Star Trek: Starfleet Academy season 1 ended with Nus Braka (Paul Giamatti) apprehended after trying to destroy the United Federation of Planets with Omega-47. Braka put Captain Ake and the United Federation of Planets on trial, but Nustopher revealed himself to be an “angry child with his finger on the button whose entire worldview is based on a lie.”
Space pirate and would-be Federation destroyer Nus Braka is a broken mirror image of what he might have been if he’d been able to study at Starfleet Academy. Captain Ake’s unusual chancellorship was vindicated by how well Starfleet Academy’s cadets worked together and used their smarts and abilities to foil Nus Braka’s plan.
Yet there’s something important Chancellor Ake has yet to teach her cadets that Captain Kirk and the Starship Enterprise crew needed more of in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.
Starfleet Academy Season 2 Could Prevent A Disaster Like Kirk In Star Trek VI
Caleb Mir was worried about his invitation to dine with Federation President Laira Rillak (Chelah Horsdal) at the end of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy season 1’s finale. Mir fretted about not knowing how to behave in a formal setting with the President, which he feared would require him to know how to use “ten different forks.” Captain Ake realized Caleb might be right, telling her protégé:
“We don’t cover etiquette until year two. Maybe I should revisit that.”
Although Caleb’s dinner with the Federation President was imminent, Mir and his fellow cadets learning etiquette may be a plot point in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy season 2. Etiquette is a crucial skill for Starfleet Academy’s cadets to master. It could prevent the issues Captain Kirk faced when Klingons dined aboard the USS Enterprise-A in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.
Captain Kirk and his crew didn’t hide how suspicious they were of Chancellor Gorkon (David Warner) and their other Klingon guests. While the Starfleet Officers feigned politeness, Kirk admitted in his Captain’s log that “Our manners weren’t exactly Emily Post.” Kirk’s dinner with the Klingons was an exercise in failed diplomacy by both factions, with the Klingons amusing themselves by being rude.
In truth, even if the Klingon dinner was a smashing success, Captain Kirk was always going to be framed for the assassination of Chancellor Gorkon by General Chang (Christopher Plummer). Still, Captain Spock (Leonard Nimoy) accurately summed up the Enterprise bridge crew’s etiquette: “I doubt that our own behavior will distinguish us in the annals of diplomacy.”
Why Etiquette Is So Important In Star Trek
Whether establishing First Contact with strange new worlds or politically negotiating with existing Federation member worlds, much of the work of a Starfleet Officer revolves around diplomacy. This is especially true at the command level for Admirals, Captains, and senior officers. Etiquette is crucial to a Starfleet Officer.
Star Trek Finally Confirms Starfleet Academy’s Timeline & It’s A Surprise
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy definitively reveals when freshman year happens after Star Trek: Discovery, and contradicts what we previously believed.
Star Trek has bent more towards action in the Paramount+ era, but diplomacy is still key. Star Trek: Starfleet Academy episode 2 showcased the importance of diplomacy when Admiral Charles Vance (Oded Fehr) negotiated with Betazed President Emerin Sadal (Anthony Natale). Vance overcame early roadblocks to come to terms with President Sadal for the new Federation headquarters to be built on Betazed.
Star Trek‘s most accomplished and revered diplomat was arguably Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Picard leaned on his intellect, compassion, and etiquette in numerous successful negotiations. Picard is the paragon, but every Star Trek Captain has been tasked with diplomacy, often under challenging circumstances.
Genesis Lythe (Bella Shepard) and Darem Reymi (George Hawkins), in particular, hope to become Starfleet Captains someday. They’ll need to master the finer points of etiquette, as do the rest of their fellow cadets, regardless of whether they pursue careers in Sciences or Operations.
Perhaps Star Trek: Starfleet Academy season 2 can not only teach the cadets etiquette, but also use Captain Kirk in Star Trek VI as an example of how not to host a diplomatic dinner.
- Release Date
-
January 15, 2026
- Network
-
Paramount+
- Showrunner
-
Alex Kurtzman, Noga Landau
- Directors
-
Douglas Aarniokoski, Alex Kurtzman, Andi Armaganian, Larry Teng
- Writers
-
Gaia Violo, Alex Taub, Jane Maggs, Tawny Newsome, Kirsten Beyer, Kiley Rossetter, Eric Anthony Glover
