Summary
- Jeri Ryan almost turned down her Star Trek: Voyager role due to a problematic scene in which Seven of Nine was overly sexualized.
- Ryan felt that one scene with Harry Kim was predictable and cheesy, reinforcing sexual stereotypes.
- The scene was uncomfortable and demeaning for Seven, not reflecting well on her character or maturity level.
Star Trek: Voyager almost lost out on the acting talents of Jeri Ryan because of one controversial scene. Ryan played Seven of Nine on Voyager from season 4 onward, having been brought on at the beginning of the season to replace Kes (Jennifer Lien) who was leaving the series due to diminishing popularity. Although Seven could have had a rocky start to her time on Voyager, her storyline combined with Ryan's incredible skills caused her to become an almost immediate favorite with audiences.
As a former Borg drone who was rescued from the Collective by Voyager's cast of characters, Seven provided a unique perspective not only on the Borg but on humanity as well. Her journey to rediscovering how to be human was one of the most interesting parts of Voyager's final four seasons, but Seven also had to overcome some fairly big obstacles to get where she ended up. One of these was the character's initial inflated sex appeal, which resulted in a scene early on in Seven's Voyager tenure that rubbed both Ryan and viewers the wrong way.
Jeri Ryan Would Have Turned Down Star Trek: Voyager Audition Because Of 1 Scene
Ryan had issues with a season 4 scene involving Harry Kim
In Voyager season 4, episode 5, "Revulsion," Seven had a scene with Harry Kim (Garrett Wang) where Kim clumsily attempted to flirt with her, which she took as a direct proposition. Seven subsequently ordered Harry to undress in front of her in the mess hall. The scene was apparently one of two Jeri Ryan used to audition, but in an interview with TV Zone, Ryan said that if there hadn't been another scene, she would have turned down the role of Seven based solely on this moment in "Revulsion." Read Ryan's full quote about the scene below:
"It was not one of my favorites, I personally found it terribly predictable and a bit cheesy. If it had been that scene alone there wouldn't have been a question in my mind; I would have never done the audition."
Ryan's statement may seem like a strong reaction, but based on the scene alone, it makes sense. Given what Seven became as a character, a scene like this was not only far more predictable than most of her subsequent storylines but also a bit demeaning for the character and actor. Jeri Ryan would ultimately have been justified in turning down her role on Voyager based solely on the scene, so it's lucky that she was given more material to work with and was able to see the potential behind Seven outside of it.
Why Jeri Ryan Is Right About Star Trek: Voyager’s Controversial Scene
Seven and Harry's scene is just as bad as Ryan says
Not only was Jeri Ryan right about her scene with Harry being "terribly predictable and a bit cheesy," but the moment also has more unsettling, larger implications that would have done a disservice to Seven as a character. Although Seven's misinterpretation of Harry's flirting was played for laughs, it was still an uncomfortable moment and one with more explicitly sexual overtones than Star Trek movies and TV shows often have. Given how Seven's sex appeal was set up early on, this is unfortunately not surprising but does fall into some disagreeable tropes.
Star Trek: Voyager should not have tried to make Seven so overtly sexual at this stage of her development, and Jeri Ryan would be well within her rights to dislike the scene on the basis of these issues as well as the ones she outlined.
Seven immediately assuming Harry was propositioning her reinforces her sexuality in a way that, when looked at in the context of what maturity level she was at, has pretty unpleasant implications. "Revulsion" was very soon after Seven was rescued from the Borg, when the only human memories she had were of being a little girl. Star Trek: Voyager should not have tried to make Seven so overtly sexual at this stage of her development, and Jeri Ryan would be well within her rights to dislike the scene on the basis of these issues as well as the ones she outlined.
