"Tuvix"
I have to start this off by saying that Neelix is super-annoying when he's asking Tuvok why he's not having fun. I've called it pestering before. Now it's bordering onto harassment. Neelix just can't accept who Tuvok is or the way he is. He accuses Tuvok of being super-Tuvok-y. I'm going to accuse Neelix of being super-Neelix-y. Please just shut the fuck up, Neelix. And just as I type that, Neelix decides he wants to sing. No, please don't. For the love of God, please don't. Oh, no. Now he's doing it. "Oh Starless Night... " I'm resisting the urge not to skip ahead. Does Neelix come with a MUTE button? And then Tuvok finally says to Neelix what I'm thinking, "Can you be less like yourself?"
Tuvok and Neelix are about to be beamed up, and this is where they're going to be merged into Tuvix. All I have to say is, I wouldn't wish Tuvok to be joined at the hip and soul with Neelix for the rest of their lives. That would be truly sadistic punishment. For Tuvok.
This is my take on the whole Tuvix issue: I have to start with the Theology. I've been to Church. I've been to Mosk. But, even though I'll use religious expressions as a figure of speech, I identify as an Agnostic. "Isn't that like an Atheist?" No. An Atheist doesn't believe in God at all. My stance is, "I won't know until I die and I'm not in a hurry to die." Even though I'm unsure about a Supreme Being, I do believe that souls exist. I have a spirit; a rock does not. Tuvok has a spirit, Neelix has a spirit, and both spirits were combined to create either a double spirit or two spirits that have been tangled together and have been forced to co-exist. Untangling the two spirits and returning them to their original bodies means that the number of souls hasn't changed and those souls are still housed within bodies.
I don't believe Tuvix died at the end of the episode. I think the two souls that made him were untangled. Death would be if there was a soul that was denied being part of a body. It exists bodiless, beyond what we can recognize, essentially making it what we would call dead. Tuvix isn't a ghost at the end of the episode, he's just back to being Tuvok and Neelix again. What I'm saying essentially is that Tuvix has twice as much soul and Tuvok and Neelix. Not only does he have more soul, but the two souls that make him co-exist in some sort of harmony, so that makes Tuvix more self-actualized that Tuvok or Neelix. Tuvix is a more well-rounded person than either Tuvok or Neelix. The only problem is that Tuvok and Neelix wouldn't have consented to have become Tuvix or to be Tuvix for the rest of their lives. So, I side with Janeway in restoring Tuvok and Neelix.
I say all this before the title card even appears on the episode. I do this because I think it's important to establish where I stand right off the bat, because it frames the rest of the review. Back to the episode itself and to see how it plays out.
Kes asks Tuvix if he feels like two people, but Tuvix says he has a single consciousness. I think that's his interpretation, but I think that Tuvix's consciousness is a median of Tuvok and Neelix's. That ties back into why he seems so well-rounded. He's the literal happy medium. And, in fact, he still has it in him to subconsciously think of Kes as his girlfriend. If he were truly someone else, he would think of Kes as having been someone else's girlfriend. His instincts are opposite of what he's trying to convince himself and others of.
In the Briefing Room, Tuvix tries to make it sound like he was created as a result of a natural biological function like symbiogenesis, thus justifying his existence and strengthening the argument that he's a third person, separate from Tuvok and Neelix. So why then, immediately afterwards, does Tuvix want to go out with Kes on a date and say that a transporter accident shouldn't mess with tradition? It sounds to me like he's trying to have his cake and eat it too. He's not Neelix anymore, except when it works to his advantage when it comes to Kes. He's not Tuvok anymore, except with it works to his advantage to be Janeway's Tactical Officer. That he's the most experienced Tactical Officer is beside the point, he sees himself as still being Tuvok and Neelix but can't actually bring himself to say those words or to realize it consciously. But he can't change the habits he has of either people.
As much as Tuvix wants to still think of himself as being with Kes, Kes doesn't see it that way. On the one hand, you can see it the way Kes sees it: that Tuvix isn't Neelix. To her, he's a third person and a reminder of what she's lost. On the other hand, you can see it has Tuvix is Neelix and Tuvok. In which case, she'd want to spend romantic time with Neelix but not Neelix and Tuvok. Either way, it can't be the way it was before because it's not the way it was before. But Tuvix is selfish and can't see that.
When Tuvix tells Kes he loves her, that's disturbing in the extreme. For one thing, he's trying to force himself onto Kes, which she doesn't want. For another thing, if Tuvix views Neelix and Tuvok as his "parents", then he's pursuing one of his parent's lovers. It would be like me pursuing my parent's love interest. Let me put it more plainly and more bluntly: my mother's dead, but my father has a girlfriend, and it would be like me going after her if my father died. Yeah. That's fucking messed up. Why would Tuvix want to go after the girlfriend of his "parent"? You just don't do that! Unless you still think of yourself as the same person. Which, like I've said before, he still does. If Tuvix truly loved Kes, he'd respect her wishes. And if he truly were a third person, you'd think he'd realize that going after Kes now would be "too soon". But no. Not only does he want to force himself onto Kes, but he also doesn't want to give her any space at all and only considers his feelings.
