Synopsis: When Enterprise travels to a mining colony that has been repeatedly plundered by a band of Klingons, Captain Archer decides to intervene.
While this episode has many different depth psychological themes in it, I will discuss here how it can be seen as an illustration of what C. G. Jung called a feeling-toned complex.
In “Marauders” Captain Jonathan Archer, Sub-Commander T’Pol, and Commander Charles (Trip) Tucker arrive on a planet to trade for deuterium. However, before the exchange can be completed, a band of renegade Klingons arrive on the planet to terrorize the miners and attempt to take their deuterium. The leader of the miners, Tessic, tells the leader of the Klingons, Korok, that the deuterium isn’t ready yet because of an issue with their equipment and Korok gives the miners four days to get it ready. Tessic tells Archer to take his deuterium and leave. But on Enterprise, Archer tells T’Pol that he feels he has to do something. Tessic initially turns down Archer’s offer for assistance, but when he understands that Archer means for his crew to teach his people how to defend themselves now and in the future, he changes his mind. When the Klingon’s return they are caught in a trap and forced to exchange their lives for the promise that they will not return to the planet.
One way to interpret this episode is that when Archer comes across yet another community that he feels is being victimized he must intervene, and his inability to stay neutral, even though his actions may cause unwanted consequences, can be seen as a complex. Jung called complexes feeling-toned because when one is caught in a complex, one feels as if one cannot help but to act upon it, regardless of what the costs may be. Here, Archer feels he must help the miners in what arguably could be considered a “savior complex” – meaning that he feels obliged to save them whether or not they ask him to. Tessic can see this and that is why he initially turns down Archer’s offer until Archer tells him that he will train Tessic’s people to fend for themselves. By sharing knowledge instead of trying to come in and rescue them, this can be analogized to how a complex can be used to make the Logos-driven rational conscious ego aware of bits of material from the Eros-driven irrational unconscious. In a psyche this will lead to the ego integrating these bits of unconscious material into itself to become stronger and make the psyche more whole.
mydailysoultrek 