Synopsis: Voyager’s crew comes across a group of adolescent Borg drones severed from the Collective and Seven of Nine is looked upon for guidance as to how to handle the situation.
This episode can be seen as an illustration of Carl (C. G.) Jung’s concept of projection. Projection allows bits of material from the Eros-driven irrational unconscious to come to the attention of the Logos-driven rational conscious ego, in order to be acknowledged and integrated into it, making the psyche more whole.
In “Collective” while on an away mission in the Delta Flyer, Commander Chakotay, Ensign Tom Paris, Ensign Harry Kim, and Mr. Neelix are fired upon by a Borg cube and the Flyer drawn into it. When Voyager’s crew goes to rescue them, Seven of Nine’s scans reveal that there are only five drones aboard the cube, and that they have been deactivated and severed from the Collective. Apparently, some sort of space virus killed all the mature drones. Seven explains to Captain Kathryn Janeway that when she was assimilated at a young age she was placed in a maturation chamber, but that these drones had not had that opportunity. The leader of the five drones dies, but the remaining four come aboard Voyager and while Janeway works to try to return them to their families, Seven is charged with trying to help them readjust to the blending of their former selves and their new reality
In this episode, when Seven is ordered by Janeway to help the young drones, she is projecting upon Seven the Great Mother archetype, which is one of the many archetypes we all have in our unconscious. Similarly, the adolescent drones also look upon Seven as a Great Mother archetype, projecting onto her their need for something that they consciously are unaware of within themselves. Although initially not comfortable with receiving the projection, Seven eventually does. This positive response to the projection allows Seven’s psyche to become more whole and helps the former drones come in contact with bits of material from their unconscious that they were previously unaware of. Helping them to become more whole as well.
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