Warning! The following contains spoilers from the Star Trek: Starfleet Academy episode "Vox in Excelso." Stream the episode with a Paramount+ subscription and read at your own risk!
Jay-Den Kraag had a big episode in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, and amidst learning about his past and the current state of the Klingon species in the galaxy, there was a hint at a future romance with Darem. In the meantime, he also seems interested in a guy at the War College. It had me curious about how the Paramount+ series approaches the unique quirks of Klingon sex, given that things can get freaky.
Showrunner Noga Landau was on hand to speak to CinemaBlend after the episode, and I recapped some of the references to Klingons and sex in Star Trek. From Worf screaming "This is sex" to a growling Klingon woman on the bridge, to Discovery confirming the "two penises" theory, Landau confirmed Starfleet Academy won't shy away from how the species gets down in the bedroom, and was pretty vivid in talking about what would happen if he had "full Klingon sex":
Jay-Den obviously doesn't have other Klingons at Starfleet Academy to get it on with. He's the only Klingon, and so I think we definitely make a lot of references to the Klingons' very colorful sexual practices. Jay-Den is also a modern man. A man who understands consent and being game for what's healthy for your partner or partners.
Good to hear Jay-Den is all in on consent, not that I expected a Star Trek series to show anything different. Should he find a willing partner, does this mean we'll get to see the combative mating rituals of the Klingon species play out in the show?
That remains to be seen, but Noga Landau did clarify one point when it came to Jay-Den. Much like how he was unwilling to hit Darem in the episode, he also has the same awareness about how to proceed in relationships with other classmates:
I would say while we do allude to the very exciting ways that Klingons have sex with each other, Jay-Den is also aware that he can't do that with the people that he has sex with at Starfleet Academy. He doesn't want to break them in half, which is probably what would happen if they actually did have full Klingon sex.
"It would be like squashing an insect," as Jay-Den would say. Noga Landau confirmed that while references to Klingon sex will come up, he's obviously lacking any others from his species to engage with at the Academy. Good to see that he's flexible in that regard, though, and maybe Heated Rivalry may have some unexpectedly steamy competition on the 2026 TV schedule once Starfleet Academy really gets rolling.
Jokes aside, Karim Diané chimed in to give his thoughts on Jay-Den, noting that when it comes to love, he's a more sensitive soul. This is to say that when it comes to romance, fans shouldn't expect him to go full 50 Shades Of Grey:
Jay-Den is very traditional in that sense and is into courtship and things like that. We definitely allude to a lot of like sexual things on this show, but, I think in Jaden specifically, you'll see healthy relationships, I guess I'll say that.
Quite an interesting tease from Diané, especially after that scene with Darem. It seems like Caleb and Tarima may not be the only romantic duo on Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, but we'll have to wait and see for sure.
As someone who has already raved about the things I enjoy about Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, I have to point to "Vox in Excelso" as one of the prime examples of what I think the show does really well. Similar to some of the best episodes of TNG, this latest offering introduced a big update to the Trek lore, but told it through the lens of one of its characters. It really reminded me of the Rick Berman-era of storytelling in Trek, as opposed to what Strange New Worlds or other more modern series have done.
While there are still plenty of complaints about the latest series, Noga Landau and Karim Diané seemed unfazed by it when they spoke to CinemaBlend. Ultimately, they and the rest of the cast and crew are just happy to be working on a fresh Trek series, which seems to be slowly but surely winning over more people, despite the occasional call for William Shatner to take over the franchise.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy streams new episodes on Paramount+ on Thursdays. With all the chatter happening around the show, there couldn't be a better time to jump in and see what it's all about.
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