Spoilers Star Trek: Starfleet Academy 1x10 – “Rubincon”

[Commander Richard]

"When an old enemy resurfaces as an existential threat to the Federation, Nahla must outwit a vengeful foe with a personal vendetta against her — as our cadets and instructors undertake a dangerous, seemingly impossible, mission to save everyone and everything they hold dear." - TrekMovie.com

We're at the end of a full season, and possibly halfway through the show's run. Reviews have been hit or miss, with a lot of negativity and even silence when the show does shine a bit. Ratings haven't been good but word is that it's picking up in a few markets. Is the show's fate sealed or is the future uncertain? The realities of TV seem to favor the former while hopeful fans stick to the latter. Either way, this episode is a turning point. Enjoy. Or not. And let's see where the show goes from here.

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[Space Lemur X]

Er, Commander Richard, spoilers in your poster for Kermit the Frog transforming into an emo Korean boy band drummer (transporter fail, or careless with the nanites again? I will be breathlessly tuning in to find out…)

 

[tenmei]

Er, Commander Richard, spoilers in your poster for Kermit the Frog transforming into an emo Korean boy band drummer (transporter fail, or careless with the nanites again? I will be breathlessly tuning in to find out…)

Is it not just She Hulk Season 2?

 

[Rahul]

I am immensely disappointed that we again have a "universe-ending superweapon"-season arc.

This does not fit with the more personal "Academy" theme at all, or the re-building theme, and also clashes with Nus Braka's unhinged pirate vibe & took away any mystery of the missing mother plotline.

It feels like a checklist at this point. Mandatory plot.
It's such a shame, because I dig the cast so much. But that plotline is just ass.

 

[fireproof78]

It doesn't feel universe ending to me. It feels extremely personal.

 

[Agony_Boothb]

I am immensely disappointed that we again have a "universe-ending superweapon"-season arc.

This does not fit with the more personal "Academy" theme at all, or the re-building theme, and also clashes with Nus Braka's unhinged pirate vibe & took away any mystery of the missing mother plotline.

It feels like a checklist at this point. Mandatory plot.
It's such a shame, because I dig the cast so much. But that plotline is just ass.

Yeah I'm not getting that this crisis is in any way universe ending. It's not even Federation ending. It's about control and power and legitimacy. It feels pretty personal to me especially in regards to Braka's relationship with Ake and The Federation who he repeatedly states look down on him and disregard him as a threat. Braka is a narcissist and egotist and needs the Federation to validate his existence by bending the knee to him. That is what this is all about. Blowing up a large section of the quadrant would hurt the Venari Ral, just as much as it would hurt the Federation.

Nus Braka is not an unhinged pirate. Viewing him as such is why the Federation is currently in the predicament that it is in. I also don't see how it clashes with the theme of rebuilding. The Venari Ral being as powerful as they are shows that Federation still has a complacency problem. While they're busy courting powerful, rich worlds like Betazed, there is about a hundred worlds like Ukeck that are filled with violence and poverty. If the Federation is to truly rebuild then it needs to start reaching out to those planets like Ukeck. The cadets also have to understand what is truly at stake if they don't all become emissaries of the Federation and what it stands for.

 

[Rahul]

Yeah I'm not getting that this crisis is in any way universe ending. It's not even Federation ending. It's about control and power and legitimacy. It feels pretty personal to me especially in regards to Braka's relationship with Ake and The Federation who he repeatedly states look down on him and disregard him as a threat. Braka is a narcissist and egotist and needs the Federation to validate his existence by bending the knee to him. That is what this is all about. Blowing up a large section of the quadrant would hurt the Venari Ral, just as much as it would hurt the Federation.

Nus Braka is not an unhinged pirate. Viewing him as such is why the Federation is currently in the predicament that it is in. I also don't see how it clashes with the theme of rebuilding. The Venari Ral being as powerful as they are shows that Federation still has a complacency problem. While they're busy courting powerful, rich worlds like Betazed, there is about a hundred worlds like Ukeck that are filled with violence and poverty. If the Federation is to truly rebuild then it needs to start reaching out to those planets like Ukeck. The cadets also have to understand what is truly at stake if they don't all become emissaries of the Federation and what it stands for.

I don't know, it's just this cartoonish "over-the-top"-ness of stakes.

Like if Nus had the means and threatened to destroy that one dilithium planet where the Federation gets all its post-burn dilithium from - it would fundamentally be the same stakes (also probably "too big" far a school-focused show) - but it would be more palpable.

As is, this is like James Bond stopping a villain, with not just one nuclear bomb, but a thousand, deployed around (but not in) Great Britain, to isolate the English off from the world.
It's just so, so dumb.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Interesting title, "Rubincon", with that extra "n".

 

[Space Lemur X]

Honestly, as a resident of California, I would not shed one bloody tear if Nevada and Arizona rolled up and started laying mines along the “neutral zone”, cutting us off forever. (Those guys are way too unmotivated to realize they can drive around by way of Oregon.) Really don’t see the big deal, the Federation should be breaking out the Chateau Picard 2265.

 

[Agony_Boothb]

I don't know, it's just this cartoonish "over-the-top"-ness of stakes.

Like if Nus had the means and threatened to destroy that one dilithium planet where the Federation gets all its post-burn dilithium from - it would fundamentally be the same stakes (also probably "too big" far a school-focused show) - but it would be more palpable.

