Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Episode 3 - ‘Vitus Reflux’ Review

Spoilers travel for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Episode 3, “Vitus Reflux,” which is disposable connected Paramount Plus now.

In our 2nd week of Starfleet Academy (but 3rd episode), we are erstwhile again grounded successful San Francisco arsenic our young and beauteous go-getters find themselves up against 1 of the top foes imaginable – the jerks from their opposing school.

Or putting it different way, it’s a existent Springfield vs. Shelbyville situation, arsenic the Starfleet Academy kids and the War College pack go locked successful a crippled of escalating one-upmanship that tin lone pb to 1 happening – immoderate beingness lessons being learned!

“Vitus Reflux” uses this modular battle-of-the-classes crippled – which has a interaction of Revenge of the Nerds to it arsenic good – to radiance the spotlight connected George Hawkins’ Darem Reymi and Bella Shepard’s Genesis Lythe, some of whom piqued my involvement past week but didn’t get rather arsenic overmuch to bash arsenic Sandro Rosta’s Caleb Mir. And portion this occurrence has plentifulness of enjoyable moments that besides service to reenforce the antithetic vibe that this amusement is going for successful the Trek pantheon, it’s besides an overly agelong matter that doesn’t rather travel unneurotic arsenic cleanly arsenic it could have.

Things commencement disconnected with Darem intensely engaging successful his workout regular portion everyone other is dormant successful the wee hours of the morning. Well, everyone but Genesis, who is arsenic driven and obsessed with being the champion of the champion arsenic helium is. This of people leads to a contention betwixt the 2 to spot who volition go skipper of the Academy’s elite grooming squad, but the contention is besides coming from without erstwhile a trio of War College jerks determine to commencement pranking our heroes.

That 1 of those War College kids is simply a Vulcan, and much specifically a Vulcan creep, is good successful keeping with however members of the classical Star Trek contention person been utilized successful the past arsenic antagonists if not existent threats – Sisko’s shot nemesis, Archer’s backmost and forths with fundamentally each the Vulcans connected Earth, etc. And adjacent though those 3 main War College kids are nasty, I kinda similar them each the aforesaid arsenic they correspond yet different level of the heavy seat of supporting and recurring formed members this amusement looks to beryllium utilizing.

However, the pranks that they play connected Caleb and the remainder – and likewise – aren’t arsenic inventive oregon comic arsenic they could be. Yeah, the impromptu beaming from the locker country is cute, but that’s benignant of the precocious constituent of the hijinks, portion the climactic “giant plants successful the dorm rooms” gimmick falls short. Additionally, Holly Hunter’s Chancellor Ake being mixed up successful the conflict with the War College, but not truly being mixed up successful the conflict with the War College, doesn’t truly work. Maybe it’s due to the fact that I had specified a hard clip pursuing what she was saying? I don’t cognize if it was a occupation with the dependable connected the beforehand screeners Paramount sent retired oregon if it’s conscionable me, but I truly was trying (and failing) to parse what Ake was talking astir fractional the clip here. (Subtitles don’t enactment connected the screeners either.)

'Vitus Reflux' uses the modular battle-of-the-classes crippled – with a interaction of Revenge of the Nerds – to radiance the spotlight connected George Hawkins’ Darem and Bella Shepard’s Genesis.“

Tig Notaro’s Jett Reno and Gina Yashere’s Lura Thok are a hoot arsenic the instructors who are astir hands-on with the kids this week (though I’d similar to spot Lura really enactment to the trial successful a much superior concern astatine immoderate constituent wherever she tin she truly amusement disconnected her roots arsenic a Klingon/Jem’Hadar). And putting Zoë Steiner’s Tarima Sadal successful the War College alternatively of the Starfleet Academy broadside of things is already bearing fruit; portion she and Caleb’s communicative isn’t halfway signifier here, it inactive gets immoderate decent pruning and watering. (Great, present I’m utilizing works metaphors too!)

One question I’ve had astir mounting immoderate of these episodes successful the information of San Francisco alternatively than retired successful abstraction is however the show’s writers volition bring successful those age-old Star Trek themes that we emotion truthful much. But “Vitus Reflux” reminded maine that those ideas astir self-discovery and humanism and learning to beryllium a amended idiosyncratic person thing to bash with unusual caller worlds oregon caller beingness and caller civilizations, but alternatively are ever astir what’s going connected wrong our characters’ hearts. Remember “Family,” that all-time large Next Generation occurrence wherever the Enterprise didn’t adjacent permission Earth’s orbit?

And truthful it goes that Darem and Genesis marque their bid eventually, but astir notably, Darem faces up to what assholes his parents seemingly are. (“You’re either the halfway of the universe, oregon you’re nothing.”) And the happening is, he’s learning now, done his transportation with these radical he’s surviving among who were strangers lone 3 weeks ago, that there’s much to beingness than being the champion of the best. Good for him.

Questions and Notes from the Q Continuum:

• Folks person been wondering if this amusement has ignored the quality of the Betazoids’ powers (are they telepathic oregon empathic oregon both?), but this occurrence seems to adhd credence to the mentation that Tarima’s powerfulness regulator mightiness really beryllium the cardinal to answering what’s going connected there.
• Who the heck uses a leap enactment portion their roommates are sleeping?
• “That was disappointing/underwhelming”... sounds similar 1 of my college instructors.
• Ake screening the Starfleet advertisement is fun. “Is the voiceover excessively stupid?”
• I’m truly enjoying Jay-Den Kraag (Karim Diané) arsenic the atypical Klingon. He’s funny!
• “I took a bath for the archetypal time!”