When an old enemy resurfaces as an existential threat to the Federation, Nahla must outwit a vengeful foe with a personal vendetta against her — as our cadets and instructors undertake a dangerous, seemingly impossible, mission to save everyone and everything they hold dear.
Teleplay by: Alex Kurtzman & Kirsten Beyer
Story by: Noga Landau & Gaia Violo
Directed by: Olatunde Osunsanmi
There is no spoiler protection in the episode discussion threads, and spoiler tags are not necessary!
A pretty solid finale to a pretty excellent season.
I liked a lot of it - Reno and the cadets having to solve the problem using their wits alone, Nus Braka’s ridiculous show trial, and the ultimate resolution of de-weaponizing the minefield (which one would think has long-term implications, if they’ve truly found a way to permanently stabilize Omega). The cast was stellar, which we’ve come to expect at this point.
I’m not completely satisfied with the resolution of the individual story arcs. I don’t think we got enough of Sam 2.0 for her inner conflict to really land, and while I assume ther and Genesis’ made-up language is a callback to something, but I honestly don’t remember it clearly. And I thought Anisha came around to Nala and the Federation too quickly at the end - I would have liked to have seen her a little angstier in that final scene.
The overall theme of the season has been identity, and choosing who you want to be. The cadets all went through that coming-of-age process, but so did the Doctor, and arguably Ake as well. I do hope we get to know Genesis better in season two, and Darem deserves more as well.
And I do hope they find Ocam - I assume he wandered off into the woods or something after episode 8.
I’m feeling the same way.
This is the most coherently plotted live action Trek of the current era. The showrunners and writers room knew what they wanted and laid down all the pieces to get there.
I’m going to say that while Anisha’s punch of Brakka’s (as they say in comics) most punchable face seemed logical and a necessary catharsis, I don’t like that Ake stooped to that herself, however understandable the motivation.
I still feel, based on how much difference an extra two episodes per season makes to a low budget show like The Ark, that SFA would be stronger and better able to serve its large cast with 12 episode seasons.
I hope we get more on SAM’s development and integration of her two memories in season two.
Likewise, there definitely feels that there’s unfinished business between Anisha and Ake. I am going with Anisha being resigned to accept who her son has become but unsure of her own future.
_I still feel, based on how much difference an extra two episodes per season makes to a low budget show like The Ark, that SFA would be stronger and better able to serve its large cast with 12 episode seasons.
I hope we get more on SAM’s development and integration of her two memories in season two._
I’ve always been against the modern short season system. SFA is a classic example in my mind. SFA really needed another couple of episodes to breathe. I’d have been quite happy to have a few less SFX heavy episodes to have just more episodes.
I always thought that the insistence on every Paramount+ show having 10 episode seasons — which was mandated by the executives in charge of streaming when the ViacomCBS merger happened — was weird.
Other streamers are not that rigid and vary season structures depending on what the show is. While 12 episode seasons are rare, I can’t see the streamer that merges HBO Max and Paramount+ being quite so rigid.
The newly merged conglomerate has a myriad of practical decisions to make in merging Paramount and WBDiscovery. It will take time for all of the parameters of their streaming model to be fully established and implemented but we can expect some significant rethinking.
I didn’t know that the 10 episodes limit was a Paramount rule, really I miss the 22 episodes season. That length forces the showrunners to work harder. Some the best TNG episodes are bottle episodes or limited cast episodes. Lock everyone in a room and you might get another ‘Measure of a Man’ or if whole cast is run down and shooting catch up scenes focus on the bit players and you can get another ‘Lower Decks’ (the episode not the series). If there were only 13 episodes a season on TNG there wouldn’t have been time enough to grow Gordie as a character or create O’Brian or … the list is too long.
We will never see 26 episode seasons again.
It currently takes more than one week to shoot a 42 minute episode.
Also, actors are not willing to lock into shows that leave them unavailable for movies or other television shows.
Star Trek and other streaming series are able to cast A-listers not just because they are willing to pay high pay rates and list them as executive producers but also because the A-listers are able to lock in multi season contracts with Star Trek while still being available to do other things.
But 10 episodes is not the maximum possible. Large ensembles like Starfleet Academy have enough main cast members that not everyone has to be on set every day.
