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The cadets take their first classes at the new Starfleet Academy. Meanwhile, Chancellor Nahla Ake leads talks to help the Betazoids, who became protectionists and isolationists after “The Burn”, return to the Federation.
Warning: Spoilers Below
First Classes
Caleb, Sam and Kraag are studying on the Athena when they get their room assignments. Sam is excited to see where she’ll end up. Meanwhile, Caleb and Kraag have different ideas about sharing rooms with others. Caleb hints that sharing the room makes it harder to do certain things. When Kraag presses, Genesis arrives to say “hook up.” She, as an Admiral’s daughter, gives Caleb advice against hooking up and then says her room is at the same place as his. He looks excited until she goes to the room across the hall. Caleb opens the door to see that his roommate is Darem Reymi and the two continue their alpha male beef.
Brooke Palmer/Paramount+
After trying to get room assignments changed, and being denied, the pair head to their first classes. The Doctor teaches Xenobiology and it sounds like an easy class to pass since he says the only way they’ll fail is if their specimens kill them. Lura Thok, the cadet master, teaches defense and quickly finds the cadet who is going to run. Meanwhile, time traveler Jett Reno, first introduced in Discovery, teaches Physics. Caleb is not listening to her lecture and she’s incredibly frustrated with him. She puts him on the spot and he ends up getting covered in mucus from Sam’s Xenobiology specimen and has to be covered in a substance to stop biohazards. Caleb is struggling on his first day.
Betazoid Conference
Caleb tries to escape the Academy when he’s confronted by Tarima Sadal, the Betazed Minister’s daughter who has arrived for the conference. She senses his conflict and when he claims “there’s no conflict,” she points out that he’s “literally on a fence.” Caleb comes back and talks more with the Betazoid. They head back to the conference where it becomes clear the Betazed Minister doesn’t want to rejoin the Federation. Tamira asks to be shown around the Academy by a cadet. Nahla agrees and Tamira requests Caleb. Nahla convinces Caleb to give the tour.
Brooke Palmer/Paramount+
On the tour, it’s clear that Caleb and Tamira are developing feelings for each other. However, Caleb is also using her to find more information on his mother. The Starfleet database has no record of the planet that Nus told Caleb his mother was on in the previous episode. Tamira allows Caleb to use the Betazed records and he learns about the planet. Caleb also takes Tamira to see a humpback whale, something she wanted to see since arriving on Earth. Unfortunately, the negotiations fall apart when they are discovered about to make out. It’s clear the Betazed Minister is upset about Caleb having been a criminal alone with his daughter.
Diplomacy
Admiral Vance confirms the Betazoids only took the conference so they could say “no.” They aren’t impressed with where the Federation is heading. The Minister pointed out how things stay the same with the Academy in San Francisco and the seat of the Federation also on Earth in Paris. It looks like everything will fall apart, but Caleb talks to Tamira about getting her father back to the negotiating table. He acknowledges how much she clearly loved Earth and needed to get him back.
Brooke Palmer/Paramount+
The Minister returns where Chancellor Nahla proposes the new capital of the Federation be built on Betazed. The cadets and the younger Betazoid coalition all throw their support behind the plan. Betazed rejoins the Federation and gets resources to help defend itself, and the Federation gets access to Betazed’s records. This will help Nahla and Caleb on their mission to find his mother. Caleb returns to his room where he learns Tamira’s brother will be his and Remyi’s roommate. Her brother tells Caleb that Tamira chose to join the War College, the group who protected the region during “The Burn” and has now merged with Starfleet. Caleb is disappointed but it’s clear he can see a future.
What’s Next?
This episode hits some fun nostalgia while also growing the universe. There are some nice references to previous Star Trek series with an auditorium named after Kirk and a Brikar who is reminiscent of Rok-Tahk, one of the characters on Star Trek: Prodigy. Plus it has fun with the hall named after Turner. The episode basically makes up its own lore about how no one knows why he’s famous but they’ve heard several other versions. Given I didn’t remember Turner, I’m glad to know it’s not something I missed in other Trek series and something they wanted to build.
The series also succeeds in making the show not dwell too much on angst. Caleb’s frustrations and personal issues guide the story without overpowering it. The episode still hits on the troubles with isolationism and protectionism while pushing for a bigger world with true alliances rather than just alliances of convenience. That was a major flaw of Discovery when the personal issues overwhelmed the overarching story. This episode does a better job of blending the two. It gives me more hope for the series that had the potential to become Hogwarts in space.
Check out Star Trek: Starfleet Academy streaming exclusively on Paramount Plus.
Article Written By: Jeremy Brown for Stelmach Brown Media 2026
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