Neelix’s departure from Star Trek: Voyager was perfect

Star Trek: Voyager ended its series without one key member of its crew.

If you haven’t seen Star Trek: Voyager in a while, you may not remember that by the time the series finale, “Endgame” came around, the ship was missing one of its core crewmembers. While he would make a minor cameo in the series finale, having a conversation with Seven of Nine via their subspace communications, Neelix was actually no longer a member of the crew.

Neelix disembarked the ship two episodes prior, in the 23rd episode of the seventh season; Homestead. In that episode, Neelix finds a colony of Talaxians who he helps. One of the Talaxians is a woman named Dexa, who Neelix develops feelings for. He also starts to buddy up with her son Brax. When the events of the mission come to an end, Brax asks Neelix to stay but he returns to Voyager, conflicted.

During a conversation with Captain Kathryn Janeway, Neelix is given the option of staying behind as a permanent Ambassador to the Delta Quadrant, now that Starfleet has the ability to communicate with the region. Neelix takes the posting and begins a life with Dexa and Brax.

Star Trek: Voyager gave Neelix a great farewell scene

When the decision is made, Neelix readies himself to leave the ship, taking his Starfleetcombadge as a memento of his time on the ship. Never having been an official Starfleet officer, it was fair to say many didn’t know how his departure would go, and what kind of sendoff would he get.

Turns out he got arguably the most heartfelt goodbye in all of Voyager if not all of Star Trek. As he leaves the turbo-lift, he sees every officer waiting for him. Standing at attention for him. Everyone, including young Naomi Wildman, says goodbye to Neelix without actually needing to say goodbye.

The moment is capped off with Tuvok, finally, giving Neelix what he longed for; a little dance. It was a perfect moment and a loving send-off to a character that always did his best. While Neelix was never the most beloved character in the franchise, his departure was the most perfect way to say goodbye to the character.