I'll admit that I largely started watching Star Trek: Starfleet Academy to see more of Robert Picardo as the Doctor. However, as the show has progressed, I've found myself also caring about the rich array of new and old characters. Not all of the newcomers have been rewarding, though. In fact, with just one episode to go in season 1, I still don't see why one character is present at all.
Starfleet Academy has a larger ensemble than most Star Trek shows. While the classic era tended to stick to around the seven mark when it came to main characters, Starfleet Academy gets close to that tally even with just its cadets. The senior Starfleet officers take the number up to somewhere near 10, although there is an argument that not all of these figures count as main characters. Regardless, those older stars all feel relevant to the story. That's more than can be said for one of the cadets.
FULL SPOILERS for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy season 1 Episode 9, "300th Night."
Starfleet Academy season 1 has given Ocam Sadal almost nothing to do
Romeo Carere made his debut as Ocam Sadal in Starfleet Academy's second episode. Since then, he's been in and out of the lineup, not appearing in Episodes 4, 7, or 9. Carere plays the part well, but that's where my praise for the character ends. Whenever Ocam is onscreen, it's painfully unclear whether he's supposed to be part of the core group of cadets or whether he's little more than a side character. Sometimes, he's presented as the former, but most of the time, it's the latter.
Episode 9, "300th Night," worked really well as a penultimate episode for season 1. That said, it was also the first time I felt like Starfleet Academy buckled under the weight of its semi-bloated cast. Characters who have had major storylines, such as Karim Diané's Jay-Den Kraag, were pushed to the fringes, with the script just barely managing to find brief moments for them to shine.
With so many other important character moments to address in season 1's penultimate episode, Ocam was deemed surplus to requirements. While his absence can easily be explained away by just saying he's on Betazed with the other cadets, if he were really as important as he sometimes seems to be, he'd be aboard the USS Athena with his classmates when "300th Night" ended.
How Starfleet Academy season 1's finale can make Ocam a worthwhile character
Ocam was introduced for a good reason. With Betazed rejoining the Federation at the start of the show, it made sense to have a Betazoid cadet. It was even better that he was the son of a prominent Betazoid diplomat. The storyline solidified Betazoid's renewed Federation membership. There's a big problem with Ocam, though. He isn't the only Betazoid to fill this role, and the other one has been far more interesting.
Ocam's sister, Zoë Steiner's Tarima Sadal, is also the offspring of the same Betazoid diplomat. Furthermore, she's not only had an interesting will-they/won't-they storyline with Caleb (Sandro Rosta), but her out-of-control psychic powers and forced transfer from the War College to the Academy have been infinitely more entertaining than whatever Ocam has been doing. (I can't remember a single storyline of his).
Thankfully, after "300th Night," the season 1 finale is primed to give Tarima's brother his moment in the spotlight. The upcoming installment is set to feature Betazed pretty heavily, as it's where most of the fleet is located ahead of the dedication ceremony. With Tarima trapped outside Federation space on the Athena, Ocam could become pivotal on his homeworld. As a first-year cadet, it's not exactly clear what he'll be able to do, but Star Trek: Starfleet Academy seems ready to give him a shot at doing something memorable after being largely ignored throughout season 1.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy season 1's finale drops on Paramount+ on March 12.