corpse is a side quest, an excuse to shoehorn a bit of action into an otherwise talky episode, but I’m not mad about it. It’s a fun bit of business which doesn’t overstay its welcome — unlike the surgery simulation, which is a bit of bait and switch we’ve seen before.
I’m also not mad about Janeway’s proposal that she go out and steal a cortical node from a living drone. I mean, it’s the wrong thing to do, and I’d be horrified if she went through with the idea, but it’s in character for her to float the possibility, and equally fitting that the Doctor talks her out of it.
Other observations
- I know that Tuvok isn’t the most emotional person, but he’s real chill about being back on a Borg cube after his near-assimilation
- Hey, remember that time the Delta Flyer got blown up, back in “Unimatrix Zero” part one? Don’t sorry, she’s back
- Janeway should take a tactical station more often, she said respectfully
In conclusion
This is a good bit of Borg business. Four cortical nodes out of five.