#st voyager

[that-vexaholic-cryptid]

Interesting thing with Year of Hell

When Voyager first meets the Krenim, they're assholes and demand Voyager turn around and threaten them, and Janeway responds by being like 'Fuck You, we're going through your space and you can't stop us'

But when the timeline resets, the Krenim are much more diplomatic, say the region is in dispute and simply advise Voyager to avoid it... And Janeway sets a course around them.

So. Be nice to Janeway.

[that-vexaholic-cryptid]

It's really true that Janeway is way more comfortable in a battle than our other captains. Kirk finesses, Picard tries to avoid it, Archer resents it, even Sisko grieves the weight of it, but Janeway is down to fight.

She's knows her crew, she knows what her ship can do, and is happy to shove it up some alien's ass. That "do NOT fuck with me" attitude got her far in the Delta Quadrant.

Would have been absolute terror against the Dominion.

[admiralkatstrekquest]

Pagh’tem’far B’tanay.

[itscontinuingmissionpodcast]

The Problem of Neelix

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Neelix is a main character on Star Trek: Voyager. He is a native of the Delta Quadrant where the ship is stranded — a Telaxian with somewhat spotted skin and a yellowish mohawk. His demeanor is almost invariably cheerful, which matches the complexion and voice of his actor, Ethan Phillips. Though he was a space trader to start, when he decided to join the crew of the Voyager, he appointed himself chef and morale officer. Janeway allowed him to stay onboard believing that he would serve as a navigator for and liaison to the Delta Quadrant, which was completely unfamiliar to her and anyone else onboard. 

And that’s where the problem of Neelix begins. 

You see, he wasn’t a very good navigator or liaison. His familiarity with the region contributed at most an idea of which people were dangerous, which people were cool, and which people didn’t like each other. That’s good information to have, but his warnings didn’t stop Voyager from encountering perils or enemies like the Kazon, the Vidiians, or the Hirogen. Presumably, an experienced captain in an unfamiliar place far from allies would act with caution regardless of the limited guidance a local trader could provide.

The writers tried to solve this in season 3 episode 13, Fair Trade. In this episode, Neelix suffers a crisis of identity when Voyager — less than half way through the series — ventures beyond where Neelix had traveled as a trader. This episode, as well as the episode before it when Neelix was jokingly promoted to ambassador, was meant to sort of reset his character. His previous purpose was retired, but they didn’t give him a new one. At least not firmly, as his duties as an ambassador were limited at best. 

While I can see the potential for his character in the setting we found ourselves in, Voyager was too competent a crew to actually need him. Ultimately, I think that in the shadow of characters with much clearer skills and purposes, Neelix failed to fulfil the role that he was initially written for. Unfortunately, that meant the writers couldn’t do much with him. He quickly became nothing more than a comic relief, which is not a character type that can support many episodes focused entirely on him.

So, if Neelix couldn’t contribute in the role he was assigned at really any point in the series, what purpose did he actually serve?

Any Star Trek show is incomplete without an outsider; someone to illuminate interesting truths about humanity through contrast or through longing. These are your Spocks, your Datas, your Odos, your T’Pols. All of whom, through their ongoing interactions with humans, become more human themselves. These characters remind us that we’re all on the same journey, and they help us stay on track.

At first glance, Neelix seems like he would fill that role: he’s one of only two non-human, non-Federation members of Voyager’s crew. But the role was already filled by much richer characters: the Doctor, someone who wanted to become more human; B’ellana, a Maquis learning to be Federation; and Seven of Nine, a Borg rediscovering humanity. There was never any room for Neelix in this role.

So, what else is there?

Well, he was a chef — but not a good one. He was Kes’ boyfriend — but not a good one. He was Naomi Wildman’s godfather and babysitter, and that’s where he finally settled in for real. That role allowed him to show some emotion, have a few moments of learning and growth, but still held him back as a character. When your character is tied to a child, your role naturally becomes more childlike. He could never really mature, and the themes he delivered could never go beyond what a child would understand.

The only important role that Neelix truly had on Voyager was as the optimist. He had a unique personality that stood out from the other characters, allowing him to change the tone of certain scenes and keep a darker show from getting too dark at times. 

And that’s the problem of Neelix: he was less of a character and more of a vibe. And a vibe can’t often lead memorable scenes or episodes. In conclusion, he was deadweight...and freaking annoying.

But Neelix’s problems don’t end there. I mentioned earlier that Neelix is the boyfriend of a much cooler and more interesting character, Kes. One of the interesting things about Kes is that she’s an Ocampa, which means her lifespan is much shorter compared to humans. I’m so sorry if this is how you’re finding out, but Kes is less than two years old.

Now, she is an alien, and her body is that of an adult humanoid, so maybe we shouldn’t be too quick to judge. 

Except.

Season 2 episode 4, Elogium. It was not a great episode overall, with a weak and confused thematic message, but that’s not important to our discussion. What we need to focus on is that Kes, impacted by some alien hullabaloo, undergoes her elogium. In other words, her mating cycle. This is a process that only happens once to an Ocampa, usually around 4 or 5 years old. Though this is definitively a mating cycle, some critics liken the process to a kind of puberty. This is concerning, because it would mean that Kes is essentially underage in a long-established romantic relationship with a character whom she kisses. They have separate bedrooms, but that doesn’t exactly negate wrongdoing. Furthermore, Kes is characterized by her innocence and her child-like wonder. Even her relationships with her mentors, Tuvok and Janeway, have almost parent-child connotations. And let’s not forget: she’s almost two, we’ve been with her a year already, and she was dating Neelix before we even met them.

Neelix is probably not a pedophile. But he probably is a groomer. 

I don’t think this necessarily casts a dark shadow on his relationship with Naomi. After all, the Ocampa lifecycle was meant just to be a simple science fiction element, and it’s possible no one even thought of Neelix when assigning an interesting trait to Kes. But they definitely thought of Kes when assigning Neelix the trait of obsessively jealous.

So, I still must maintain that Neelix is not just a problem, he’s problematic! I’m sorry if he’s your favorite character.

[walkinaftermidnight3]

I’m not a fan of Seven being responsible for the borg kids. I'm flexible in my thoughts on Voy generally, but this grates on me. Don’t mind her being a mentor but I always got the impression she’s supposed to be a parental figure.

And I just don’t think the woman who’s been forced to live most of her life under someone else’s control should suddenly have to be a mother.

[lady-muk]

My favorite episode of Star Trek voyager is the one where the prime directive has an actual legal consequence in the federation.

[jeffpennington]

“The Chute” a painting based on the Star Trek: Voyager episode of the same name

I’ve mostly been (unsuccessfully) posting about my webcomic Hammerhead here so I thought I’d share some more serious work for a change

[sonneillonv]

What Voyager book is that with Tuvok 👀

Uhhhhh it was one of Christie Golden's books but I forget specifically which... by timeline it was probably either her novelization of Homecoming or The Farther Shore?

I got it from my local library but I am fairly sure there's a mass digitization of all the Star Trek books out there on the internet somewhere? I think The Trove has it if the library doesn't.

Huge trigger warning for these books though, because Seven of Nine and Icheb's return to earth does not go well and exposes another MASSIVE crack in the utopian vision. Like, the Federation tortures and starves them nearly to death, denies them any legal counsel... it's some ICE shit, and since I'm #1 Icheb Defender, it was really hard to read.