Logline
When an existential crisis threatens to wipe out a beloved but infamous Star Trek species, a cadet is forced to confront his past and strained relationship with his family. As he pursues an unexpected method of coping, Nahla races against time to save this species from extinction.
Written by: Gaia Violo & Eric Anthony Glover
Directed by: Doug Aarniokoski
I wonder how much do the Klingons know that Starfleet pulled its punches?
I think they’re probably fully aware, at least amongst their leadership. They’d already been offered the planet for free, after all.
I think it was about respect, not trickery.
Dialog exchange spoiler—do not read before viewing the episode
“I have been reading your file for the last seven years. It’s longer than War and Peace. And the plot twists…”
I haven’t laughed this much in months, I don’t know who writes these humorous bits, but thank you!!
That was a fantastic episode altogether. Loved it.
I agree that the resolution should be obvious, and after the Betazed episode, it is again ridiculous that political problems are solved at a school, but then again, it was ridiculous that Picard solved all problems in the galaxy.
I also like how this episode resolves why Klingons played no role in Discovery after the time jump.
I thought the contrivance of involving Starfleet Academy was done very well.
From an upper decks perspective, a tragedy happened, and Starfleet was compelled to act. No need to involve the Academy, but it just so happens that the highest ranking official in Starfleet with close ties to a member of the Klingon house is the current chancellor of Starfleet Academy. (That she’s 400 years old is going to be a pretty handy plot device for getting her involved in all sorts of things… but it hasn’t hit the point of being annoying yet.)
Separately, it also tracks that the chancellor needs to see their only Klingon cadet privately to offer support. That’s a good school administration right there. No need to involve him in the diplomatic negotiations that are going on behind the scenes.
The only reason why these converged was because of the debate class, which makes total sense that it would be a required course at the Academy, and then only because the students debated the Doctor into allowing it because they were already talking about it.
I think this would be ridiculous if it was literally every episode, but this actually worked.
Yeah, I thought both this and the “youth movement” angle of episode two worked well.
As the cadets start venturing out into fieldwork more, they shouldn’t have to make excuses quite so often. They can go find their own trouble, and Discovery will be undergoing a perpetual refit!
But Star Trek writers should come up with new ideas other than “our favourite alien race” diasporas. Will we have a Frengi diaspora next season?
Annotations for 1x04 are up at: https://startrek.website/post/34851748
It was okay, and I like that we got some insight into why Jay-Den is the way he is.
But… to be honest, I’m not sure why this debate between Caleb and Jay-Den is even happening. If they’re going to throwing regulations and laws around, doesn’t the actual Prime Directive exist anymore? Because I’ve not heard a single mention of it. If the PD exists, you just don’t mess with the internal workings of a civilisation (TOS: “The Apple” and “The Return of the Archons” notwithstanding). You can offer, you can plead, but whether they accept is their choice and right, even if it means they go extinct because of it. Yes, I know it’s all a metaphor for Jay-Den’s internal struggles, and perhaps given how they’re debating the Prime Directive is now scattered across several statutes and case law instead of one all-encompassing General Order and other sub-orders (VOY: “Infinite Regress”). But when you’re talking about this kind of situation, it’s precisely the Prime Directive you should be using to frame the debate.
Also, I saw the ending coming from very early on in the episode - it’s the obvious solution, and they should have thought of it so much earlier. Yes, if conquest, not charity, is what Klingons care about, just let them “conquer” Faan Alpha!
I think the debate club is exactly the place for the conversation - Vance and Starfleet are following the PD. They’ve made the offer, been declined, and are…well, not respecting it, but obeying it. The worst you can say about them is that they’re being persistent, trying to convince someone in the Klingon leadership structure to change their mind. That may be a little obnoxious, but I don’t think it violates any Starfleet principles to give it a shot.
That leaves the cadets to debate whether respecting the Klingons’ wishes is a good thing in this case, and I don’t think there’s any indication that the debate has any weight to it - it’s not going to affect Federation foreign policy.
I liked that “good” debaters tended to fall back on Federation law and Starfleet regulations, whereas the message is to continue to treat people with respect to their culture and identity (even if that identity is sometimes muddled).
it’s the obvious solution, and they should have thought of it so much earlier.
I do agree, but (a) Starfleet’s pretty out of practice with this stuff, and we saw in the premiere just how black-and-white they became during the Burn, and (b) if it doesn’t work out…well, you’ve got a botched “Vulcan Hello” on your hands, which isn’t great.
If they’re going to throwing regulations and laws around, doesn’t the actual Prime Directive exist anymore?
Caleb explicitly mentions the Prime Directive, stating that it doesn’t apply here, but without explaining why not. I always understood that this directive applies only to pre-warp societies, which the Klingon society is not, but I may be wrong.
The PD applies to all civilzations, but is more permissive with those that are already capable of FTL travel. When a species is out travelling the galaxy, you can interact and negotiate with them, but you can’t directly interfere with their business.
Caleb is leaning hard into the “pre-warp” side of it, as many fans tend to do, which is why he said those particular regulations don’t apply. He’s just conveniently ignoring the rest of the PD, assuming it’s still in force in the 32nd century.
I agree that the resolution to the conflict was obvious and it took the episode a bit too long to get there.
Not sure about the PD. I guess it is complicated by the fact that we are talking about the Klingons, a foe and friend for like a millennium. It’s hard to turn away from their struggle. But the federation comes across as if they’re not looking at Klingons on the same level. Like “look at this planet, it has lots of Vulcans, you will love it”, as if Earthlings would be happy if Klingons showed them a planet and are like “this place is 80% water, take it”. I know that’s not even discussed in the episode, but that’s, at least to me, a bigger point than what the Klingons bring up. Home is where the heart is? But then again, Klingons do what Klingons do, so yeah, let’s battle it out
I thought it was great and have been enjoying the series so far. It reminds me of Lower Decks blended with a much less offensively cheesy Discovery.
Loved the episode, no notes.
shit, should I be watching Academy!?
Yes.
🥹 Yes, I am crying.
EDIT:
Major Spoiler
I teared up hearing the rendition of the TMP score.
Me too.