As is, this is like James Bond stopping a villain, with not just one nuclear bomb, but a thousand, deployed around (but not in) Great Britain, to isolate the English off from the world.
It's just so, so dumb.

Braka is still the scared little kid getting beat up hourly by his dad. It's why he hates authority and it's why he needed to use overwhelming force and dominate. It's really not about bombs, but how a terrified, insecure man makes himself feel important.

The kids being involved, is unfortunately a side effect of Braka's relationship to Ake and how he seems to pour all of his hatred for The Federation towards her. But also, there's an interesting juxtaposition between Braka and the Cadets in that he is the result of what can happen to a child living in a post-burn galaxy outside of Federation influence who never had the opportunity to deal with their trauma in healthy ways. In this regard he is a mirror for the Cadets, particularly Caleb.

Ultimately all of this isn't about super-weapons or threatening the galaxy, but about psychology and relationships and dealing with trauma.

 

[Fateor]

Honestly, as a resident of California, I would not shed one bloody tear if Nevada and Arizona rolled up and started laying mines along the “neutral zone”, cutting us off forever. (Those guys are way too unmotivated to realize they can drive around by way of Oregon.) Really don’t see the big deal, the Federation should be breaking out the Chateau Picard 2265.

Roughly 20% of southern California's water comes through Arizona.

In edition to that, a significant portion of it's economy relies on rail transportation that has to pass through Nevada and Arizona.

 

[Space Lemur X]

Roughly 20% of southern California's water comes through Arizona.

In edition to that, a significant portion of it's economy relies on rail transportation that has to pass through Nevada and Arizona.

If I can hold my hand steady for a second here while I quail in fear at the notion of Arizona attempting to hold California’s economy hostage (the 4th largest in the world), my point was that the Federation may consider itself better off with the hillbilly neighbors cut off for all eternity. The loss of a few overly needy cadets and a barefoot walking worker’s comp claim-in-waiting of a captain may be seen as a small price to pay.

 

[Fateor]

If I can hold my hand steady for a second here while I quail in fear at the notion of Arizona attempting to hold California’s economy hostage (the 4th largest in the world), my point was that the Federation may consider itself better off with the hillbilly neighbors cut off for all eternity. The loss of a few overly needy cadets and a barefoot walking worker’s comp claim-in-waiting of a captain may be seen as a small price to pay.

You're missing the point.

You don't get to choose what's cut off in a situation that involves cutting everything off.

 

[fireproof78]

Braka is still the scared little kid getting beat up hourly by his dad. It's why he hates authority and it's why he needed to use overwhelming force and dominate. It's really not about bombs, but how a terrified, insecure man makes himself feel important.

The kids being involved, is unfortunately a side effect of Braka's relationship to Ake and how he seems to pour all of his hatred for The Federation towards her. But also, there's an interesting juxtaposition between Braka and the Cadets in that he is the result of what can happen to a child living in a post-burn galaxy outside of Federation influence who never had the opportunity to deal with their trauma in healthy ways. In this regard he is a mirror for the Cadets, particularly Caleb.

Ultimately all of this isn't about super-weapons or threatening the galaxy, but about psychology and relationships and dealing with trauma.

Yes, thank you. It comes down to power and control, and asserting it so that no one else can control you again.

 

[NCC-73515]

They go to a con where everyone rubs it in...?

 

[Agony_Boothb]

The title comes from the fact that Nus Braka thinks the saying is 'Crossing the Rubincon' and not Crossing the Rubicon'

Braka: "This is it Ake, The Federation on trial. You're about to cross the rubincon and there's no coming back!"

Ake: "I'm sorry, crossing the what now?"

Braka: "The Rubincon. Don't tell me a teacher as esteemed as yourself, doesn't know the saying, Chancellor"

Ake: "It's RUBICON, dummy. R.U.B.I.C.O.N, crossing the rubicon"

Braka: "really?"

Ake: "Yes, dipshit. And you wonder why the Federation doesn't take you seriously."

 

[The Wormhole]

The title comes from the fact that Nus Braka thinks the saying is 'Crossing the Rubincon' and not Crossing the Rubicon'

Braka: "This is it Ake, The Federation on trial. You're about to cross the rubincon and there's no coming back!"

Ake: "I'm sorry, crossing the what now?"

Braka: "The Rubincon. Don't tell me a teacher as esteemed as yourself, doesn't know the saying, Chancellor"

Ake: "It's RUBICON, dummy. R.U.B.I.C.O.N, crossing the rubicon"

Braka: "really?"

Ake: "Yes, dipshit. And you wonder why the Federation doesn't take you seriously."

You certainly have a perfect handle when it comes to writing Ake. I can easily imagine her saying this dialogue.

 

[tomalak301]

So Trekmovie has this title as Rubincon. However, IMDB and my TV Tracking app has it as "Rubicon". Weird.

 

[Turtletrekker]

So Trekmovie has this title as Rubincon. However, IMDB and my TV Tracking app has it as "Rubicon". Weird.

F****** autocorrect.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

I am immensely disappointed that we again have a "universe-ending superweapon"-season arc.

It's not "Universe-Ending" or "Galaxy-Ending" or even "Star System-Ending" or even "Planetary-Ending".

The Federation got put in a literal (Space Moat/Fence/Great Wall of the UFP).

How do you get out, it's a puzzle, not necessarilly used as a deadly weapon.