WARNING: Contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4!
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy will focus on the titular educational establishment, which could have its very own 32nd century version of Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s Nova Squadron – but should it? Star Trek: Lower Decks recently revisited the elite Starfleet Academy flight team by bringing back their disgraced squadron leader, Nicholas Locarno (Robert Duncan McNeill) as season 4’s big bad. It was down to the reckless actions of Nick Locarno that Nova Squadron was disbanded, later being replaced by Star Trek: Deep Space Nine‘s equally problematic Red Squad.
With Star Trek: Starfleet Academy set to focus on the growing pains of a diverse cast of cadets, it’s entirely possible that an elite group like Nova Squadron or Red Squad could be an enticing opportunity for some of the characters. There’s plenty of dramatic potential in the idea of the lead characters competing for a spot on an elite team. However, it’s debatable whether such elitism is in keeping with Starfleet’s core ethos. The question of whether a group like Nova Squadron should appear in Star Trek‘s Starfleet Academy show is therefore a complex one.
Why Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Shouldn’t Have A Nova Squadron
There was nothing intrinsically bad about Starfleet Academy having a highly-skilled flight team to perform at graduation ceremonies and other prestigious events. Star Trek‘s cadets go to the Academy to learn how to become specialists in their chosen fields, so it makes sense to have a flight team comprised of its best pilots. The only stumbling block is how those cadets respond to their heightened profile and the potential for career advancement. Robert Duncan McNeill’s Nick Locarno saw Nova Squadron as his chance to graduate Starfleet Academy as a living legend, a chance that would allow him to have his pick of starship assignments.
In reality, Nick’s ego and ambition resulted in the death of Cadet Joshua Albert, and the subsequent cover-up. Having such an elite squad at Starfleet Academy runs the risk of bringing out such potentially fatal competitiveness. In such a supposedly egalitarian organization like Starfleet, it feels hypocritical to single out the very best of the best. That’s why Star Trek: Starfleet Academy shouldn’t have a Nova Squadron, because it risks fostering a sense of ego and arrogance that can prove deadly when serving aboard an active starship. One only needs to look at what happened to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine‘s Red Squad to see this.
The Complicated Legacy Of Starfleet Academy’s Nova Squadron & Red Squad
Both Nick Locarno and Red Squad leader Cadet Tim Watters (Paul Popowich) have problematic Star Trek legacies that taint both elite Starfleet Academy groups. While in command of the USS Valiant, Watters led a doomed mission to attack a Jem’Hadar battleship, getting his entire crew killed in the process. This, combined with Nick Locarno’s own fatal mistake, does suggest that Starfleet Academy cadets are under an extraordinary amount of pressure to perform. Watters and Locarno had their good points, but there was nobody to rein in their more impulsive urges, which is precisely why they leave such a tragic legacy.
Both of Star Trek‘s elite Starfleet Academy groups have left a trail of dead behind them, from Josh Albert to the USS Valiant. Nova Squadron members like Sito Jaxa (Shannon Fill) and Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) went on to greater heights, but their strength of character was what got them there. The Nova Squadron accident wasn’t a great teaching moment, it was a tragedy that could have been avoided if Locarno hadn’t been given free rein to attempt an illegal maneuver. Hopefully, 900 years later, any potential elite group in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy has some more oversight from its teaching staff.
All episodes of Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4 are streaming now on Paramount+.
