Star Trek’s Greatest Character In Starfleet Academy Finale

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Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Season 1’s Finale – “Rubincon”Tig Notaro’s Commander Jett Reno has proven herself as one of Star Trek’s greatest characters, and Star Trek: Starfleet Academy season 1’s finale makes this perfectly clear. Directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi from a teleplay by Alex Kurtzman and Kirsten Beyer and a story by Noga Landau and Gaia Violo, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy‘s finale shows Jett Reno and Starfleet Academy’s cadets in their best light.

A longtime close friend of Star Trek executive producer Alex Kurtzman, Tig Notaro is a brilliant and respected comedian, and Tig agrees that she was a surprising pick to join Star Trek. In 2018, Notaro debuted as Commander Jett Reno in Star Trek: Discovery season 2’s premiere, “Brother.” Reno became the USS Discovery’s Chief Engineer and time traveled to the 32nd century on the Disco’s one-way trip.

Tig Notaro was recurring on Star Trek: Discovery, but Jett Reno was a reliable scene-stealer. Acerbic, sarcastic, no-nonsense, experienced, and wise, Reno told inconvenient truths with a forthright dry wit. Tig Notaro joining the cast of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy was compelling for the potential of seeing Reno interact with impressionable young minds. It has worked out better than anyone dreamed.

Starfleet Academy Makes It Clear Tig Notaro’s Jett Reno Is One Of Star Trek’s Greatest Characters

Jett Reno funny

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy season 1’s finale leaves no doubt about the greatness of Commander Jett Reno. Simply put, without Reno, Nus Braka (Paul Giamatti) would have succeeded in killing billions by destroying the United Federation of Planets. Reno is the unsung hero of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy season 1’s ending, and arguably, of the entire season.




















Stardate 47988.1 · Crew Assessment
The Final Frontier
Trivia Challenge

🚀ShipsEnterprise!

⭐CrewMake it so

☠EnemiesResistance is…

⚡TechWarp speed!

📖LoreLive long…

01

The USS Enterprise is the most iconic starship in science fiction. What is the registry number of Captain Kirk’s original Enterprise from The Original Series?




✓ Correct! NCC-1701 is the registry of Kirk’s original Constitution-class Enterprise. The “-D” suffix belongs to Picard’s Galaxy-class ship, NX-01 is Archer’s Enterprise, and NCC-74656 is Voyager.

✗ Red alert! The answer is NCC-1701. Kirk’s original Constitution-class Enterprise carried this now-legendary registry. NCC-1701-D is Picard’s Enterprise from TNG, NX-01 is Captain Archer’s, and NCC-74656 belongs to Voyager.

02

Kirk’s most trusted officer is a half-human, half-Vulcan science officer famous for his logic and iconic salute. Who is this legendary character?




✓ Correct! Mr. Spock, played by Leonard Nimoy, is the half-Vulcan science officer whose “Live long and prosper” salute became a cultural icon. His struggle between logic and emotion defines the heart of the Original Series.

✗ Red alert! The answer is Spock. Data is an android from TNG, Tuvok is Voyager’s Vulcan tactical officer, and Sarek is Spock’s Vulcan father. Only Spock is the half-human, half-Vulcan first officer of Kirk’s Enterprise.

03

Starfleet’s most important regulation forbids interference with the natural development of alien civilizations. What is this guiding principle called?




✓ Correct! The Prime Directive (also known as General Order 1) is Starfleet’s most sacred law. It prohibits interfering with less-developed civilizations — though Kirk, Picard, and Janeway have all famously bent or broken it when lives were at stake.

✗ Red alert! The answer is the Prime Directive. While “General Order One” is technically another name for it, the Prime Directive is the universally known term. The Omega Directive and Temporal Accord are separate, more specialized Starfleet protocols.

04

“Resistance is futile.” This chilling declaration belongs to a cybernetic collective that assimilates entire civilizations into its hive mind. What is this fearsome species called?




✓ Correct! The Borg are Star Trek’s most terrifying villains — a hive-mind collective that forcibly assimilates species and technology. Captain Picard was famously assimilated and transformed into Locutus in the landmark TNG episode “The Best of Both Worlds.”

✗ Red alert! The answer is the Borg. The Dominion is the Gamma Quadrant empire from DS9, the Romulans are a rival empire, and Species 8472 is actually one of the few species that the Borg themselves fear. Only the Borg declare “Resistance is futile.”

05

Captain Jean-Luc Picard commands the Enterprise-D in The Next Generation and later received his own series, Star Trek: Picard. Which acclaimed actor portrays him?




✓ Correct! Sir Patrick Stewart brought gravitas, Shakespeare, and Earl Grey tea to the captain’s chair for seven seasons of TNG, four films, and three seasons of Star Trek: Picard. His “Make it so” is one of TV’s most iconic catchphrases.

✗ Red alert! The answer is Patrick Stewart. William Shatner plays Captain Kirk, Avery Brooks is Captain Sisko on Deep Space Nine, and Scott Bakula captains the NX-01 Enterprise. Only Sir Patrick Stewart portrays the legendary Jean-Luc Picard.

06

Starfleet vessels travel faster than light by bending space around them using a matter-antimatter reaction. What is this propulsion system called?




✓ Correct! Warp Drive is the standard faster-than-light propulsion in Star Trek, powered by dilithium-regulated matter-antimatter reactions. Zefram Cochrane invented it in 2063, which led to humanity’s first contact with the Vulcans.

