Star Trek: Voyager’s Chakotay & Tuvok Rivalry Explained

Commander Chakotay (Robert Beltran) and Lt. Commander Tuvok (Tim Russ) had a fairly intense rivalry in Star Trek: Voyager seasons 1 and 2. Both Chakotay and Tuvok were members of Voyager‘s main cast of characters, and major players on the show for all seven seasons. Chakotay was the USS Voyager’s First Officer and a former Maquis rebel, Captain of his own ship before he agreed to join forces with Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) in Voyager‘s pilot episode, “Caretaker.”

In contrast, Tuvok was a long-time Starfleet officer and close friend of Janeway’s before Voyager became stranded in the Delta Quadrant. As only the second Vulcan to be a main character on a Star Trek TV show, Tuvok’s unflappable logic was invaluable to Janeway as a confidant and an officer under her command. He was also arguably the reason for Voyager‘s premise in the first place since the ship’s mission before accidentally being flung to the other side of the galaxy was to determine why Tuvok hadn’t reported in from his undercover mission infiltrating the Maquis.

Why Chakotay And Tuvok Were Rivals On Star Trek: Voyager

Chakotay and Tuvok’s backstories and how their pasts intertwined played a huge role in the characters’ mostly unspoken rivalry. Chakotay had a fairly good reason to resent Tuvok since the Vulcan had infiltrated his former Maquis crew, gaining his trust on the pretext of a lie. Chakotay’s anger at Tuvok’s deception was demonstrated in Voyager‘s pilot “Caretaker” when he learned the truth. However, once the Maquis joined Voyager’s crew, it was surprising that the rivalry would continue given that Chakotay’s feelings seemed to have mellowed a bit.

However, the more interesting aspect of Chakotay and Tuvok’s rivalry lay on Tuvok’s side. Although he only admitted it once, it was clear throughout Voyager‘s early seasons that Tuvok resented Chakotay for his role as First Officer, a position that Tuvok felt should have been his given his background. As a Vulcan, Tuvok should not have allowed an emotion like resentment to cloud his judgment, but the issue was there nonetheless. Although Tuvok’s emotional control mostly prevented him from voicing his feelings, they manifested in other ways, such as Tuvok occasionally challenging Chakotay’s orders or failing to refer to him respectfully.

Chakotay Was The Right First Officer For Janeway & Voyager

Despite Tuvok’s dislike for the decision to make Chakotay First Officer, Captain Janeway’s choice was right for the crew. If Voyager had been the only ship stranded in the Delta Quadrant, Janeway would almost certainly have made Tuvok her First Officer, given their friendship and the fact that he was the most senior officer onboard. However, the decision to integrate the Maquis crew with Voyager’s Starfleet crew would never have worked if Chakotay had not also been made First Officer in the process.

As the Maquis’s former captain, Chakotay needed to maintain a position of power on Voyager after the transition was made. Had he not been made First Officer, Star Trek: Voyager‘s Maquis integration into Starfleet would likely have gone much worse than it did, since the Maquis had no reason to be loyal to Janeway. Along with this, Chakotay ended up proving himself a worthy First Officer and a good counterpart to Janeway, even if the two started with very little in common. Tuvok may have resented Janeway’s decision, but the possibilities of a smooth transition for the Maquis were slim to none with him in charge.