progressed, Lien developed an allergic response to the ear prosthetics; starting with the episode "Before and After", Lien no longer wore the ear prosthetics and Kes was portrayed with longer hair to cover her ears and hide this. Characterization and relationships The "Caretaker" script stated Kes was a "dazzling, ethereal beauty, waifish and fragile", with a "dignity – her bearing, an alertness in her look, that suggests a being of powerful intelligence". On the Star Trek official website, the character is identified as a "tough survivor and a bit of a rebel". In a 1996 interview, Lien characterized Kes as "strong and curious and intelligent" despite still being "a child in a way with the same fears and inhibitions and worries that we all have". She saw the character's lack of "cynicism or precociousness or pretentiousness or sarcasm" as different from typical young female roles. Although she found "this kind of diversity in a character" difficult to play, Lien enjoyed the process and said: "It's a joy to pretend to be this extraordinary creature, so open and everything so new." Lien was not given information about her character's future storylines prior to receiving the final copies of the scripts. Unlike the show's other actors, she did not campaign for changes to her character, explaining "I felt my contribution was more in the acting, and not in the writing". She viewed Kes' developing mental abilities as representing "her confidence in being able to choose a path for her life", and identified temptation as a key part in her character arc. Author Paul Ruditis summed up Kes through the paradoxical phrase "fragile power". Kolbe said Kes and Neelix brought romance and comedy to the series. Lien and Neelix's actor Ethan Phillips said they enjoyed filming their scenes together. Writer Kenneth Biller wanted to establish the pair as living together and sexually active, but Taylor and Berman thought Kes looked too young for those storylines. Biller proposed scenes in which the characters talk about sex for the first time as a way to explore "the weirdness of alien sexuality". This discussion led to dialogue being included in the episode "Elogium". Despite this, the sexual relationship between Kes and Neelix is never clearly defined. After Kes breaks up with Neelix in "Warlord", Phillips asked writers to provide closure for the couple in a subsequent episode. He believed the end of their relationship was too