[VOY] Season 2, Episode 24 (Netflix: S2 E24): Tuvix
Rating: 1
The premise of the episode alone is enough for me to not like it, but it isn’t the thing I dislike the most. What really bothered me was how it treats the character of Tuvok, repeatedly telling us that Tuvok would be better if he were combined with Neelix. It’s worrisome when writers treat one of your favorite characters like they don’t understand what’s cool about him. Janeway is put in a morally difficult situation at the end, but it’s cheapened by the tone of the entire episode leading up to it, and the underlying feeling that the decision mainly needs to happen to return the show back to normal. It’s an episode that I can’t really say what I would do differently because the whole thing just shouldn’t have happened.
–
Read more at Memory Alpha
–
Notes:
Tuvok and Neelix are collecting flowers that could be a valuable nutritional supplement. Right, okay. Sometimes when Neelix and Tuvok argue I get the feeling the writers actually expect us to side with Neelix.
The excuse for this episode is a “transporter accident.” The new character is called “Tuvix” and it’s painful every time they say it. Even the style of their clothes mixed together. Dumb
The Doctor says an orchid also combined with them
I don’t really like how Tuvix frivolously throws in that something is logical every now and then to remind us that he is part Tuvok
The Doctor says Tuvix still has “Tuvok’s irritating sense of intellectual superiority.” Another moment when it seems like there’s a disconnect between what the writers say and what actually comes across. Tuvok basically does three things in Voyager: minds his own business in the back of the bridge, solves problems as part of his job, and gets bothered by people, typically Neelix
15 minutes into the episode and they’re once again trying to explain the transporter accident. It doesn’t make sense. It never will. Stop talking about it
Several times in the episode we’re told Tuvix is better at specific things and in general than either Neelix or Tuvok. We’re told that because Tuvix went off of a hunch he solved some problem Tuvok was never able to solve. I never liked the hunch vs. logic dichotomy. I’m pretty sure Tuvok would test theories. Tuvix also shows up to work earlier than Tuvok. Not sure why
The Doctor says he probably won’t be able to separate Tuvix back into Tuvok and Neelix. We don’t believe you, but it does propel the next part of the story, which is Tuvix accepts who he is
A good chunk of the episode is dedicated to Tuvix’s weird relationship with Kes
We get a little montage of Tuvix getting along really well with the crew and we’re told again that Tuvix is better than Neelix and Tuvok. Tuvix’s hair looks dumb
Tuvix is also better at pool. It’s one thing if they try to talk about Tuvix being able to combine Tuvok’s logic with Neelix’s feelings (which I’m still not okay with), but most of the time Tuvix is just better at things for no reason.
When it’s time for the episode to wrap up Tuvix doesn’t want to die. They try to explain to him the morals of the situation, but they really just needed to explain to him the way a TV series works. The main characters are coming back, man
Tuvix pretends nothing is happening. Way to make this really awkward
In the end Tuvix is disturbingly taken against his will to be turned back into Tuvok and Neelix. I think this must be the orchid third of his personality, wanting to survive, because Tuvok and Neelix would face the facts in a more dignified way. It’s a really hard thing to watch, but it’s even harder for me to take this situation seriously. It seems like such an afterthought to a goofy episode
Before you is one of the worst characters in Voyager and one of the best, and I’m pretty sure the writers aren’t on the same page as us about who is which
<Previous Episode——————————————————– Next Episode>