School’s out for the year for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. The series’s first season comes to an end this week with the episode “Rubincon”. Picking up from the end of last week, the USS Athena, with a skeleton crew, is trapped outside of a walled-in Federation. Meanwhile, the mastermind Nus Braka (Paul Giamatti) is around the corner. Sitting in the director’s chair is Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Section 31 alum Olatunde Osunsanmi. Meanwhile, the writing team comprises Alex Kurtzman, Gaia Violo, Kirsten Beyer, and Noga Landau.
It’s a tale of revenge, hidden truths, allegiances, and friendship. With the safety of the Federation on the line, will Ake (Holly Hunter) and her cadets be able to keep the Venari Ral in check? With his mother, Anisha (Tatiana Maslany), back in the picture, what life path will Caleb (Sandro Rosta) decide to walk down? There’s character drama, some apocalyptic stakes, let’s see if this finale pays off any of this satisfyingly!
WARNING – Full spoiler discussion for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Season 1 Episode 10 “Rubicon”.
Non-Corporeal
Predictably, the episode picks up right where the last one left off. All the main characters assembled on the Athena, trying to call for help and reach safety. The reunion between Ake and Anisha in the sickbay was teed up to be emotional. From the pilot, it’s been clear that their history would result in a hurricane. The pair are acting their hearts out, and it hits the emotional beats the story’s aiming for.
It’s a motif that echoes throughout the episode, that everything’s just fine and serviceable. Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite become outstandingly shocking in any of its reveals or progression. Thankfully, the biggest exception to this is Athena’s reunion with Braka’s forces. With Ake and Anisha beaming away, the Doctor (Robert Picardo) projects a hologram to convince Braka of the ship’s destruction. The effects are gorgeous, and, if only for a tenth of a second, shocking.
Playing the episode’s opening credits over the fake debris helps to sell it. While the music is missed, it also demonstrates that this is comparatively prestigious and shouldn’t be interrupted. Paired with the slightly longer runtime, it helps to give the finale’s presentation the distinction it deserves. As far as actual surprises in the finale go, though, this was unfortunately it. Unless the absence of an earth-shattering revelation counts.
Children of the Revolution
Despite the hologram trickery, the Athena’s still not in great shape. With no real way to call for help and a vague plan to break down Braka’s wall and rescue the hostages, the cadets are forced to work together. Far better than the earlier simulations, they’re working together really harmoniously. Best of all, after watching all their interpersonal relationships bloom, the camaraderie doesn’t feel forced at all.
I was especially fond of the moment between Caleb and Reno (Tig Notaro) while monitoring the ship’s bulkheads. The way she brought the class scenes from the start of the season full circle in Caleb’s story of self-actualisation was nothing short of stellar. While usually given the more comedic material, for obvious reasons, she’s shown her capacity for the more dramatic here. If I have any specific hopes for season 2, it’s for more scenes of Reno with the cadets; she interacts with them so well.
What I was less fond of was the episode’s decision to keep Picardo’s Doctor out of action after the opening scene. He starts spouting nonsense in a way that feels so out of place in an episode with enough on the line. Perhaps it’s the fact I was a communications major instead of a science student, but it may as well have been technobabble. It’s also a little strange that we don’t see his recovery by the end, but this presumably won’t be a status quo shift into Season 2.
Humanity on Trial
The episode then moves on to Ake and Anisha being held captive by the Venari Ral. They’ve turned the abandoned Atrium into their own pit of destruction, and on a visual level, it’s a great re-skin of the set. However, it’s the idea of wrecking a place we’ve spent so much time in that hits so much harder. From the Cadets putting on an impromptu performance of Our Town, to the Calica game with the War College. Now it’s all up in smoke, marked with words mocking the heart of what the series has been uplifting.
The series continues to make effective use of the multi-levelled atrium set in the courtroom scenes. While mostly silent, the gallery stares down at the trial scene constantly, imposing and siding with the enemy until the last moment. The set’s space even allows for aerial shots of the scene, with the camera turning into an in-universe broadcast drone. It all works together to make a scene that would otherwise be three talented actors talking so much more dynamic to watch.
Having Anisha act as executioner hits quite hard. Maslany’s performance has sold the character’s grief and desperation, shining again in the series. Although she and Ake turning on Braka, revealing his philosophy to be based on a lie, is satisfying. Though it makes for two reveals hidden in technobabble, it felt like a defeat of the personality-driven sects of ignorant hatemongers that have very real-world parallels. If anything, Braka’s audience fading when faced with his lies was the most unrealistic part of the episode.
End of Year One
The threat of Nus Braka is presumably neutralised, along with the Venari Ral. Although with the number of anti-Federation worlds present at the trial, another more competent threat feels just around the corner. Though for now, the franchise takes a bold step with the declaration of Betazed as the capital of the Federation. Having a new home base outside of Earth is so refreshing, and I can’t wait to see what they do with it.
If anything, however, the episode’s conclusion feels too clean. Despite being ready to exact vengeance on Ake, unaware of Caleb’s imminent disruption, Anisha is allowed to walk free. Touring the stars with his mother before heading back to school is noble, though, and allows Caleb to live the life he’s always wanted. It leaves the door open for a completely different second season, moving into a new arc with new challenges, which is almost refreshing in this age of television storytelling.
The Cadet’s Log is a touching way to actually close out the season. However, between Braka’s defeat and the reunion with Anisha, the show feels as if it’s stumbling through a five-minute denouement. A desperate search to capture the perfect ending note. It’s a noble quest, but one that makes the random licensed music feel even more out of place. However, it’s made up for by the creative cast photos in the end credits, which were really well done.
Conclusion
“Rubincon” closes out the first season of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy in a way that’s perfectly serviceable. There’s no big revelation or big plug for further adventures; the main arcs feel quite closed. While nothing groundbreaking, it didn’t end the season on a low note, which would’ve considerably worsened its reputation. Especially backed with a menacing set redesign, inspired direction, and making the most of guest stars and Hunter’s lead role, it makes for an hour of television that’s fun to watch.
Backed with a strong understanding of the franchise’s underlying utopian ethos, even standalone episodes weave themselves as valuable parts of Star Trek‘s tapestry. Largely episodic storytelling with a lighter series arc has also afforded a more varied look at life in the 32nd Century. If the franchise continues in this direction, unburdened by the at times distracting nostalgia of the 25th century, the future looks quite bright. A positively consistent season of television that leaves me excited for the franchise’s future offerings.
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