{"id":532230,"date":"2026-03-12T21:13:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T21:13:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/532230\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T21:13:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T21:13:13","slug":"starfleet-academy-failed-most-of-its-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/532230\/","title":{"rendered":"Starfleet Academy failed most of its students"},"content":{"rendered":"

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy<\/a> aimed to shake up the Star Trek<\/a> formula for the franchise\u2019s 60th anniversary by focusing on a group of young adults studying to be Starfleet cadets. After a rough pilot that was overstuffed with exposition and character introductions, showrunners Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau settled into a compelling formula of using classes on everything from debate<\/a> to the mysteries of the universe<\/a> to frame character-driven episodes. But in the back half of the season, their work started sliding in quality like they were students with senioritis.<\/p>\n

Episode 6<\/a>, \u201cCome, Let\u2019s Away,\u201d brought a major tone shift and emphasis on the schemes of series villain Nus Braka (Paul Giamatti). But focusing on a big threat to the United Federation of Planets left much less time for character development, causing many plotlines to feel rushed or underdeveloped. Now that the season is over, we\u2019re grading the storylines for the show\u2019s six main characters \u2014 and hoping they get better treatment when they return to school for season 2.<\/p>\n

[Ed. note: This article contains major spoilers for Starfleet Academy season 1]<\/p>\n

Caleb Mir (Sandro Rosta)\"Caleb<\/p>\n

Caleb\u2019s story was central to this season\u2019s plot, so he got the most screen time of any of the show\u2019s characters. His mother, Anisha (Tatiana Maslany), worked with Nus Braka when Caleb was a child, and she was sentenced to life in prison for her role in the death of a Starfleet officer. That gives Caleb a personal connection to Nus, who, in the grand tradition of Star Trek trial episodes<\/a>, uses Anisha as his key witness to question the Federation\u2019s benevolence.<\/p>\n

Captain Nahla Ake (Holly Hunter) was the judge who sentenced Anisha, but since then she\u2019s worked to make things right. When Caleb is arrested for trying to break his mom out of prison (he doesn\u2019t know she actually broke out years ago), Nahla rescues him, brings him to Starfleet Academy, and promises her full support in finding Caleb\u2019s mom. Caleb\u2019s skepticism about Starfleet inevitably breaks down as he excels in class and makes friends. By the end of the season, he reunites with his mom but decides to stay in school.<\/p>\n

This plot arc checks all the boxes. Caleb ends the season in a very different place than where he started and his story fits into the themes of the show. But it\u2019s also very predictable. The best moments are when his friends call him out on his mommy issues and relentless need to push everyone away. They\u2019re still endlessly forgiving, so he never faces any real consequences for his selfishness and recklessness. Now that Caleb\u2019s story is largely resolved, I\u2019m hoping someone else gets the spotlight next season.<\/p>\n

Grade: B<\/p>\n

Series Acclimation Mil aka SAM (Kerrice Brooks)<\/p>\n

\"SAM
\n Photo:\u00a0Brooke Palmer\/Paramount Plus<\/p>\n

SAM has the strangest backstory of the main cast as a recently created holographic emissary for the Kasquians, a species trying to determine if they can trust the Federation. She was a ray of sunshine amidst the show\u2019s brooding teens because of her childlike enthusiasm for meeting people and learning new things. Her arc initially focused on setting boundaries with her creators, learning to accept her own limitations, and using her bubbly personality to get even the most taciturn characters to open up.<\/p>\n

SAM instantly connected with Starfleet Academy\u2019s sole holographic instructor, The Doctor (Robert Picardo), and spent most of the season trying to get him to be her mentor. In episode 8, \u201cThe Life of the Stars,\u201d The Doctor has to choose between letting SAM die or taking full responsibility for her and spending 17 years of relative time raising her as his daughter. The slow push and pull of their relationship was undermined so that Starfleet Academy could imitate the seminal Star Trek: The Next Generation episode \u201cThe Inner Light.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

