Solving a murder mystery is easy when the killer nonchalantly confirms the allegation. But when your lead investigator is a Vulcan who’s live is based on logic, and your killer just casually murdered someone without a care in the world, you can’t just walk away without understanding the lack of motive…
I’ve always loved it when a show pulls back and just creates a bottle inside it’s own sets. No space adventure, no travelling to other planets. Just the characters trapped inside the bulkheads with a problem to solve. There’s a time for spectacle, and then there’s a time for an episode like Meld when after a few dodgy episodes you just need to keep things simple and effective. Brad Dourif was also wondeful as Suder. But a calm, collected and quiet sociopath and Brad Dourif goes hand in hand. It’s just a real shame we only get two more episodes of the character after this one.
Voyager rarely delved into the mixed crew aspect of having Maquis integrate into the Starfleet way of life outside their two leads and Chakotay’s relationship breakdown once realising Seska was a Cardassian spy. But there was always potential for who else was in that mix of rogue’s. Chakotay had the honour of fighting for a cause he believed in, Torress was just angry at everything trying to fit in, Seska was a spy. Then we have Lon Suder. A brand new character that appears in Meld as a quiet, introverted anti social oddball who’s just been caught murdering another crewmember.
Suder’s motivation is just a mild dislike. Just a vague annoyance of someone that any normal person would brush off. Chakotay confirms he has violent tenancies despite keeping to himself. The Doctor confirms that there’s nothing psychologically wrong. And yet there sits Suder, confessing a crime with no real motivation, absolutely no remorse and right across the table, a Vulcan who can’t rest without knowing all the answers; unaware that there are largely no answers tom give.
When it comes to Vulcans, Star Trek writers have always got a kick out of playing on their emotional undercurrents. Particularly with Spock who, being half human, was always on the edge of cracking and lived by self restraint. Tuvok’s a full Vulcan, fully capable of emotional suppression and who’s lived long enough to feel comfortable with his balance and minimalist truth over emotional gesture. But faced with someone who’s so far on the sociopathic side that it defies Vulcan logic, Tuvok’s logic just can’t comprehend that sometimes, people can’t be fixed.
The episode is a nice exploration of Tuvok’s Vulcan side, which to this point has never been tested with a ‘full’ Vulcan. Trained from birth to control himself, he opts to mild meld with Suder and transfer some of that Vulcan superiority complex. But of course, he doest realise he’s in a TV show and it backfires; giving Suder a sense of calm whilst also unlocking the natural violent tenancies of Tuvoks Vulcan heritage.
Much like the praise Patrick Stewart received for his performance of Picard holding the weight of Sarek’s raw emotion, Tim Russ deserves a not for his complete sinister switch for Tuvok. Following the meld, Tuvok’s suppression fails immediately and just slowly steps up they tempo from hands twitching to ripping into Janeway to get under her skin while arguing for the death penalty. It’s a wonderful scene that not only does well for a Tuvok story, but plays more on the idea on who Vulcans really are under their logical suppression, adding to the tapestry that we’ve seen more of in recent years.
About the author
Star Trek Day 2026: Celebrating 60 Years of the Final Frontier!
Sixty years ago the world was introduced to a sci fi series that planted a seed of adventure, imagination and inspiration that would blossom into a juggernaut of media. After launching with the Man Trap on September 8th in the United States, the series would later grow into a pop culture icon spawning 9 Live Action Series, 3 Animated Series, 13 Feature Films & more including Streaming Events, Shorts and a huge amount of offshoot media across games, comics and books. With generations of fans discovering new era's and new adventures for decades, today we celebrate not only that first flight of the USS Enterprise and it's original crew, but an entire franchise that continued to grow, evolve, building a world of adventure, inspiration and hope for a better future! As we celebrate Star Trek at 60, we'd love to hear how […]
Away Team, Assemble! The USS Tesla Set To Beam Down to Epic Comic Con!
