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Pax Federatica

-along with Delta Log - or is it The Mission Flyers? - continues with "Tuvix".

(Hmm... would that make the Tuvok of Star Trek podcasts and the Neelix, or vice versa?)

Let's just get this out of the way right away...

Knowing how the TV industry operated in the 20th century, the outcome of this episode was such a foregone conclusion that it severely blunted the impact of that final act.

To wit: Tuvok and Neelix are not redshirts. Tuvix was, and so he was a dead man walking that whole time.

Of course, this being a rewatch, I knew the outcome anyway, so instead of worrying about how we get to that point, I focused my attention on the numerous character moments along the way.

I'd forgotten about Neelix and Tuvok's exchange of banter during the prologue, which served to remind us of just how different the two characters are, and how unwieldy their merger could have turned out.

With that in mind, Tuvix actor Tom Wright absolutely crushes his performance. Not only is he equally credible in both "Neelix mode" and "Tuvok mode" (no easy feat, that) but so fluidly transitions between the two, a new viewer could be forgiven for thinking they were one and the same all along.

Alas, they weren't one and the same, and seemingly losing them both doesn't sit well with Kes. In a powerful and important, but often overlooked scene, Janeway points out that Kes is now going through the sort of loss and dislocation the rest of the crew have for over a year now.

At one point Janeway even mentions her fiance Mark, and admits not wanting to face the fact that he, too, may be gone from her life for good. (Hmm... hold that thought for another week...)

All in all, "Tuvix" is not unlike "Threshold": A solid episode that fails to stick the landing. At least "Tuvix" doesn't go careening off the rails as "Threshold" did. Indeed, Tuvix arguing in vain for his life is powerful stuff.

Still, In the pre-streaming era, a major character's midseason departure, never mind two at once, just wasn't a credible tease. At least after "Tuvix", we could be fairly certain the writers wouldn't be going back to THAT particular well any time soon...

...right?

A heads-up: I've already written up most of my talking points for "Resolutions". I'll wait to revise/post them until after -ing that episode on New Year's Day (natch), but I can already say that that thread is going to be EPIC - at least twice as long as this "Tuvix" thread which is already one of my longer ones. Maybe the longest episode review thread I've ever done for either or .