I love a lot of Star Trek characters, but to me, Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) is the most impressive character in the franchise. My obsession with Star Trek: Voyager began at an early age after I had already watched Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: The Next Generation. While I loved previous installments, Voyager‘s cast of characters captivated me like no other, particularly the show’s strong female representation in Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), B’Elanna Torres (Roxann Dawson), and later, Seven of Nine.

Although she became one of the most fascinating characters in any Star Trek movie or TV show, Seven’s tenure in the franchise started humbly enough. As a late addition to Voyager‘s crew, Seven was created for the show to replace Kes (Jennifer Lien), who left Voyager at the beginning of season 4 due to diminishing popularity. Being brought on halfway through Voyager‘s run was just one of the many hurdles Seven had to overcome to reach her current level of popularity, hurdles she ended up clearing beautifully.

Seven Of Nine Had To Overcome A Lot To Achieve Her Current Star Trek Popularity

Seven didn’t start out with a lot of advantages on Star Trek: Voyager

Aside from her late arrival status, Seven of Nine was given few advantages as a character upon her introduction. For one thing, it was clear from the start that Seven was brought on to add extra sex appeal to Voyager. This became evident after many of her Borg components had been removed, and she began dressing in skin-tight catsuits for the rest of the series. While I completely support female characters embracing their sexuality, it became confusing why Seven wasn’t permitted to wear a Starfleet uniform like the rest of Voyager‘s crew at a certain point in the show.

One other major aspect of Seven’s character was also ostensively a strike against her from the start. Seven was a Borg drone when she first came onboard Voyager, and acted as something of an antagonist in her first two episodes on the show. The Borg are one of Star Trek‘s most notable villains, so despite the sympathetic aspects of her storyline, Seven still needed to get out from under the cloud of suspicion that can follow a Borg or former Borg character.

Seven’s Story Arc Is Amazing Considering Where She Started

Seven has achieved a lot during her time in the franchise

However, Seven surpassed all usual expectations for a member of a villainous race being used for her looks. When I think about what Jeri Ryan was likely given to work with, it astounds me that a character with so many disadvantages could rise to become one of the most complex, nuanced, and interesting characters that Star Trek has ever created. Seven broke the mold in terms of how she would be defined, not by how she looked, or her past, but instead by how she began to rediscover herself and cope with the trauma of her time with the Borg.

In my opinion, Seven is the best exploration of trauma the Star Trek franchise has ever depicted, and the singular portrayal of the psychological effects of being assimilated. Seven came to define what it means to be “ex-Borg”, not just in Voyager but in Star Trek: Picard as well. Seven’s journey back to humanity is one of the most interesting parts of Voyager‘s later seasons, and her time on Picard enhanced her character without playing too hard into nostalgia. It is a testament to Jeri Ryan and Seven’s writers that they were willing to take her to such narrative heights.

Seven Of Nine’s Star Trek Future Is Still Bright After Picard Season 3

Picard season 3 gave Seven endless opportunities to return

Despite no longer being in any active projects, I can’t wait to see where Seven goes next after Picard season 3. Picard‘s final season provided perhaps the biggest character update to Seven since her return, showing her being promoted to Captain and taking command of the new USS Enterprise-G. Watching Seven’s old Voyager friend Tuvok (Tim Russ) bestow the captaincy upon her in Picard‘s finale was a particularly emotional moment for me, and the finale set up endless possibilities for Seven to return as the newest character to captain a ship named Enterprise.

Although the proposed Star Trek: Legacy has begun to look less and less likely, I find it hard to believe that Star Trek will completely waste the potential that was created by Seven’s promotion. Her time as Captain of the Enterprise-G doesn’t only have her presence going for it, but also the continued storylines of other popular Picard characters, like Sidney La Forge (Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut) or Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers). If and when the Star Trek franchise decides to bring Seven of Nine back in the future, I will be eagerly anticipating news of her return.