It’s Thursday, which means that it’s time for a new episode of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. This is a show that, over the last few months, has made its way into my weekly routine, tuning in like clockwork. Especially after last week’s “Come, Let’s Away” left me wanting to watch the next episode as soon as I possibly could. The time has finally come to dive into the series’ seventh episode, “Ko’Zeine”.
The episode was written by Alex Taub and Eric Anthony Glover, and directed by series newcomer Andi Armaganian. Taub previously co-wrote the episode “Vitus Reflux”, whereas Glover previously contributed to the Klingon-centric “Vox in Excelso”. An interesting combination that leaves me curious to see how they tackle the aftermath of last week’s explosive finale.
WARNING – Spoilers below for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Season One Episode Seven “Ko’Zeine”.
School’s Out
Last episode ended with Tarima (Zoë Steiner) in a coma in critical condition, the cadets shaken by their encounter with the Furies. The Athena was en route to Earth, and crisis counsellors were on stand-by. So, naturally, the next scene is the cadets leaving on some fun school holiday excursions for the loosely defined All Planets Day holiday. It’s an obvious time jump, but it doesn’t make it any less jarring to watch.
Perhaps a gamble to toy with audience expectations, or to play it safer. Yet Caleb (Sandro Rosta) spends the episode healing from opening up to Tarima, and Sam (Kerrice Brooks) spends it holding back from glitching out. It’s clearly engaging with the aftermath, but the episode feels preoccupied. This isn’t an episode about rebuilding or recovering either of those; it’s mostly taken up by a wedding. A familiar enough Star Trek episode plot, just not what I expected at all.
Seeing what the cadets do with their spare time was covered during the bar visit in episode five. Expanding on it, seeing them in home environments is a great idea. But the placement of an episode so peaceful this late in the season is suspect. Unless this is to be the last semblance of calm before the storm, why this is episode seven is beyond me.
Alien Wedding
Photos of the surface of the Khionian moon circulated before the episode’s debut. Even before context kicked in, I was impressed by the blend of practical sets and digital screen enhancements. It felt like the first properly alien environment the show’s explored, and it was realised beautifully. The Khionian formal garb helped to add to this atmosphere, feeling wonderfully at-home in the unfamiliarity of the moon’s surface.
Of course, this was a great moment for the brotherhood between Jay-Den (Karim Diané) and Darem (George Hawkins) to shine. Despite starting out as the snarky bully character, the pair have comforted each other a lot over the season. Even if not exactly the intention, Jay-Den being Darem’s best man, the titular Ko’Zeine, was really sweet. Jay-Den’s speech at the end was a lovely portrait of the series, and the softening Darem’s undergone.
Having the episode come down to Darem choosing between family and Starfleet was an interesting watch. We’ve seen his parents ignore his many messages, and how at home he’s come to feel at the Academy. Yet, fiercely loyal as he is, it took his wife forcing him away to do anything about it. It’s almost as if he’s been set free to live his life, even if he does return almost immediately to his asshole self back at the Academy.
Bridge Break-in
Interestingly, and perhaps thankfully, the episode has two distinct plotlines. While each of them are fine, I wouldn’t be sure if either had the emotional or dramatic meat to survive a whole hour of television. Far away from Khionia, Caleb and Genesis (Bella Shepard) are together goofing off at the Academy. It starts out a lighter, more childish alternative to the weight of responsibility at the wedding.
The daughter of an admiral who spends her days paving her own way out of his shadow, and the outsider orphan faced with adapting to this alien environment. Together, free of responsible supervision, get to really be themselves. Watching them bond over being a little silly was really sweet. It’s this that makes the twist all the harder to watch unfold, because Genesis has a plan up her sleeve.
The novelty of getting to the bridge, when the cadets spent last week on one, doesn’t quite click. Genesis was dishonest on her application and is trying to amend it before her record gets sent off to a fast-tracking program. Though absent for most of the episode outside a barefoot joke at the start, Ake (Holly Hunter) again hammers home the point that she’s far more than a piece of paper. A real, translatable lesson with a Star Trek skin slapped on, something Starfleet Academy does exceedingly well.
Love, Lies and Uncertainty
Darem and Genesis are the only two cadets who were yet to have a feature episode. Blending two lower-stakes plots together, with an underlying message about being true to yourself feels very Star Trek. The world’s not going to end, nobody’s going to die, just some lessons being learned. It’s what Starfleet Academy as a show tends to do well, finding teachable lessons in a distinctly Star Trek way.
My one gripe with the ending is that it ends with a seemingly useless case for licensed music. It’s not offensive or anythiing, but it doesn’t feel like it’s adding anything to the scene. If anything, I found it distracting slightly from the actual shooting stars everyone was looking at. It was quite a beautiful serene sight, with a backing track that felt like it was detracting. Though in doubling down, it did find itself carrying a particular implication. As if this were going to be the calm before an apocalyptic storm.
All the characters have had their individual time in the spotlight, and there’s three episodes left in the season. While Caleb and Genesis are battling mundane community service, it feels like this is a taste of the reckoning headed their way. Braka (Paul Giamatti) has promised a big return, and all bets are off for threats and even character deaths. I’m hoping that the next few episodes are suitably higher stakes.
Conclusion
Much like “Vitus Reflux” before it, “Ko’Zeine” is a substantial de-escalation with little to show for itself in the realm of stakes. Coming off the back of a big escalation like last week’s “Come, Let’s Away”, it was nothing short of tonally jarring. That said, juggling the actual character spotlights for Genesis and Darem was done effectively, adding some depth to the characters before the end of the season.
It’s just a shame it took until there were just three episodes left for the show to get here. With only three episodes left in this short season, there’s a lot of dramatic ground to cover. Something so comparatively lower stakes definitely feels like a story that belongs earlier in the season. Especially retreating from the plot escalation last week, I do worry if Starfleet Academy has the time left to wrap the season’s arcs up satisfyingly.
More From Trek Central
🔥 – Returning CEO of Cryptic Studios Talks Future of Star Trek Online!
📰 – REVIEW – Star Trek: Starfleet Academy “Come, Let’s Away”
🔎️ – Everything We Know About Star Trek: Across the Unknown
Join the Star Trek conversation via our social media platforms:
- Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/TrekCentral
- Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/TrekCentral
- Instagram – https://instagram.com/TrekCentral
- BlueSky – https://bsky.app/profile/trekcentral.net
- Twitter – https://twitter.com/TheTrekCentral
- YouTube – https://youtube.com/TheTrekCentral
- Mastodon – https://mastodon.social/@[email protected]
- Discord – https://discord.gg/fF2heMbfW8
