A line from a Star Trek: Voyager season 4 episode may have explained Neelix’s (Ethan Phillips) and Kes’s (Jennifer Lien) breakup better than the show officially did. Neelix and Kes were both series regulars on Voyager’s cast of characters, although Kes departed the show at the beginning of season 4 after Jennifer Lien was written off to make room for another character. For most of Voyager seasons 1 and 2, Kes and Neelix were in a romantic relationship, but the two broke up off-screen during season 3 under slightly mysterious circumstances.
It’s generally accepted that Voyager never fully explained Neelix and Kes’s breakup. However, an obscure line from Voyager season 4, episode 10, “Random Thoughts” may have shed some light on at least one of the reasons for their parting ways. During the episode, B’Elanna Torres (Roxann Dawson) was accused of a “thought crime” by a race of telepaths after a violent thought of hers led to physical violence among members of the species. When discussing the issue with Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), Neelix made a very revealing comment about his thoughts on telepathy.
Neelix’s Opinion On Telepaths Explains His Kes Breakup On Star Trek: Voyager
Neelix had some strong opinions on telepaths in “Random Thoughts”
During his conversation with Seven, Neelix commented that he never liked telepathy and cited one of the reasons as it being “bad for relationships.” Given that Kes had several mental powers including telepathy, Neelix’s line seems to indicate that he was talking about her specifically. Voyager never depicted Neelix in a relationship with another telepath, and the episode that showed anything close to his and Kes’s official breakup featured Kes being taken over by a brutal war criminal because of her powers. Neelix’s line in “Random Thoughts” seems to imply that he blamed Kes’s abilities for their breakup.
However, the line and its implications are also somewhat bizarre, as Neelix never displayed any on-screen hostility towards Kes’s powers in previous seasons. There were other issues in Neelix and Kes’s relationship, such as the age gap between the two and Neelix’s jealousy over Kes spending time with other men, but when it came to her abilities, Neelix always seemed supportive. Kes’s powers were ultimately what took her away from Voyager, so perhaps Neelix’s resentment towards them had been growing after her departure. Either way, it’s hard to imagine that Neelix’s line in “Random Thoughts” wasn’t a reference to Kes.
Why Star Trek: Voyager Never Showed Neelix And Kes’s Breakup
Voyager dropped the ball with Neelix and Kes’s relationship
Although their relationship wasn’t popular, Voyager never officially showing Neelix and Kes’s breakup is still an odd oversight. Kes dumped Neelix on-screen during the season 3 episode “Warlord,” but that was done under the influence of someone else possessing her. After that point, however, the two were shown to be officially broken up without another scene where they discussed making the change in their relationship official. Ethan Phillips revealed that Voyager cut a Neelix/Kes breakup scene in a later episode, something that was done for time purposes but that he felt was a mistake in the long run.
Before her powers evolved to the point where she had to leave the ship, Kes and Neelix sat down for a chat where they reaffirmed their affection but agreed that their breakup was the right choice.
Neelix and Kes did at least get a heartfelt goodbye during Kes’s last episode. Before her powers evolved to the point where she had to leave the ship, Kes and Neelix sat down for a chat where they reaffirmed their affection but agreed that their breakup was the right choice. The scene was a sweet ending to Kes’s time on Star Trek: Voyager, although it does contradict Neelix’s later statements about telepathy since he showed nothing but support for Kes’s evolving powers. Without more evidence of Neelix’s opinions, it’s ultimately hard to know where his resentment toward telepaths came from.