Jenny replied to me:
No, the avoidance of her name suggests to me "too private and painful
to
mention".
Then why bring it up at all?
As you say later,
Backstory seeds may be sown, but the full back story will only be activated when it is significant to the plot. For example Soolin's history tells us about GP and what we can expect. As a >consequence Gan
telling us about his "woman" is
significant to the episode Time Squad
He has to say something to explain the limiter. (And, stepping back a bit, Terry Nation wants to remind us that the Federation are Nasty People). But Gan's a quiet, understated man, who's not going to pour out his life story on the spot.
issue with Jenna, they're acquaintances; maybe he might have opened
up
more later,
But he doesn't.
We have no idea what Gan said to Jenna later.
Gan is saying that he has to stay with the crew of the Liberator because he needs people he can "rely" on. That means >he
trusts them.
I "rely" on my colleagues. Some of them, after a couple of years, cross the line and become trusted friends and confidants. This status is hardly automatic, however.
Moving back into the B7 universe, I think Avon "relies" on his fellow crew. He doesn't go round telling them sob stories about his love life until it's absolutely necessary, and then he keeps it as plain as he can.
Re Porgy and Bess, my impression was that the love between them was the redeeming feature of their lives (which is why he goes off to look for her at the end of the opera).