TL;DR – The season finale sticks the landing by finding a very Star Trek way to resolve its big issue and also continue the saga of the Talaxian Furfly.

Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ service that airs this series.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy – Rubincon Review Introduction –

Well, we did it, another new series of Star Trek has finished its maiden season, and what a time it was. We have big swings that didn’t always work, but at least they were not safe. They took moments to touch on major lingering threads from the past, and also had a running side plot about a Talaxian Furfly that made for entertaining viewing. But as we have reached the end, we will first take a look to see if the season finale stuck the landing and then look at the season as a whole. Okay, lets dive into Rubincon not Rubicon as all of my grammar software wants to change it to.   

So, to set the scene, things are not looking good for the USS Athena and its crew; it lost its drive and academy sections, and now they are stuck as the only ship on the safe side of the new border created by Nus Braka (Paul Giamatti). He has fenced the new Federation in, and if his mines go off, not only will the Federation be forever isolated, but all the systems near it will be destroyed, killing hundreds of billions of sentient creatures. While Anisha Mir (Tatiana Maslany) wants to kill Nahla Ake (Holly Hunter) for what she did to her family, their duel has to wait because Nus will find them, and sooner rather than later. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode and season as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

It’s Callback Time

One of the main things I took away from this season finale is how it works as a capstone to all the lessons the cadets have been learning all season. They must work as a team in extraordinary circumstances; they have to rally when it would have been fair if they all froze, and they have to find their true calling. Caleb Mir (Sandro Rosta) is an engineering champion, so of course, he is going to help with the warp drive. Jay-Den Kraag (Karim Diané) is a medic, so of course, he is running sickbay when The Doctor (Robert Picardo) is incapacitated. SAM (Kerrice Brooks) is a computer, so of course, she is cracking the subspace connection. Darem (George Hawkins) is a hotshot, so he is flying, and Genesis Lythe (Bella Shepard) is going to be captain one day, so give her the conn.   

Not only do they find those places on the ship that they were always going to sit in, but much of the struggles that they go through mirror the challenges earlier in the season when they failed. For example, Caleb and Tarima (Zoë Steiner) use their connection as equals and do not cause a catastrophic disaster. This episode also calls back all the way to Season 2 of Discovery when we first were introduced to Jett Reno (Tig Notaro) in the episode Brother. She knows what it is like to keep things running when you are all alone and cut off from help, and she brings that experience to rally the cadets here.

A Very Star Trek Resolution

One of my big frustrations with this modern era of Star Trek is that every season has to end in some sort of Galaxy-Peril kind of situation. See for example: Discovery Season 1, Season 2, Season 3, Season 4, Season 5, Lower Decks Season 4, Season 5, Picard Season 1, Season 2, Season 3, Strange New Worlds Season 2, Season 3 & of course, Prodigy Season 2. And of course, Season 1 of Starfleet Academy also had to end in the same way. I will say that I was impressed that they found a very Star Trek way of coming to a resolution.  

When you are outgunned and outmanoeuvred, there are few options you can count on, but this crew used a combination of science, teamwork, and diplomacy to get to a resolution. As a team, they worked out how to stabilise the Omega particles, and everyone played a role in making that work. It took all of them to get the saucer section in position to be able to help, using their innate individual skills to make a better whole. While this is happening, Nahla is using every diplomatic skill she has to work her way out of the mock-trial that Braka has put her under.

Sing to the People in the Rafters

One of the delights of this episode, and in fact all of the season, but I am getting ahead of myself there, has been getting to watch these huge-name actors come in and clearly have a blast in their roles. Holly Hunter clearly was having fun all season, and it was nice to have someone who didn’t quite fit the mould of what a Starfleet captain should be. It is always nice to see Dadmeral Vance (Oded Fehr) pop up, even if it was mostly through hologram communication this season. Oh, and you better believe that I laughed my arse off at the credits revealing that his Nova Squadron nickname was Vancypants. Oh, and also in those credits was this gem from Tig Notaro: “Why do I come after the two voices?”

One of the things that I loved about this episode is that Tatiana Maslany came in swinging right off the bat, and I genuinely thought she was about to throw hands with Holly Hunter. It’s all in the eyes, people. Yes, we are also going to talk about Paul Giamatti here. There are many things that I love The Holdovers for, and one of them now is that it led Paul into Star Trek. He is having so much fun, so much fun. In every scene, he commands every ounce of the screen with his sheer charisma. But in this episode, we also get to see the cracks that live behind that façade, a traumatised child reaching out to blame everyone for their trauma.

