Star Trek: 10 Times You Asked 'WHAT Were They Thinking?!'
7. The Disease
Let’s get this straight: Tom Paris can pair up with anyone he likes, and Chakotay falls for a woman he can’t even remember. Both of these men have nothing said to them, but if Harry Kim shows the slightest interest in a woman, he’s pulled up in front of the captain.
While the context of his interrogation is vaguely in the context of it affecting his duties, it’s hard not to be on his side when he follows her from the Ready Room, arguing with Janeway on the bridge. He’s confused, and so are we. Starfleet Officers have engaged in relations with alien species since the first day that green paint was added to Susan Oliver’s skin, so suddenly introducing a regulation that prohibits such acts - so late in Voyager’s run as well - feels entirely out of place.
Why did they do this? Was this to show, once again, that Harry had to operate under a different set of rules? The joke about his lack of promotion is, for the most part, just that - a joke. But adding new barriers that he faces begins to reframe the conversation. Is this poor fellow screwed, no matter what?