As well, it’s possible that 4 or 6 episode limited series might be the perfect vehicle to bring back a Legacy character or explore something like the Department of Temporal Investigations. Under the old management those weren’t negotiable.
Why Paramount had such a bizarrely rigid policy after the ViacomCBS merger has never been adequately explained.
Eh 13 seems to be the standard. But then if the show’s a hit then a back 9 raising it up to 22 or at least second season of 22 does seem to still be a thing for broadcast TV at least. But STA really would have been helped by another 3 episodes.
No one in any Star Trek series is what I would consider A-list so I’m pretty sure all of them would be happy to do a 22 episode season.This era of Star Trek has quite a few A-listers actually.
Starfleet Academy is helmed by Oscar winner for best actress Holly Hunter (in The Piano), has two time nominee Paul Giamatti (one each nominations for best and best supporting actor) as well as Tig Notaro who is nominated this year for her documentary and has also been nominated twice for Emmys.
Akiva Goldsman, co-showrunner of Strange New Worlds has an Oscar for best screenwriter for an adaptation from another medium (for A Beautiful Mind).
My 1st thought when Ake punched him was - that’s illegal, he’s in Starfleet custody.
And I do hope they find Ocam - I assume he wandered off into the woods or something after episode 8.
I suspect he actually followed orders and went down to Betazed last episode like he was supposed to.
I just forgot it but the subtitles gave a name to the language Genesis was speaking with Sam.
Tamza. Supposed to be a dead language by the 32nd century.
Sam was using it to say hi to people on her first day (SFA: “Kids These Days”) and Genesis was the only one who knew the language, so that’s how they became friends.
Okay yeah, I knew it was ringing a bell. I think they probably should have called that back at least once during the season. I can barely remember things for one week, let alone nine.
de-weaponizing the minefield (which one would think has long-term implications, if they’ve truly found a way to permanently stabilize Omega)
I had the impression that it was only an option because of the composition of this synthetic type of Omega. Could be wrong, I’d need to rewatch the scene.
I also wonder if a completely stabilized Omega molecule would even be viable as a power source - the original VOY episode doesn’t seem to really touch on that, but it does seem like its energy potential comes from it being destabilized.
I got drunk on wine during this episode.
Everything was awesome! I flipped out seeing the 27th century mobile emitter. The things this episode expressed about Starfleet and the Federation are how I feel about this community (the fandom). I started attending STLV recently in 2024. Being in Las Vegas, getting to be surrounded by this community is one of the reasons I love this community. Trekkies are awesome! I love everyone here. This episode did a lot to express what a found family is, something the heart of this series.
This episode was soooooooooooooooooooooooo good!!!
Had to come back and just say… This message is 🔥
“So, the question I’d ask to all these people watching - is this the person you want to follow into the future? An angry child with his finger on the trigger whose entire worldview…is based on a lie?”
Yes, good call. I can’t believe I forgot to mention it, too!
I need to see this Talaxian Fur Fly
It’s going to continue to gather strength, and will eventually be the villain of season four.
Well according to the season finale it’s now… Duplicated itself in the replicator and is mating with itself? (If I caught that right)
Perfect vilain setup against a Moopsy!!
I could go on a whole rant about how that should be impossible, but I think I’m happy to let a gag be a gag in this case.
Incredible season and exceptional finale, and awesome acting from everyone!
Those who are snubbing STA are truly missing something.
My only little disappointment is not seeing Discovery blipping first right as the blockade is lifted, at least a few seconds or a minute before all other ships warping in. I understand why they didn’t and how it would have stolen the show, but still, I can only imagine Burnham and Action Saru teleporting right next to Nus Braka to arrest him only a second after Discovery arrives… and to find out there is another heavy lot of history as well between the three! I’d just love a one-episode team up of the Athena with Discovery and its crew in season 2 or 3 !!
not seeing Discovery blipping first right as the blockade is lifted, at least a few seconds or a minute before all other ships warping in.
I had the same thought - let the first responders be the first responders!
Hopefully we’ll see Stamets or someone show up as a guest lecturer at some point.
Oh shit, that was fun. I hate having to wait now. Also, the end credits are sublime and must be paused and read in their entirely. This is non-negotiable.
Great episode, great finale, really strong first season. I had issues with some episodes trying to do too much in too little time, but for the last two episodes the writers focused on one story and did a damn good job tying up the season arc. Can’t wait to see where the show goes next season.
