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Character Spotlight: Neelix

By Ames

At some point, the Star Trek fan base decided the worst main character of the franchise is Neelix – he’s obnoxious, his jokes don’t land, he’s dating a two-year-old, he looks like that. But if you actually, I dunno, watch the show, your hosts here at A Star to Steer Her By found that Neelix might be one of the most complex, consistent, and realistic characters on the show. Even Caitlin, who started our Voyager watchthrough disliking him, ended it bathed in the Talaxian love.

So get off the hate train and give the guy the open mind he deserves. He’s only trying to help the friends he met in the Delta Quadrant while battling some of the harshest mental demons the show has given to a character. Not to mention that Ethan Phillips gets to show his dramatic range show by show, comic relief one day, and emotionally destroyed the next. Check out both sides of the Neelix character below – the good and the bad – listen to our debate on this week’s podcast episode (stroll over to 51:16), and make your own decision! We’ll see you in the mess hall!

[Images © CBS/Paramount]

Best moments

Now I am become death, destroyer of Talaxians The first season of Voyager is already digging deep into Neelix’s tragic backstory when “Jetrel” reveals that his whole family was taken out by the titular character’s metreon cascade. The whole episode is Neelix facing the man who killed so many Talaxians, and also facing his own deep guilt. When he forgives the dying Jetrel, he’s really forgiving himself and finally moving on.

There’s nothing like a family reunion We’ll have more to say about “Parturition” in our next section, but we start to see Neelix the caregiver in his interactions with the newly hatched dino puppet. Not only do we see an end to the entirely stupid love triangle between Neelix, Kes, and Tom, but we glimpse how much Neelix puts other people before himself when he pushes to save the baby monster thing.

I’m going to have plenty of material for tomorrow’s Briefing With Neelix Neelix’s nosiness, while frequently one of his more annoying traits, ends up paying off in “Investigations” when he uncovers the mole who’s been making contact with Seska and those wily Kazons. Not only does Neelix put himself at risk by going undercover, but he also ends up murdering that saboteur Jonas by throwing him into a plasma fire like a badass!

The 299th Rule of Acquisition: Whenever you exploit someone, it never hurts to thank them Ethan Phillips sure knows how to play a Ferengi, having portrayed Farek in “Ménage à Troi.” But Neelix himself also plays a damn good Ferengi, totally pulling off the Grand Proxy / Holy Pilgrim in “False Profits.” He initially fools Arridor and Kol with his quick thinking and improv, and when the game is rumbled, succeeds in protecting the Takarians from their Ferengi ploy.

What’s this week’s legend, Olmec? While overall we found “Sacred Ground” to be an unfocused and confounding mess, Neelix is still strong in it nonetheless! He does everything in his power to support the effort to get Kes out of her supernatural coma. Most importantly, he figures out the loophole via an old anecdote about an ancient king requesting an audience with the spirits, which Janeway pounces on.

I’m tired of being the target of all your hostility Sure, most of the time, you can view Neelix’s interactions with Tuvok as insufferable and tone deaf (much like I frequently find Archer’s constant needling of T’Pol in Enterprise), but it comes from a place of love and respect. It takes Tuvok several seasons to reciprocate this and it all starts in “Rise” when Neelix finally stands up for himself to the tactless Vulcan.

Intergalactic House of Pancakes As the Voyager’s morale officer, Neelix commonly goes out of his way to support his fellow crew members. It’s something a ship’s counselor should be doing, but we don’t have one of those. So Neelix takes it upon himself to offer comfort food (like blood pie in “Day of Honor” and banana pancakes in “Extreme Risk”), a shoulder to cry on, or his body in the form of a punching bag.

Flotter and the Crashed Shuttlepod We get more of caregiver Neelix in his relationship with Naomi Wildman throughout the show. As the girl’s godfather, he’s the only one who can get her to bed at night, with stories of the Great Forest in “Mortal Coil.” But he truly shines in “Once Upon a Time” when his impulse is to protect her from the possibility her mother could die, but it ends with both he and Naomi growing when he learns that being honest with her will help them better survive trauma together.

When is a Vulcan no longer a Vulcan? We loved the vulnerable, un-Vulcan Tuvok in “Riddles” and we love Neelix in this episode even more. Once again, he shows what a great caregiver he is by selflessly caring for others. It’s even more personal because the Tuvok-Neelix relationship has built over the show, so Neelix’s support of his friend really pulls at your heartstrings, especially with the heart-wrenching ending.

See anyone you know? Neelix gets two different farewell scenes with Kes in Voyager. The first is a touching goodbye in “The Gift” when they know Kes is transcending to a new type of Ocampan. The second might be the only good moment from the deeply problematic “Fury” in which a tormented Kes is rampaging around the ship but Neelix treats her with the affection and empathy he always has.

She’s a fine specimen of Klingon womanhood I ran out of room in the EMH post to include how uncomfortable I felt when he insists Harry Kim bang Officer Ch’Rega in “Prophecy” even though it’s clear Kim doesn’t consent. But you know who’s down to clown with a Klingon mistress? Neelix! He successfully gets the tall drink of bloodwine off of Harry’s ass and onto his own. Everyone wins! Qapla’!

