John de Lancie was game for a Q and Janeway romance

John de Lancie was open to a Q & Janeway romance

When John de Lancie made his first appearance on the Star Trek: Voyager episode, Death Wish, producers were adamant about there not being any type of romance between Captain Kathryn Janeway and the intergalactic being. They didn’t want Janeway to appear even the slightest bit interested or tempted in Q or what he could offer. So sexual tension was off the table. And the man behind Q thought that was a missed opportunity.

John de Lancie, the actor who portrayed the irritating prankster, considered a potential romance to be the “800 pound gorilla in the room” and thought a relationship between Q & Janeway had so many possibilities. In his opinion, the captain and Q should have crossed that line because it would have opened up many doors. Whether it was a relationship or just an encounter, it could have served as a way to bring Q to his knees, so to speak.

"“We could have gone down that road and then have the rug pulled out, mostly from under me.”"

Would fans have wanted a relationship between Q & Janeway?

Having Q fall in love with someone he ultimately could not have a fulfilling relationship with would have shaken up his universe and ours. But because no relationship was allowed, de Lancie said they had to turn a blind eye to any type of tension or attraction, and he said that the dialogue and the experience were just not as fulfilling. (Star Trek All Good Things: A Next Generation Companion)

Perhaps the producers were concerned that fans would not have wanted any type of relationship between the captain and Q, but I don’t think we would have minded a few more sparks. Q could have certainly made things a little more exciting aboard the Voyager. As for anything long-lasting, that wouldn’t have worked because of who Q was…unless he had chosen to become mortal. But then we would have lost Q. And that’s definitely not something we would have wanted.