Leveling up in Starfleet is easy for some, and very difficult for others. While Kirk (Chris Pine) went from cadet to captain in roughly one day in the Kelvin Universe, and Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) formally entered Starfleet as a full commander in Picard Season 3, some characters never seemed to get promoted despite years and years of competent and even downright amazing service.
One character who was mysteriously never raised through the ranks throughout his seven years on Star Trek: Voyager was the long-suffering Ensign Harry Kim, played by Garrett Wang from 1995 to 2001. But now Kim is making a Star Trek comeback, and it seems the Final Frontier finally has bigger things in store for him.
In the new trailer for the fifth and final season of Star Trek: Lower Decks, the crew of the USS Cerritos is back for their final ride. Since 2020, the animated sitcom has not only created great new characters and memorable adventures, but has also been the source of some very deep-cut references.
Continuing that tradition of meta-Trek commentary, the trailer features the return of Wang as Harry Kim. In the final scene, a room full of Harry Kim duplicates notices that one version has “two pips” on his collar, meaning that somehow, against all odds, this Kim was promoted to a rank beyond ensign. The gag is that the most unlikely development in the entire universe is Kim getting what he deserves.
This is a long-running joke within Star Trek fandom; that despite everything Harry went through in the Delta Quadrant, Captain Janeway never gave him even a modest field promotion. Countless memes about Kim never being promoted can be found online, and in 2019, at Capital City Comic Con, Wang joked about begging Kate Mulgrew to talk to the writing staff to get Kim promoted. “How stupid am I?” he quipped. “I’m going to the actress who plays the captain to see if I can get promoted. And I’m an actor on the show. I’ve completely blended my reality into my fantasy!”
Now, with Lower Decks Season 5, Harry Kim will finally enjoy a little vindication. Kim was eventually promoted to captain in Star Trek: Online, but that game isn’t entirely canon. Chronologically, Lower Decks takes place near the end of Voyager, so it’s too early to see Kim as a captain. One extra pip on his collar, however, is a modicum of justice for the long-suffering character.
Wang’s return as Kim wasn’t previously revealed by Paramount, making his Lower Decks cameo a surprise. And because this is the show’s final season, it feels possible, and even likely, that even more deep cuts and cameos are coming before the end.
