Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Season 1 Episode 3 “Vitus Reflux” puts us right in the middle of a classic school scenario worthy of any other young adult-focused show. We’ve got a team rivalry. We’ve got a brand new Star Trek sport to play. There are pranks! There are shenanigans, and more!
Suit up, because we’ve got a Calica match to attend in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Season 1 Episode 3 “Vitus Reflux.”
Shenanigans Are Afoot!
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Season 1 Episode 3 “Vitus Reflux” puts shenanigans at the forefront. I love a good prank, so it’s always fun for me to see our crew put each other through the prank ringer. We’ve got a classic opening salvo from the War College. I can imagine little worse than getting transported out of the locker room mid-wardrobe change.
The bad dream everyone has about showing up to class in your underwear, or less than that? Yeah, that’s not a dream here! The patient tactic with the Vitus Reflux plant is very satisfying in its payoff. I have not laughed that hard at a Star Trek show since Star Trek: Lower Decks! The prank also gave me Real Genius vibes, except instead of flooding the house with popcorn, we have a whole bunch of chatty plants. I hope I can get one of those plants to sit on my desk sometime soon.
MORE: Check out our review of Starfleet Academy Episode 1!
Team Rivalry
It’s fun watching the War College versus the Academy. Calica is like laser tag, but it’s played in the X-Men’s Danger Room! So fun and so intense. The rivalry extends past the War College and the Academy to the members of the Starfleet Academy team in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Season 1 Episode 3 “Vitus Reflux.”
Genesis and Darem are the rivalry I didn’t expect in this series. They are both two of the most determined, high-achieving individuals I’ve ever seen on a Star Trek series. But the desire to achieve isn’t necessarily for their own self-betterment. It’s like what many of us experience growing up–parents with absurdly high, unreasonable, or unrealistic expectations.
Genesis is driven by either the spoken or unspoken expectations of being an Admiral’s daughter. Darem’s situation is a bit different. His achievements are all considered transactional. When he talks about how his parents left after he missed one note during his recital growing up, my heart broke. And sadly, his experience is all too familiar to too many people. I admire his final letter to his parents at the end of the episode. “One can lead and be led with empathy.” Would that we all learn that lesson.
MORE: Check out our review of Starfleet Academy Episode 2!
Final Thoughts
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy season 1 episode 3 “Vitus Reflux” is a great episode that gives us more of what we would expect from a young adult-focused series, and yet there’s something in it that is still distinctly Star Trek. There are the hijinks you’d expect from a CW show with a splash of romance between Caleb and Tarima, but also has some heart and soul.
The affirmation Jett Reno gives Darem, “Any response you have to chase down is not worth your viewing,” is a poignant reminder that we all need. Know your worth, whether anyone else does or not. Chancellor Ake’s note to Caleb, “Not all opponents are enemies,” reminds us that we can learn and grow when we compete with each other, but that doesn’t make us adversaries. That growth can sometimes only be obtained through competition. I hope that continues to soften the rivalry between him and Darem.
Finally, on a less serious note, when Caleb says that he is “allergic to organized sports,” all I could do was laugh and say, me too, buddy. And as a massive fan of physical media, in particular, vinyl, when Ake puts on a record, I hollered. Yes, vinyl will persist into the 32nd century. Just face the music.
What do you think of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Season 1 Episode 3 “Vitus Reflux”? Leave me a comment and let’s talk Trek.
The next episode of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy will air on January 29, 2026, on Paramount+.
