Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Finds Its Heart in Diplomacy and Young Idealism with “Beta Test”

Review: Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Season 1 Episode 2 “Beta Test”

A thoughtful, character-driven second episode deepens Caleb Mir’s journey while using Betazed’s return to the Federation to explore youth, activism, and the power of empathy.

Following the events of the season premiere, Starfleet Academy is back in San Francisco, with the first post-Burn class of cadets beginning their studies. A significant diplomatic mission from Betazed offers Cadet Caleb Mir a dual opportunity: to locate his long-lost mother and potentially begin a new relationship.

The episode begins with a montage that varies between Caleb Mir (Sandro Rosta) attending classes, and Chancellor Ake (Holly Hunter) addressing the Starfleet Academy cadets — as well as the young members of the Academy’s neighbor, the War College, the institution that apparently provided Starfleet the muscle needed to survive during the post-Burn years. The College, led by Chancellor Kelrec (Raoul Bhaneja), is tied closely with Starfleet Academy now, and we even see our cadets get combat training, just like their War College peers.   

“Say what you will about this present time, but it has one advantage over every other: it’s ours.”

– Chancellor Ake in a speech to cadets.  

In addition to getting their class schedule, the cadets now also have their room assignments. Mir, of course, is paired with Darem Reymi (George Hawkins), which immediately causes friction. The pairing is upheld, even when the two men approach Chancellor Ake to get a reassignment. 

Ake has more pressing things on her mind, including getting the Federation’s new headquarters up and running. Historically, HQ was in Paris, but with the post-Burn rebuilding comes the need to plant that flag once again. Ake is also preparing for a delegation of Betazoids to arrive at Starfleet Academy — a meeting that will have a huge impact on the Federation.

The Next Generation of Diplomacy

Betazoids are in a precarious place at this point in time. When the Burn struck, Betazed was cast out of the Federation in the following chaotic years, and they promptly became a closed society, hiding themselves behind a psionic wall that prevents outsiders from entering; how exactly this wall works and is maintained is never explained. Now, with the Federation growing again, Betazed is welcomed back to the table, but rejoining the galactic scene is easier said than done. Betazed would require a hefty Federation fleet for defense against Nus Braka and other outside forces, and an outsized presence on the Federation Security Council. 

Joining the delegation who visit Starfleet Academy is one of Betazed’s youth leaders, Tarima Sadal (Zoe Steiner), daughter of Betazoid’s president. The president, meanwhile, is Emeran Sadal (Anthony Natale), who happens to be deaf. Emeran engages himself with Admiral Charles Vance (Oded Fehr) in negotiations witnessed by young people from both sides as a learning opportunity in conflict resolution; moreover, the Betazoid youth were the ones who petitioned their government to approach the Federation again. 

Betazed, for its part, remains incredibly weary of rejoining the Federation, and Emeran can’t quite forgive the sins of the past so they can chart a better future. The youth, as is often the case, doesn’t have that problem, and this episode drives home the idea fairly early that activism can be a driving force for positive social change. 

The Power of Now

Tarima quickly takes a liking to Caleb Mir, who is having difficulty navigating his place at the Academy. This struggle is evident in a temporal mechanics class taught by Jett Reno (Tig Notaro, reprising her role from Star Trek: Discovery), where the young man clashes with the wise engineer. Mir, remember, is looking for his mom, but Starfleet’s records don’t indicate a planet called Goja V exists, which is where Nus Braka told Mir his mom went after she escaped prison. Reno, for her part, imparts an important lesson on Mir: the importance of connecting with his fellow cadets.  

“Children are our ambassadors to now.”

– Ake to Kelrec, on the importance of having children present at the Federation-Betazoid negotiations. 

Thanks to her empathetic abilities, Tarima quickly takes an interest in Mir and his inner struggle – and the two clearly have a physical attraction, as well. She even requests Mir as a tour guide to Starfleet Academy, which Mir agrees to once Ake concedes to remove some menial labor off his sentence, and give him access to the Stellar Cartography lab so he may search for Goja V. Ake stresses that Mir should give Tarima the best presentation of the Academy as he can, as the consequences of Betazed not joining the Federation would be dire.