Coming full circle Neelix’s character gets the perfect ending in “Homestead.” See above how we started the series with Neelix feeling guilty that he wasn’t there during the Talaxian-Haakonian war and accepting that he’ll never go home again. And here we see him off after he’s saved a lost Talaxian colony and gets to rejoin his people. It’s the most complete character arc of the show.

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Worst moments

Always let your scavenger be your guide This isn’t all to say Neelix is a perfect angel. We first meet him when he’s scavenging around in “Caretaker,” and the very first thing he does is trick the Voyager into helping him free Kes from the Kazons who have captured her. Which is admirable, mind you, but he goes about it through deception and cunning. Not the best impression to make for the first time we encounter him.

Your ceiling is hideous This is one of those moments that isn’t entirely Neelix’s fault, but is definitely bad for him. What’s a better way to respond to having your lungs stolen from you as his were in “Phage”? I’m not sure, but it’s probably not constantly whining, wallowing in self pity, and accusing Kes of having an affair with Tom. Not a good look, though I certainly can’t say I’d handle it much better.

You don’t know where I was the night Rinax was destroyed As we said above, Neelix’s backstory that comes out in “Jetrel” really deepens his character. It’s also where we learn that he dodged the draft during the Talaxian-Haakonian war. I can’t judge him for hiding from a war he doesn’t believe in, but I sure can judge him for lying for many years that he was actually in the defense forces because he was ashamed for being a coward.

Get the cheese to sickbay This one’s just silly. What a strange development that it turns out the reason the ship is malfunctioning all over the place in “Learning Curve” is because the brill cheese Neelix whipped up to attempt to make macaroni and cheese. The schplict that Neelix brings on board infects the bio-neural circuitry of the ship, and it feels like a joke more than anything else.

Order the diapers. We’re about to become parents. Let’s put aside the “Kes is only two years old!” argument that we’ve had on the podcast myriad times, and instead have the “Neelix is a possessive and selfish partner” argument that’s actually warranted. In “Elogium,” when Kes is going through a traumatic life stage that forces her to decide if she’s ready to have children, Neelix somehow makes it all about him, which is gross.

How do you know where everyone’s quarters are? Speaking of Neelix being a bad boyfriend, he continues to be a controlling, jealous piece of shit in “Twisted.” Not only does he whine when Tom gives Kes a birthday present, but he also accuses her of being the town pump because her eidetic memory makes her remember where everyone’s quarters are. And then he vanishes randomly and we never get an apology!

Food fight! Most of these bad Neelix moments are clumped in the first couple of seasons, and that’s because it’s here at “Parturition” that the writers realized they needed to stop leaning on the jealous boyfriend trope and fix the Neelix-Paris relationship. It really was that bad. They were such children, starting a food fight over Kes and acting like animals during mating season.

No bone about it Remember how we gave Chakotay credit for not going out of his way not to desecrate a gravesite in “Emanations”? Apparently Neelix has no such qualms. He’s really gung ho to make some tools out of some humanoid bones he and Hogan find in “Basics.” And sadly for us, it ends up with Hogan getting killed by whatever monster or other left those bones there!

None of us knows what’s coming This episode would have made way more sense if it happened a season earlier. By “Fair Trade,” midway through season three, Neelix should know better that he doesn’t have to prove himself around his found family on the Voyager. But instead, he throws Tom and Chakotay under the bus and threatens his own life so he can get a map and continue to be the quadrant expert.

You sound as though you’re saying goodbye It’s not often that you’ll find one of our moments be a scene that didn’t happen. When Neelix resorts to a certainly suicidal plan to trick the black market dealers in “Fair Trade,” he thinks he’s going to die, but he never has a scene with Kes. I can’t forgive the writers for cutting a scene of him saying goodbye to Kes, who has ONE inconsequential line in the whole episode.

I want to hear about the Great Forest again If we can give Torres shit for how poorly she deals with trauma in “Extreme Risk,” then we can also share the disapproval for Neelix with how abysmally he deals with his mortality in “Mortal Coil,” as he nearly spaces himself. This is another reason why it’s clear the Voyager needs a counselor because even if the crew knew how to ask for help (they don’t), there’s no one to ask.

All we need now is a mark Being such a people person, Neelix also gets himself into trouble by being way too trusting. He easily falls for Dala’s nun story in “Live Fast and Prosper” like an absolute rube. And then when he and Tom are trying to prove they’re not rubes, Neelix picks the EMH to play a shell game against, who is absolutely the wrong mark. What a couple of rubes.

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We’ve already had two helpings of Leola root and it’s time for dessert. Join us for more character spotlights as we continue through the Voyager manifest next week, and also keep following as we near the end of our Enterprise watch over on SoundCloud or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also join us in the mess hall over on Facebook and Twitter, and give Neelix the credit he deserves!

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