Star Trek: Voyager Perfectly Showed Tom Paris Changed For The Better

Summary Tom Paris underwent significant character growth from a playboy to a loving partner over Star Trek: Voyager's seven seasons.

The episode "Blood Fever" highlighted Tom's development and laid the foundation for his romance with B'Elanna Torres.

Tom and B'Elanna's relationship brought out the best in each other and provided engaging ongoing storylines for both characters.

Star Trek: Voyager season 3 perfectly demonstrated how much Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill) had changed since season 1. Tom was the ship's pilot and occasional medic, part of Voyager's main cast of characters, and one of the characters with the biggest shift in personality throughout the show's seven seasons. Although he ended the series as a valued member of the crew and a loving husband and father, Tom's journey on Voyager started in a much different place.

When audiences first met Tom in Voyager's pilot episode, he was an angry, jaded convicted felon who had pushed everyone in his life away, including his family. Not only that, but Tom was a notorious ladies' man and pursued women with a determination that often came off as unsettling or unpleasant. It's hard to believe that a character like Tom could change so much over Voyager's seven seasons given where he started, but the progression of his transformation was demonstrated as early as season 3.

Star Trek: Voyager’s “Blood Fever” Showed How Much Tom Paris Had Changed Since Season 1

"Blood Fever" demonstrated that Paris was a wholly different character

Although his character change may have seemed gradual, Voyager season 3, episode 16, "Blood Fever" demonstrated what a different man Tom was from when he was first introduced. "Blood Fever" was the first episode to depict the start of the future relationship between Tom and B'Elanna Torres (Roxann Dawson), Voyager's most stable romance and one of the show's more interesting romantic subplots. During the episode, Tom and B'Elanna were forced to acknowledge their romantic feelings for each other while B'Elanna underwent a version of Pon Farr passed to her by Vulcan Ensign Vorik (Alexander Enberg).

Tom's insistence on treating the situation carefully laid the groundwork for how strong and healthy his and B'Elanna's romance would become in later seasons.

Tom's refusal to "take advantage" of B'Elanna's altered mental state and give in to her advances made it clear how much he had changed. In season 1, Tom would likely not have hesitated to agree to B'Elanna's request, but "Blood Fever" showed that he had grown to respect B'Elanna and women in general on a different level. Rather than simply acquiescing to the situation, which could have caused problems in his relationship with B'Elanna going forward, Tom's insistence on treating the situation carefully laid the groundwork for how strong and healthy his and B'Elanna's romance would become in later seasons.

Why The Paris/Torres Relationship Was A Great Decision For Both Characters

Tom and B'Elanna brought out the best in each other

Close

Thanks to its well-handled set-up in "Blood Fever," Voyager's Paris/Torres relationship was a great decision for both characters. Putting Tom in a long-term romance with another member of the main cast helped cement his continued move away from the playboy archetype that wasn’t working for him in seasons 1 and 2. Thanks to B'Elanna, Tom became a more well-rounded character and gained an ongoing storyline with endless possibilities that Voyager made work to the show's advantage.

Likewise, the romance allowed B’Elanna to show her softer side more often, especially when her struggles with her half-Klingon heritage became difficult. B'Elanna's relationship with Tom was also a good vehicle for exploring her past trauma, especially in later seasons when she dealt with things like finding out she was pregnant and grappling with the heritage of her and Tom's daughter in light of her childhood. Tom and B'Elanna truly brought out the best qualities in each other, and Star Trek: Voyager was smart to pair them together.

Star Trek: Voyager is available to stream on Paramount+