IR TV Review: STAR TREK: STARFLEET ACADEMY - EPISODE 10 (“Rubicon”) [Paramount+]
Coming out of the aspect of "300th Night" which set an interesting precedent, the context just moves towards what "Starfleet Academy" as a show wants to represent. The ideas are about trust versus betrayal. With Caleb finally finding his mother at the end of the previous episode, the season finale: "Rubicon" [Ep10] needs to bring to bear the intentions of the season without losing some degree of tension. While a certain MacGuffin of the episode is a little bit too convenient, it does find a way to create a moment which follows up and compliments the best episode of the season by far (Ep 8 about the Doctor and SAM). Caleb needs to learn to let go but with the animosity between two of the three most important women in his life, he needs to find a way. (The third also finds a way in too). This is only through balance. The no-win scenario that ends the last episode and begins this episode is an interesting one and gives Tig Notaro a real place to shine. We see her in a different arena which shows a facet that one doesn't quite see in "Discovery". It is similar in a way to Sulu but in a more collegiate way than him. His life was forged in battle in many ways. Reno is teaching all the time and her intent is very different across the board. But here it shows what she can bring out of certain cadets.
The key word across the board is trust. With SAM, she makes reference that she has memories before she was reborn (and that must be interesting to play). In a way though the way it integrates what the Doctor does is a bit of a deep cut but it does make sense. Saying any more would give the concept of how the season ends which is, in certain ways, different than other Star Trek shows. Paul Giamatti of course ups the ante as he has done most of the season (as he comes and goes) and there is an interesting almost Q approach in his idea without the omnipotence. Again some of the story connections stretch a little thin in their function but it has been set up over the season to move to this point. The good thing is that the episode (because of the streaming structure) allows the episode to run as long as it needs to (whereas on terrestrial television, it did write the episodes into a corner but that sometimes allowed for creative solutions). The path of "Starfleet Academy" this season has allows for some high points (one fantastic episode -- which is par for the course) and a path that is smart but different but whether or not it connected with a bigger audience is hard to say. B
By Tim Wassberg