Kes, rightfully brings up Tuvok's wife. I think Tuvix is the type who would try to be polyamorous and try to be with Kes and T'Pel at the same time, even though neither would want him. So, Tuvix subconsciously trying to hold on to being both Neelix and Tuvok is turning him into someone who's no longer devoted to one lover and it's making him try to force others to see him being the same to them as Tuvok and Neelix were, without even bothering to think about how they see him. He has tunnel vision. And it's putting Kes through Hell. I don't blame Kes at all when she tells Tuvix to please go. Then, after that, Tuvix refuses to leave. He doubles-down. He tells Kes he'll be there, he tries to touch Kes' cheek, and then I said out loud, "Oh, God!" And then he moves in to kiss Kes! What the Hell are you doing?! This is now harassment. At best.
Kes feels troubled enough that she goes to see Janeway to talk about it. It's an interesting perspective that Janeway has, which ties back into the very fabric of the series itself. Kes doesn't have Neelix anymore and is hoping to be back with him one day. Janeway doesn't have Mark anymore and is hoping to be back with him one day if Voyager makes it back to the Alpha Quadrant. Giving up on that hope, giving up on getting home, would mean that Voyager would just have commit to staying in the Delta Quadrant. Kes giving up on Neelix would go counter the nature of the series itself and counter to what Janeway stands for. She tells Kes not to give up hope. Not to settle for what she doesn't want. And she doesn't want Tuvix. She doesn't feel about Tuvix the way she feels about Neelix. Period.
Thankfully, after this, Tuvix keeps his distance from Kes. Two weeks later, Kes finally tells Tuvix that she just wants to be friends. I'm immediately suspicious when Tuvix is pleased, because I think he's immediately thinking, "How can I make her my girlfriend (again)?"
Then, through bio-technobabble, the Doctor and Kim figure out how to separate Tuvix back into Tuvok and Neelix again. Untangle what's been weaved together. Tuvix says he doesn't want to die, and I think that's a sense of preservation. And then the controversy begins. I'll refer you back to what I said in my fourth paragraph. The one that ends in bold.
Janeway tries to weigh the pros and cons. Tuvix has been Tuvix for the past few weeks. I'd counter with Tuvok was Tuvok for over a century and Neelix was Neelix for decades. A few weeks is nothing compared to either of those. Tuvix says that Tuvok and Neelix live on in him, but I think the reverse is also true: he'd live on in Tuvok and Neelix. Janeway says that Tuvok and Neelix can't speak for themselves, so she has to speak for them. She says they'd want to live. Tuvix doesn't want to sacrifice himself. Then Janeway says Tuvok and Neelix would sacrifice themselves if it meant saving someone. At this point, Janway's risking putting herself into a circular argument and Tuvix could say that Tuvok and Neelix would willing to sacrifice themselves to save him. He could say that, but instead he says something else: he has the will of two men to live. Basically, admitting that he's really two men.
And, of course, true to Tuvix form, Tuvix tries to make Kes fight for him by trying to make Kes try to persuade Janeway let Tuvix remain Tuvix. Like I said before, with Tuvix it's never about how Kes feels, only about how he feels. Kes can't do it. She starts crying and tells Janeway she wants Neelix back. If Tuvix would think logically, he'd know what Kes wants and not have her be the one to advocate for him. But he's not logical, he's desperate. And that desperation is pushing him to do more desperate things.
As Janeway tells Tuvix that she's reached a decision, he goes for pathos, tries to call it murder. I still see it as untangling two people. Janeway still sees it that way. Tuvix tells Janeway he forgives her. I understand when the Doctor won't do the procedure to restore Tuvok and Neelix since against Tuvix's will, so Janeway does it. Tuvix and Janeway look at each other in the eyes, and it's a tense moment before Janeway proceeds and Tuvok and Neelix are restored. Kes rushes to Neelix, glad he's back. Afterwards, Janeway leaves. There's no dialogue, and you can Kate Mulgrew gives a great performance without any dialogue as she processes what she's just done and you can tell, without her saying a single word and just by her shifting facial expressions, that she faces that she had a make a tough call. Tom Wright, who played Tuvix, is someone else who deserves applause for his performance.
Overall, this may be a divisive episode but it's one that makes you think and one where people can have strong opinions one way or another. It's still talked about 30 years later. Still debated 30 years later. I give it a 10.
