[quote name='blandstalker']I posted about this, but encased it in spoilers. I liked the episode, which on paper sounds like one of the worst ideas ever, but it worked. The actor playing Tuvix was amazing, and he had a difficult role. But boy, how I hate the ending. I called it one of her worst decisions ever.
I guess, in retrospect, it isn't since it didn't endanger the rest of the crew like some of her other whoppers. But while I often felt that Voyager was bad Star Trek, this was the first time that I thought it wasn't Star Trek at all.
For me, Star Trek has always been about sticking up for the little guy, the powerless, or (ironically) as imagined on Babylon 5 as the one person, alone, in the dark.
Tuvix presented an interesting dilemma. Two people are killed in the creation of Tuvix. But in order to get those two people back, one individual would have to be killed. What happens now?
On the one hand, I was expecting some degenerative medical issue, or some external reason that Tuvix couldn't survive. So in one sense, I am glad that this came down to a decision instead of relying on plot devices, because with no choice, there's no real drama. But it should not have been Janeway's decision. It had to be Tuvix's.
Star Trek consistently upholds the value of life. If there's one person in danger, that person is never abandoned, even if more people get killed as a result of rescuing the one. Previous captains and crews have been willing to protect a single person with their lives, their crew's lives, and their ships.
I can't think of a single instance when they handed someone over to be killed so that Starfleet officers wouldn't get hurt. In fact, if Tuvix had been some Forehead Alien of the Week that was captured by the Borg or the Kazon or whoever, you know that Janeway would have tried to rescue him, even if it put any two (or more) crew members at risk.
Or think of it another way. Would Janeway let someone sacrifice themselves to stop an incoming threat, even if it protected the entire ship as a result? Of course not. Would Janeway order someone to sacrifice themselves? "Hey you, whichever Delaney sister you are, go take a shuttle and fly between us and that incoming meteor. Thanks, you're a doll." Again, of course not.
Sometimes Starfleet captains do have to order someone to their death -- we saw this in TNG when Troi tried out for command. So in the absence of all other options, if it is necessary.
Were there no other options here? Was it necessary? Perhaps Tuvok's and Neelix's rights and feelings have to be considered, so it's even more odd that they aren't. Janeway wants Tuvok back, Kes wants Neelix back, but nobody stops to think for a moment what either Tuvok or Neelix would have wanted. Would Tuvok, a Vulcan, support the killing of innocent life to save his? Something tells me no. That no one bothered to even think about this should be pretty troubling.
I also didn't buy that seemingly everyone on the crew was happy to send Tuvix off to be killed. Everyone was okay with this? Especially when Tuvix did nothing himself to create the situation? I found the character of Tuvix way more appealing than Neelix ever was, which makes the idea that no one would stick up for him an even harder sell.
And I believe that there should be crewmembers that do want Tuvok and Neelix back but would be ethically troubled by killing Tuvix. Doesn't he have rights? A trial? A town hall meeting? Anything? Nobody cares? If there isn't even one, that's one scary collection of people and they totally deserve a leader like Janeway.[/quote]
I read this before I left for class and thought about the episode during my drive there. This is an excellent synopsis that really made me think deeply about the episode. When I said that it gave me a little more respect for Janeway, I think I meant it in a "well she/the show actually did something of importance for once" way; but you're very right, it was a terrible decision.
Kudos to the writers for not putting in a cop-out plot device, but shame on them for depicting such a cold and heartless crew on a Star Trek show. The more I thought about it, the more Tuvix's last plea to the bridge crew and their indifference in regards to his life/wishes disturbed me.
It's an interesting dilemma (and I wish I had watched the episode when it first aired to hear more Trek fan responses), that isn't as cut and dry as Data's rights, the Baku relocation, what to do with the murderer on Voyager, a Q's suicide wish, and whatnot.
I wish the episode spent more time with the actual decision and arguments for/against it (shouldn't there have been a trial too?), but I've come to expect Star Trek episodes that spend most of alotted time with the beginning and middle of the story, with a rushed, sometimes unseen ending.
Once again, thanks for the write-up, it really made me think.