Star Trek: 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Neelix
2. Good Night, Voyager
40,000 light years, give or take a parsec or two, was an awfully long way for Neelix to go back home, even if he wanted to, even if the Haakonians had left. Fortunately, as Voyager continued its way in the opposite direction, the crew stumbled on a group of Talaxians who had somehow also made it out that far. Get your dancing shoes on, Mr Vulcan. Neelix is about to depart. Ethan Phillips has admitted that he was initially a little unhappy with the decision to have Neelix remain in the Delta Quadrant at the end of Homestead. He soon came around to the producers point of view, however, noting in Star Trek: Voyager — A Celebration,
The more I thought about it, the more I decided they were right. Why should [Neelix] go back to Earth? He's not from Earth. He doesn't have anything going on down there.
Fiction then collided with real life for Phillips as Neelix made his way down the corridor to the Baxial. As the actor told the Hamilton Comic Con Q&A Panel in 2019, cast, crew, producers, and writers had all shown up — some donning the Starfleet uniform — to say goodbye. "That little walk was very emotional," Phillips concluded.