Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4 revealed that Lieutenant Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome) wants to have Harry Kim’s (Garrett Wang) Star Trek: Voyager curse. Although there were many opportunities to give Harry a promotion during Voyager‘s run, he remained a lowly Ensign during the USS Voyager’s entire time in the Delta Quadrant. Harry also has yet to appear in any other franchise projects since Voyager ended, meaning his status as an “eternal Ensign” has never been corrected.
To add insult to injury, there are multiple Star Trek characters who were promoted faster than Harry Kim, including all four main characters on Lower Decks. During the season premiere of LD season 4, Mariner, Bradward Boimler (Jack Quaid), D’Vana Tendi (Noël Wells), and T’Lyn (Gabrielle Ruiz) were all promoted to Lieutenant, ironically after a mission that involved transporting the decommissioned USS Voyager back to Earth. While the other newly minted Lieutenants were thrilled with their new rank, a big part of Mariner’s story in Lower Decks season 4 was her attempts to get her promotion reversed.
Star Trek: Lower Decks’ Mariner Wants Harry Kim’s Voyager Curse
Mariner made it clear throughout Lower Decks season 4 that she had no interest in being a Lieutenant, and instead would have preferred to remain an Ensign just like Harry Kim. Although Lower Decks never referenced Harry’s eternal Ensign curse in regard to Mariner, the term would have fit her perfectly prior to season 4 and was something she actively cultivated. While Harry would have liked nothing better than to finally receive a promotion, Mariner worked most of her Starfleet career to stay and Ensign, right up through Lower Decks’ season 4 ending.
Mariner’s self-sabotage during the season seemed to be an extension of her usual recklessness, but the Lower Decks season 4 finale revealed that there was actually a good reason behind it. After the death of her friend, Sito Jaxa (Shannon Fill), and her experiences during the Dominion War, Mariner rejected the idea of promotion entirely for fear of eventually having to be responsible for sending her friends to their deaths. Mariner’s attitude towards Starfleet is the exact opposite of Harry Kim’s, making it even more ironic that she seemingly can’t keep herself from getting promoted while Harry can’t manage it at all.
Will Harry Kim Return To Star Trek With A Promotion?
Although Mariner was able to work through some of her issues around promotion and accept her new rank, the Star Trek franchise has yet to reveal if Harry was ever able to break his eternal Ensign curse. The video game Star Trek Online featured Captain Harry Kim, but the character has yet to make his return to the main franchise in either animation or live-action. There were plans to bring Harry back as a Captain in the series finale of Star Trek: Picard, but due to time constraints and budgetary concerns, his scene was dropped from the final script.
However, the news that Star Trek: Prodigy has been picked up by Netflix has reignited hope that Harry can finally return to the franchise. Prodigy has already brought back multiple Voyager characters, and an oblique reference by Garrett Wang to the fact that Harry “belongs” in Prodigy signaled the strong possibility of him at least making a cameo in the show. If that is the case, it’s hard to imagine that Harry won’t return with a promotion, given how famous his lack of one has become. Although Star Trek: Lower Decks demonstrated that some characters actually want eternal Ensign status, it’s past time for Harry to leave that title behind.
