Synopsis: Seven of Nine and Kes are both having to adapt to new situations.
This episode can be seen as an illustration of two concepts from the analytical psychology of Carl (C. G.) Jung, inflation and deflation. Both are ways in which the Logos-driven rational conscious ego may react when it come in contact with the god-like archetypal energy of the Eros-driven irrational unconscious.
In “The Gift” the former Borg drone, Seven of Nine, is forced to cope with the reality that she is no longer part of the collective. At the same time Kes, who had been touched by the telepathic abilities of Species 8472, is trying to manage new psychokinetic powers so great that she is able to perform surgery on Seven of Nine, just by thinking of dissolving an injurious Borg implant. Captain Kathryn Janeway needs Seven of Nine to help the crew repair Voyager, and she does, yet when she sees a communication node she cannot help but to try to send a message to the Borg Collective. Kes is able to stop her, again, just with her mind. Seven of Nine is put in the brig and accuses Janeway of imprisoning her in the name of humanity and of treating her no differently than the Borg did when she was assimilated. Meanwhile, Kes realizes that her ability to transform matter on the subatomic level is dangerous to Voyager and her crew, and that she must leave them. She takes a shuttle before her atomic structure breaks down, and somehow plunges Voyager into space ten years closer to Earth. This was her final gift to the crew.
In this episode, what Seven of Nine is experiencing can be compared to how the rational ego feels deflation, and what Kes is going through can be analogized to when the conscious ego feels inflated. When the ego understands how small it is compared to the contents of the unconscious, much less the psyche, it can experience deflation. Of being less than what it was before. Here this is illustrated by Seven of Nine, being cut off from the collective and the feeling of power and dominance that went with it. On the other hand, when the ego identifies too strongly or too long with the god-like archetypal powers in the unconscious, it experiences inflation, a feeling of being indestructible and in total control. Kes is an extreme example of this and how dangerous it can be. Kes transforms into something that we cannot know. This might be exactly what it would be like if the conscious ego could integrate all of the unconscious into itself. Something depth psychology tells us is an unachievable goal. At least for humans.
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