10 Times Star Trek Should Have Known Better

There are many rules about being a Starfleet officer. One must represent the uniform with dignity. One must obey their duty to the truth. And one must ask their Captain and Doctors’ permissions before hopping into bed with an alien. Funnily enough, while Harry Kim was being raked over the coals for a violation of that last rule, he must have been thinking, loudly, of the names Kirk and Riker.

The Disease is a bizarre episode that seeks to slut shame Harry Kim for having a physical relationship with Derran Tal, a member of the Varo species. While no one would bat an eyelid if Riker got off with half the crew, Kim is dragged to Janeway’s ready room, forced to recite the above rule, and held to a far, far higher standard than any other member of the crew. This, according to Janeway, is because he is Harry Kim. She expected better of him. 

In this episode, Harry is portrayed as both rightly indignant, and also out of control, muddying the message here. Is Janeway right to be angry at him? Is the Doctor right to report him for having his encounter with Tal? Is he right for being a little confused when the book of Star Trek love, written by William T. Riker, has a forward by James T. Kirk? 

This plot simply didn’t make sense. Star Trek had already depicted a more sexually free future many times in The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and even The Original Series. Why, then, is Harry Kim made to report to the captain and punished for doing something that other characters had done many times before. Frankly, no one comes out of this one looking good, making it a strange episode overall, especially so late in Voyager’s run. 

If the episode’s message was to engage in safe sex (there is a plot point that suggests the Varo imprint on their partners, leaving Harry in a kind of withdrawal), it is lost in the righteousness of the Captain.