Starfleet Academy Episode 4 Recap: What Happened To Jay-Den's Parents?

Right after the light-hearted third episode, which taught the Starfleet cadets the value of teamwork and leadership through competitive rivalry with the War College cadets, “Starfleet Academy” adopts a grim, sombre tone to explore the heritage of Klingons under changing tragic circumstances. If the deft handling of contrasting tones isn’t enough to impress you, the fourth episode, titled “Vox in Excelsio,” also features some really good character writing as well. To expand on the Klingon crisis, the latest chapter focuses on the past trauma of Cadet Jay-Den Kraag and his struggle to accept his heritage, and offers no easy way out while drawing upon the discourse of identity.

Spoilers Ahead

The Klingon Crisis and Jay-Den’s Tragic Past

The episode begins with Chancellor Nahla recording her daily audio log during the first interstellar flight of USS Athena, and her admiration of the cosmic beauty of Val Nebula reflects the quintessential motif of exploration and sense of wonder that has become synonymous with “Star Trek.” Nahla likens the transformation of stars to nebula to the growth of the young cadets of Starfleet Academy into future legends. 

The narrative shifts to the class being taken by the doctor, who is giving a heads-up to the young cadets about the upcoming debate competition being conducted to honor the legendary Judge Aaron Satie. During the mock preparation, Caleb displays remarkable argumentative qualities thanks to how much he studied during his time in prison, whereas Jay-Den has trouble expressing his opinion in public, a form of stage fright, if you will. While discussing the incident with Caleb, Jay-Den reveals his past, growing up in the care of his refugee Klingon family. The Burn destroyed the Klingon home planet Qo’noS, and most of the Klingon colonies, leaving the dwindling Klingon populace as refugees. However, too proud and arrogant to take help from the United Federation of Planets, the warrior race isolated themselves further. A horrific tragedy strikes when a Klingon ship, carrying eight major houses, is destroyed after suffering a technical malfunction—and Jay-Den learns from Chancellor Nahla that there is a chance that his family might have perished. The Klingons are going extinct, and still they refuse help from the Federation. 

The recent developments affect Jay-Den in a strange way, and he feels conflicted about his Klingon heritage. Jay-Den never quite fit in amidst the aggressive, loud, tradition and conquest-bound Klingons, and has an inquisitive, kind perspective. While his parents, especially one of his fathers, (Triad house raised) Drekol, pushed him to accept Klingon traditions, his elder brother, Thar, appreciated his uniqueness. Thar was able to get his hands on a Starfleet Academy transmitter and encouraged Jay-Den to fulfill his dream of becoming a proficient medic by joining the academy. However, Thar sustained a fatal injury following an altercation with a trader who wanted to take the Starfleet transmitter, and Jay-Den’s father ignored his suggestion of using advanced Federation medicine, which could have saved his life. The tragic passing of his elder brother had a lasting impact on Jay-Den’s mind, and alienated him further from his heritage. During his rite of passage, Jay-Den refused to take the life of a bird of prey just for the sake of following a custom, thereby drawing the wrath of Drekol, who abandoned Jay-Den and left with his family. Additionally, Drelok destroyed the Starfleet transmitter, which Jay-Den considered to be a memento of his late elder brother. Jay-Den blamed arrogance and pride, which Klingons prioritize over reason, for both his beloved brother’s predicament and their parents’ abandonment. 

Jay-Den and Caleb Lock Horns

As the only Klingon cadet in the academy, Jay-Den can recognize the pity, concern, and questions in the gaze of the rest of the cadets in the aftermath of the ship destruction—which further worsens his identity crisis. Things take another wrong turn when, during the debate topic selection, everyone close to Jay-Den consciously avoids the topic of the Klingon situation—whether the Federation should implore them to take help. Knowing what his friend has been going through, Caleb tries to defuse the situation when one of the cadets asks the doctor to use the Klingon issue as a topic for the debate competition. Jay-Den suddenly becomes angry with Caleb, lashes out at him for defending him, and persuades the doctor to use the topic for the debate competition, where, shockingly enough, Jay-Den will raise a voice against it, as he believes the Klingons deserve the fate they have chosen. 

