Neelix tends to get a bad rap in retrospective reviews of the series, and while it's not hard to understand why, the changes to his character over the course of the series and Ethan Phillips' excellent embodiment of the character Neelix comes to be deserves better treatment in my mind.
Neelix's early-series portrayals are really problematic. The character is written as insecure to the point of abusiveness, and despite the in-universe 'fact' that Ocampans age rapidly, as a human viewer of the series it is never possible to detach fully from the knowledge that he is in a romantic relationship with a character who is only a few years old. It's weird and uncomfortable and his early character is easy to despise.
The writers got it out of their system, however, and after a time he ends up becoming less of a binary clown/scuzzy trader, and more of a bright spark amongst the largely dour Voyager crew. He is appointed 'Moral Officer' and executes his duties with fun and warmth without being inconsiderate or inappropriately pushy. He character still grapples with feelings of inadequacy amongst the highly-trained personnel he is surrounded by, but deals with these feelings by embodying the best of the Starfleet ideals, becoming an expert diplomat dedicated to the concept of peace between species, and always seeking to expand his skillsets and become as useful as possible. Phillips should also be remembered for diving headfirst into the few dramatic moments Neelix is given, when the character had to battle with the purpose and meaning of his existence after a brush with death destroys his hopes that he will ever find closure for the senseless death of his family in the afterlife. That episode is powerful enough, but there is a moment in the series shortly after in which Voyager is plunged into darkness and Neelix is found cowering in a corner amidst a realistic panic attack brought on by this prior experience, and it's a real credit to the actor that he carried such an important moment for the character beyond the usual one-and-done format of Voyager.
A charming odd-couple relationship between himself and Tuvok is given room to breathe every now and then, but Tuvok's utter immovability is unfortunately too rigidly scripted for this relationship to ever go anywhere meaningful, save for two moments. The first is when Tuvok endures a debilitating injury that renders him childlike, and Neelix finds the respect and friendship in Tuvok that he always hoped for. The other is this episode, in which the writers finally release the clamps on Tuvok's character, and allow him to express a respect for Neelix that was never given the chance to surface otherwise.
Neelix has come to be one of my favourite character, mainly due to Phillips' aspirations for the character, his consistent translation of Neelix's traits across later episodes, and his grasp of Neelix's internal struggles and the way those struggles are portrayed as ever-present, but kept in check by the character's desire to be a person he himself would admire. He wants to be a role model, and takes on responsibility for the lives of the young and the vulnerable on board. And he never lets them down.
This episode is, thus, a rather rushed finale for the character. Someone like this could have used a little wind-up before being shipped off. But it's effective enough. Phillips does an excellent job of showing his emotional state without constantly telling us about it, and rides the many peaks and troughs of his character's journey with a sense of consistent personality and morality. Neelix isn't perfect, but he will do what needs to be done because he can imagine the people around him doing it, and in calling on the strength of others to strengthen himself, he exhibits what is, to my mind, the single most important tenant in the Star Trek universe - as a community, working for each other and held up by each other, we are made better in ourselves.
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