10 Most Important Mental Health Awareness Episodes In Star Trek

Mortal Coil is emblematic of one of the great advantages of episodic television. It provides a readily identifiable, singular example of a complex set of issues — a focal point for a discussion of mental health. The one-episode story also brings into sharper definition, by juxtaposition, the changes in Neelix's emotional state pre- and post-accident.

Though thematically more digestible, Star Trek's classic 'morality play'-like structure does, of course, have its limits. Neelix was, in essence, 'reset' from his experience by the next episode, Waking Moments.

Following the title, Mortal Coil is about death — our fear of it. For Neelix, the episode marks an existential crisis — a crisis of faith. Through Ethan Phillips' performance, we also see the different faces of depression, bear witness to the fact that the outside might not necessarily reveal how we are breaking within. For Neelix, this culminates in a suicide attempt.

The episode is also about hope and about the love of adopted family. In Phillips' words in Star Trek: Voyager: A Celebration:

What brings [Neelix] back is when Chakotay tells him, 'You're needed. The goodness and the kindness we all show each other is the whole reason we're here.'