Star Trek Hilariously Proves Promoting Harry Kim Is a Danger to the Multiverse

Warning: spoilers ahead for Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5, Episode 9, 'Fissure Quest'.Star Trek: Lower DecksThe final season not only returns Garrett Wang to the role of Star Trek: VoyagerEnsign Harry Kim, but the character's meta return also humorously acknowledges one of the biggest controversies surrounding the USS Voyager Chief of Operations. Despite playing Harry Kim in all seven seasons of Star Trek: Voyager, Wang's character never managed to progress beyond the rank of ensign. There were several explanations and theories as to why this happened, but despite the numerous occasions when Harry should have been promoted Star Trek: Voyagerthat never happened.

To rub salt into Harry's figurative wound, other members of the Star Trek: Voyager the cast rose through the ranks as the show progressed, making Ensign Kim's treatment seem even more unfair. The franchise has never openly addressed or acknowledged this narrative blind spot in any meaningful way, so Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5, episode 9, “Fissure Quest” is the first time Wang has received any significant level of catharsis about how his character was treated. Interestingly, the animated comedy makes the amusing suggestion that it's a relief that Harry never got promoted.

Lt. Harry Kim Becomes the Villain in “Fissure Quest”

Garrett Wang voices several iterations of Harry Kim in “Fissure Quest,” but the most prominent version of the character is the one with a second-rank feature, signifying his position as a Starfleet lieutenant. Although Lt. Kim initially seems like a no-nonsense and loyal officer like his live-action counterpart, leading a reluctant group of multiversal Harry Kims proves that Wang's character could always be one bad day away from becoming the villain.

“Fissure Quest” isn’t necessarily suggesting that every Harry Kim would become a threat to reality when he was promoted beyond the rank of ensign. The episode doesn't tarnish Wang's character's name overall. Instead, it's just that specific version of Harry Kim who broke out as a result of being overlooked for promotion for too long and then going rogue by rising to lieutenant. Given the size Star Trekmultiverse, it is not surprising that such a Kim existssince practically anything is possible.

Was Lt. Harry Kim from Star Trek: Lower Decks from the Prime Universe's Voyager?

Lower Decks uses an alternate (but similar) Harry Kim as the antagonist of “Fissure Quest”

The Anaximander's crew consists almost entirely of Star Trek characters from realities outside the Prime Universe – in addition to Jack Quaid's Captain William Boimler. Therefore, although Lt. Kim's uniform and badge design align with those of Wang's more famous version of the character, it is very unlikely that “Fissure Quest” will use Prime Harry as the story's villain, or that he will be in the episode . Making a loved one Star Trek: Voyager character like Harry Kim in a canon villain would be an incredibly bold move and one that is, in all likelihood, avoided in Star Trek: Lower Decks.