Warning: Spoilers ahead forStar Trek: Lower Decksseason 5, episode 9, “Fissure Quest.“Star Trek: Lower Decks' final season not only brings back Garrett Wang back to the role ofStar Trek: Voyager’s Ensign Harry Kim, but the character’s meta return also humorously acknowledges one of the biggest controversies about the USS Voyager’s Chief of Operations. Despite playing Harry Kim inall seven seasons ofStar Trek: Voyager,Wang’s character never managed to progress beyond the rank of ensign. There were several explanations and theories for why this was the case, but despite numerousoccasions where Harry should have been promoted inStar Trek: Voyager, it never happened.
To rub salt in Harry’s figurative wound, other members of theStar Trek: Voyagercastdid move up through the ranks as the show went on, 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, soStar Trek: Lower Decksseason 5, episode 9,“Fissure Quest,” is the first time Wang has been afforded any significant level of catharsisregarding how his character was handled. Interestingly, the animated comedy makes the amusing suggestion that it’s a relief Harry was never promoted.
Star Trek: Lower Decks Hilariously Shows Harry Kim Being Promoted Is A Threat To The Multiverse
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 rip, which signifies his position as a Starfleet Lieutenant. Although Lt. Kim does initially seem every inch the levelheaded and loyal officer as his live-action counterpart, leading an unwilling group of multiversal Harry Kims proves thatWang’s character could always have been one bad day away from becoming the villain.
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“Fissure Quest” isn’t necessarily suggesting that every Harry Kim would become a threat to reality once they were promoted beyond the rank of ensign. The episode doesn’t besmirch the name of Wang’s character in general. Instead, it’s just that specific version of Harry Kim who snapped as a result of being overlooked for promotion for far too long, and then going rogue once ascending to lieutenant. Given the size ofStar Trek’s multiverse,it’s not surprising that such a Kim would exist, as pretty much anything is possible.
Was Star Trek: Lower Decks' Lt. Harry Kim From The Prime Universe’s Voyager?
Lower Decks uses an alternate (but similar) Harry Kim as the “Fissure Quest” antagonist
The Anaximander’s crew consists almost entirely ofStar Trekcharacters from realities outside the Prime Universe - other than Jack Quaid’s Captain William Boimler. So, although Lt. Kim’s uniform and combadge design align with those of Wang’s most famous version of the character, it’s very unlikely that “Fissure Quest” uses the Prime Harry as the story’s villain, or that he’s even in the episode at all. Making such a belovedStar Trek: Voyagercharacter like Harry Kim into a canonical bad guy would be an incredibly bold move, and one that is, in all likelihood, avoided inStar Trek: Lower Decks.
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“Shades of Green”
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“A Farewell to Farms”
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“Of Gods and Angels”
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Star Trek: Lower Decks
Cast
The animated comedy series Star Trek: Lower Decks follows the support crew on one of Starfleet’s least significant ships, the U.S.S. Cerritos, in 2380. Ensigns Mariner (Tawny Newsome), Boimler (Jack Quaid), Rutherford (Eugene Cordero), and Tendi (Noël Wells) have to keep up with their duties and their social lives often. At the same time, the ship is being rocked by a multitude of sci-fi anomalies.
Star Trek: Voyager
In this sci-fi series, the starship Voyager becomes stranded in the Delta Quadrant, 70,000 light-years from Earth. The diverse crew, led by Captain Janeway, embarks on a perilous journey home, encountering unfamiliar species and challenges while adhering to Federation principles in uncharted space.