I have to start this off by saying that Neelix is super-annoying when he's asking Tuvok why he's not having fun. I've called it pestering before. Now it's bordering onto harassment. Neelix just can't accept who Tuvok is or the way he is. He accuses Tuvok of being super-Tuvok-y. I'm going to accuse Neelix of being super-Neelix-y. Please just shut the fuck up, Neelix. And just as I type that, Neelix decides he wants to sing. No, please don't. For the love of God, please don't. Oh, no. Now he's doing it. "Oh Starless Night... " I'm resisting the urge not to skip ahead. Does Neelix come with a MUTE button? And then Tuvok finally says to Neelix what I'm thinking, "Can you be less like yourself?"
Tuvok and Neelix are about to be beamed up, and this is where they're going to be merged into Tuvix. All I have to say is, I wouldn't wish Tuvok to be joined at the hip and soul with Neelix for the rest of their lives. That would be truly sadistic punishment. For Tuvok.
This is my take on the whole Tuvix issue: I have to start with the Theology. I've been to Church. I've been to Mosk. But, even though I'll use religious expressions as a figure of speech, I identify as an Agnostic. "Isn't that like an Atheist?" No. An Atheist doesn't believe in God at all. My stance is, "I won't know until I die and I'm not in a hurry to die." Even though I'm unsure about a Supreme Being, I do believe that souls exist. I have a spirit; a rock does not. Tuvok has a spirit, Neelix has a spirit, and both spirits were combined to create either a double spirit or two spirits that have been tangled together and have been forced to co-exist. Untangling the two spirits and returning them to their original bodies means that the number of souls hasn't changed and those souls are still housed within bodies.
I don't believe Tuvix died at the end of the episode. I think the two souls that made him were untangled. Death would be if there was a soul that was denied being part of a body. It exists bodiless, beyond what we can recognize, essentially making it what we would call dead. Tuvix isn't a ghost at the end of the episode, he's just back to being Tuvok and Neelix again. What I'm saying essentially is that Tuvix has twice as much soul and Tuvok and Neelix. Not only does he have more soul, but the two souls that make him co-exist in some sort of harmony, so that makes Tuvix more self-actualized that Tuvok or Neelix. Tuvix is a more well-rounded person than either Tuvok or Neelix. The only problem is that Tuvok and Neelix wouldn't have consented to have become Tuvix or to be Tuvix for the rest of their lives. So, I side with Janeway in restoring Tuvok and Neelix.
I say all this before the title card even appears on the episode. I do this because I think it's important to establish where I stand right off the bat, because it frames the rest of the review. Back to the episode itself and to see how it plays out.
Kes asks Tuvix if he feels like two people, but Tuvix says he has a single consciousness. I think that's his interpretation, but I think that Tuvix's consciousness is a median of Tuvok and Neelix's. That ties back into why he seems so well-rounded. He's the literal happy medium. And, in fact, he still has it in him to subconsciously think of Kes as his girlfriend. If he were truly someone else, he would think of Kes as having been someone else's girlfriend. His instincts are opposite of what he's trying to convince himself and others of.
In the Briefing Room, Tuvix tries to make it sound like he was created as a result of a natural biological function like symbiogenesis, thus justifying his existence and strengthening the argument that he's a third person, separate from Tuvok and Neelix. So why then, immediately afterwards, does Tuvix want to go out with Kes on a date and say that a transporter accident shouldn't mess with tradition? It sounds to me like he's trying to have his cake and eat it too. He's not Neelix anymore, except when it works to his advantage when it comes to Kes. He's not Tuvok anymore, except with it works to his advantage to be Janeway's Tactical Officer. That he's the most experienced Tactical Officer is beside the point, he sees himself as still being Tuvok and Neelix but can't actually bring himself to say those words or to realize it consciously. But he can't change the habits he has of either people.
As much as Tuvix wants to still think of himself as being with Kes, Kes doesn't see it that way. On the one hand, you can see it the way Kes sees it: that Tuvix isn't Neelix. To her, he's a third person and a reminder of what she's lost. On the other hand, you can see it has Tuvix is Neelix and Tuvok. In which case, she'd want to spend romantic time with Neelix but not Neelix and Tuvok. Either way, it can't be the way it was before because it's not the way it was before. But Tuvix is selfish and can't see that.
When Tuvix tells Kes he loves her, that's disturbing in the extreme. For one thing, he's trying to force himself onto Kes, which she doesn't want. For another thing, if Tuvix views Neelix and Tuvok as his "parents", then he's pursuing one of his parent's lovers. It would be like me pursuing my parent's love interest. Let me put it more plainly and more bluntly: my mother's dead, but my father has a girlfriend, and it would be like me going after her if my father died. Yeah. That's fucking messed up. Why would Tuvix want to go after the girlfriend of his "parent"? You just don't do that! Unless you still think of yourself as the same person. Which, like I've said before, he still does. If Tuvix truly loved Kes, he'd respect her wishes. And if he truly were a third person, you'd think he'd realize that going after Kes now would be "too soon". But no. Not only does he want to force himself onto Kes, but he also doesn't want to give her any space at all and only considers his feelings.
