Valentine’s Day: 3 Star Trek couples we wished we could forget
By Chad Porto
Star Trek: Voyager – Chakotay and Seven of Nine
Two of these are about forced chemistry and better options on the table. For Seven of Nine and Chakotay their romance was a bit forced, and a little hammy but not a terrible idea. Had the two been paired up at the start of the series it would’ve been fine, Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine) and Robert Beltran (Chakotay) are great actors.
Their characters are also predisposed to get along, with Chakotay leaving the Maquis to be the commander of Voyager, while Seven of Nine was a Borg drone. They both have a past that haunts them and a desire to do better. It works.
The problem is the relationship was developed and explored from the start of season one, no, Ryan didn’t join the cast until the end of season three. It also wasn’t explored early in season four when Ryan was settling in. Nope, it was explored in earnest in season seven, after we saw numerous other relationships pop up that made far more sense.
Sure the couple got married in the alternate future but that wasn’t to be in the canon ending of the show. Had Chakotay and Captain Janeway, and The Doctor and Seven of Nine not had impeccable chemistry with one another, maybe the Seven of Nine and Chakotay romance would’ve been more palatable to fans.