Although Starfleet Academy is bursting at the seams with classic-era Star Trek Easter eggs, the new Paramount+ show doesn't forget its responsibilities as a Discovery spin-off. With the Burn serving as one of the Star Trek universe's biggest disasters ever, it makes sense that Starfleet Academy would also need to heavily acknowledge it. However, what I don't think anyone expected is just how severely the Burn affected one of the franchise's most popular alien races.
Set in Star Trek's 32nd century, Starfleet Academy takes place in what can be referred to as the post-Burn era. Although the Burn is over, the galaxy is still reeling from the widespread turmoil. Some societies have managed to bounce back fairly quickly, as proven by Starfleet wasting almost no time in reopening its Academy on Earth for the first time in 120 years. Sadly, the way forward hasn't been quite so simple for other species.
FULL SPOILERS for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy season 1 Episode 4, "Vox in Excelsio."
What is the Burn in Star Trek?
For those who didn't watch Star Trek: Discovery or quit before the end, you'll probably need a brief overview of what the Burn actually is. After all, Starfleet Academy barely explains the disaster, which I find surprising. Although the new show can be watched in isolation, the first four episodes do rely on at least some knowledge of the Burn. So, let me give you the short version.
In the year 3069, most dilithium mysteriously went inert. As the substance that makes technology like warp drives function, anything powered by dilithium exploded when the Burn took place. This resulted in the death of too many people to count, and spacefaring organizations like Starfleet fell into disarray. Whatever dilithium remained became incredibly valuable, and many turned to unsavory means to acquire and plunder as much of it as they could. Warp travel became a luxury rather than an everyday occurrence.
Discovery does eventually reveal the cause of the Burn, but it's a little too high-concept to go into without writing an entirely different article. In short, a Kelpien child was born with a connection to dilithium. One day, he became so distressed that he inadvertently sent out a shock wave. This wave is what caused the Burn. It sounds silly without the added context. But, to be honest, it's not that much less silly even with said context.
Starfleet Academy reveals how the Burn affected the Klingons
Every warp-capable species lost a great many ships in the Burn. Any vessel with an active warp core — if they were traveling at warp speed, in other words — when the Burn occurred, was obliterated. The Klingons weren't immune to this phenomenon. What makes the Klingons' fate worse, as Starfleet Academy's fourth episode explains, is that the species' homeworld was also damaged beyond repair. Qo'noS was seemingly more reliant than other worlds on dilithium-powered reactors.
As a result, the Klingon population was decimated, and in Starfleet Academy, they're approaching endangered territory. Only a handful of Klingon houses remain, and they've been forced into becoming interstellar nomads/refugees, unable to accept help from the Federation without also sacrificing the honor they hold so dear. Thankfully, the idea from Karim Diané's Jay-Den Kraag to hold a ceremonial battle to allow the Klingons to "claim" their new Federation-gifted homeworld as spoils of war is successful. In theory, the species' population can now bounce back over time.
Starfleet Academy's Klingon storyline makes up for Discovery's mishandling of the species
When Discovery brought Star Trek back to TV screens in 2017, it was essentially a soft reboot of the franchise. The show was visually very different from what we'd seen in the classic era, but all the established canon remained intact. Perhaps the biggest sin of this aesthetic overhaul was how the Klingons were redesigned. They looked and acted almost like a completely new species, and the creative choice was so despised that almost everyone tries to forget about it whenever possible.
Because Starfleet Academy spawned from Discovery, it was very arguably a concern that the use of Klingons in the new show might make similar mistakes. Thankfully, the return of the Klingons in the 32nd century feels far more authentic to the aliens who featured in the classic era. While Star Trek: Starfleet Academy has still reframed the Klingons, it's an incredibly respectful and fascinating take on the ridge-headed race — especially when compared with the Discovery debacle.
New episodes of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy are available on Paramount+ until the season 1 finale on March 12, 2026.