Spoilers follow for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Episode 7, “Ko’Zeine,” which is available on Paramount Plus now.
After last week’s adventure – and tragedy – on the USS Miyazaki, Starfleet Academy slows down for what we once would’ve called a “bottle episode.” Of course, these days the digital “volume” AR wall that allows for the creation of virtually any setting or backdrop means that even a bottle episode can take place on some crazy alien landscape, even if the whole idea of such an episode is to save money and production time (often to make up for a bigger, costlier segment like last week’s “Come, Let’s Away”).
So in “Ko’Zeine” the focus is on two of the friendships among our main cast: that of Genesis (Bella Shepard) and Caleb (Sandro Rosta), and Darem (George Hawkins) and Jay-Den (Karim Diané). It’s the kind of story that is classic bottle episode, and the result is a nice if slight hour that plays off of some well-worn Trek tropes but also serves to further solidify how engaging this cast of young actors can be.
It’s the spring semester already, as the blooming cherry tree in the Academy makes clear, and that means it’s time for the school’s “all worlds break,” which has the cadets travelling to see their families or for some R&R to locales all over the globe (and beyond) – none of which seem to be Ft. Lauderdale or Cancun. Caleb however, as the boy with no home, has nowhere to go – or nowhere he wants to go, anyway – while Darem is called back home for an inconvenient, if quite heady, family matter.
When Darem is suddenly whisked away from the Academy and into an artificial wormhole by two apparent kidnappers, it’s cute how Jay-Den is like “whelp, there goes Ibiza” and jumps in to help his friend. That their destination winds up being the Sunset Moon of the Khionian Realm, where everything is rock and sand and red-hued, can only be seen as an homage to the original Star Trek “surprise wedding” episode, “Amok Time,” where Spock was forced to return to the similar setting of his homeworld of Vulcan in order to the tie the knot with his betrothed, T’Pring.
Because that’s why Darem has been called back to the Khionian Realm – to fulfill his obligation to marry his hometown sweetheart. Sure, it also means that he and his bride will become the new rulers of the realm, but what are ya gonna do?
It’s notable that both of these pairings were initially framed early in the season as being potential romantic partners (Genesis/Caleb, Darem/Jay-Den), but that this episode serves to strengthen their respective friendships instead. Yes, the spark of something is still there between Genesis and Caleb (and maybe Darem and Jay-Den too), but Caleb’s all wrapped up in his Tarima drama, and who can blame him after the events of last week? As for Darem and Jay-Den, obviously the Klingon and Kyle (Dale Whibley) – aka the nicest guy in the War College – are a thing now, and, you know, Darem needs good friends more than anything else anyway.
The antics of Genesis and Caleb aren’t particularly interesting or funny in this episode, but the reveal of why Genesis returned to the Academy during the break and is willing to get into trouble is worth the wait. The outsized sense of responsibility that both she and Darem feel is a weight that each must contend with in “Ko’Zeine,” and that their friends help them through these situations is gratifying. Again, the Darem/Jay-Den portion of the episode works better, not just in holding the viewer’s interest but also in terms of this thematic throughline. Jay-Den’s speech as best man/Ko’Zeine is ultimately what sparks Darem and his bride’s ability to break with tradition and allow Darem to leave for the life he actually wants to pursue, whereas Caleb is more just there to hold Genesis’ hand when the source of her insecurity is revealed.
But hey, even Caleb gets some nice moments this week as he tries to navigate the Tarima situation. The closing scene of him finally writing an honest letter to Tarima while the meteor shower kicks in outside is a great capper to an understated episode.
Questions and Notes from the Q Continuum:
- “You brought like four pairs of boots in here. You don’t even wear shoes!”
- “Say hi to your sister.” Darem really is an asshole!
- I just realized that the show is going to follow a “one year of school per season” format, which means these kids will graduate at the end of Season 4…? Is that how many years you go to the Academy?
- Good thing Caleb clarified that it was Caleb “Mir” who was sending that initial message, just in case Tarima wasn’t clear on it.
- It’s notable that it rains on Earth, or at least in San Francisco, as we know that Federation worlds were able to control the weather at least as far back as the 24th century. But you know, sometimes the rain is just cool, especially when you feel like brooding.
- When all the cadets were beaming (I guess we still call it that?) off to their “all worlds” locations, I was reminded of Discovery’s introduction and constant use of personal transporters in the 32nd century, and boy am I grateful that Starfleet Academy has mostly avoided that gimmick.
- If there’s a holotech rehab spa, and apparently there is since Sam (Kerrice Brooks) goes to one, does that mean that there are multiple sentient holographic individuals out there? I’m not talking about on Sam’s homeworld, but right here on Earth.
- For some reason, Jay-Den’s Karloffian-sized boots really stood out to me this week. (Maybe it was the skirt.)
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