For a long time, self – reflection has been Star Trek’s secret narrative weapon. Scholars often hold up the ideals of the Federation and Starfleet as something to aspire to. However, paradoxically, some of the most interesting and timeless Star Trek stories occur when the concept of Starfleet’s altruism is put to the test. Whether it was Q (John de Lancie) putting all of humanity on trial at the start of The Next Generation in 1987, or the Maquis challenging Starfleet colonialism in Deep Space Nine, the Star Trek franchise loves to tell a story where the good guys could potentially be seen as the bad guys. And, in the Season 1 finale of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, “Rubicon,” the franchise quite literally puts the entire Starfleet and its lofty ideas on trial in front of the whole galaxy.
After almost a century of taking questionable actions to survive the cataclysm of the Burn, the 32nd – century version of Starfleet has become, ideologically, more similar to the Starfleet of the past. But Nus Braka (Paul Giamatti) and the Venari Ral aren’t having it. In the finale, Nus puts all of Starfleet on trial in front of the entire galaxy, not only for alleged warfare crimes but also for negligence. Did he have a valid point? And by putting Starfleet on trial, was Starfleet Academy also putting the ideals of the Star Trek franchise itself on trial?
“I think Star Trek is only interesting when you question it,” Alex Kurtzman tells Inverse. As the executive producer of all current Star Trek TV shows since Discovery in 2017, Kurtzman knows a lot about balancing the idea of Star Trek and its implementation. “I think blind devotion to an idea is ultimately how tyranny emerges. From a creative perspective, it’s the old saying: the villain is the hero of their own story. And if you really follow that, it means you have to understand that the villain has a real view of who they are and how they got to where they are.”
In the end, Starfleet Academy doesn’t try to make us forgive Nus Braka, but it does encourage the audience to hold two ideas simultaneously: Nus can be evil and brutal, but it’s also true that during the Burn, Nahla Ake (Holly Hunter) did some questionable things, which makes Anisha Mir’s (Tatiana Maslany) distrust of Starfleet reasonable. And, according to SFA showrunner Noga Landau, Anisha’s ability to dislike Starfleet but still trust them with her son in the end is crucial to the story’s themes.
“Even though she has every reason in the last few episodes to hate the Federation, to distrust them, and to think they are acting in bad faith, through the events of the last two episodes, she realizes… that their intentions are good,” Landau explains. “The healing she does with Nahla is important for her to come to terms with the fact that Caleb [her son] will really have an extraordinary life in Starfleet.”
Landau and Kurtzman agree that Starfleet Academy Season 1 has a “happy ending,” but they also point out that fans shouldn’t expect Season 2 to be the same kind of show. If anything, Season 2 will challenge many of the assumptions we’ve had about the characters and situations so far. “
“In season two, the introduction of a new character and some new characters really has a ripple effect on our cadets and the school itself,” Kurtzman reveals. “Something we promised in Season 1, which is similar to our and many people’s college experiences, is that you go in thinking you want to do one thing and then realize you want to do something completely different, and you’ll start to see signs of that in Season 2.”
Since Season 2 has already finished filming, and there are no new seasons of Star Trek shows in production other than Starfleet Academy Season 2 and Strange New Worlds Season 5, there’s some reason to believe that the current era of streaming Star Trek is coming to an end, which might suggest there won’t be a Starfleet Academy after Season 2. But is that true? Are there plans for Season 3 and beyond?
“Oh, definitely,” Landau says without hesitation. “We have a lot more of Starfleet Academy to tell. We have a lot more of this story to share.”