How Do You Feel About Chakotay?

[Caretaker]

I like the character, but feel the acting performance was better in the early days of the show (before it became the Janeway/Doctor/Seven of Nine series) - when he was given something to do other than be a relay of information from the ship ala Sigourney Weaver's character in Galaxy Quest. Back when they did the spirit animal stories, when he kept the Maquis in-line. Great episodes for Chakotay: "Nemesis", "Initiations", any Seska ones, "The Killing Game", "Memorial", "Equinox, Part II".

One of my favorite lines of his was in "Parallax": "So on the one side, I'm facing a Vulcan who wants to court martial you. And on the other, I'm facing all the Maquis who are ready to seize this ship over this. You've turned this into one lousy day for me, Torres."

 

[Pondwater]

How do I feel about Chakotay?

With my hands?

With oils?

 

[F. King Daniel]

He was boring. He was dull. He was uninteresting.

He was utterly ineffectual. Remember "Equinox", where he tried to stand up for himself and Janeway sent him to his room? I was waiting for that to go somewhere but no. He was just punked.

 

[Spot261]

With oils?

Wanna watch?

 

[catshadowsi8]

He was boring. He was dull. He was uninteresting.

He was utterly ineffectual. Remember "Equinox", where he tried to stand up for himself and Janeway sent him to his room? I was waiting for that to go somewhere but no. He was just punked.

In Equinox he saved an Equinox crew member from being executed, which gave him information about the aliens, which he used to turn the ship around to try to find the Ankari and stop the alien attacks that were destroying Voyager and the crew. Janeway was pissed but agreed to stop chasing Ransom and see if they could stop the bleeding. He was the only one to stand up to her. For his efforts to protect their crew he was confined to quarters but his plan worked. The attacks stopped.

Not even Tuvok, her oldest friend, could stop her or change her plans. That's something imo.

 

[Refuge]

Yeah he wasn't actually ineffectual. I admired the way he was able to 'forgive' Janeway. It takes a great maturity, she was lucky to have that with him. I would have probably done what Janeway did (at least I was on her side) but take away the emotion and he was right. She knew it too.

 

[cosmic mouse]

I've seen Beltran in a couple of films and he can act, so I think the critical remarks all over the place are due to the writing (and the actor's frustration with the writing) more than anything else. Beltran can take the criticism for his attitude potentially affecting his work, but not the writing .
I like Chakotay : he's professional, smart, and reserved, acts when he needs to and negotiates reasonably and appropriately when he's called on to do so. He's about my 4th favorite character on the show overall .

Plus he's sexy as hell. I love when he's out of Starfleet uniform.

 

[Abi Smith]

I feel the problem with Chakotay was that his character was that of Starfleet officer who rebelled, and joined the Maquis to protect his home in the demilitarised zone. So he's got principles and willing to go against authority.
Where was that passion throughout his trip back on Voyager? He lacked any initiative or intensity.
Chakotay; rebel with a clause.

 

[catshadowsi8]

What I personally like about the character is he is pragmatic. He follows Starfleet protocols but only as long as they don't jeopardize the goal or his priority which is to protect his Captain, their crew and Voyager.

Case in point: The Omega Directive. Janeway is fully committed to follow the letter of the directive...only she can know what is inside and only she can act on it. 7 is included because she already knows what an omega particle is. However, Chakotay successfully argues to alter the rigid directive to allow the senior staff to help. To heck with Starfleet protocol, protect the Captain and complete the mission.

This is one area Janeway and Chakotay are different. We see Janeway constantly check to see what the protocols say to guide her decisions but Chakotay relies on his own internal judgement. Neither is wrong per say, just different.

Scorpion is a perfect example. Janeway believes the Borg will honor the alliance as other races Starfleet makes treaties with would, while Chakotay's gut says don't trust them at all. In the end both are right and wrong. Only by combining both do they survive.

He is also not infallible and makes mistakes but owns up to them. In One Small Step he almost gets the three of them killed saving the capsule. Bad decision but he owns it. Im ok with that. Perfect characters bore me.

 

[Pondwater]

Wanna watch?

Yes!

 

[plynch]

I agree with this but in terms of this thread I'm trying to separate the character from the actor.

Sorry.

 

[Spot261]

Yes!

Pass me that bottle over there,

wait, where'd Chakotay go?

 

[Sophie74656]

Sorry.

Nothing to apologize for

Personally I'm not a fan of the actor because of his behavior. I try not to let that affect my view of the character but i can't help it.

 

[cosmic mouse]

What I personally like about the character is he is pragmatic.

Pragmatism is woefully underappreciated in current society... I fear diplomacy is also going by the wayside. Chak has both and is a better character for it. I fully agree with you on his imperfect nature being admirable as well. Perfection is boring (don't tell Seven).

This is one area Janeway and Chakotay are different. We see Janeway constantly check to see what the protocols say to guide her decisions but Chakotay relies on his own internal judgement. Neither is wrong per say, just different.

This is the classic difference between an introvert and an extrovert (tagging on that current thread in the off-topic section). Chak is the I to Janeway's E in this case...

 

[cosmic mouse]

wait, where'd Chakotay go?

ahem... he's with me.

 

[Qonundrum]

Looking at episodes other than "stereotype 24th century humans trope", everyone in the show has quite a range. I can see why Beltran would demand more money or walk; the problem isn't any of the actors but the show was trying to be like TNG too much and everyone during TNG's run was critricizing the show by saying how Data was the most human character on the show by far, missing the point that this sci-fi show postulates that, 400 years from now, humans have evolved (in their own way) and be more Vulcan-like. It's a great idea but not very dramatically appealing, despite the show becoming a game changer in terms of drama and sci-fi so it did something right to compensate!

But I digress. I like the idea of including an ethnicity not brought in before. In execution, Beltran's pointed it all out before and he's not wrong. And by 1995, it wasn't 1965 in terms of other ethnicities being shown as main characters, so Beltran was right in how limited Chakotay was as a character.

But Chakotay got to be in a romantic relationship with Seven. I'd say that made up for a lot!

How do I feel about Chakotay?

With my hands?

With or without Seven at the same time? (Now there's a Paul Lynde-inspired joke somewhere...)

 

[2takesfrakes]

I could have sworn you've inquired about this before.

I suspect this thread will head south rather quickly so I hope you are ready for choppy waters. Lol

If I were to select just one word to describe my reaction to most of these responses, that word would be "... disappointed."

 

[Spot261]

ahem... he's with me.

Oh, well, er, just ask him to let us know when he's free....

With or without Seven at the same time? (Now there's a Paul Lynde-inspired joke somewhere...)

You might have to speak to @cosmic mouse about that!!!!

 

[Qonundrum]

Wouldn't it save more time if everyone just got together at once?

 

[catshadowsi8]

If I were to select just one word to describe my reaction to most of these responses, that word would be "... disappointed."

Aw i see. You wanted a scorched earth thread. Sorry to 'disappoint'.