The one criticism I have of the finale, and literally everywhere else it comes up in new era Trek is: Stop moving the camera so fucking much! It’s unnecessary and really takes me out of it when the camera is wiggling back and forth, or spinning around in an arc, or acting like an unstable drone during the trial portion (particularly at the end). I want to drink in what’s going on, not be trying to puzzle out WTF I’m looking at, especially when stream compression turns a lot of motion into blurry pixels.
A little shaky cam when things are intense or exploding, sure, but overall I wish it was shot in a more conventional style.
I’m not sure I can agree on the camera work. This show has come a long way from the JJ Abrams directorial tricks embraced by Discovery and other shows of this production era.
I actually thought that Producing Director Osunsamni was restraining himself noticeably in his use of whipping cameras as compared to his directing style in previous shows.
Kurtzman set a directorial mandate for the show in the opening episodes with longer pans and more close ups on the characters. He even commissioned special amorphic lenses that enable close ups within the large sets. Jonathan Frakes mentioned that the directional norms for SFA are quite different and that he enjoyed the opportunity on his episode to rely more on shots where he closed in on the characters.
For this episode, the choice of using a shifting drone view for a remote news audience made sense in the context of an otherwise static scene of Nus’ theatrical show trial.
Annotations for 1x10 are up at: https://startrek.website/post/36717083
I enjoyed the season more than I anticipated.
I have a small problem with the fleet warping instantly at the end, warp speed 900 I guess, but still a good dramatic effect
Time passed. It wasn’t instant.
I assumed that the Starfleet ships were prepositioned near the barrier/wall ready to cross. We were shown in the previous episode that there were old remnants of Borg Transwarp conduits in the region.
Reno could have messaged Vance even if full holographic communications weren’t available.
The episode makes clear that hours had passed while the Reno and the cadets on Athena were repairing the ship and working out the solution, then another 30 minutes to get to the star system at a limping warp speed and more to find Brakka.
Incredibly well done episode. Not sure others have mentioned these, but I really really liked these things in particular:
- Reno has great presence and delivery. And the sharpest uniform.
- I’m glad the announcer from Children’s Hospital fell through an anomaly and arrived in Starfleet Academy.
- English graffiti and open flames everywhere! J/k how could they get everything else so right but then fumble this so poorly. You’re telling me the venari ral are space romans, but not romulans?
A great first season, I feel like they know what they’re doing and I want more.
I think this was a solid, but a bit boring finale. I think it was strongest during the scenes where Reno was commanding. Everything else just dragged. Mostly because there are no stakes here. We know the Federation won’t end, or Nus win, or anyone die. It is clear from the beginning. But then it drags.
The “trial” made no sense to me. You already have the federation hostage. Why would you need to put on a show? Nus was a bit of a hollow villain, and I hate it when shows/movies/books/games try to give villains a reason for being evil. Especially when it is so convoluted now. Let Federation be the bad guy for once! I think it would be enough if Federation couldn’t have helped in a crisis situation. Such systemic failure is enough to push people to bad places. But here, we get the son of a secret weapon manufacturer turned terrorist. Meh.
But overall, this was a strong first season. The worst episode was “mediocre”, which is quite strong for a Trek series lol, and some real bangers. I think the 10 episode format is way to little and they should have cut one person from the main cast for better focus. I would have cut Reymi.
Tig was absolutely perfect teaching the cadets. I’ve enjoyed her as Reno since Disco, but she absolutely shines in Academy - especially in the finale.
Yeah this was my highlight of this episode and I wished we could have seen her even more. I am also a bit sad that Thok was benched in the last few episodes, I think it would have been great to see her also in this crisis situation more
Why would you need to put on a show?
Well it was a literal show to establish himself as the leader of his little pirate society, so I thought the ridiculous show trial worked. But I also think his motivation to be that sort of leader was a little out of left field.
Yeah I just didn’t see the need for it except that it was maybe a bit of propaganda? But if you have a weapon of this level of mass destruction, that is all you need to gain “support”.
Nus Braka falls a bit flat for me. I just don’t get his vision for the universe. Is it anarchy? Does he want to rule? Is it just revenge? No idea. Again, ten episodes is not enough.