Returning to Glasgow this September, the Tesla Crew are once again in action at Fan Frontiers Epic Comic Con in the SEC Hosted by Fan Frontiers, Epic Comic Con has been one of the core places to meet the crew of the Tesla since it’s origins as Acme Comic Con and has become a firm part of the diverse and welcoming fan centric communities hosting everything from Rebel Legions to Ghostbusters! Taking their regular spot once again the Tesla crew will have Star Trek props and collectables on display as the team get ready to share the wonders of the final frontier! With possibly the biggest and most intriguing line ups to date, Epic will be hosting some surprises including Lord of the Rings' hobbit Duo Billy Boyd & Dominic Monaghan, What We Do in the Shadows Star Kayvan Novak, […]
60 Year Mission Celebrations!
This month Star Trek celebrates 60 years since the continuing mission launched and this year we've decided.... one Star Trek Day isn't enough. We're having a whole month of celebration! With plans including virtual meets, Europa chats, competitions and more, we're inviting the whole fleet to jump on board, get involved and join the fun of celebrating sixty years othe final frontier! Virtual Meet Sunday September 6th 8pm Starbase Europa 60 YEAR MISSION Meet the Fleet in Celebration with an evening of catching up, sharing stories, maybe a few bad jokes and general shenanigans! As we open a month of celebrating one of sci fi's most enduring franchises, grab a drink, pull up a chair and have a few laughs to begin the month! Discussion Sunday September 6th All Day Starbase Europa STAR TREK DAY 2026 From dusk 'till dawn, […]
A Fistful of Undercover Operations
Occasionally when exploring the wonders of deep space, our heroes of Trek have been summoned to - or by sheer accident - become another person to fulfil their mission. Whether it's O'Brien mixing with gangsters or Picard becoming a mercenary, Star Trek's filled with episodes where our favourite explorers have to become someone else to save the day.... FACE OF THE ENEMY The Next Generation Season 6 Waking up on the Warbird Khazara, Deanna Troi finds herself in a bit of a pickle. Kidnapped and surgically altered to take the place of a Tal Shiar Commander she finds herself led by her handler, N'Vek, to lead a secret mission after the Commander had been killed. Out of her comfort zone, Troi has to convince the crew she's the real deal despite the ships skipper knowing something's not quite right.... In […]
Warped: ‘Off Hour’, Strange New Worlds S4E06
Towards the end of a long and tiring shift, the command team are more than ready to hand over to the night shift. But no one makes it far from their station as at the moment of handover, the Enterprise gets pulled into a warp slipstream that knocks out the ship and traps them in an escalating and catastrophic acceleration taking the ship well beyond its limts. Writers: Bill Wikoff Director: Dan Liu Strange New Worlds is an interesting creative, narratively speaking. When they swing for the fences in their creative mission, it's very hit or miss. But when they keep things simple and focused on character work, they really shine. And this weeks was one that kept it simple with a tried and tested format that always works nicely; have the ship suffer a critical accident, cut everything […]
It’s Not Easy Being Green Blooded: ‘Level Five Transporter Accident’, Strange New Worlds S4E05
Spock's going through a bit of a personal crisis and Scotty's become madly competitive with an old Academy rival. These two separate threads collide in the weirdest way when Spock finds himself as the only person who can control the ship as Scotty's transporter antics turn everyone into puppets... Writers: Henry Alonso Myers & Dana HorganDirector: Jordan Canning Spock's not quite feeling himself and he hasn't quite been himself since the Griffin Incident. And things are getting worse. Leaning heavily towards logic over his exploration of his human side, and in the wake of La'an deciding their relationship had reached it's 'natural conclusion', he's spiraling. Well, as much as a Vulcan would allow themselves to. Desperately trying to balance himself, he's leaning into logic and reaching out to his scorned ex-fiancee for help in re-establishing his Vulcan side.While thats happening, Scotty's on a […]
Related
[Retro Review] Errand of Mercy
