Summary
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy comes into its own in Episode 3, with a fitting YA premise but enough Trek-y flourishes to feel on-brand.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy comes into its own in Episode 3. Granted, I was among those – apparently few – people who thought the two-part premiere was pretty good, but “Vitus Reflux” is a bit of a step up, since it really embraces the young-adult vibe in a way that both makes sense and feel suitably Trek-y, and also begins fleshing out the individual characters so that they feel like more than just a single race or gimmick.
There’s still work to be done, of course. The show is definitely spread too thin, and while this episode is nominally about Darem Reymi, at least insofar as being bookended by his narration, it very much encompasses the entire core group in a classic large-scale prank-off between the Academy and the War College. These episodes are an hour long, and they’d probably be better served being 45 minutes and edited more tightly, but I suppose you can’t have everything.
Prank Wars
“Vitus Reflux” is framed around an escalating prank war between Starfleet Academy and the War College, which is slightly dampened dramatically by the fact that we don’t actually know anyone at the War College except Tamira, but it is pretty fun regardless, because Star Trek pranks seem to go above and beyond.
We’re talking stuff like teleporting the Academy students, still in their underwear, from the changing rooms into the wider campus, and empathy-powered plants growing to giant-size proportions to clear people out of their dorms. It’s harmless, but it’s entertaining enough, and a sport called Calica is introduced that gives the whole thing a more action-oriented contour.
Calica is like laser tag, but visually plays out like a standard action sequence, so it basically excuses multiple gunfights, each of which is put to a slightly different purpose. The training battles between the Academy students are used to further the rivalry between Darem and Genesis, while the eventual climactic game between the Academy and the War College has a more oppositional feel. There is a lesson underpinning all this – the show being set in a school and all – about the Academy teaching patience, empathy, and tactics as opposed to just straight-up warfare, but the students aren’t half-bad at the warfare stuff either.
Overachievers
As mentioned, one of the key rivalries in this episode is between Darem and Genesis, two of the more privileged kids, but also the two most determined to prove themselves as the natural leader. Genesis is the daughter of an admiral, so has a nepo baby vibe going on, whereas Darem is obsessed with being the best at everything because of, it transpires later, neglectful parents who have always considered anything less than perfection to be a disappointment.
These two have more in common than they think, then, but it takes a while to get there. Genesis is a bit more likable, and when Darem hits her with a low blow to get ahead, you find yourself on her side automatically. But it’s a learning experience for him. Genesis doesn’t learn a great deal, since she’s largely in the right from the start, but through the lessons imparted by Nahla, not to mention his own failures, Darem begins to realise that you can lead – and be led – through empathy, not just by being “the best” at everything.
Sure, it isn’t Shakespeare, but it’s a decent throughline, and I like how the wider theme is embodied particularly in the personal arc of the focal character.
A Learning Opportunity
Fittingly, the real theme underpinning Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Episode 3 is learning, which is probably just as well. That’s obviously really explicitly embodied through Darem, but you see it elsewhere, too. And it’s not just learning about subjects on the syllabus, but human – and indeed non-human – interactions.
There’s some room for romance, for instance. Lura and Reno’s relationship is held aloft as an example of, at their most essential level, relationships being a case of whether someone is willing to show up for you or not. It’s a nice counterpoint to Caleb and Tarima’s frosty dynamic, since he’s trying to force the issue, but it isn’t until he gives her some space and allows her to decide, in her own time, that she actually wants to have something to do with him, that he makes any progress. Sometimes, you have to allow people to show you what they’re about.
But the learning angle also applies nicely to Nahla, who continues to show her bona fides as a truly unconventional Chancellor by coaching the kids to victory in the prank war entirely through hidden messages and implications, which is, in itself, a lesson. You can feel the team bonding, but you can also feel everyone’s respect for Nahla growing. Despite her bumbling barefoot demeanour, she’s exceptionally shrewd and has her share of wisdom to impart, which even Caleb is beginning to realise.
Again, it’s nothing special, but it all works in precisely the way it’s intended to, and thus far the show is achieving the level it has set for itself. Let’s just hope it delivers some more focused storytelling as it progresses.
