Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Episode 4 - ‘Vox in Excelso’ Review

Spoilers travel for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Episode 4, “Vox successful Excelso,” which is disposable connected Paramount Plus now.

So we yet cognize what’s been going connected with the Klingons successful the epoch of The Burn.

The presumption of Star Trek’s classical villains/frenemies has been a large question people ever since Michael Burnham and the unit of the USS Discovery jumped 900 years into the aboriginal of the 32nd period backmost successful Discovery Season 3’s premiere. That aboriginal would beryllium to beryllium filled with a batch of acquainted alien races, and a clump of characters who were of mixed contention arsenic good – similar Laira Rillak, the president of the Federation who was of human, Bajoran and Cardassian descent. It made consciousness that, astir a 1000 years aft the epoch of Captain Kirk, galore of the radical of the Federation would person divers radical heritages.

And yet, 1 question that remained unanswered was what happened to the Klingons successful the 9 centuries since that era. Disco seemed to purposely debar the contented altogether, aft leaning heavy connected the warrior aliens successful its archetypal 2 seasons. But Starfleet Academy is diving into the substance bumpy-head archetypal with the instauration of main formed subordinate Karim Diané, who plays the Klingon cadet Jay-Den Kraag, and present with the uncover that the Klingons person go galactic refugees arsenic a effect of the cataclysmic Burn.

That’s a agelong mode astir to saying that “Vox successful Excelso” yet gives america our 32nd period Klingon episode, and it’s a bully 1 wherever we get not conscionable an update connected wherever the Klingons person been (and wherever they’re going), but besides a absorption connected Jay-Den and the events that led him to the Academy. And it’s each interwoven into different “school activity” crippled involving… statement club!

The Klingons person ever tally the hazard of being one-note, which is wherefore Michael Dorn’s show arsenic Worf has stood the trial of time. Worf was ne'er simply a warrior oregon a bad-ass, but a analyzable quality with layers and textures who loved, feared, and learned with the champion of them. And Jay-Den present looks to beryllium continuing successful that tradition, arsenic helium is simply a Klingon who not lone doesn’t privation to beryllium a warrior, but who is haunted by his prime to prosecute a antithetic life.

So erstwhile helium has his archetypal changeable astatine debating Caleb (Sandro Rosta) successful The Doctor’s (Robert Picardo) class, the information that helium fundamentally has a panic onslaught is rather telling. “Arguing, lasting up for what I believe, makes sweat flood down my face,” helium says. (I perceive you, Jay-Den.) As “Vox successful Excelso” proceeds, we spot successful flashbacks however Jay-Den’s begetter perpetually pressured him to articulation the warrior’s way. It’s hard for him to adjacent accidental retired large to his household that helium does not privation to beryllium a warrior, and that unit and fearfulness of letting them down – and of speaking his caput and talking astir his existent feelings – takes a toll.

The concern is further analyzable erstwhile his household is revealed to person been onboard a vessel that has precocious crashed; whether oregon not they’ve survived is presently unknown. Meanwhile, the Federation has recovered a satellite that would marque a cleanable caller location for the displaced Klingons, but the Klingons themselves person spent the past period refusing hand-outs. As this quality becomes a blistery taxable of treatment – the crash, the caller homeworld imaginable – it bleeds onto the statement signifier wherever Jay-Den has to enactment retired immoderate issues.

Jay-Den is simply a Klingon who not lone doesn’t privation to beryllium a warrior, but who is haunted by his prime to prosecute a antithetic life.“

The episode’s flashing backmost and distant from contiguous to the past is handled successful an absorbing mode by regular Trek manager Doug Aarniokoski, arsenic we get bits of introspective voiceover from Jay-Den accompanying flashes of representation and a melancholy score. It really reminds maine a spot of however Battlestar Galactica handled specified moments astatine times (particularly Kara Thrace’s remembrances successful the all-time large occurrence “Scar”). Also notable is Jay-Den’s choler astatine Caleb, who aft each is conscionable trying to beryllium a bully friend. But it’s those memories, peculiarly of his fallen brother, that makes Jay-Den respond truthful powerfully to Caleb. The performances crossed the committee are fantabulous here, peculiarly with these two.

Holly Hunter besides gets a B-story, and fortunately I was capable to recognize her words overmuch amended than I could successful past week’s episode, arsenic Chancellor Ake reunites with her aged Klingon occurrence General Obel Wochak (David Keeley). The program is to get Obel to grease the wheels of a Federation/Klingon statement to springiness the Klingons the recently discovered world, Faan Alpha. Hunter and Keeley person amusive successful their scenes together, and the narration is besides utilized to research the agelong past that Ake has arsenic a 400-year-old Lanthanite.

Unfortunately, portion the affectional culmination of Jay-Den’s communicative is effectual arsenic helium makes the lawsuit successful the statement for the Klingon mode of beingness to beryllium respected, adjacent if astir members of the Federation can’t recognize it, the program to get the Klingons to judge the acquisition they cannot accept – Faan Alpha – rings false. A bloodless conflict wherever immoderate ships sprout astatine each different for a fewer minutes and past everyone says “Yay, the Klingons won”? Nope, doesn't work.

Jay-Den Kraag (Karim Diané) and Caleb Mir (Sandro Rosta) statement the aboriginal of the Klingons.

Questions and Notes from the Q Continuum:

• “Vox successful excelso” is simply a Latin word which means “a dependable connected high” and refers to Pope Clement V’s bid to dissolve the Order of the Knights Templar.
• A chancellor’s code alternatively of a captain’s log!?
• Speaking of which, wherefore is Ake connected the span each unsocial astatine the commencement of the episode? Where’s Beta Shift!
• Judge Aaron Satie, who The Doctor references here, was the begetter of Jean Simmons’ Rear Admiral Norah Satie from the Next Gen occurrence “The Drumhead.” Norah, you volition recall, precise overmuch missed the constituent of her father’s celebrated words.
• The rendering of the Klingon homeworld Qo'noS arsenic inhabitable aft The Burn makes cleanable consciousness – The Burn was fundamentally dilithium reactors going kablooey. It makes truthful overmuch sense, successful fact, that 1 can’t assistance but wonderment wherefore Earth and galore different worlds didn’t endure a akin fate.
• It’s besides a callback to Praxis, the over-mined Klingon satellite that got blown isolated successful Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. It was the demolition of that satellite, and its effect connected Qo'noS, that led to the archetypal détente betwixt the Klingons and the Federation… and the archetypal Khitomer Accords (which Sam mispronounces here).
• Nice to spot the Klingon decease ritual is inactive being practiced.
• What’s going connected with Jay-Den and Darem?
• Great, they inactive person conspiracy theories successful the 32nd century…