✗ Red alert! The answer is Warp Drive. Transwarp is an advanced Borg technology, Slipstream is an experimental quantum drive, and the Spore Drive uses mycelial network navigation (from Discovery). Standard Starfleet vessels use Warp Drive.

07

At Starfleet Academy, cadets face a notorious no-win scenario designed to test their character under impossible circumstances. James Kirk is the only cadet who ever beat it — by cheating. What is this test called?




✓ Correct! The Kobayashi Maru is an unwinnable rescue simulation that tests how cadets handle certain death. Kirk reprogrammed it so he could win — earning a commendation for original thinking. It was memorably featured in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

✗ Red alert! The answer is the Kobayashi Maru. The Corbomite Maneuver is a TOS episode, not an Academy test. The Kobayashi Maru is the famous no-win scenario that Kirk defeated by reprogramming the simulation — because he doesn’t believe in the no-win scenario.

08

In the widely regarded greatest Star Trek film, a genetically enhanced superhuman from Earth’s past seeks revenge against Captain Kirk. “KHAAAAN!” Who is this iconic villain?




✓ Correct! Khan Noonien Singh, played by Ricardo Montalbán, is Star Trek’s greatest villain. First appearing in the TOS episode “Space Seed,” he returned in The Wrath of Khan (1982) for a devastating revenge plot that cost Spock his life.

✗ Red alert! The answer is Khan Noonien Singh. General Chang is a Klingon from Star Trek VI, Q is TNG’s omnipotent trickster, and Gul Dukat is DS9’s Cardassian antagonist. Only Khan inspired Kirk’s legendary scream across the cosmos.

Mission Complete
Your Starfleet Record

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Are you an Admiral — or still a cadet on deck-scrubbing duty?

When Nus Braka abducted Captain Nahla Ake (Holly Hunter) and Anisha Mir (Tatiana Maslany), Commander Reno was beneath the Klingarite villain’s notice. But Reno rose to the impossible task left to her with the clear-headed problem-solving gusto of the engineer she is. Even though she’s “not a Captain,” Jett took command of the USS Athena’s saucer and correctly assigned the cadets to tasks that suited their abilities.

Even as Commander Reno tended to the warp core continually leaking plasma, she held the Athena’s skeleton crew together with insight and compassion the cadets didn’t expect. Jett knew that listenning, understanding, and straight-talk would cut through Caleb Mir’s (Sandro Rosta) self-pity and focus him on finding where Nus Braka took his mother and Captain Ake.

Jett Reno is tough and demanding, but she also knows how to motivate and praise the cadets for a job well done. Reno buried her own fears and doubts and was a calm port during a maelstrom. Every move Reno made successfully connected the dots to her goals: 1. Find Captain Ake, 2. Stabilize the Omega-47 mines, and 3. Bring down Nus Braka’s wall so that a heavily-armed Starfleet cavalry could ride to the rescue.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy season 1’s finale showcased Commander Jett Reno as the epitome of Starfleet: Hyper-competent, adaptable, problem-solving, but also distinctly human and someone who builds others up to be their best. Jett Reno is extraordinary, and always was since Star Trek: Discovery, but Star Trek: Starfleet Academy truly gave Reno a platform to showcase her greatness.

Jett Reno Quietly Held Starfleet Academy Together All Along

Jett Reno counsels Darem Reymi in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy.

Among Star Trek: Starfleet Academy’s command team and faculty, the buck stops at Chancellor Nahla Ake, while Commander Lura Thok (Gina Yashere) and The Doctor (Robert Picardo) are outsized personalities. However, Commander Jett Reno has quietly been the glue holding Starfleet Academy together since the USS Athena landed in San Francisco.

Starfleet Academy atrium window


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Commader Reno may not have been Caleb Mir’s favorite professor, but Jett has been unassumingly looking out for Mir and the other cadets since day one. Reno provided a sarcastic counterbalance to the fury of her romantic partner, Commander Lura, and Jett nonchalantly put out numerous fires during Starfleet Academy’s prank war with the War College.

Jett Reno keeps the cadets at a distance and doesn’t project the warmth of a counselor, but she genuinely cares about the kids of Starfleet Academy. When Reno sees a cadet in emotional distress, like Darem Reymi (George Hawkins) lamenting his parents never contacting him in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy episode 3, her compassion shines through and she warmly helped Darem just as she does Caleb in the finale.

When Starfleet Academy emptied out for the All-Worlds holiday, Reno stayed behind to tend to the facilities many problems, including catching Caleb and Genesis Lythe (Bella Shepard) when they broke into the USS Athena’s bridge in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy episode 7. In her understated way, Jett’s diligence is the reason why the USS Athena is fully-functional.

Commander Jett Reno lived in two timelines and has a clear-eyed view of the universe.

Commander Jett Reno lived in two timelines. Reno has a clear-eyed view of the universe, a throrough understanding of human nature, and an outsider’s outlook on life, along with a drive for excellence, not just for herself, but for every cadet at Starfleet Academy.

While Jett Reno may shy away from attention or acclaim, but she is one of the finest characters in Star Trek, old and new, and Star Trek: Starfleet Academy would be far lesser without her.


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Release Date

January 15, 2026

Network

Paramount+

Showrunner

Alex Kurtzman, Noga Landau

Directors

Douglas Aarniokoski, Alex Kurtzman, Andi Armaganian, Larry Teng

Writers

Gaia Violo, Alex Taub, Jane Maggs, Tawny Newsome, Kirsten Beyer, Kiley Rossetter, Eric Anthony Glover

  • Headshot Of Holly Hunter

  • Headshot Of Sandro Rosta


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