The Starfleet Academy cadets are still recovering from the tragic events of Braka’s trap, so the All Worlds Day break is a welcome respite for many while Darem Reymi (George Hawkins) and Genesis Lythe (Bella Shepard) each find themselves at a critical crossroads where their next decision will change their lives forever.
For an episode that opens with the somber aftermath of the previous episode (B’Avi’s funeral, Tarima’s recovery on Betazed, Ake’s sad drinking), “Ko’Zeine” is a surprisingly lighter tale. A month has passed. This allows the fallout from the disastrous USS Miyazaki training mission to remain still dormant but not so oppressively at the forefront of everyone’s minds that the writers can’t shift gears for two character-bonding stories.
First, there’s Darem’s kind of arranged but also for-love marriage to Khionian royalty Kaira. The sudden, unexpected manner on which Darem is thrust into an earlier-than-expected wedding that threatens to end his Starfleet career carries echoes of Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s season one episode “Haven.” There, the sooner-than-expected, arranged, career-threatening marriage premise revolved around Deanna Troi. What elevates this story above the mediocre “Haven,” however, is the way writers Alex Taub and Eric Anthony Glover launder this stale, recycled premise to develop the bond between Darem and his unlikely best man Jay-Den.
The first time we met Darem he was bullying Jay-Den. Darem’s more aggressive and toxic masculinity naturally counterbalances Jay-Den’s more pacifistic sensibilities. We already saw Darem make a gesture to help Jay-Den face his fear of public speaking in “Vox in Excelso.” Is this why Jay-Den selflessly hurls himself into a portal to god-knows-where to rescue Darem from what appears to be a kidnapping or would Jay-Den have done the same if Daren hadn’t helped him find his voice?
My read is Jay-Den would have acted regardless. After Jay-Den picks up on Darem’s doubts about going through with the wedding, he suggests Darem call it off. Darem responds that he doesn’t want to walk away from his family commitments like Jay-Den did with his family, which starts a fight and results in Jay-Den abandoning Darem to get back to his vacation with his boyfriend. But Jay-Den eventually returns to be there for his fellow cadet on his wedding day, which demonstrates loyalty. Darem’s royal bride-to-be ultimately senses Darem’s heart isn’t really in it and tells him after the wedding to abdicate so he can pursue his true passion in Starfleet.
Photo: Michael Gibson/Paramount+
Then there’s Genesis’s dilemma. Chancellor Ake is recommending her for the Command track due to Genesis’s showing a cool head, strategic thinking, and leadership during the Miyazaki crisis. The cadet is thrilled until she learns Ake will be forwarding her original entrance documents — including her transcript, application, and recommendations — onto a committee for review. Whatever has her spooked drives her to secretly beam back to the Academy immediately after leaving for vacation and altering the transporter logs so no one will know she returned.
What follows are some wonderful scenes of her and Caleb hanging out. Caleb whined to Ake about not wanting to leave and convinced her to let him stay on campus during the holiday break. Too bad the villainous Nus Braka wasn’t assigned to chaperone these young “holdovers” as it’s a role in which Paul Giamatti has recent experience.
Genesis’s efforts to bond with Caleb have an ulterior motive though, to manipulate Caleb into using his knowhow to get them on board the Bridge of the docked Atrium of the USS Athena. There, she can obtain the passkey she needs to cover up that she’d altered her recommendations to conceal a harsh truth she’s ashamed of: “Genesis doesn’t trust that she belongs where she is.” She almost gets away with it while feeling what it’s like for one fleeting moment to sit in the big chair as if commanding the Athena.
But Ake catches them. Caleb tries to take the blame but Genesis cops to everything. Fortunately for both of them Ake is an understanding free spirit who just gives them a slap on the wrist. Ake says Genesis is undeniably competent but opts not to nominate her for pre-command after all. “Leadership is a battle within yourself,” she says. “Here’s the lesson. We are all wildly lost. And we have to learn to carry that.”
The show previously seemed to hint at a potential romance between Caleb and Genesis. And with Tarima away and Tarima’s relationship with Caleb in a precarious place, I’m thankful the writers kept things platonic here and had Genesis be a good friend by pushing Caleb to open up to Tarima and be honest about his feelings.
Honest communication proves to be the unifying theme between the two storylines in “Ko’Zeine.” As Jay-Den said of Darem in his best man speech: “Even before we were friends he pushed me to see myself honestly, to use my voice and make it count.” And not long after that speech, Darem’s momentary wife scolds him for concealing his true feelings, saying he started their life together on a lie.
Specifically, the episode emphasizes the need for harsh honesty. In Jay-Den’s wedding speech he described Darem as delivering harsh counsel at times but “it told me that Darem is someone who cares.” Similarly, Genesis has been running from constructive criticism she found too harsh.
I will not be so harsh on “Ko’Zeine” as an episode. It’s far from the strongest so far, but Taub and Glover do succeed in the thankless task of laying the necessary groundwork in bonding these cadets as a family despite the short, ten-episode season limitations. Their efforts will no doubt benefit the rest of the season going forward.
New episodes of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy release Thursdays on Paramount+.
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