Starfleet Academy’s War College shouldn’t be a joke

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The show is squandering what could be a very topical plot about security

Lura (Gina Yashere) leads a fitness class in Starfleet Academy

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy episode 3, “Vitus Reflux,” introduces a rivalry between the students of Starfleet Academy and the War College who share their San Francisco campus. It’s a very silly episode, focusing on a prank war and a laser tag-like sport meant to teach teamwork and combat tactics. But by making the War College a joke instead of a faction that can really challenge Starfleet’s values, Starfleet Academy showrunners Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau are squandering a chance to build on their goals of making the show a mirror to today’s world.

[Ed. note: This article contains some spoilers for Starfleet Academy episode 3.]

The War College is a product of the Burn. In the aftermath of that cataclysmic event, this institution exists to train Starfleet officers focused on defending the severely weakened United Federation of Planets, rather than exploring the galaxy. That mission would inevitably lead to very different types of students enrolling, but we don’t get much insight into their motivations.

Betazoid Tarima Sadal (Zoë Steiner) joins the War College instead of Starfleet Academy because she thinks its disciplined environment will help her control her psychic powers. However, the other students introduced in this episode are fairly generic bullies, though it is very amusing to have a Vulcan dryly explain he’s messing with Starfleet “because it is fun.”

Nahla Ake (Holly Hunter) holds a plant and talks to her students in Starfleet Academy

The War College students and the school’s leader, Commander Kelrec (Raoul Bhaneja), wind up being strawmen for Starfleet Academy and Chancellor Nahla Ake (Holly Hunter). The breakdown is sort of jock vs. nerd, since the War College has more experience with team sports and initially wallops their Starfleet counterparts. But most of the Starfleet kids are also very physically fit. In classic hero fashion, they rally and win through thinking outside the box and surprising their more dogmatic opponents.

The problems with War College really started with Kelrec’s introduction in episode 2 as part of negotiations to persuade the planet Betazed to rejoin the Federation. Kelrec could have been constantly pushing back against Betazed’s requests for Federation ships to aid in its defense. As a human, he could have questioned the compromise they came to — making Betazed the center of the Federation government instead of Earth. He could interrogate the very mission of Starfleet, wondering if exploration and philanthropy are more valuable than reclaiming lost territory. But he doesn’t do anything meaningful the entire episode. Instead, he’s an uptight, tea-obsessed caricature.

Caleb Mir (Sandro Rosta), Genesis Lythe (Bella Shepard), Sam (Kerrice Brooks), Ocam Sadal (Romeo Carere) and Darem Reymi (George Hawkins) stand in a line in armor in Starfleet Academy

Starfleet Academy takes place in an era when the Federation is still very vulnerable. In the first episode, the U.S.S. Athena is ambushed by space pirates after a Starfleet Academy student whom Ake personally recruited unintentionally provided the pirates with the ship’s coordinates. The War College students mock Starfleet’s obsession with ethical quandaries, but drawing attention to their cavalier attitude towards security would have had more sting.

Kelrec and the War College students don’t have to be villains, but they should represent the very real battle between freedom and security that societies face in uncertain times. The reopening of Starfleet Academy signals that the Federation wants to build a better future and bring back the idealism it lost when most of its fleet was destroyed by the Burn. But there should still be a strong hard-line faction within the Federation that has been motivated by loss and fear and doesn’t necessarily see the value of returning to the organization’s roots. A juvenile rivalry between Starfleet Academy and War College might provide some good jokes, but Starfleet Academy should treat the conflict that the two organizations represent far more seriously.

The first three episodes of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy are available to stream now on Paramount Plus. Future episodes will release Thursdays through March 12.

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