Relations between the Federation and the Klingons are in tatters and the prospect of an all out war casts a shadow over the region. To help prepare for the worst, Kirk and the Enterprise are sent to Organia, a planet populated by inherent pushovers right on the border between Federation and Klingon space. With the prospect of the Klingons getting a foothold that would help their war efforts, Kirk's job is to negotiate a protection order, getting the Organians on their side before the Klingons annexe the planet as a launching pad for conflict. Problem is, the Organians are hardcore pacifists and their native tech is limited. They don't want to be part of any war, and they don't want to change their values to resist. Which becomes a bit of a problem when the Klingons arrive ready to occupy the […]
[Retro Review] The Galileo Seven
Pulled in two directions, the Enterprise has to deliver critical medical supplies to avert a plague and conduct vital research at the same time. Unable to turn down the order, Kirk thinks on his feet by carrying forward to save the planet, while sending Spock to lead a research team on the Galileo shuttle to carry out their mission until the Enterprise has finished it's mission of mercy. It's a good idea. Until it isn't. Isolated form the Enterprise, the Galileo runs into a bit of bother. Thrown off course by plot, the shuttle crash lands on a primitive planet. Alone with a broken ship and a people who are as barbaric as they are terrified by the shuttles sudden arrival, Spock has to lead his own team through fear and frustration with cool and calming logic. On the first […]
[Retro Review] Space Seed
By chance, the Enterprise comes across an ancient Earth ship drifting through space. On board they find a whole bunch of people held in suspended animation, wake up the leader of the gang and accidentally unleash one of the most iconic villains of the franchise. Being coy with his identity at first, ship historian Marla McGivers becomes fascinated with a glimpse at the past while Kirk and the rest of the non-historians figure out that he just happens to be one of the most notorious war lords in Earths history... Star Trek, Season 1 , Episode 22 For all the action and adventure of deep space and the idea of using alien make up to mask more down to earth stories, Space Seed gives the first real glimpse of Star Trek's history. Khan is a relic of Earth from long […]
[Retro Review] Let This Be Your Last Battlefield
Often shown in highlight reels and quoted in discussions about Star Trek's more forward thinking messages, Let This Be Your Last Battlefield is at it's simplest, a story of the ridiculousness of segregation. En route to a vital mission of mercy, Kirk and his crew end up in the middle of a political minefield. Interrupted in the mission by a stolen Federation shuttle carrying an injured alien, Lokai from the planet Cheron, they're soon further interrupted by Commissioner Bele, an official representing Cheron who announces Lokai as a political traitor and demanding custody. One asylum request later, Kirk's stuck between the two trying to find the right course of action knowing he has orders to follow beyond the situation. The separation between Belle and Lokai is a simple context. And also a strangely charged one looking at it from a […]
[Retro Review] The Trouble With Tribbles
Space adventures, time travelling madness and the occasional God was standard fare for the original series. But every now and then it dived into a mission of the mundane. Kirk's mission in The Trouble With Tribbles is as dull as it could be and he's hugely aware of it. The Klingon's have popped up again and the people of resupply station K7 want some help guarding a huge shipment of grain. As the Klingons ask for shore leave, they share the station with the Enterprise crew while Kirk tries to keep his cool... For decades now this is one of those episodes that jumped out and added one of the weirdest parts to the Star Trek lore. Tribbles. Introduced by trader Cyrano Jones, the inoffensive little balls of fur catch the attention of Uhura who buys one instantly and takes […]
[Retro Review] Balance of Terror.
Each era of Star Trek has captured a moment in time. The original series captured as unique a moment as any that feels both like ancient history and something that still resonates. It's cast and writers still felt the effects of the second world war, from actors like James Doohan who was famously injured in D-Day, to producer Robert Justman among the many on board the Enterprise who's lives were in part shaped by the historical event. At the same time, much as things are today, there was no end to conflict or instability in the world and even the race to the moon and seeing Apollo 11's flight suffered the dark cloud of the cold war between the United States and what was then the USSR. The background and setting behind the era was what could create episodes like […]
