Star Trek: Voyager’s crew members were part of an incredibly delicate chain of command, and one episode in particular proves just how essential Kate Mulgrew’s Captain Kathryn Janeway was to her ship’s operations. Mulgrew led theStar Trek: Voyagercastfor all seven seasons, and has since played Janeway in 2002’sStar Trek: Nemesisand also as part of theStar Trek: Prodigycast. Now a Starfleet Admiral,Janeway is no longer responsible for a lone vessel, but she had a very unique job inevery season ofStar Trek: Voyagerwhile in command of the show’s titular ship.
Captain Janeway was forced to make some incredibly tough callsduring her time as Voyager’s commanding officer. With no Starfleet Command to give her orders, she was left to interpret the organization’s ideals in some pretty unconventional scenarios. Many of her decisions are still heavily debated among theStar Trek: Voyagerfan base, with many of the choices she had to make stemming from functionally unwinnable situations. There were only a few times when the USS Voyager was left without Janeway’s leadership, but it did happen, and those instances proved how indispensable she was.
Star Trek: Voyager Proves Tuvok Can’t Replace Janeway As Captain
The USS Voyager was brought against its will to the Delta Quadrant by the Caretaker (Basil Langton). During the rapid and tumultuous trip, several members of the ship’s crew were killed in action - including Voyager’s original First Officer, Lt. Commander Cavit (Scott Jaeck). Below him was Tim Russ' Lt. Tuvok, although he was undercover at the time aboard the Maquis ship, which was also pulled into the Delta Quadrant. Before Janeway made the decision to integrate what remained of both crews,Tuvok should technically have been Janeway’s new First Officerdue to Cavit’s death.
Everyone, Janeway included, decides it’s best that she and Chakotay are left behind and that Tuvok should assume command and continue Voyager’s journey home.
In the event a ship’s captain is unavailable for any reason, it’s the First Officer’s job to step in as captain. This can be temporary or permanent, depending on the scenario.Tuvok only gets his chance once inStar Trek: Voyager, when both Janeway and her ex-Maquis First Officer, Robert Beltran’s Commander Chakotay, cannot leave the surface of an alien world without dying in season 2, episode 25, “Resolutions.” Everyone, Janeway included, decides it’s best that she and Chakotay are left behind and that Tuvok should assume command and continue Voyager’s journey home.
Tuvok quickly proves that his cold and logical style of command combines poorly with the crew’s emotional tendencies.
Tuvok quickly proves that his cold and logical style of command combines poorly with the crew’s emotional tendencies. When he denies everyone’s request to look into a dangerous alternative to saving Janeway and Chakotay, his Vulcan mind immediately dismisses the idea and insists the journey to the Alpha Quadrant continues. He’s ultimately persuaded into changing his mind, but not until the ship is basically on the edge of a mutiny. In short, even though he was next in line to take the captain’s chair,Tuvok proved he didn’t know how to effectively command a crew built by Janeway.
Tuvok Doesn’t Name A New First Officer
Voyager didn’t have many real options when it came to choosing a new second-in-command
One of the biggest unanswered questions about Tuvok’s brief stint in command of the USS Voyager is who he appointed as his new First Officer - if he even gave the job to anyone at all. However,there were two main candidates when it came to who Voyager’s new second-in-command could have been, and they both came with their own issues. Firstly, there’s Lt. B’Elanna Torres (Roxann Dawson). Torres was serving as Voyager’s chief engineer at the time, and although she only carried a field commission given to her by Janeway, the same was also true of Chakotay.
Dawson’s character was pretty much the polar opposite of Tuvok, and she operated almost entirely on fiery instinct.
Combining Tuvok and Torres as a leadership duo would have come with all sorts of problems. Dawson’s character was pretty much the polar opposite of Tuvok, and she operated almost entirely on fiery instinct. That said, as a former Maquis, she would have been a good replacement for Chakotay as the kind of officer to occupy such a senior position aboard the ship, keeping both the Maquis and Starfleet crowds happy. Then again,promoting B’Elenna would have meant her stepping away as chief engineer, but at least Lt. Carey (Josh Clark) would have been there to take over.
The other main option would have been Lt. Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill). Voyager’s helmsman eventually grew into a responsible and dependable Starfleet officer, but at the time of “Resolutions,” he was only really interested in flying the ship then doing what he wanted in his downtime. Like B’Elenna, Paris was brash in his own way, which is probably why they ended up together. Regardless,Paris was also a bad fit to sit alongside Tuvok. Plus, Paris was the best pilot in the crew, so his talents were needed at the helm.
I can understand why Tuvok struggled to appoint a new First Officer.
A brief shoutout to Ensign Harry Kim (Garrett Wang), who could conceivably have been promoted by Tuvok and installed as Voyager’s First Officer.Harry was still young enough that Tuvok could have molded him into the First Officer he wantedhim to be, but it may have caused waves by skipping over so many senior officers to give the job to Harry. Plus, he was very inexperienced in general. This is all to say that I can understand why Tuvok struggled to appoint a new First Officer.
Tuvok Becomes Captain In Star Trek: Picard Season 3
Voyager’s Chief of Security clearly figured out a better way to lead
Tuvok is eventually promoted to the rank of Lt. Commander inStar Trek: Voyagerseason 4, but because his ship is the only Starfleet vessel around, there’s no room for real progression. Instead, he remains in his position of Head of Security, but becomes even more senior among the bridge crew.When Tuvok appeared inStar Trek: Lower Decks,he was revealed to be one of theVoyager crew who had since been promoted after the ship’s return to Earth, as he was wearing the rank insignia of a Starfleet commander.
For Tuvok to become a Starfleet captain, he likely drew on his experience in “Resolutions” on how to deal with an emotional crew without them turning against him.
The next time Tuvok pops up in theStar Trektimelineis among theStar Trek: Picardcast. InStar Trek: Picardseason 3, Tuvok is the captain of his own ship, proving he also transferred from the operations division to the command division. He’s briefly reunited with his former Voyager crewmate,Jeri Ryan’s Seven of Nine. For Tuvok to become a Starfleet captain, he likely drew on his experience in “Resolutions” on how to deal with an emotional crew without them turning against him. Alternatively,he may have built a more Vulcan-heavy crewto reduce such a possibility.
Star Trek: Voyager Needed Janeway As Captain (Because No One Could Replace Her)
Captain Janeway did an incredibly admirable job of holding her crew together amid a chain of endlessly difficult scenarios. While her ship experienced periods of relative inactivity, she and her crew were often fighting for their lives in their attempt to reach Earth.There were occasions when Commander Chakotay was thrust into service as Voyager’s acting captain, but that inevitably brought him and Tuvok into closer quarters, as the ship’s two most senior officers were obliged to work together even more than usual. In short, that wasn’t a good combination.
In the Delta Quadrant, Janeway’s death would have resulted in Starfleet either promoting one of Voyager’s senior officers to captain or assigning a new captain to command the ship. In the Delta Quadrant, the former was messy, and the latter wasn’t an option.
Janeway remained the captain throughout every season ofStar Trek: Voyager, and she proved herself to be the perfect person to lead the stranded crew. If she had ever been permanently lost in action, it’s easy to see howthe command structure aboard Voyager would have descended into chaosand disorder. Thankfully, that never happened, andStar Trek: Voyagerretained Mulgrew’s character as the person to keep everyone on track and getting along.