On the other hand, Admiral Charlie reveals to Chancellor Nahla that the Federation has found a suitable replacement for the Klingon home planet Qo’noS in the newly discovered planet, Faan Alpha, but the Klingons will not directly accept the proposition to settle there, as they will consider this an act of charity by the Federation. Charlie asks Nahla to arrange a meeting with the current chief of Klingon houses, Obel Wochak, who used to be Nahla’s lover back in the day. Nahla needs to convince him to accept Faan Alpha as the new home for the Klingons in order to help the species from hurtling towards their extinction. During their meeting, Obel and Nahla reminisce about their past, and the Klingon chief is surprised to learn about Caleb’s situation, but at the same time makes it clear he cannot accept the proposition, out of adherence to tradition. 

Jay-Den might have struggled to connect with his heritage, but he is still as stubborn and arrogant as Klingons tend to be, given he continues to drive Caleb off the more he tries to comfort and assure him. Jay-Den’s sudden bitter attitude towards Caleb is the result of his inability to cope with his unresolved trauma. Also, Jay-Den realized Caleb is a lot like Thar—extremely supportive, intelligent, inspiring, and confident. Jay-Den feared that he will replace his brother with Caleb if he allows himself to get further emotionally engaged with him. At one point, Khionian Cadet Reymi meets with Jay-Den to help him take care of the stage fright situation by showing him a Khionian breathing technique. During the debate competition, Jay-Den is able to hold his own while competing against Thar, and their altercation soon becomes extremely personal, resulting in the doctor intervening. 

Cadet Master Lura Thok, who is a Klingon as well, meets Jay-Den to help him unwind and provide some counsel as a Klingon elder. As Jay-Den reveals his predicament of being unable to connect to Klingon heritage and shares the rite of passage incident, Thok allows him to understand that Drekol’s act of lashing out at him and abandoning him was a Klingon way of acknowledging Jay-Den and letting him be free of the burdens of tradition. For Klingons, conflict is the prime way of life, and the ultimate conflict, which results in abandonment, comes from love and care to recognize one’s individuality. Thok also reveals that the Federation is trying to offer a new home planet to the Klingons, but hasn’t been able to convince them yet. Being able to form a new perspective about the situation, Jay-Den is finally able to connect with his heritage and proceed to the debate. This time, Jay-Den makes solid points as to how the Federation’s interference will once again hamper the individuality of Klingons. 

What Happened to Jay-Den’s Parents?

Following Jay-Den’s suggestion, Chancellor Nahla and Admiral Charlie orchestrate a mock fight with Obel and his remaining Klingon forces. Given that some Klingon houses had already started living on Faan Alpha before the Federation discovered the planet, Nahla brings Starfleet to fake an invasion on the planet. Following the mock fight, Klingons earn the right to make Faan Alpha their home planet by winning it through ‘conquest’. Obel acknowledges Jay-Den’s presence of mind by handing him over a Klingon bow, the weapon of a true Klingon warrior. The Klingon chief also reveals that his parents are alive, safe, and settling on Faan Alpha. 

Caleb has won the debate competition, and in the aftermath, Jay-Den eventually reconciles with him by finally opening up to him about his elder brother. Caleb also opens up about his relationship with his mother, with whom he has been eager to reunite for the last fifteen years. Apologizing for his past behavior, Jay-Den shares his observation that he needs not to replace the past with the present, and instead should try to embrace both to grow as a person. As the episode nears its end, it is revealed that Caleb and Reymi have repaired the Starfleet transmitter, which Jay-Den considers to be Thar’s memento. The next episode is going to focus on the Photonic cadet SAM, which will hopefully focus on another prominent Photonic member of Starfleet, the Doctor. 

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