10 Dumbest Things In Star Trek: Voyager
5. Ranking Paris and Kim
The blatant choice for anything to do with ranks here would be Forever Ensign Harry Kim. Yet the progress of Tim Paris makes even less sense when examined.
Once convicted criminal Paris joins the Starfleet crew officially he's granted the rank of Lieutenant (junior grade) immediately stepping above Harry. Disgraced in Thirty Days, Tom is demoted to ensign but only until Unimatrix Zero, receiving a return to his junior grade lieutenant status. This again shelves Harry Kim so much so even the Forever Ensign notes that he's still missing that additional pip. Your time will come Harry.
Why would this be dumb? Because from a crew moral perspective this crushes anyone who's made Starfleet their career in the ranks or the enlisted ensemble. If there's a real line behind all this it's that crime does in fact pay.
It makes it ever more understandable how both character and actor in Garrett Wang were disappointed with the development of Harry. This led to some difficult times for the actor who felt tragically underused. Tom's contribution to the ship is no more or less important than Kim's who has faced his own series of trials across the breadth of the show. Clearly surviving an attack by Species 8472 is an everyday occurrence. Maybe he should have mutinied and been bumped up to full lieutenant. By the finale it is resolved to some degree. However the choice to award him command of the USS Rhode Island - America's smallest state - feels like another jab.