What if 7 of 9's Father Magnus Hansen Had Been Rescued?

[Ro_Laren]

In the Season 5 episode Dark Frontier I and/or II, Seven of Nine was on a Borg vessel where she was reunited with her assimilated father Magnus Hansen. IIRC, Magnus ultimately ended up dying in that episode when the Borg vessel was blown up. I don't recall ever seeing Seven acknowledging the fact on screen that her father had died. Does anyone else? I wonder how her character development would have changed if the Voyager crew had rescued Magnus from the Borg...

 

[johnnybear]

It's weird to think that one moment you have your life and then the next it's totally gone! That some alien mind contraption is using your body to achieve it's aims without your willing consent! It's a bit like working for royal mail here in the UK!
JB

 

[Dukhat]

Well, if he lived, wouldn't you think they would have kept him on the ship?

 

[Brennyren]

I don't remember Seven acknowledging the death of her father. I think she acknowledged that he had been present, though I'm not sure. Anyone have a copy of this?

Well, if he lived, wouldn't you think they would have kept him on the ship?

I think Janeway would have insisted, probably feeling that, as a human, Magnus had a certain claim on their assistance.

I also think that if he'd had been rescued, a substantial amount of Seven's character development would have revolved around her relationship with him, at least in the short term. If memory serves, she was (understandably) angry at him and her mother for subjecting her to unnecessary risk when she was just a child. That would have been something she had to come to terms with, probably while taking the lead in helping him regain his own humanity. I could see a lot of frustration and resentment coming to the fore, the more so since he might gain/regain his own humanity more quickly than Seven, having had so much more life experience as an unassimilated human. She could very well resent him getting to the point where he could joke and banter with the crew, since that's an ability that his own irresponsible actions (in bringing along the child Annika) denied her.

 

[Dukhat]

Maybe, as a Borg, she thought her father was already dead?

 

[Catarina]

It's weird to think that one moment you have your life and then the next it's totally gone! That some alien mind contraption is using your body to achieve it's aims without your willing consent! It's a bit like working for royal mail here in the UK!
JB

Forgive me but I nervously chuckled.

 

[Catarina]

Maybe, as a Borg, she thought her father was already dead?

At first I wanted to say "I don't think so. Her reaction towards Tom when he was insensitive about drones was telling." But she's also smart enough to know priorities. It's ingrained in her. She has a Tuvok mentality of the many outweigh the need of the few. I think she disconnected figuratively speaking from that dad drone. So swinging back around in my thoughts, I think you are correct.

 

[Brennyren]

Maybe, as a Borg, she thought her father was already dead?

I thought about that when I was writing my post, but I don't see why she would think that. She'd been a Borg herself, after all, and she was able to have a life afterward. Why would she believe that her father couldn't?

 

[Tracy Trek]

I don't remember Seven acknowledging the death of her father. I think she acknowledged that he had been present, though I'm not sure. Anyone have a copy of this?

If I recall correctly, she was shocked when she saw him, and exclaimed, "Papa"!

 

[Dukhat]

I thought about that when I was writing my post, but I don't see why she would think that. She'd been a Borg herself, after all, and she was able to have a life afterward. Why would she believe that her father couldn't?

Because we never saw him again, so the assumption was that he couldn't be de-Borgified or he was dead?

 

[Refuge]

If I recall correctly, she was shocked when she saw him, and exclaimed, "Papa"!

("Dark Frontier")

QUEEN: I remember Annika. Does she remember us? She wasn't afraid. Why are you?
SEVEN: You attacked us. You murdered my family.
QUEEN: We did no such thing. We gave them perfection.
(A drone steps forward. It is Magnus, her father.)
SEVEN: Papa.

I don't think Seven acknowledged his death. I suspect she would always have his signature in the collective memories but he was lost to her. It was kind of symbolic in a way. There was her biological father and also the Borg Queen but Janeway was like Mother Bear. She was the one who acted like a parent - moved Heaven and Earth (and Delta Quadrant) to get her back. She was the one Seven connected with.

 

[Ghislaine H. B. BRAEME]

Magnus Hansen could have been a major ally of Janeway/Seven in their fight against Borg Queen. The trio could have conducted a scientic test in the duration :
- to ‎annihilate the Queen's power, whoever she might be, in the future.
- to collect/save and re-humanize the most Borgs not only to give them their individualities but facilitate their integration wherever they decide to live,

I must admit that I didn't see the interest to show Magnus Hansen as a Borg in Dark Frontier, to give up the idea to pursue a storyline involving him and Seven later, like in Unimatrix Zero, where they would have found each other again, older, wiser but only in mind.
-> indeed, we learnt that being assimilated by Borg, didn't avoid the memory and conscience to remain, ‎even piecemeal. Knowing that, it's difficult to not imagine Magnus still having on mind, the pictures of his blond little girl and/or having stopped to look for/protect her.

 

[Ghislaine H. B. BRAEME]

Oops, I had not finished

And knowing that his end was close, his last action would have been to pass the torch to Janeway to take care of his daughter, became adult.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Now that you mention it it seems like a missed character development opportunity. Seeing Seven deal with her father being back in her life, having all the memories of her father as a little girl but also blaming him for what happened. Him feeling like he stole her childhood and pressuring her to do more human things faster than she's ready for.

But obviously Seven was not going to risk the mission to save one man.

Then some humorous scenes with him and the Doc where he's spotting Doc's affection for Seven and getting in his face about it.

 

[Agony_Boothb]

Janeway would have hooked up with magnus instead of that hologram guy and become Seven's stepmother.

 

[catshadowsi8]

I'm not sure Magnus would be too concerned about 7. In fact, from what I saw before he was assimilated, he was obsessed with the Borg. After leaving the collective he would probably be too busy documenting his experience for scientific research. He knew the Borg he studied were once individuals but he showed no concern for them, even though he named them. I mean he watched with interest as people were being assimilated and felt nothing for them except scientific excitement. When they were being chased by the Borg he barely glanced at his daughter. When she asked him if it would hurt he paused and changed the subject. Some people just don't make good parents.

As for 7 she dealt with her parents in her own way. Having her disconnected father around would not have made much difference except for maybe one scene where she screamed at him and he told her to go back to bed.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

Had Magnus been saved it might've been quite a touching story arc for Seven, helping him reclaim his humanity and teaching him the way he would've done for her as a child--there could have been some very impactful stories to come from him being saved, even if for a short time (such as a plot that he is slowly dying over his time onboard, so the more human he becomes and the more he connects with his daughter the less time they'd ultimately have together).

Though he and Seven would also share the same wardrobe.

 

[Refuge]

Magnus and Mrs Magnus (forgot her name) were horrible parents. They indulged their scientific egos at the expense of their daughter. Really they, (and not Annika) deserved to be assimilated.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Mrs Magnus (forgot her name)

Erin Hansen.

 

[Ghislaine H. B. BRAEME]

I wouldn't say that Magnus & Erin Hansen were bad or horrible parents. They were affectionate with their little Annika and it was clear that they loved her. Little Annika was clearly the daddy's little girl!
But like a lot of passionate people devoted to their art, they forgot that their daughter deserved more care & attention than science. To bring Annika with them was rather a good thing to keep the sense of family and allow her to develop curiosity. However, to expose her to danger, in rubbing too closely the Borgs, was irresponsible. When children are around, it is imperative to maintain a safety barrier, what the Hansens forgot to do, especially Magnus, in letting himself be carried away by his passion and curiosity about Borgs.
In the same time, Hansen's database on Borgs already collected, allowed Janeway to know more about this "species" and face them more easily... .