As a viewer, it’s been just over two months. For the cadets, it’s been 300 days. With time jumps between episodes already mentioned, episode nine ends with the conclusion of the first year at the Academy. Celebrations are being had on campus, friendships solidified and fleeting romances are being revisited. But in the grand scale of the universe, the merlu’ is about to hit the fan.
Writers: Kirsten Beyer & Kenneth Lin
Director: Jonathan Frakes
Looking back at the context of the first eight episodes, it’s been an oddly even season. Which is quite a rarity in the Star Trek Universe. Journeys have been had. Paths have been walked. Lessons have been learned. And even if it’s just been eight episodes to us, it’s been a year for the cadets and with how far each has come, it doesn’t feel as rushed as it could. But at the same time it feels like the series as a whole started with a mission statement about Ake and Caleb then wandered everywhere else before getting to the point.
And now, again in context, it makes sense. And thats been the key to the first season of Academy. There are ebbs and flows with everyone in the ensemble getting their moment, but now we’re back to Caleb, his long lost mother and where we began.
Episode 9 goes back in more than one way. As the cadets finish their year, the Athena is back in the air and on the way to Betazed to help launch the new home of the Federation. There’s also some tensions rising with the Venari Ral, who haven’t been seen since they ran the con at the Miyazaki where they ended up with access to Starfleet’s secret R&D facilities.
On a more grounded level, the cadets are trying to figure out who they are now after everything thats changed over the year. From Jay-Den being open enough to share an old Klingon ritual to bring his closest classmates into his house, to Sam trying to balance who she was and who she is now that seventeen years of existence has reshaped her context on the world. But the one standout is Caleb who’s adapted maybe too well to the Academy’s comfort and feeling a lot of guilt. Jay-Den wants to celebrate their new lives by acknowledging them all as a chosen family. Caleb came to Academy on the condition Ake helps reunite him with his mother. It’s been 300 days and no sign….
Thanks to a little nudge from Sam that there might be an encryption he’s overlooked when trying to communicate on his mothers private frequency, he realises that she’s not only alive and well, but as he’s tried to send messages to her, she’s been sending messages back. And the latest one is a meeting point. Elated, Caleb runs off to ask Auntie Ake for permission to go get her, only to walk in on a meeting where he overhears the Venari Rai are a larger threat than anticipated and once they arrive at Betazed, Academy’s on lockdown.
Still torn between his old and new life, Caleb of course rebels. Though politely. Planning to steal a shuttle and escape, Sam, still trying to find balance between who she was before and after her ‘rebirth’ forces her help on Caleb in her own act of rebellion. And through a series of unfortunate events, Genesis and Darim end up accidental accomplices on the mission for save Mummy Mir from a rogue trading planet being annexed by the baddies where the Federation aren’t exactly welcome…
There’s a lot going on in the final episode to bring the series to a close and build on Nus Braka’s appearances so far. After his scam on the Miyazaki, we learn a bit more about the weapons he swindled from Starfleet and why it’s a big deal. Leaning into the Omega molecule introduced in Voyager, Braka’s weapons are based on the banned technology. Due to it’s insability and destructive nature, an Omega-based weapon can cause irreparable damage to subspace and in turn make warp drive incapable of functioning. And with Starfleet only just starting to get back on it’s feet after the ‘Burn’, Braka’s weapon could undo all their work and put everyone into a deeper isolation than they were before.
It’s kind of nice that Caleb stumbles into the conversation and realises how big the situation is. Sure, he’s single-minded on saving his mother right away, but it shows a nice respect for Ake that he doesn’t pull her into his plan when he knows she’s dealing with some higher stakes that don’t need his recklessness breaking apart. On the flip side, as soon as Ake realises that Caleb’s gone, it’s also nice that there’s no time wasted or running through the breaking orders part of things again. Ake knows she’s going. Vance knows he won’t be able to say no and it’s all just open.
For the ‘kids’ of the show, Caleb and his captive crewmates all get swept up in his own fear. One of the interesting things about the series is that, while it’s always seemed like Caleb’s story and his search for his mother has been on the back burner, what we’ve seen throughout is him settling in and accepting a pretty good life. There’s not really been much of a dive into his life on the run since he was a child, nor has it felt like there’s been much impact in terms of how he presented himself since getting the uniform. But we have seen him really integrate into the more peaceful Federation lifestyle and while he seamlessly fits back into a black market on an alien world, it’s quite fun seeing the cogs ticking in everyone’s brain when they realise this wasn’t just a rescue mission for him, it’s his mental reset back to his old life.
It’s quite a nice story point for Caleb. Despite all his attachments and how easily he’s made connections in the Academy, he has spent all of his life chasing the dream of bringing his family back together, and in the back of his mind knows that he’s had no one to count on other than her in his childhood and is just stuck in a hole not really willing to accept that he’s become part of a community who do turn up when he needs him. From the other cadets going rogue (sure, not entirely willingly) to Ake immediately breaking any rule she can to help him, there’s a whole life he doesn’t realise is waiting for him as he mentally defaults to chasing the dream scenario of saving his mother.
For an episode with a lot going on, it all falling to that moment as well as being the shows first proper cliffhanger all comes with an incredibly fast pace for the show so far, and a lot of great moments from Caleb chewing everyone out only for Sam to hug him as tight as she can, to the Doctor engaging instant dad mode when he finds out what happened.
The only down side is that, while the episode did move along nicely to get to the point, it felt a little squished at the end. Anisha Mir realising her son was Starfleet was a wonderfully tense moment that highlighted more than just mummy issues for Caleb, his knowing she’d feel a certain betrayal and that, despite raging against everyone, he saw his friends as good people was a great way to show how torn between the two worlds he really was. But her realising, the cadets getting captured, and Caleb storming to the rescue all felt a little quick. Especially as Athena managed to sweep in and save the day (which was a really nice visual).
Despite that, the fact that the pace didn’t stop did help set up the final episode nicely, especially when Athena, despite saving the cadets and the Mir’s, the bad guys win. Omega 47 has trapped the Federation in it’s own bubble of isolation, with Athena left outside of it with no help, no back up and Braka’s faction in charge of a lawless land without interference.
Sure, the whole concept is a bit mad, but it really is a great episode for keeping you hooked to see what happens next.
EPISODE DISCUSSION & SPOILERS
Highlights
- Ake's mini-crew of Reno and the Doctor was a wonderful mix. Three generations of Trek leading the charge seamlessly was wonderful to see.
- Jay-Den's bonding ritual with the cadets was performed by Worf during Next Generation episode 'The Bonding'. Nice throwback!
- The closing shot of the Federation contained by Omega mines was a tricky thing to pull off visually, but while it didn't quite look quite right, showed the scale of the Federation.
All Connected...
Nus Braka’s weapon of choice to isolate the Federation is another Voyager throwback. In The Omega Directive, Voyager detects an explosion from a planet experimenting with the Omega Molecule; a powerful yet extremely volatile particle that can cause chaos and destruction to the fabric of subspace and subsequently block warp travel permanently. Without the Federations Omega containment protocols at their disposal, Janeway briefs her crew on the secret Omega Directive and takes Voyager in to ensure the Omega particle is contained and safely disposed of.
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