Harry Kim should’ve been given a promotion on screen, not in a video game

Harry Kim of Star Trek: Voyager fame is finally a captain but how it came about is wrong.

Star Trek: Voyager introduced us to Harry Kim, an ensign when the show begins. He’s young, naive, and is the youngest member of the bridge crew aboard the U.S.S. Voyager. He quickly became one of the best characters on the show and the portrayal of the character by Garrett Wang really resonated with fans.

Yet, his character wasn’t always guaranteed, at one point the writers wanted to kill him off to make room for Jeri Ryan and her new character Seven of Nine. They opted not to, instead writing off Kes, played by Jennifer Lien. Part of the reason why Kim was retained was due to Wang being named one of the Sexiest Men Alive in 1997 by People magazine, and there was trepidation around writing off an actor who was so beloved.

Despite that, Wang’s character, Harry Kim, never saw a promotion. He remained an Ensign throughout the entirety of the show. Something that wouldn’t be rectified until Star Trek: Online’s Incursion update, where Kim is now a captain, taking on the Borg.

And he deserved so much better.

Harry Kim deserved to have his promotion shown on a Star Trek film or show

Harry Kim deserved better than getting a promotion off-screen, only for it to be revealed on a video game. Now, Star Trek Online is great, by all accounts, and has done some great things by bringing back past actors and actresses.

Talents like Kate Mulgrew, Wil Wheaton, and even Deep Space Nine’s Chase Masterson have all been brought in and given something really unique to sink their teeth into. And if this had been any other character, from any other show, yes, absolutely, it’d be a great thing.

But Wang deserved to see his character get the rub he deserved in something more impactful. Something more worthwhile of such a major moment. Be it on Enterprise as a flash-forward, in one of the half-dozen shows that have debuted. Something.

It’s good to see Harry Kim finally a captain in canon, but it sucks that it only happened as a way to push a video game update.