It’s widely understood that to keep longtime fans happy, new Star Trek shows need to connect with the series’ history. While Discovery aimed for the future, shows like Picard and Strange New Worlds were most successful when they revisited familiar stories and characters. Currently, the most anticipated upcoming Star Trek projects – Star Trek: Legacy and Star Trek United – both plan to feature returning, well-known characters. This highlights the key challenge for any new Star Trek series: acknowledging and building upon the established history is a solid starting point.
Good news for fans! Starfleet Academy is acknowledging its history, and recent discoveries reveal some exciting updates. We already learned that Wesley Crusher is remembered as a Starfleet hero, and now we know Ensign Harry Kim from Voyager eventually rose through the ranks to become an Admiral. This is a surprising turn of events, considering the running gag about his lack of promotion in the original series. You can see the proof of his rank in the clip linked here.
Harry Kim The “Always Ensign” Is No More
Throughout all seven seasons of Voyager, Harry Kim remained at his initial rank, even as other characters received promotions. This was surprising, considering he was a valuable member of the bridge crew and arguably deserved a field promotion at some point. Fortunately, records from Starfleet Academy show that Kim eventually overcame this slow start and went on to become an Admiral.
Within the show’s storyline, it was never clearly explained why Kim’s career didn’t progress, leading fans to believe there simply wasn’t room for him to move up. However, Tom Paris was demoted to Ensign and then quickly promoted back to Lieutenant, surpassing Kim in rank. Outside the show, Rick Berman reportedly told actor Garrett Wang that someone had to remain an Ensign when Wang questioned this. But this wasn’t a consistent rule across other shows, and the situation could have been avoided by simply keeping Paris at the Ensign rank.
This isn’t the first time Kim has taken on a leadership role – he previously commanded the USS Rhode Island and served as a Starfleet envoy in the Star Trek Online universe. While that story wasn’t considered official Star Trek canon, and the timeline of Starfleet Academy is often discussed, this promotion – along with the reveal about the Crusher family – is a smart move to win over longtime fans of the franchise.
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2025-12-30 19:12