Oh yes, it would.
Because a lot of things were distorted and bad in that alternate universe. Paris would have been a wasted loser, for example.
I have my doubts because it would have created other not so good side effects, like Paris being a wasted
Agreed that Harry had reasons for second thoughts. But he also had very legitimate reasons for wanting to stay on Earth, which were never explored.
In "real life" the bad guys always win. Therefore i prefer other endings when I watch a series to relax and get away a while from "the gray universe".
Stephen King, in his mini essay "The Importance of Being Bachman", reminds us that the good guys usually do win... they just win in small ways that don't constitute escapism. The teacher who sacrifices herself protecting her kids from a school shooter might get more press than a teacher who spends 35 years supporting and emotionally nurturing her kids... but they've both acquitted themselves nobly.
Well, a little uncertain would have been appropriate in the situation.
But there were a lot of things which weren't right in that universe and I guess that's why harry thought it would be better on Voyager.
Really just one thing: Tom's life was a sinking, disintegrating mess. And that's tragic, but hardly Harry's fault.
To use a parallel, consider what probably happened to Nick Lacarno after Picard's "First Duty" speech made Wesley do what he did. It's conceivable that he wound up at a similar dive, drinking himself into oblivion because his life had been destroyed. We just don't see it.
And therefore they shouldn't have been involved in Voyager.
But the worst thing is that they abandoned the 24th century when they decided to make a retro series after Voyager, thus setting the standard for all the lousy movies and series we have had to stand after Voyager ended.
The problem is... they included time travel, phasers, transporters, photon torpedoes, and the Federation. In short, as with Voyager, they didn't go all-in on their unique premise.
I like my characters.
I do too. But consider the choice I had with this one character... either he lives and grows old alone, watching from a distance in frustration as the woman he loves builds a life with another... or he gives everything he has for a cause he believes in, falling in battle in a blaze of glory? And also, reminding the reader that in the end, there are no winners in war.
I never got the big deal about Harry's lack of promotion.
*Oddish turns bright green, grows to three times his original size (his shirt shreds but his pants miraculously stretch with him), and begins throwing large objects at
@Tosk*
Just kidding...
Don't ask me why it gets under my skin. Maybe as a loser myself, it bugs me when someone else ends up the same way, especially through no fault of their own.
Unless maybe it helps distract from the fact that he was kind of a dull character?
Not always dull, and he did pair well with some other characters...but as an entity unto himself, eh.
If they had wanted to retire him from the series, I would have had no issue with that. "Non Sequitur", the episode
@Lynx and I have been exchanging opinions about, would actually have provided a way to remove Harry's character from play without killing him.
Other options included making a major transformation to make him interesting again, like Nog joining Starfleet, or just letting him fade painlessly into the background... but NOT in a way that was deliberately calculated to humiliate him, insult the viewer's intelligence, and taunt the people who complained about it.
