With 700-plus hours of Star Trek in the can, it’s inevitable the franchise might revisit familiar territory. The Temporal Loop blog plots a course each week, examining the influences of the latest episode of Discovery.
By Tyler Orton
What matters more? How others perceive you or how you perceive yourself?
While most likely hope it’s the latter, too often opportunities such as jobs and relationships are tied to how you’re perceived by the outside world.
So how does a man like Ash Tyler — broken down physically and mentally during his species reassignment journey from Klingon outcast to hunky Starfleet sleeper agent — begin to reconcile his own identity issues?
“Who the hell is Tyler? Do you think I know anymore?” the exasperated ex-security chief asks his estranged partner in “The War Without, the War Within.”
Tyler has been a cipher by design ever since he was introduced a few episodes after Voq mysteriously vanished from our screens. Beyond being a POW dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder, his most defining character trait was his passion for trout fishing.
Despite genuinely liking the actor — believe me, I was playing IMDb detective after Star Trek: Discovery’s premiere to find out more about the unknown actor playing Voq — was it any wonder the hosts and guests on the Subspace podcast constantly had to ask whether Tyler was an interesting character?
“War” finally allows the guy to start building not just a personality but, more importantly, an identity.
And the great part is he has no idea what to do with himself! This is genuine internal conflict for the character as opposed to the aloofness he’s previously been synonymous with.
With Voq’s personality vapourized a few weeks back thanks to Brain Surgeon McLaserfingers (AKA L’Rell), all Tyler can do is access his progenitor’s memories “like watching someone else’s life.”
The good news is the lunch crew in the Discovery mess hall seems like an awfully forgiving bunch even after Ty’Voq was triggered Manchurian Candidate-style and snapped Dr. Hugh Culber’s neck.
Bad news is all Tyler needs to help him feel whole again is his girlfriend’s love. But Michael Burnham is understandably not having it after Ty’Voq nearly strangled her to death in the Mirror Universe (the guy has a thing for going for the neck).
It doesn’t help Tyler’s case when he plays the tired, old your-parents-were-killed-by-Klingons-now-love-one card and undersells Burnham’s own conflict by describing their conundrum as things getting “complicated.”
His mission to rebuild his identity has a long way to go, so why not take a few pointers from “Tuvix”?
The season 2 Star Trek: Voyager outing finds Neelix and Tuvok — if ever there were two opposites — merged into one being following a transporter accident involving orchids (they don’t have spores, do they?).
The newly created Tuvix has an almost instantaneous sense of identity.
Like Tyler, he can access the memories of his progenitors. But unlike Tyler, he fully embraces the different facets of his two halves.
When he mans the tactical console, he draws inspiration from hunches a Vulcan wouldn’t indulge in. When he cooks in the mess hall, he seems partial to following recipes and serving more edible fare than what the Talaxian was known for.
The central question both Tuvix and Tyler must answer is, “Who do I want to be?” But then is that enough to gain acceptance?
The conflict on Tuvix’s side comes when the Doctor discovers how to reverse the merging. Tuvix — a distinct individual — doesn’t want to revert. He likes who he is.
His public meltdown on the bridge when Janeway orders the reversal parallels Tyler’s private meltdown in front of Burnham when she makes it clear she can’t be with him.
For both men, their identities are inextricably tied to their relationships with the crew (although it’s a little unnerving the senior staff never speak of Tuvix again) and to an even greater degree, their partners.
Like Burnham, Kes can’t see herself pursuing a relationship with a man who reminds her of what she lost.
And it’s only with Tuvix’s moments with Kes that we see vulnerability and uncertainty on his part. He loves her, he tells her that and he tries to move on following her rejection.
“Janeway says there’s a place for me on the ship but I feel like an imposter,” he confesses to Kes.
In Tyler’s case, he doesn’t just feel like an imposter but he quite literally is one who is unfortunately burdened with a sudden sense of self-awareness.
The next closest analogues to Tyler-Tuvix are found on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’s Dax characters.
Following years of intense vetting and training to qualify for the symbiont procedure, Jadzia awakens with the experiences of seven previous hosts (one of whom was a murderer … so Tyler can relate to that, right?).
While Jadzia fully embraces her identity, marries a Klingon and offers sage wisdom to her commanding officer, Ezri is a complete wreck.
The station’s counselor never went through the rigorous prep for the symbiont procedure causing her previous hosts’ identities to uncontrollably surface (space sickness sucks, guys).
So will Tyler follow suit and eventually carve out an identity the way Ezri did?
It seems the character has run his natural course (into a lab you go, sir, as Cadet Tilly suggested his fate would be).
But the writers seem intent on shoe-horning him into the second season somehow. He may offer the ultimate sacrifice in next week’s season finale, however, I much prefer the idea posited by Subspace co-host Cam Smith: what if Tyler and L’Rell hit the road like Bonnie and Clyde?
He’ll get the chance to rebuild his identity — with a woman he, or at least his progenitor, loves, no less — while Tyler and L’Rell get to remain active players in the series without having to be on the ship week to week.
From outcast to outlaw.
Click to download our review of “The War Without, the War Within.”
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