I reckon she sensed how easily the ship could descend into chaos, which is why she ruled with an iron fist
ITA.
One of the reasons I love Janeway, is that as a character she had flaws and they showed. Her depression in "Night" is one of them, the guilt complex was made painfully explicit in that episode, and we learned from Tuvok it preceeded her displacement to the Delta Quadrant. The alien pretending to be her father in "Coda" also referred to the flaw.
But Janeway, as a character, also showed that she could learn from her mistakes and reason her way out of many traps, as she showed in "Coda"...
"My father would never act like this. He always believed I had to learn my own lessons, make my own mistakes. He never tried to shield me from life. Why would he try to shield me from death?
You're not my father. I could be imagining you, but I don't think so. You have such a specific agenda. You're determined that I go with you somewhere.
Who are you?"
I like Janeway because we can see the toll the 7 years in the DQ (or 23 years if you are the old Admiral) took on her.
Early in her sojourn, she was still strongly wedded to ALL things Starfleet, recall the threat to B'Elanna in season 1 ?
" I don’t have the luxury of throwing you in the brig for the rest of this voyage. I need you. I need
every person on this ship. But I want you to know how
very deeply you have disappointed me. If there are any further transgressions, even a minor one, you will no longer be an officer on this crew. Is that clear?"
Her condemnation of Tuvok's participation (her friend for years) in this escapade was even more piercing even if it didn't contain the same "threat" she gave B'Elanna, a relatively new officer on her crew.
"You are one of my most valued officers and you are my friend. It is vital that you understand me here. I need you, but I also need to know that I can
count on you. You are my counsel, the one I turn to when I need my moral compass checked. We have forged this relationship for years and I depend on it. I realize you made a sacrifice for me but it‘s not one I would have allowed you to make. You can use logic to justify almost anything. That’s it’s
power, and it’s
flaw. From now on, bring your logic to me. Don’t act on it behind my back."
By season 2, she's ready to leave Chakotay behind rather than risk the crew as he himself asked her NOT to do, but she listened to that young woman who was reprimanded just the year before to
think of the consequences
of leaving a member of their crew behind... and she
did listen.
By season 3 her tone
has softened, this time towards Neelix after an even greater transgression than B'Elanna's...
"You've been on this ship for two years. I'd think by now you'd have learned the first duty of any Starfleet officer is to the truth. You violated that duty, Neelix, and there will be consequences"... and eventuallyshe reminds him... "None of us knows what's coming. That's what Starfleet is all about. We are all in this together, Neelix, and
we have to be able to count on each other no matter how hard it gets. Do you understand?"
And since she can't demote him, he still gets "punished" by cleaning the warp manifolds. (I invision him doing it with a toothbrush.)
The softer, kinder Janeway could also recognize, however, when the firm hand has to clamp down on her crew. Something "Rudy" never seemed to figure out. (I just realized that "The man in Black" on
Lost is Max from "Equinox!
Figures.)
To Seven at the end of season 4's "Prey".
"I didn't come here to debate your decision. I came here to inform you of the
consequences. When you first came to Voyager I decided to grant you the same liberties and freedoms of any crew member, because I wanted you to be a part of this family. And I've been willing to accommodate your
unique way of doing things, even when you rubbed somebody the wrong way or violated protocol. But this time, I
can't accommodate you. From this point forward you will no longer have access to any primary systems on this ship. Not without my direct authorization. If you attempt to circumvent me I'll throw you in the Brig. I still need your expertise in the Astrometrics lab if you're willing. If not, you can spend your time here in the Cargo Bay. Is that understood? "
By season 5's "Thirty Days", she again recognized the need to come down
hard on someone who contravened her orders. This time it wasn't just giving the federation's literature database away, it was defying her repeatedly in front of the crew and FIRING upon an alien installation that served no threat to his person or their ship.
Yes, Janeway
was flawed, but she often learned from her flaws. And so did her crew. B'Elanna never crossed her again. Neelix never crossed her again. Chakotay never crossed her again until he realized
she had gone too far and couldn't stop herself. Tom never crossed her again. Tuvok never crossed her again, although he too could recognize (Night) when she was going too far and worked with Chakotay to pull her back from the edge. Like Janeway told him years before..."I realize you made a sacrifice for me but it‘s not one I would have allowed you to make."
Picard, a Captain for decades wouldn't have done half the things Janeway did, and that would have been boring in my opinion. ( Oh, and I LOVED Picard in the TNG years.)
Was she bipolar? Heck no.
Was she adaptable? Heck yes!
She go tthem home, 75,000 light years in 7 years. She got them home with their pride and dignity intact.
One wonders what Starfleet would have said to Janeway in her debriefings, had she taken the Admiral's offer and "just" saved her ship and crew?
).
