General opinions on Kes seem to be that she’s a sweet, precious, little baby child. And while it is true that she’s very good-natured and compassionate I also want to throw out that she:
-Grew up in a closed-off society where the culture had stopped exploring or advancing because a super powerful being provided them with everything they needed.
-Rebelled against this and left to explore the surface, escaping by crawling past energy fields that would have melted her face off is she tripped.
-Chose to hitchhike with the Voyager crew and explore the quadrant rather than return to the cloistered society she grew up in. She did this likely knowing that, given her lifespan, she would die before the ship ever reached it’s destination but apparently considered the experience worth it.
- Consistently showed a desire to learn and experience as much as possible. Approached the Doctor out of a desire to learn more about medicine and took it as a challenge when he gave her advanced material.
-Showed an interest in autopsies, suggesting she’s not squeamish about the information or experiences. She wants to know everything about a subject, even if it’s unpleasant.
-Was the first person on Voyager to view the Doctor as an equal and not a piece of equipment. More specifically, when she saw a crewman act dismissively toward the Doc she asked him about it immediately. When he shrugged it off and acted like it was normal she went directly to the Captain.
- Wanted to have a child and believed it would be her only chance, however ultimately chose not to because she wanted to complete her medical studies and cultivate more experiences before taking on that responsibility.
- Took shuttle craft piloting lessons with Tom Paris, indicating an interest in ship mechanics and space travel (something the Ocampa had turned their backs on generations ago.)
-Never hesitated to call Neelix out when he was being unreasonable or when his jealousy was impacting her social life or personal ambitions.
-Was furious at both Tom and Neelix when their bickering jeopardized a mission and put both their lives in danger.
That’s as far as far as I’ve gotten in my re-watch. You have to kind of dig to get a read on Kes but the desire to learn and grow as much as possible and the disregard for any societal/outwardly imposed boundaries to her development seems pretty consistent throughout her story so far.
Anyway, she’s great. I did not fully appreciate her before. Now I kind of wish she had stayed on board and been allowed to grow from Voyager’s sweet summer child to the manic, psychic, weird aunt I truly believe would have been her final form.
