Star Trek: Voyager narrowly avoided repeating the disappointing mistake that Star Trek: The Next Generation made with Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis). Star Trek: The Next Generation made a bold statement supporting mental health by giving Deanna Troi an important spot on the bridge of the USS Enterprise-D next to Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart). With half-Betazoid empathic abilities and skill as a Starfleet therapist, Counselor Troi was poised to be an insightful, compassionate professional. Yet Troi's form-fitting civilian attire set Deanna apart from the rest of the Enterprise senior staff as a sexualized character saddled with weak storylines.
Disappointingly, Counselor Deanna Troi's characterization on Star Trek: The Next Generation seemed to be summed up as "sexy lady" instead of Troi being treated as a whole person. With few exceptions, like TNG season 4's "The Loss", episodes that were ostensibly about Troi tended to focus on the roles Deanna played in other people's lives — as a love interest for guest stars, as Lwaxana Troi's (Majel Barrett-Roddenberry) daughter, or as someone who could be used for her empathic powers. As long as Deanna Troi wore form-fitting civilian clothing while on duty, Troi lacked agency in her own stories.
Star Trek Sexualized Both Troi & Seven Of Nine, But Seven Was Given More Characterization
Seven Of Nine Was Well-Written Regardless Of Her Costume
When Star Trek: Voyager needed a ratings boost and brought on Jeri Ryan as sexy ex-Borg Seven of Nine for Voyager's fourth season, it seemed that Star Trek's Counselor Troi mistake would be repeated, but Star Trek: Voyager avoided making TNG's mistake of Troi's sexual appeal standing in for characterization by making Seven of Nine a more well-rounded character. Seven had a compelling, built-in character arc that saw Seven evolve from being a Borg drone to discovering her humanity. Speaking to HuffPost TV in a 2012 interview, Jeri Ryan explained how she felt about Seven of Nine being depicted as sexy:
Jeri Ryan: "I say the same thing now as I said then: I don't have a problem with Seven's overtly sexual physical appearance, if only because of the way she was written and developed. If it was a crappy character, then OK. But she was so nuanced and beautifully written."
Like Deanna Troi on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Seven of Nine was absolutely a sexualized character, and could have fallen victim to being little more than ratings-boosting eye candy in Seven of Nine's famous catsuits. Instead, being sexy didn't replace Seven's intelligence; Seven of Nine's strong character arc over Jeri Ryan's four seasons in Star Trek: Voyager blended Seven's sexual appeal with a compelling story that was necessary for Seven to even be on the USS Voyager in the first place. As Voyager's resident Borg, one might even say that Seven of Nine had "the best of both worlds."
Star Trek Fixed Its Troi Mistake Eventually
TNG Season 6 Was Late In The Show's Run, But Helped Future Women Of Star Trek
Star Trek: The Next Generation did eventually fix the mistake that had been made with Deanna Troi. In TNG season 6, episode 10, "Chain of Command, Part 1", when Captain Edward Jellico (Ronny Cox) assumes temporary command of the USS Enterprise, Jellico requests that Troi start wearing a Starfleet uniform while on duty. After trading in her skintight bunny suit for a proper uniform, Deanna Troi was taken more seriously as a character, with storylines befitting a competent mental health professional and Starfleet officer, like skillfully handling Romulan espionage in TNG season 6, episode 14, "Face of the Enemy".
In Star Trek: The Next Generation season 7, episode 16, "Thine Own Self", Deanna Troi commits to taking the command officer's test in order to improve her leadership abilities, and is promoted to the rank of Commander.
Troi's progress came too late to impact more than the last few seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation, but Star Trek applied lessons learned from the Troi mistake to future Star Trek shows. Besides Star Trek: Voyager's Seven of Nine being a meaty role for Jeri Ryan, Star Trek: Enterprise made similarly-clad Subcommander T'Pol (Jolene Blalock) a nuanced and complex character. When Marina Sirtis returned as Troi in Star Trek: Picard, Deanna was even more capably assertive and intelligent than in Star Trek: The Next Generation, proving Star Trek fixed its Troi mistake once and for all.
