Clearly there is some chemistry between the characters, but it often appears that Shaxs is putting up with a lot that he is not interested in, or is even finds unpleasant.
Specifically in “Room For Growth” and “I Have No Bones Yet I Must Flee” we get insight into their off duty time together, which appears to be running a holodeck program where Doctor T’Ana escalates the violence and then wants Shaxs participate in sexual activity, while making their holographic victims watch. In both episodes Shaxs implies that this is not something he enjoys. In “Room For Growth” we see Shaxs open up to Doctor T’Ana about things he’s going through and she mocks him for it.
And obviously Shaxs is a character capable of tremendous violence, and it’s something he enjoys, but unlike Doctor T’Ana, he’s also interested in wellness. In “Envoys” we see that Shaxs is concerned about the job satisfaction of his subordinates, and in “Empathological Fallacies” he makes it clear that he views part of his responsibilities as the Cerritos chief of security to see to the mental wellbeing of the crew as well as their physical wellbeing. He puts that in action for himself as well, which we see in “wej Duj” where he’s using art therapy to deal with his own trauma. T’Ana, by contrast, is hostile to the idea. In “Mugato, Gumato” we see that she’s removed her own name from the list of patients aboard the Cerritos.
It seems as though Shaxs is the one putting in all the effort, and Doctor T’Ana is somewhat toxic.I feel like Shaxs could do better.
I agree with you, I think Shaxs can do better. But I also think that maybe Shaxs used to be like Dr. T'Ana and feels some empathy for her. I'll admit I was a bit kooky before I met my spouse, she recognized that my lashing out was a product of my environment and life experience and offered me a different perspective. She only knew that because she used to lash out for the same reasons and did many years of therapeutic work to get her back on track. So when she saw me hurting in the same ways, she offered me the roadmap she used and I'm a lot better for it. Maybe Shaxs feels this same way about Dr. T'Ana. He sees she's struggling and indulges her because he loves her, but is also slowly chipping away at the hurt that they share.
Incredibly wholesome, Satan's interior designer.
Thank you very much, A "cock"work orange. Negativity is common nowadays, so I try to spread positivity where I can. Everyone needs a little bit of brightness and not everyone can make it themselves. So those of us who know better, need to do better.