While touring the Academy, Tarima shares with Mir that she was looking to see humpback whales when she met him. Mir opens up to Tarima as well, sharing that he is looking for a planet that apparently doesn’t exist in the Federation’s database — but he doesn’t tell her why he is looking. When in the lab with Tarima, Mir tries and fails to find Goja V; seeing his disappointment, and sensing that someone he cared for might be there, Tarima uses her credentials to access Betazed’s star charts, which is where Mir does find Goja V. It’s located behind Betazoid’s wall.

“Why does it feel like you are a prisoner here?”

“Why does it feel like you are, too?”

– Tarima and Mir on their respective places in their society. 

With the Federation-Betazed negotiations done for the night and seemingly going nowhere, Mir offers Tarima a chance to see humpback whales, which delights the visitor to no end and makes her want even more to lower the shield that hides Betazed from the rest of the galaxy. The two young people share the tender moment, and almost a kiss, until Ake, Emeran, and Vance find them and chastise them for engaging with each other without permission. 

In Ake, Vance, and Emeran’s eyes, why was it so bad that Mir and Tarima visited the humpback whales, and almost shared a kiss? We don’t know where the whale exhibit was located — near the Academy or not — and it’s not like they were doing anything illegal. Emeran called their actions “reckless,” but this seems like an unfair interpretation designed to inorganically manufacture conflict between Starfleet Academy and Betazed.

Confronting the Past

Following this field trip, a reception for the Betazed delegation and Starfleet’s contingent takes place. Set against an underlying opera performance involving The Doctor (Robert Picardo), the leaders from each delegation informally assess their cultures’ place in the galaxy. Chancellor Ake, drawing on her hundreds of years of experience, asserts to Emeran that she believes the Federation can acknowledge and correct its mistakes — which include big and small things, like shunning Betazed following the Burn, or Mir taking Tarima to the whales.

Furthermore, Ake defends Caleb Mir’s entry into Starfleet Academy, and asserts it was impressive how the young man found his way through a tumultuous life to arrive at this storied institution. The straw that breaks the camel’s back, however, is when Ake opines that Betazed, and Emeran, specifically, is allowing the wall to define them, to which Emeran takes offense and calls off the negotiations. 

During the reception, meanwhile, and at the encouragement of her brother, Ocham (Romeo Carere), Tarima follows Caleb outside the reception, where they ultimately get into a bit of a quarrel. The conversation begins innocently enough, as Tarima shares that the device on her neck is a neuroinhabiter, designed to temper her wildly powerful empathic abilities; indeed, if she were to lose control of those abilities, she could hurt people. Mir, meanwhile, shares that the Academy is tough for him because he isn’t used to being in such a safe, structured place since his mom was taken away, and Goja V might be where she is. At this revelation, Tarima takes offense, and implies Mir was just using her to ultimately get Betazed to lower its wall. 

We think the sudden, almost baffling animosity that flared between these two central figures was, frankly, an unearned dramatic device that strained credulity. Our core issue lies in the lack of logic behind Tarima’s reaction to Caleb’s personal reticence. Why did Tarima react with such disproportionate offense when Caleb failed to immediately volunteer the sensitive, deeply personal story about his mother?

The episode fails to establish any foundation for Tarima’s belief that she was entitled to this intimate detail, particularly at this early stage of their developing relationship. Her reaction implies a sense of ownership over Caleb’s past that simply hasn’t been earned. Tarima’s willingness to immediately jump to the conclusion that Caleb harbored “bad intentions” merely because he was guarded while they were still in the nascent stages of getting to know one another fundamentally contradicts what we know of her based on this episode. As such, this conflict feels entirely inorganic and manufactured and serves a transparent, purely utilitarian function: to create an immediate emotionally charged rift between the two young people.

