Star Trek: 10 Greatest Captain Janeway Speeches

5. You Can Use Logic To Justify Almost Anything - Prime Factors

Captain Janeway Tuvok Star Trek Voyager Prime Factors
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While Captain Janeway always strives to uphold the rules and stay true to her principles, that doesn't mean that she finds it easy. She often finds herself faced with difficult decisions that put her two most valued objectives at odds - to get her crew home safely, but to, also, maintain the ideals of Starfleet. 

In these moments of personal conflict, Janeway relies on the loyal, yet logical, counsel of Tuvok. His Vulcan mindset often helps the captain separate her personal and professional connection to a situation, while his long-standing friendship with Kathryn allows for a deep level of trust between the pair. 

Season 1's Prime Factors shows a breach in this trust, however. With the Sikarians possessing technology that could send Voyager much closer to home, but their own version of the Prime Directive prohibiting their use of it, Captain Janeway is faced with a dilemma - deny her crew an opportunity to get home, or ignore the planets rules, thereby compromising her principles. Tuvok took the burden off of his captain by securing the technology himself, behind her back, later stating that it was only logical for someone to spare her the ethical dilemma. 

Although this was an act of loyalty, it disturbs Janeway that her trusted "moral compass" has betrayed her. Even here, we see Voyager's captain facing an internal battle. The unshed tears threatened to fall as she must acknowledge the loyalty, yet admonish the insubordinate logic, delivering such a heartfelt reprimand:

I realise you made a sacrifice for me, but it's not one I would have allowed you to make. You can use logic to justify almost anything. That's it's power, and it's flaw.
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Ellie has been part of the WhatCulture team since 2021 where she began as a freelance presenter for the WhoCulture channel. As a diehard Whovian with a BA (hons) degree in Drama and Acting, this role was the perfect opportunity for her to combine her screen presence training with her extensive Doctor Who knowledge. From there, she branched out to various other WhatCulture channels, including TrekCulture, and became a full time Content Producer/Video Presenter in 2023. Ellie is now a regular fixture on both WhoCulture and TrekCulture and has become a well respected public figure within both fandoms, building up a substantial following across her social media platforms and being given the opportunity to represent the channels and the wider communities at several industry events. Her favourite Doctor Who character is River Song and her favourite Star Trek character is Captain Janeway - which tells you everything you need to know about how she approaches her role within a generally male dominated field.