Why Seven Of Nine Didn’t Have A Human Name On Star Trek: Voyager

In the two-part “Star Trek: Voyager” episode “Scorpion” (May 21 and September 7, 1997), Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) found that she had to pilot the U.S.S. Voyager through a portion of space that was overrun by the Borg. The Borg, however, are too busy to stop and deal with the Voyager, as they are dealing with a destructive new foe known only as Species 8472. It seems that the Borg tried to puncture the membrane between dimensions and invade a parallel universe that is filled entirely with liquid. The 8472 aliens from the liquid dimension, however, were far too aggressive and powerful for the Borg to take on, and found themselves being handily destroyed. 

Janeway, sensing an opportunity, struck a bargain with the Borg, asking for safe passage through their space in exchange for aid with Species 8472. As a liaison between the Voyager and the Borg, a single drone, known only as Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) was allowed to remain on board. At the end of the episode, the Voyager fled the Borg and reached safety, with Seven of Nine still on board. She was to become a permanent member of the crew. She was given a skin-tight uniform and was to remain with Janeway in the hopes that she would unlearn her cyborg programming. 

Seven of Nine quickly became the most popular character on the show and the bulk of “Voyager” episodes centered on her experiences learning to be human once again. Later on, Trekkies would learn that Seven of Nine was once human but had been assimilated by the Borg at an early age. The show’s writers were determined to keep Seven very Borg-like throughout the series, though, and let her keep her Borg designation in an effort to do that. “Voyager” writer Brannon Braga (and onetime paramour of actress Ryan) explained as much on the special features for the “Star Trek: Voyager” DVDs. 

Later in “Voyager” (specifically in the 1997 episode “The Raven”), more facts about Seven of Nine’s pre-Borg life would emerge. Audiences would learn that she was once named Annika Hansen and that her parents’ ship was attacked by the Borg on a long-range mission many years before. 

The purpose of having a Borg on “Star Trek: Voyager” was, however, more mercenary than merely adding a new character to the show. Ratings on “Voyager” were flagging at the end of its third season, and the showrunners decided to excise one of the show’s less popular characters and replace them with a Borg. It was executive producer Rick Berman who suggested it be, in his words, “a Borg babe.” Kes, played by Jennifer Lien, was removed from “Voyager,” and Seven of Nine entered. The hope was that an actress with magazine-cover good looks would draw in a wider audience. The ploy worked. 

It also helped that Seven of Nine was an interesting character. She was slightly robotic, offering an alien perspective on events. She developed interesting relationships with Captain Janeway and the Doctor (Robert Picardo). Braga revealed how vital it was that Seven remain as mechanical as possible and that her Borg-ness be front-and-center at all times. Giving the character a human name would, in his view, undermine that effort. As he put it:

“We struggled for a long time. Initially, we gave her a Human name. She was gonna be named Pera, or Annika, or something. We wrote the first couple of scripts with a Human name. And it wasn’t until a little later that we thought, ‘She shouldn’t have a Human name. She should be set apart, in some way.'”

Which makes perfect dramatic sense. 

Seven of Nine would remain on “Star Trek: Voyager” through the end of the series, which went off the air in 2001. Ryan would reprise her role in “Star Trek: Picard” in 2020, appearing in all three seasons of that show. She would become a violent bounty hunter for a number of years before returning to Starfleet to serve as the first officer aboard the U.S.S. Titan-A. Seven didn’t get along with her captain, Liam Shaw (Todd Stashwick), who had a prejudice against the Borg after they attacked Earth and killed thousands. Indeed, Captain Shaw staunchly refused to call Seven by her preferred Borg name, calling her “Commander Hansen.” 

Seven, it should be noted, became a new person after her Borg experience, and felt little connection to the name “Annika Hansen.” She insisted on remaining “Seven of Nine,” as that was more attuned to her personal identity. Calling her “Annika Hansen” was essentially deadnaming her. It wasn’t until later in the series — when Captain Shaw was fatally wounded — that he finally was able to look Seven in the eye and call her by her proper name. Shaw had previously been combative, stubborn, and flippant. His calling Seven by her Borg name was a powerful character moment. 

Thereafter, Seven found a recorded message from Shaw, wherein he recommended her for a captaincy. Seven got a promotion and was put in command of the Titan-A. In a fun li’l wink to fans, her ship was re-christened the U.S.S. Enterprise-G. “Picard” will likely be the last time we’ll ever see the character on “Star Trek,” and it’s comforting to know that Seven of Nine is now Captain Seven of Nine.