Highs and Lows, but Mostly Highs

When we look at the season as a whole, like just about every first season in Star Trek’s history, yes, even TNG that had two of the worst episodes in Star Trek history in its early season, and yes, even my beloved DS9 stumbled in its first season. There was a real fear going into this that it would just be Star Trek 90210. And it would be a lie if some of that didn’t come to fruition in episodes like Beta Test, Vitus Reflux & Ko’Zeine. Where the lighter tone moved into more silliness, and you could see them struggle to find their footing.

However, as the season progressed, I think the cast found their characters a bit more, and the writers became more confident with where they wanted to pitch the series. Which meant we got episodes like Series Acclimation Mil & The Life of the Stars that called back to the Star Trek series of old and brought a new light to parts of their stories. We got Vox in Excelso that was a love letter to the Klingon people and a confident reorientation of contested decisions of the past. Also, Come, Let’s Away, which ripped the rug out from underneath the entire series, bringing a harsh reality to the show. Each of these episodes built upon the foundation of Star Trek that had come before them in interesting ways.    I have already talked about much of the cast, but I wanted to take a moment here to talk about the cadets that make up the core cohort of the season. I think it was fair to say that they were thrown in the deep end this season, even more so with the clear campaign of bad faith slights people have been dishing up online. However, the one throughline that I have really liked this season is how those cadets have grown in their understanding of who they are. They still have a long way to go, looking at you, Darem, you can’t buy the love of parents that don’t care for you, use your energy in other ways. But every character took steps towards the officers they were always going to be.     

Recommendation

In the end, do we recommend Star Trek: Starfleet Academy – Rubincon? Yes, we do, it’s not a perfect episode, it does have to work around a legacy set before it. However, I really enjoyed how they closed out the season, and more importantly, I can’t wait to see what they do in their second season. Have you watched Star Trek: Starfleet Academy – Rubincon? Let us know what you thought of the new series in the comments below.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Bluesky at @Tldrmovrev, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

Feel free to share this review on social media and check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day. 

Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy
Directed by – Olatunde Osunsanmi, Jonathan Frakes, Andi Armaganian, Alex Kurtzman, Doug Aarniokoski, & Larry Teng
Written by – Noga Landau, Gaia Violo, Kirsten Beyer, Alex Kurtzman, Kenneth Lin, Jane Maggs, Tawny Newsome, Kiley Rossetter, Alex Taub, & Eric Anthony Glover
Created by – Gaia Violo
Based On – Star Trek created by Gene Roddenberry
Production/Distribution Companies – Secret Hideout, Warm Blood Sunday, Roddenberry Entertainment, CBS Studios & Paramount+
Starring – Holly Hunter, Sandro Rosta, Karim Diané, Kerrice Brooks, George Hawkins, Bella Shepard, Zoë Steiner, Oded Fehr, Gina Yashere, Brit Marling, Stephen Colbert, Tig Notaro, & Robert Picardo
With – Tatiana Maslany, Paul Giamatti, Raoul Bhaneja, Mary Wiseman, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Romeo Carere, Dale Whibley, Alexander Eling, Cirroc Lofton, Tawny Newsome, Avery Brooks, Rebecca Quin, Ken Barnett, Martin Roach, Anthony Natale, & Jamie Groote
And – Sophia Wynter, Jaelynn Thora Brooks, Alexa Yaphe, Raffa Virago, Jeff Taravainen, Stephen Adekolu, Stephanie Komure, Cecilia Lee, Darius “Jackie Cox” Rose, David Keeley, Dorothy Atabong, Tremane Nelson, Sean Jones, Nicole Dickinson, Michael Brown, Avaah Blackwell, Joseph Chiu, Joseph Messina, Layina Chano, Rekha Shankar, Lily Du, Kostyn Mitruk, Brian David Gilbert, Jeremy Culhane, Scott Yamamura, Piotr Michael, Kether Donohue, Graham Knox, Tricia Black, & David Benjamin Tomlinson
Episodes Covered – Kids These Days, Beta Test, Vitus Reflux, Vox in Excelso, Series Acclimation Mil, Come, Let’s Away, Ko’Zeine, The Life of the Stars, 300^th Night & Rubincon