A New Hope

Later, Ake stops by Mir’s room and asserts he should definitely stay at Starfleet Academy, despite his earlier willingness to leave, as the brilliant mind he inherited from his mom would be put to great use. This conversation sparks an idea for Ake, who asks Caleb to go talk to Tarima before she leaves. Upon facing the soon-to-depart Betazoid, Caleb apologizes for not opening up more to her before, and he appreciates the curious person she is, Betazed’s wall be damned. Lastly, he implores her to go talk to her dad to get him back to the bargaining table, just one more time. 

Back in the negotiations, Chancellor Ake makes a compelling promise to Emeran: should Betazed rejoin the Federation, the capital of the galaxy-spanning institution will not be in Paris, but the home of the Betazoids. In a show of support, the young people from both Starfleet Academy and Betazoid stand up, and Emeran, to cap off the touching scene, removes the piece of tech that allows him normal vocalizations, and says, “yes.” 

To close the episode, Caleb Mir gets a glimmer of hope. Starfleet Intelligence did reach Goja V and found Mir’s mom’s name on a three-month-old flight manifest. For the first time in a long time, Caleb has a chance at finding his mom. Ending this scene is a touching show of trust between Ake and Mir, as the chancellor tosses the young man an apple, a reference to an earlier scene when Mir grabs a piece of fruit from Ake’s desk presuming it to be an apple, when in fact it was a spicy alien food.

In contrast to the beginning of the episode, Mir now settles into his place in Starfleet Academy, as evident by him making his bed with Darem’s reluctant assistance. The pair now also have a third roommate: Ocham, who is super-excited to be at Starfleet Academy. His sister, meanwhile, opted to attend the War College, so it’s a safe bet we’ll be seeing much more of Tarima.

No Sophomore Slouch

“Beta Test” was a great second episode for this series, barring the two instances of forced drama we encountered. Much of this success is thanks to the character development it provides for Caleb Mir. Mir, ably played by Sandro Rosta, had much to do, from juggling a burgeoning romantic interest with Tarima, to dealing with searching for his mom, to trying to maintain a know-it-all, “school is too cool for me” attitude. While it was certainly a Caleb-focused story, we did see other cadets, like Jay-Den Kraag (Karim Diane), Series Acclimation Mill (Kerrice Brooks), and Genesis Lythe (Bella Shepard) get brief moments to shine, although we do look forward to those characters having more to do with moving a plot along like they did in the first episode. 

We are growing more and more fond of this show and its namesake. This episode frequently summoned a chuckle thanks to charming performances from its cast, and painted a lovely picture of Starfleet Academy thanks to its cinematography and set design; we appreciate the consistent warm light spilling into the school thanks to the California sun. The whole setting seems warm, alive, and inviting. Adding to this ethos is the pleasure of seeing so many familiar faces in the Academy from newer Trek, like a Kelpian cadet (who even walks like Saru from Star Trek: Discovery), or the DOT-23 robots that roam the halls, or the Brikar, the same race as Rok-Tahk from Star Trek: Prodigy, who we have never seen in live-action Trek before. 

The plot itself of “Beta Test” represents wholeheartedly one of the driving themes behind this show: youth can be a remarkable force for change. The narrative in this episode centers on a group of young people who, through their idealism, challenge the status quo and ultimately solve a problem that had stymied their entire race. This focus is deliberate, positioning the new generation as dynamic innovators whose fresh perspective is essential for the future of the Federation. Their willingness to disregard rigid protocol and past bad blood highlights the show’s underlying message that the youthful spirit is not just reckless energy, but a powerful engine for progress. 

Not a bad message for a Star Trek show, is it? 

Stray Thoughts: 

• The cadets started classes before getting assigned a room or roommates?
  
  
• The park where the cadets get combat training is called Boothby Memorial Park, named after the legendary groundskeeper of Starfleet Academy, as seen in Star Trek: Voyager.
  
  
• Starfleet Academy advertises various clubs, including the Association of Cardassian Cadets — the mission of which is to “discuss and reflect on Cardassian culture in an uplifting and welcoming environment” — and Escape Starship, which we presume is much like an escape room.

Related: Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Charts a Bold, Heartfelt New Course for the Franchise

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