"Child's Play"
comments? pforooghi@compusmart.ab.ca
I must say that this episode was a very pleasant surprise, given the paucity of quality shows this season. It truly was a brilliant, poignant hour, rife with all the elements that make a Voyager episode great to me- subtext, character development, continuity, and a compelling storyline.
First off, I’d like to discuss the J/7 subtext that was so blatant in this episode. This year, its been either feast or famine as far as J/7 subtext is concerned, but thankfully, "Child’s Play" was a spectacular, delectable feast! What crackling chemistry between Janeway and Seven, particularly in that ready room scene. The sparks were certainly flying during that scene, and it was definitely reminiscent of how things used to be between the two when Seven first boarded the ship. I love these two just as much when they are being acrimonious with one another as when they are being harmonious. In this show, we got a bit of both, and it was played to good effect by the actresses. It must be said that Mulgrew and Ryan have an innate, inexplicable chemistry which is quite evident in any scene they share. They simply light up the screen when they are together. Tonight, their interactions were absolutely scintillating. I particularly loved the first bit of interaction, when Seven visited Janeway in her quarters. My first thought was, what gall! Seven certainly doesn’t seem to care that she is disturbing the Captain in her quarters apparently late at night. My second thought was, wow, Janeway sure looks fabulously languid in her chair covered with her shawl! Then, I realized why it is that Seven has no qualms about barging in on Janeway late at night when the Captain is obviously relaxing. It is because Seven feels utterly at ease with Janeway, and knows instinctively that the Captain will not be bothered by her late night interruptions. We clearly saw this in "Latent Image" last year. Janeway was completely unfazed when Seven decided to drop in on her at 2 in the morning for a "philosophical discussion." The same thing happened tonight- Seven was clearly visiting Janeway at an inopportune time, judging by Janeway’s expression when the door chime sounded, but when she saw that it was Seven, she did not appear the least bit annoyed. Later on, when Seven calls Janeway to the Astrometrics lab at 3 in the morning, we again see that Janeway isn’t really upset, (though perhaps slightly more annoyed than before) nor did Seven feel that her actions were inappropriate. It's as if Janeway is used to Seven disturbing her, though she isn’t disturbed by it (wink, wink!). I think that all of this can be read as subtext in the sense that a) Seven feels so close and comfortable with the Captain that she knows she can approach her at any time and Janeway will not mind in the least b) Janeway is always glad to see Seven and help her with anything that is troubling her. There certainly is a bond and closeness between these two that I don’t see between any other pair on the show. Moreover, this bond is definitely not purely maternal, no matter how much TPTB want to convince us that it is. The way Janeway looks at Seven, talks to her, even touches her (though this only happens very rarely and the touch is usually fleeting), is not at all maternal in my eyes. Nor are Seven’s reactions to Janeway entirely how a daughter reacts to a mother. I will concede, however, that there is an element of maternal love and concern on Janeway’s part for Seven, but that doesn’t preclude other feelings that Janeway may harbour for Seven. Most people in good romantic relationships have some of the protective, nurturing instincts most often associated with maternal/paternal feelings for their mates, but they have other non-platonic feelings as well which distinguish their relationships from strictly maternal ones. I submit that this is how Janeway feels about Seven- partly maternal concern (she even said herself how she feels protective of Seven), but also a lot of repressed attraction/desire. Most importantly, Janeway loves Seven, and this can be seen clearly in her eyes, in how she looks at Seven, in how she empathizes with her. When Seven was hurting after Icheb’s departure, one could see the look of despair in Janeway’s eyes for Seven’s pain. When Seven is hurting, so is Janeway. That, to me, is one of the most important aspects of love. Seven also loves Janeway, but I don’t think she realizes that its more than just because she admires the Captain and is grateful to her. Ultimately, how one chooses to define this love is in the eye of the beholder.
After discussing the plethora of J/7 subtext, I would like to comment on the episode itself. I was very impressed by how faithful the writers were to continuity, something which Voyager is unfortunately not famous for. Most notably, I was stricken by the similarities between this episode and last year’s "Drone". Both shows explored Seven’s maternal instincts, though "Child’s Play" offered a more comprehensive, in-depth examination of the matter. After all, Seven has had more time to grow attached to the Borg children, consequently making her emotional bond to them that much stronger. As we all know, One was not aboard Voyager for too long before he died. It is also interesting to note that in both scenarios, Seven has strong maternal feelings for a "son", not a "daughter". Maybe this is mere coincidence, but I’m not entirely convinced. I think that Seven would be better able to relate to a male because a lot of her Borg personality traits are more compatible with what is traditionally thought of as masculine, not feminine. The Borg are the ultimate in machismo! Maybe the writers feel that because of this, it makes better sense to have Seven interact with a son rather than a daughter figure. Yet another parallel with "Drone" is in how The Doctor relates to Seven’s "son". Of course in "Drone", he was in a way One’s father, and in this episode, Icheb implies that The Doctor can replace his biological father’s duties, and is therefore a paternal figure to him. Perhaps the similarities between the two episodes were merely coincidental, but I found them noteworthy.
Finally, this episode was a very compelling commentary on the nature of parenthood itself, and on who is truly fit to be a parent. Its interesting to note that although Seven is not really a mother, she has very finely tuned maternal instincts. From the moment Janeway told her that Icheb has to return to his parents, Seven sensed that something was amiss. Ostensibly, her reluctance to allow Icheb to return to his family was due to her strong emotional bond with the boy, but there was something else that was bothering Seven, something she didn’t have the exact verbiage for, but she nonetheless felt disturbed by. Ultimately, we learn that Seven was right in not wanting to let Icheb go; his parents were beyond unfit, in actuality they were cruel and heartless. As it turned out, Seven’s sense of foreboding could only be attributed to her dead on maternal instincts, and even Janeway comments on this. Furthermore, throughout the episode Seven tells Janeway that she doesn’t want to make the same mistakes with Icheb that her parents made with her. She wants to protect him, to set aside her own selfishness and do what is best for him. In fact, she is adamant about being a better "parent" to Icheb than hers were to her. Ironic that Seven feels all this motherly love and concern yet she is not really a mother! However, she turns out to be a much better mother to Icheb than his biological mother could ever be. Which only proves that a good, loving parent does not necessarily have to be biologically related to the child. After a rocky beginning last week, Seven proves herself this week to be a very caring, nurturing, and competent "mother" to all of the children. And what makes all of this so astounding is that I’m talking about someone who is still part Borg! You’ve come a long way baby!
In the final analysis, I really loved this episode. It had a lot of emotional, poignant moments, an enthralling storyline, and good continuity. Not to mention enough sizzling subtext between my favorite ladies to make my little gay heart sing! LOL How can I give it any less than four comm badges? I can’t! A very enjoyable hour, which only goes to prove that J/7 episodes are without fail superlative and that we need many, many more of them next year! Are you listening TPTB?! Somehow, I doubt it.
Cheers!
