Over the many decades since Star Trek began in 1966, fans have their favorite couples as well as those pairings they want to happen. Kathryn Janeway and Chakotay were one as was Spock and Captain Kirk for others. There were plenty of characters that fans believed belonged in relationships that never came to fruition. Two of those characters were T'Pol and Trip Tucker from Star Trek: Enterprise.
T'Pol and Trip had chemistry, but it was like the producers/writers of Enterprise weren't quite sure what to do with it. They brought the couple together in such a short span of time, it was almost like it didn't happen. Then they eradicated any hope fans had that the romance could happen when Trip died at the end of the series finale.
Trip was brought back to life in novels, but, until now, the character has remained deceased in canon. Star Trek: Lower Decks did a solid for the pair's fans by giving T'Pol and Trip sixty-three years of marriage in an alternate timeline. Jolene Blalock reprised her role as T'Pol on the animated comedy's ninth episode of the season, and though not much time was spent talking about the romance, it was a quick nod to fans who've long wanted this pairing.
And Lower Decks took it one step further and brought Garak and Dr. Julian Bashir together as well, showing them as a happy couple in the same alternate timeline. So Star Trek: Deep Space Nine fans that had been rooting for that pairing got their own happy ending as well.
Though these events happened in an alternate timeline, it was still a nice nod to fans of the older series who still watch and think about what might have been. Thanks to Lower Decks, there was some acknowledgment of fan desire.