Kes, rightfully brings up Tuvok's wife. I think Tuvix is the type who would try to be polyamorous and try to be with Kes and T'Pel at the same time, even though neither would want him. So, Tuvix subconsciously trying to hold on to being both Neelix and Tuvok is turning him into someone who's no longer devoted to one lover and it's making him try to force others to see him being the same to them as Tuvok and Neelix were, without even bothering to think about how they see him. He has tunnel vision. And it's putting Kes through Hell. I don't blame Kes at all when she tells Tuvix to please go. Then, after that, Tuvix refuses to leave. He doubles-down. He tells Kes he'll be there, he tries to touch Kes' cheek, and then I said out loud, "Oh, God!" And then he moves in to kiss Kes! What the Hell are you doing?! This is now harassment. At best.
Kes feels troubled enough that she goes to see Janeway to talk about it. It's an interesting perspective that Janeway has, which ties back into the very fabric of the series itself. Kes doesn't have Neelix anymore and is hoping to be back with him one day. Janeway doesn't have Mark anymore and is hoping to be back with him one day if Voyager makes it back to the Alpha Quadrant. Giving up on that hope, giving up on getting home, would mean that Voyager would just have commit to staying in the Delta Quadrant. Kes giving up on Neelix would go counter the nature of the series itself and counter to what Janeway stands for. She tells Kes not to give up hope. Not to settle for what she doesn't want. And she doesn't want Tuvix. She doesn't feel about Tuvix the way she feels about Neelix. Period.
Thankfully, after this, Tuvix keeps his distance from Kes. Two weeks later, Kes finally tells Tuvix that she just wants to be friends. I'm immediately suspicious when Tuvix is pleased, because I think he's immediately thinking, "How can I make her my girlfriend (again)?"
Then, through bio-technobabble, the Doctor and Kim figure out how to separate Tuvix back into Tuvok and Neelix again. Untangle what's been weaved together. Tuvix says he doesn't want to die, and I think that's a sense of preservation. And then the controversy begins. I'll refer you back to what I said in my fourth paragraph. The one that ends in bold.
Janeway tries to weigh the pros and cons. Tuvix has been Tuvix for the past few weeks. I'd counter with Tuvok was Tuvok for over a century and Neelix was Neelix for decades. A few weeks is nothing compared to either of those. Tuvix says that Tuvok and Neelix live on in him, but I think the reverse is also true: he'd live on in Tuvok and Neelix. Janeway says that Tuvok and Neelix can't speak for themselves, so she has to speak for them. She says they'd want to live. Tuvix doesn't want to sacrifice himself. Then Janeway says Tuvok and Neelix would sacrifice themselves if it meant saving someone. At this point, Janway's risking putting herself into a circular argument and Tuvix could say that Tuvok and Neelix would willing to sacrifice themselves to save him. He could say that, but instead he says something else: he has the will of two men to live. Basically, admitting that he's really two men.
And, of course, true to Tuvix form, Tuvix tries to make Kes fight for him by trying to make Kes try to persuade Janeway let Tuvix remain Tuvix. Like I said before, with Tuvix it's never about how Kes feels, only about how he feels. Kes can't do it. She starts crying and tells Janeway she wants Neelix back. If Tuvix would think logically, he'd know what Kes wants and not have her be the one to advocate for him. But he's not logical, he's desperate. And that desperation is pushing him to do more desperate things.
As Janeway tells Tuvix that she's reached a decision, he goes for pathos, tries to call it murder. I still see it as untangling two people. Janeway still sees it that way. Tuvix tells Janeway he forgives her. I understand when the Doctor won't do the procedure to restore Tuvok and Neelix since against Tuvix's will, so Janeway does it. Tuvix and Janeway look at each other in the eyes, and it's a tense moment before Janeway proceeds and Tuvok and Neelix are restored. Kes rushes to Neelix, glad he's back. Afterwards, Janeway leaves. There's no dialogue, and you can Kate Mulgrew gives a great performance without any dialogue as she processes what she's just done and you can tell, without her saying a single word and just by her shifting facial expressions, that she faces that she had a make a tough call. Tom Wright, who played Tuvix, is someone else who deserves applause for his performance.
Overall, this may be a divisive episode but it's one that makes you think and one where people can have strong opinions one way or another. It's still talked about 30 years later. Still debated 30 years later. I give it a 10.
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