Why Holly Hunter’s Nahla Ake already deserves a place at Star Trek’s ultimate top table

When Jean-Luc Picard was appointed captain of the USS Enterprise-D in 1987, there was a lot of head-scratching among followers of Starfleet. Who was this bald French guy with a distractingly English accent? Why did he talk like a Shakespearean actor, leave most of the planetary excursions and womanizing to his first officer, and have a penchant for classical music, archaeology and tea (preferably of the Earl Grey, hot variety)?

Those questions were asked because Picard seemed galaxies away from his predecessor in “Star Trek”‘s big chair, James Tiberius Kirk. But even though Kirk’s reputation as a gung-ho, macho ladies’ man is somewhat exaggerated — he’s also intelligent, calm under pressure and one hell of a leader — the contrast is intentional and important.

The second “Trek” out of Spacedock was quick to establish the notion that every commanding officer could be different, making it acceptable for each captain to do things their own way. In short, Picard proved that you don’t have to be a mini-Kirk to earn a place in Starfleet’s hall of fame. “Starfleet Academy”‘s Nahla Ake is the latest to pass the famous Kobayashi Maru command test, and an all-new type of CO — even though she shares many of the attributes of those who’ve boldly gone before her. She’s also shown enough promise throughout the first season of the school-set spin-off to suggest she’s already worthy of a place at the captains’ table with the Federation’s MVPs.

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Of course, you don’t recruit an actor of Holly Hunter’s Oscar-winning calibre, and then ask her to play some go-through-the-motions Federation jobsworth. Showrunner and franchise overseer Alex Kurtzman has described Ake as “almost like a space hippy”, and her casual approach to command is clear in the way she walks the halls of the Academy barefoot. She also takes a deeply unconventional approach to sitting in the captain’s chair — not even Will Riker’s famously eccentric relationship with seating can compete with the almost yoga-like poses she adopts on the bridge.

Being the captain of a starship is hard enough, but Ake’s job description also includes the additional role of “chancellor” of the Academy. Given her seemingly relaxed approach to education, it would be easy for her to fall into the trap of becoming one of those teachers who tries a little too hard to be friends with the students. But Ake’s way too smart and experienced to make that kind of error.

That she’s so comfortable with kids — in a way that Jean-Luc Picard never was, particularly during his early days on the Enterprise bridge — is particularly impressive seeing as she’s centuries old, courtesy of her Lanthanite heritage. She’s capable of putting a reassuring arm round the shoulder — an echo of Kathryn Janeway’s management style — but also knows when to keep her distance. Indeed, she has the uncanny knack of being approachable without diminishing her authority.

As a result, you get the impression that her lessons would be fun, even if she has the unfortunate habit — à la Albus Dumbledore at Hogwarts — of putting her students in harm’s way. The failed mission to the USS Miyazaki in “Come, Let’s Away” turned out to be the sort of learning experience that’s usually best avoided.

That said, breaking the odd rule is part of what makes Ake tick. There’s a long tradition of Starfleet commanders defying orders, whether it’s a pre-captaincy Michael Burnham accidentally kickstarting a war with the Klingon Empire in “Discovery”, or Kirk stealing the Enterprise to rescue his late BFF in “The Search for Spock”. But most of them save playing fast-and-loose with regulations for a bona fide life-or-death situation.

Not so much Ake, who unashamedly does what she can to get one over Commander Kelrec — her counterpart at the rival War College — when the respective student bodies get themselves caught up in an extremely low-stakes feud. Is it professional to help your young charges unleash an aggressive species of emotionally sensitive fungus (vitus reflux) in the pursuit of victory? Possibly not, but it’s good for them to know she has their back.

Besides, she’s crossed enough neutral zones and mediated enough disputes to recognize when the consequences of not breaking the rules are much greater than breaking them. She’s subsequently developed an extremely productive working relationship with her boss, Admiral Charles Vance — even when she takes the USS Athena on an off-the-books mission to rescue her kids in penultimate episode “300th Night”, he’s smart enough to give her some latitude to be, well, Nahla. He knows he’s not going to stop her doing her own thing, and simply reminds her that, if she strays into Venari Ral territory, she’s on her own. No Kirk-style court martial for her.

But it’s arguably when the chips are at their downest, when Nahla’s being held captive by her nemesis Nus Braka (played by another Hollywood heavyweight in Paul Giamatti), that the captain really earns that fourth pip on her uniform. Even when the Federation is in danger of being cut off from the rest of the galaxy by an excess of Omega 47 — and the Venari Ral crimelord is taunting her about the death of her son as part of his anti-Federation show trial — she has the presence of mind to deliver a rousing speech and buy enough time for her friends on board the Athena to unleash their countermeasures.

“There is so much anger in the universe,” she points out. “So much atrocity. All of it started with some guy saying what Nus is saying right now: ‘It’s us or them. Your hate will set you free.'”

She’s channeling Kirk, Picard, Sisko, Janeway, Pike and every other heroic captain since via one of the most “Trek” messages imaginable — the idea that we’re stronger together. Her words even win over the Academy’s most cynical student, Caleb Mir: “She believes that we can make a difference. She listens.”

So while her style is different to all her predecessors — none of whom would ever have been caught stepping into a turbolift without their shoes on — she’s carrying their legacy into the 32nd century. And even after a mere 10 episodes in her company, it’s clear that Nahla Ake is capable of becoming one of the greats.

Every episode of “Star Trek: Starfleet Academy” is now available to stream on Paramount+.