In the ever-topical world ofStar Trek,each episode of each series has varying motifs, themes, and narratives. Something the franchise used to do very well (though the newer series lean away from this style, much to audience dismay) was tell stories in different styles. InDeep Space 9, for example, one episode could bea bleak and gritty telling of the aftermaths of occupation; another could be pure comedy at the furry paws ofthe iconic Tribbles.
TheVoyagerseries was no different,despite viewer criticisms. But among the stories the series told, there was one episode in particular that tugged at heartstrings in all sorts of ways. Despite playing out as a happy narrative, the Season 7 episode “Lineage” contains one unexpectedly sad moment that brought all of a character’s childhood trauma into the light.
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“Lineage” is a later addition in the long-running show. By this point in the series, many of the various character narratives had time to mature and work themselves out. The episode revolves around the crew’s will-they-or-won’t-they couple:Engineer B’Elanna Torres, a half-human, half-Klingon woman; and a human man,ex Maquis pilot Tom Paris. At this point in the story, their relationship is well established. While various narratives arise to test their love, they are a solid coupling. And in this episode, they discover that B’Elanna is pregnant.
This is a moment of celebration, and one which rockets through the ship as a good thing. The news is a mood booster despite the crew’s dire and lonely situation, stuck a staggering 70 years away from home. The idea of a baby being born on the ship, was welcome to all, especially B’Elanna and Paris, but there was one issue.
The predicament was not one to do with the baby’s or the mother’s health. Rather, it was born from the deep self-hatred found within B’Elanna. Thanks to Starfleet technology, they are able to bring up a holographic representation of what the baby will look like once born. In this image, the first thing B’Elanna notices are the Klingon forehead ridges to her own, a sure sign that this child has Klingon blood within them. She was hopeful that, as she is only half Klingon and Tom is human, that their child might not have any telltale signs of Klingon-ness. But upon seeing this image of her future child, one of the first things she does is ask the holographic doctor if it is possible to genetically engineer all the child’sKlingon features. B’Elanna wants to remove the ridges and make the child look as human as possible.
It’s something of a throwaway moment, or at least, one that doesn’t seem at first glance to be as upsetting as it truly is. B’Elanna’s desire for her child to look human is not one of just pure aesthetic. It’s a perfect example of how B’Elanna feels about her Klingon half, something she bears deep-rooted hatred for throughout the show. She believes that her Klingon side holds her back and makes her unlovable. The trauma and self-loathing stems from how her human father walked out on both B’Elanna and her mother when she was a child.
Now, with their own hybrid child on the way, B’Elanna worries that Tom will do the same. Her fear may be irrational, but is still a driving factor in her mindset, something she can not shake no matter how much she tries. Her desire for their child to at least look human is, unconsciously, a desire to ensure Tom will never abandon them.
Despite B’Elanna proving herself time and time again on the ship (even making headway with the stubborn Seven of Nine) she still struggles to fit in. She does not quite feel part of either human or Klingon culture(a bit like another iconic Klingon from the franchise). She overreacts and had a short fuse, all traits of her Klingon half, and she hates that about herself. Her desire to change at least part of this within her child, gets sadder the more thought is put into it. This seemingly happy and joyous moment is overshadowed by B’Elanna’s feelings of pain and inadequacy.
Every parent wants to avoid passing on traits that could make their children unhappy, and B’Elanna is no different. She’s so desperate enough to stop her unborn child feeling the same displacement and self-hatred she feels that she’s willing to genetically engineer a part of them out. She nearly gets away with it too, reprogramming the doctor to pretend it’s a medical necessity (perhapsa moral overstep against the sentient being). Thankfully, she is stopped. B’Elanna and Paris are able to have their perfect quarter-Klingon baby, hopefully putting to rest some of B’Elannas own doubts.
