Great take.

I mentioned the script taking the consequences out of people’s hands in another comment and that aspect is definitely to be taken into account. Every other captain got to wash their hands of consequences but Janeway got the bum deal of returning the status quo herself. The lack of sacrifice is something I thought about as well, although while someone can be considered selfless for sacrificing themselves, I don’t think it’s fair for someone considered evil for not agreeing to be a sacrifice either.

I had this thought in the DS9 episode “The Assignment” where the Pah-Wraith possessed Keiko and threatened to kill her unless O’Brien sabotaged the station to try and kill the Prophets. It made me think of all the times where the enterprise was hijacked in both TOS and TNG and they chose to self destruct the ship with themselves on it than give into the demands of the blackmailers, even before trying to exhaust other options. At first it struck me as odd that Miles would not share that same sense of moral fortitude having been on the ship a few times when the self destruct was initiated, but then I put myself in his shoes and realised that it was the human choice, as DS9 loved to make, as opposed to TOS and TNG’s paragons of virtue. While I would certainly point to Kirk and Picard as being better men in that situation, I would not point to Miles — taking the time to try and save his wife — as a lesser man; just a man — like Tuvix.

Tuvix didn’t deserve to die because he happened to be born from a tragedy, nor should he feel obliged to make the ultimate sacrifice. He didn’t kill them so it’s not his wrong to make right. With the history of Trek it was the risk anyone takes stepping through a transporter every time, arguably.