Starfleet Academy reveals what happened to an important Star Trek planet after the Burn

Benign spoilers for the upcoming second episode of “Starfleet Academy”.

The new streaming series “Star Trek: Starfleet Academy” (read our review here) takes place in the 32nd century and overlaps the last three seasons of “Star Trek: Discovery” in the “Star Trek” timeline. To remind readers, “Discovery” began in 2256 (just before the events of “Star Trek: The Original Series”), but its characters encountered a time warp at the end of its second season, throwing them into the 3180s. Now stranded in the distant future, the crew of the USS Discovery learned that the galaxy was recovering from a widespread cataclysm that had wiped out nearly every known starship simultaneously. This event was dubbed the Burn and more or less canceled Starfleet.

With over 900 years having passed, plus the drama of the Burn, this meant that the universe had evolved dramatically, moving away from the familiar, peaceful utopia seen in previous “Star Trek” projects. To avoid the mercurial Mercantile that had come to rule the galaxy, most species were now isolationists and had isolated their worlds from other planets. (Even humanity and the Vulcans had undergone major changes.) At the end of the series finale “Discovery”, however, a period of serious rebuilding appeared to have begun.

This reconstruction will be the central theme of “Starfleet Academy”. The show takes place in a newly rebuilt college on Earth, as well as on a high-tech spaceship called the USS Athena, and focuses on the first generation in centuries to learn that Starfleet is actually pretty keen. It’s also a show about diplomacy, as we see in the second episode. There, we learn that Betazed – a notable “Star Trek” world – built a “psionic wall” to protect its population after the Burn and is just beginning to emerge from its isolation.

Trekkies will instantly be able to tell you that Betazed is the homeworld of Advisor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) on “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” Betazoids are all telepathic and can read the minds of others without trying. As one might imagine, modesty is not a priority on such a planet, and Betazoids are also known for their nude wedding ceremonies and brash sense of frankness. Advisor Troi is half betazoid and half human, making her more of an empath than a telepath. (That is, she can understand other people’s emotions better than read their minds.) Additionally, Betazoids all have black eyes. They were featured in “The Next Generation” and have since played key roles in high-level Federation diplomatic missions. In fact, Troi’s mother, Lwaxana (Majel Barrett), is one of the most infamous diplomats in the galaxy.

However, in the second episode of “Starfleet Academy”, we see that Betazed, like many other worlds in the post-Burn era, has isolated itself. Indeed, thanks to their abilities, the Betazoids were able to build a psychic barrier around their planet, repelling anyone who could approach it. Additionally, as they have not spoken to anyone other than Betazed for centuries, their society has abandoned the practice of speaking out loud. So, much of their first appearance at “Starfleet Academy” involves them coming out of their “psionic wall” to determine whether the revamped Federation is really as well-intentioned as its leaders claim.

Still, in keeping with the series’ themes of rebuilding, it seems like Betazoid is willing to give peace a chance. Indeed, “Starfleet Academy”, more than “Discovery”, seems devoted to ideas of diplomacy and the construction of lasting inter-global partnerships.

“Star Trek: Starfleet Academy” is streaming on Paramount+.