What\u2019s even worse is the personality transplant SAM receives from this treatment. She returns to Starfleet Academy as just another brooding teenager, viewing her past self as embarrassingly naive. She\u2019s literally sapped of color, trading the striking gold makeup and hair accents she wore in the first half of the season for a more subdued look. Besides being cranky, SAM doesn\u2019t show any new interests or depth from her new childhood. Maybe next season we can at least see how she feels about her dad\u2019s passion for opera.<\/p>\n

Grade: C<\/p>\n

Jay-Den Kraag (Karim Dian\u00e9)<\/p>\n

\"The
\n Photo:\u00a0Brooke Palmer\/Paramount Plus<\/p>\n

The Klingon medical student Jay-Den had by far the best episode of Starfleet Academy<\/a> season 1. \u201cVox in Excelso\u201d showed what being an iconoclast cost him, even as he demonstrates his reverence and understanding of his people\u2019s way of life by advocating for their autonomy from the Federation. He also got the best relationship plot: a love triangle where he was put in the position of weighing his romantic preferences against supporting a grieving partner.<\/p>\n

Then Jay-Den practically disappeared from the show. In episode eight, the character has a cold, so misses a big cathartic emotional arc. He\u2019s one of two main students left behind when the other protagonists go on a mission to find Caleb\u2019s mom. The love triangle never progresses. His story isn\u2019t the worst, but it\u2019s the most disappointing because of how much potential was squandered.<\/p>\n

Grade: D<\/p>\n

Genesis Lythe (Bella Shepard)<\/p>\n

\"Genesis
\n Photo:\u00a0Brooke Palmer\/Paramount Plus<\/p>\n

Genesis is pretty much a one-note character: an overachiever desperately trying to live up to the reputation of her admiral father. The one compelling wrinkle is that she\u2019s so obsessed with how she\u2019s perceived that she edited her letters of recommendation to remove notes about those very insecurities. That scandal gets her pulled from a program for aspiring captains, but she faces no meaningful consequences. Three episodes later, Genesis winds up in the captain\u2019s chair anyway.<\/p>\n

Grade: D<\/p>\n

Darem Reymi (George Hawkins)<\/p>\n

\"Jay-Den
\n Photo:\u00a0Brooke Palmer\/Paramount Plus<\/p>\n

Darem is basically the same character as Genesis, but his development is even weaker. He and Genesis are quickly framed as competitors, but Genesis is better at everything. Darem explains his drive comes from being a Khionian noble with extremely demanding parents. But when Darem goes home to marry his planet\u2019s crown princess, his parents aren\u2019t even present. When he walks away from the arranged marriage because he\u2019d rather be in Starfleet and with Jay-Den, the only person he has to explain himself to is his fianc\u00e9e. There\u2019s no reason given for his parents\u2019 absence. That feels like a wasted opportunity to show Darem standing up for himself and build further kinship with Jay-Den, who also abandoned the path his parents wanted him to take. Professor Jett Reno (Tig Notaro) says the cocky Darem will probably wind up becoming a pilot instead of a captain. Maybe a change in focus will help him distinguish himself next season.<\/p>\n

Grade: F<\/p>\n

Tarima Sadal (Zo\u00eb Steiner)<\/p>\n

\"Tarima
\n Photo:\u00a0Brooke Palmer\/Paramount Plus<\/p>\n

Tarima\u2019s biggest distinguishing trait in the early episodes was choosing to enroll in the War College<\/a> rather than Starfleet Academy because she wanted more discipline and focus in her life. But after she winds up in a coma from using her Betazoid psychic powers to rescue the Starfleet cadets in episode 6, she\u2019s forced to change schools because Starfleet Academy can offer more trauma support. Why wouldn\u2019t War College have programs to deal with the trauma of being in battle? This just feels like a lazy way to wedge her into the classroom.<\/p>\n

In the season finale Tarima uses her psychic connection with Caleb to find his mother. It would have been far more compelling if that bond just let her talk to Anisha and try to get her to help Starfleet. Instead it lets Tarima perfectly locate Anisha\u2019s position in space like she\u2019s a psychic navigation computer. Tarima wound up feeling more like a plot device (and romantic accessory for Caleb) than a real character.<\/p>\n

Grade: F<\/p>\n

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is streaming on Paramount Plus.<\/p>\n

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