The Star Trek icon made the most confusing decision about her character right
Author: Chris Snelgrove Published
exist Star Trek: VoyagerCaptain Janeway made many questionable decisions, but the most shocking was when she effectively killed the new life form Tuvax in order to save two crew members. Fans are constantly debating the morality of what Janeway did, but her cast doesn’t think the decision is even worth debating.
At a recent convention (New Jersey Walking Tour), Kate Mulgrew declared that killing Tuviks was an “easy choice.” She was absolutely right: Faced with an unthinkable decision, Janeway simply did what was right for her ship and crew.
2-in-1
First, a little background: In the episode “Tuvix,” a bizarre transporter accident fuses Neelix and Tuvok into the same person (the titular Tuvix). In order to get the two crew members back, Janeway forced Tuvax back into the transport so he could be separated. This successfully brought Neelix and Tuvok back to life, but permanently killed Tuvok, leaving many fans convinced that Janeway was the murderer.
Here’s where it gets interesting: Janeway can say yes A murderer because her decisions resulted in someone’s death. Kate Mulgrew didn’t say killing Tuviks was the morally right choice, but it was an “easy choice.” She elaborated on that answer, noting that Janeway wouldn’t “put Tuvax over those two guys” because she “loves” Neelix and Tuvok, which is why the decision to kill Tuvax to get them back was so easy to make.
Janeway was right all along
She’s right to do so, because Janeway must constantly face something a Starfleet captain almost never has to face: painful scarcity of resources. For example, Neelix serves as the ship’s cook simply because the ship doesn’t have enough energy for the crew to constantly use the replicators. But the biggest resource shortage Janeway must face is that her crew is limited, and she cannot replace anyone who dies when Voyager is stranded in the Delta Quadrant.
Tuvax may be the “new life” she’s forced to find, but his continued presence means she’ll lose two of her best crew members forever. The best literal meaning is: Neelix is theirs only A guide in the Delta Quadrant, his skills as a cook literally kept the crew alive. Meanwhile, Tuvok is the chief of security, and his experience with Starfleet goes way back when he and Sulu helped Captain Kirk during the incident. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country!
Mathematics over morality
It sounds cruel, but what Janeway did was a matter of simple math: She traded the life of a still-unknown human for two proven police officers who help keep the crew safe every day. Tuviks, of course. seem With all the skills of Tuvok and Neelix, why swap two capable officers for one who, at his best, can only do half the job that the others have done in the past?
In the absolute best case scenario, Tuvix would be a decent tactical officer, but the ship would lose the cook who helped keep the crew stable. Or he could focus entirely on being head chef, forcing Voyager to lose their best security officer. Even if all went well, Tuvix was one phaser blast away from death, costing the crew two resources they couldn’t afford.
Kate Mulgrew was right: Janeway did what she had to do, effectively sacrificing her own morals to make the decision to make the ship safer. Without Tuvok and Neelix’s help, Voyager would likely never have returned to the Alpha Quadrant, so sacrificing Tuvik may have effectively saved the lives of hundreds of people on the ship, as well as countless other lives that Tuvok and Neelix helped protect over the years.
The truth? If you have a hard time believing why she would sacrifice one life to save hundreds of lives, that’s why she’s the captain and you’re just a person complaining on the internet.
