Derek Caelin is writing a bookFeb 5

I've been watching #StarTrek #Voyager with my son. Last night we came to the #Tuvix episode. Here's my hot take, 30 years after the episode aired.

Janeway's decision to kill Tuvix to restore Neelix and Tuvok is unsatisfying, not because it is wrong, because it is out of step with her character.

Janeway's central dilemma is that she puts Star Fleet principles above everything, including her deep desire to get her crew home. The drama of the show is often about her wrestling with this dilemma.

Janeway can absolutely make an amoral decision for the good of her crew, but to ring true she has to acknowledge that she is committing a wrong. Here that doesn't happen.

They could "fix" the episode by having Janeway refusing to kill Tuvix, and grieve. Tuvix then sacrifices himself when he sees Kes' grief. This would be the "easy way out", but one of the rules of old Star Trek is that doing the right thing ends up with good consequences.

Show threadTychoJarez

@derek

My issue has always been that the recently resplit Tuvok and Neelix would both carry Tuvix' memory of his anguish at being, to his mind, murdered.

Sure, Tuvok would be able to suppress it and largely still Function, but essentially the woman he loves, his best friend, ordered him to be killed. And when his brain made those memories, he didn't have vulcan logic blocks to keep it all Tidy.

Neelix, as a much more Emotional character, should have had serious issues with continuing to serve with Janeway, his murderer.

But, if I recall correctly, it is never mentioned again, neither Neelix, nor Tuvok seems to show any emotional issues from having been put to death.

Feb 5 at 2:18pmWeb