Starfleet Academy’s shocking new status quo for Klingons, explained by the showrunners [Exclusive]

This article contains spoilers for episode 4 of “Star Trek: Starfleet Academy”, “Vox in Excelso”.

“We are Klingons, Worf. We don’t embrace other cultures, we conquer them!” » proclaimed General Martok (JG Hertzler) in “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.” The Klingons are one of the oldest alien races in “Star Trek.” Although they have alternated between friends and enemies of humanity, they are generally portrayed as imperialists and warriors. But “Star Trek: Starfleet Academy” revealed a dark future for the Klingons.

In the 32nd century, the Klingons’ home planet of Qo’noS was destroyed; Apparently, conspiracy theories suggest that the Klingons themselves blew it up. “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country” showed that the Federation and the Klingons made peace in the late 23rd century after the Praxis moon of Qo’noS exploded due to excessive mining. To save their planet from the effects, the Klingons had to call on the Federation for help. (But not without difficulties, as “The Undiscovered Country” shows how young idealists can become reactionaries.)

Apparently the Klingons’ efforts only bought Qo’noS another millennium or so. Without a homeworld, the Klingon Empire collapsed and apparently only eight feudal houses remain. It is even said that the Klingon race and culture may be on the verge of extinction, a far cry from the people who once dominated the Alpha Quadrant of the galaxy.

The latest episode of “Starfleet Academy” focuses primarily on the Klingon cadet, Jay-Den (plays with Karime Diane)and flashbacks of Jay-Den’s nomadic upbringing are sprinkled throughout. /Film’s Jacob Hall spoke with co-showrunners Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau about this shift in the Klingon status quo. Landau said:

“We always knew the Klingons as being this powerful race with an empire, with a home planet, and the idea of ​​who you become when you lose that seed of power and you become a diaspora was really compelling to us.”

In place of the extinct Klingon Empire, there now exists a Klingon diaspora. This word, coming from the Greek word meaning “to scatter,” describes people who have left their original homeland.

A concrete example is the Jewish diaspora, or the historical dispersion of the Jewish people into different communities. There is also the Irish diaspora, which includes American descendants of Irish immigrants who fled Brutal British rule in Ireland (the story “Star Trek” once alluded to). Speaking from my personal experience within the Irish diaspora, it’s easy to feel a wistful longing to remotely connect with one’s culture of origin. Many Irish Americans have always supported Irish republicanism even though they did not have to face the real consequences of the struggle (what stories like the FX miniseries document “Say Nothing”).

Jay-Den faces his own cultural dilemma because he is not a natural Klingon warrior. He’s studying at Starfleet Academy and learning to be a doctor, and this episode shows that even speaking in public makes him sweat. Is he betraying his people and his endangered family by not being a “real” Klingon? He realizes in “Vox in Excelso” that only a Klingon can decide what a “real” Klingon is.

Speaking to /Film, Kurtzman explained that “Starfleet Academy” seeks to build plots from the characters. A story about Jay-Den struggling with his identity was a powerful vehicle for telling a story about Klingon society:

“What if where [Jay-Den’s] Coming is very fractured and he faces pressure from his family and expectations of who he was supposed to be, and what happens when a character who doesn’t fully understand his connection to being Klingon in the diaspora faces it head-on?

“Star Trek: Starfleet Academy” introduced some half-blood Klingons; Lura Thok (Gina Yashere) is half-Klingon and half-Jem’Hadar, while pirate Nus Brakka (Paul Giamatti) is half-Klingon and half-Tellarite. Knowing that Klingons are now a nomadic species with a greatly reduced population adds new context to their marriage with other species.

That said, the Klingons are not alone. The 2009 film “Star Trek” revealed that in the late 24th century, the Romulans lost their homeworld Romulus when their sun went supernova. “Star Trek: Picard” took inspiration from this and showed a fractured Romulan people. The problem is, this is the Romulans’ true homeworld. was not Romulus — he was Vulcan. In the 32nd century, as ‘Starfleet Academy’ shows Vulcans and Romulans finally united as one peoplewith Vulcan renamed Ni’Var.

The Klingons also find new hope at the end of the episode. Starfleet has located a planet quite similar to Qo’noS, called Faan Alpha, for Klingons to inhabit. But Klingons don’t accept charity, even from their friends. As Jay-Den literally finds his voice in the debate, he realizes that “battle comes in as many forms as there are warriors.” So, Starfleet comes up with the idea of ​​organizing a “battle” for Faan Alpha, allowing the Klingons to “conquer” the planet.

As Kurtzman told /Film: “[This] gives us a great place to go from here because now the Klingons can rebuild, and that’s super exciting. Landau added that they “love the Klingons so much and we really wanted to do them justice by telling this new chapter in their story.” “

A few ‘Star Trek’ stories have definitely handled the Klingons better than othersbut the “Starfleet Academy” is off to a promising start.

“Star Trek: Starfleet Academy” streams on Paramount+, with new episodes airing Thursdays.