Star Trek: Voyager – Season 3, Episode 14: “Alter Ego”

Synopsis: Ensign Kim asks for the help of Lt. Tuvok to rid him of unwanted emotions.

In this episode Lt. Tuvok’s advice to Ensign Harry Kim reenforces my idea that there is much that can be learned about depth psychology through the Vulcan culture. Here Tuvok in his own way gives an explanation of what Carl (C. G.) Jung called complexes, those bits of material from the Eros-driven irrational unconscious that come to the attention of the Logos-driven rational conscious ego.

In “Alter Ego” Kim comes to Tuvok because he has fallen in love with a character in a holodeck program, and he wants to rid himself of this unwanted emotion. Tuvok describes a Vulcan technique, the Thetan Sat, which he describes as “the intellectual deconstruction of emotional patterns” (Menosky & Picardo, 1997). I believe that this can be analogized to a process that Jung called individuation, the way by which a person becomes a whole integrated individual.

Later on in the episode, Tuvok gives an explanation of a complex, that is close to what depth psychologists would find in a textbook: “To see through an emotional complex is to rob it of its power. The first step is to identify the complex in which you have been caught” (Menosky & Picardo, 1997). Jungians rarely state this better, but they do tend to emphasize more than Tuvok does here that a complex should not be considered a negative thing, it can be seen as an opportunity to learn more about oneself, and thereby making the psyche more whole.

In “Alter Ego,” much like in the episode “11001001” from Star Trek: The Next Generation, the female holodeck character that has an unusual allure to male members of the crew is in fact not who she seems to be. But to me this plotline is less important than the lessons contained in the conversations in the telling of the story.

Reference:

Menosky, J. (Writer), & Picardo R. (Director). (1997, January 15). Alter ego (Season 3, Episode 14) [TV series episode]. In R. Berman & J. Taylor (Executive Producers), Star trek: Voyager. Paramount Network Television.