Spoilers Star Trek: Starfleet Academy 1x04 – “Vox in Excelso”

[Campe]

I quite enjoyed this episode. I really enjoyed the debate aspect. Sure, it was a little predictable but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s nice to see these character relationships grow so quickly and in unexpected ways. I had given it a 9/10, but knocked it down to 8. It’s good. It’s not 9 good though.

 

[GulBahana]

That was a good character-centric episode. I was doing other things while part of the episode was playing. Now, I wanna watch it again to take in more of the character information. The actor playing the Klingon isn't convincing at times. There may be an improvement with more experience in the role and how the writers adapt to him in the 2nd season.

 

[Detached Nacelle]

I heard Jay-Den's family refer to themselves as House Kraag I'm sure.

 

[Fateor]

It's adorable that the writers want us to believe the Klingons are in danger of extinction.

As if Paramount would ever allow what has to be at least a billion dollars of the Star Trek IP's worth to ever be removed like that.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Maybe they'll go back in time and bring some Klingons back, like Kirk did with whales.

 

[Galaxy]

It's adorable that the writers want us to believe the Klingons are in danger of extinction.

As if Paramount would ever allow what has to be at least a billion dollars of the Star Trek IP's worth to ever be removed like that.

It was adorable that the writers wanted us to believe that Voyager was in danger of destruction in the episode of the week.

 

[Michael]

It's adorable that the writers want us to believe the Klingons are in danger of extinction.

As if Paramount would ever allow what has to be at least a billion dollars of the Star Trek IP's worth to ever be removed like that.

Well, they still might go extinct. They have a planet now, but that doesn’t automatically increase their numbers. I didn’t get the feeling the episode wanted to say that total extinction was something that would just happen any moment now. But yes, I suspect we won’t see them actually go extinct in the two (or more?) seasons we’re going to get of Starfleet Academy. But I gotta say, I already find it pretty poignant that they let it get this bad to be even close to extinction, considering they have traditionally been one of the quadrant’s most powerful players.

 

[fireproof78]

It was adorable that the writers wanted us to believe that Voyager was in danger of destruction in the episode of the week.

Or that Kirk would die.

 

[Fateor]

It was adorable that the writers wanted us to believe that Voyager was in danger of destruction in the episode of the week.

They didn't, well, except for Year of Hell.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Now I'm wondering when Earth will be lost and Humans will have to find a new homeworld.

 

[Fateor]

Now I'm wondering when Earth will be lost and Humans will have to find a new homeworld.

There are multiple Earth's, they would probably just move to one of the others.

 

[DaveyNY]

Well, they still might go extinct. They have a planet now, but that doesn’t automatically increase their numbers. I didn’t get the feeling the episode wanted to say that total extinction was something that would just happen any moment now. But yes, I suspect we won’t see them actually go extinct in the two (or more?) seasons we’re going to get of Starfleet Academy. But I gotta say, I already find it pretty poignant that they let it get this bad to be even close to extinction, considering they have traditionally been one of the quadrant’s most powerful players.

They self-destructed Praxis with their arrogance and damn near took themselves out at that point, it seems that particular trait has survived well into their future.

Klingons have always needed the Federation to survive, just as their main antagonist.
(but of course would never admit it)

If the Klingon back story of being conquered by the Hur"q is true, then their whole psyche has always been based on defeating an enemy, whether it be an outside antagonist or themselves.


I didn't think I would really care for this particular iteration of Trek, but the show is slowly sucking me in.
I gave this episode a 9.

 

[Tuskin38]

This episode kinda explains why we saw no Klingons in the future episodes of DSC

I can already guess one down Sean is going to give this episode, Vance’s flickering hologram lmao

And I agree with him, it’s not needed. Just show up fading in at the start or out at the end if you want people to know he’s a hologram.

 

[Sakonna]

Holy shit, forget Jay-Den/Kyle, that chemistry between Jay-Den and Darem was INSANE. Let's do something with that, show!

I was almost completely happy with this episode. Like the resolution of "Beta Test", I was surprised how emotional I became at the climax of it.

The obviousness of the ultimate solution didn't bother me, in that I thought it was well-justified in the narrative that Starfleet has been out of touch with the Klingons for over a century and has thus lost all sense of how to actually deal with them. The initial approach did seem like the first thing the Fed would try, and then it was such a short time between the initial approach failing and Jay-Den showing them the way, so it didn't play as if all the full officers were missing it forever. Jay-Den just got there first. And I don't need a surprising ending when I'm happy with the emotional story told along the way.

My main criticism would be the family flashback scenes, the writing was too on-the-nose. And I'm not sure we needed to see any of it. All of that story could have been told more effectively in the present-day timeframe.

Fantastic Klingon prosthetics, though.

I read a few early reviews that criticized the show for focusing too much on one character at a time, which supposedly prevented us from getting a sense of the actual building relationships between them. So far, I could not disagree more. Everyone in this episode got at least one good moment or scene to make their bond with Jay-Den clear.

 

[Michael]

As much as I loved that intimate Jay-Den/Darem moment, there’s also a part in me that felt it wasn’t totally earned, at least not yet. I feel like the last time we saw them interact was in the premiere, when Darem was a massive bully towards Jay-Den for no reason. Him being the one who notices that Jay-Den needs help and encouragement felt like a bit of a sudden turn, even if I’m taking last week’s episode into account. Last week Darem seemed to have learned that he doesn’t need to be the leader. But does that also mean he’s suddenly a sensitive friend in tune with the emotional well-being of everyone around him? What might have made more sense is if Darem had talked to Jay-Den about his parents and how they are having unrealistic expectations of him as well. Might have felt like a more natural bonding moment. And played right they still could have come as close as they did in “Vox In Excelso”.

 

[Uncle Sock]

I liked this episode overall. It gave us a lot of character development for Jay-Den and a nice interaction with Lura. Also—was I tripping, or did she pronounce “Klingon” as tlhIngan? I loved that detail, but maybe I was just hearing things. I still don’t quite understand why Lura speaks with a British accent. Yes, yes, the actress and all—but as far as I know, she’s the first Klingon and Jem’Hadar who speaks English with a British accent. Anyway.

What I really didn’t like, though, was yet another 30-second resolution. There was a major buildup that felt like it deserved at least a two-parter, and then—boom—the fleet arrives, two or three phaser shots, and it’s over. I’m not saying we always need an hour-long space battle, but I would’ve liked it to last a bit longer, just to make it feel like the Klingons truly fought for their new planet. As it was, it felt like the entire Klingon fleet knew it was just a staged fight, and that didn’t sit right with me. Klingons, of all people, should want a real and honorable battle. But hey—the episode only had five minutes left. Chop chop, I guess.

One minor thing I kept wondering about: why are healers in Klingon society treated as inferior to warriors? Sure, I get the stereotype—everyone wants to be a warrior—but the outright dismissal of a healer felt odd. Personally, I think Klingon healers should be highly revered. After all, they’re the ones who stitch warriors back together so they can return to the battlefield. If that’s not honorable, I don’t know what is.

Still, a solid episode. The Klingon battle theme made me choke up a little. The breathing exercise between Jay-Den and Darem was genuinely nice to watch (though probably a bit of queerbaiting). And seeing Starfleet fly an actual UFO-style, saucer-only ship was awesome. All in all, a decent episode.

 

[Roald]

I loved this episode!

I got to agree with Sakonna though; the flashbacks didn't really work for me... It felt a bit two-dimensional, I didn't really like the color grading and filters on those scenes, and I guess the limited Trek-budgets really showed... It would have been nice if the planet had been a bit more alien, with some creatures... Now we get a very Earth-like location and there's even an Earth-hawk... I know Trek doesn't have Star Wars TV or Stranger Things budgets, but I feel that a lot could be done with alien creatures... DSC's first season had the tardigrade, we saw a very cool large centipede-like creature in If Memory Serves, we had the trance-worms, the insect beings in SNW's Terrarium, and maybe a few more, but not a lot... I think a scene like the Klingon flashbacks would have really benefited if it had been visually more impressive... I know it's just eye-candy, and I'd never want it just for the sake of it, but I do think it would enhance the viewing experience.

Of course what's most important is if the episode worked for me as a whole, and it did! In fact, I loved this episode..! Really looking foreward to next week..!

 

[DEWLine]

Because of the seizure of the reins of thlIngan society by the warrior houses as decried by Kolos in the 22nd Century. That's why healers are looked down upon.

 

[Tinker Garak Soldier Spy]

Darem was a massive bully towards Jay-Den for no reason.

People sometimes bully those they have a crush on - it's one of those weird things that humans (and Khionians?) do.

 

[Michael]

People sometimes bully those they have a crush on - it's one of those weird things that humans (and Khionians?) do.

That’s true. Although this felt considerably more like actual bullying and less like teasing. But you could be right.