Tatiana Maslany's Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Pilot Cameo Finally Pays Off In Episode 9

Red alert! The following contains spoilers for "Star Trek: Starfleet Academy" season 1, episode 9, "300th Night."

Finding out that Tatiana Maslany was joining the "Star Trek" franchise with a role in the show "Star Trek: Starfleet Academy" was kind of like winning the sci-fi lottery. Why? Because Maslany is a tremendously talented actor who absolutely rocks in genre projects. She initially gained notice for playing a whole bunch of clones on the acclaimed Canadian sci-fi series "Orphan Black," but she's since made an even bigger name for herself by portraying the titular green superhero lawyer on the Marvel show "She-Hulk: Attorney at Law." Really, those two titles alone are a great demonstration of her incredible range as a performer.

As such, it was a little frustrating when Maslany briefly showed up in the "Starfleet Academy" pilot, "Kids These Days," only to vanish for the next several episodes. Thankfully, she finally returns in the show's ninth episode, "300th Night," and we get to see a whole lot more of her character, Anisha Mir. 

In case you need a reminder, "Kids These Days" shows Anisha being sentenced to prison for her role in the death of a Starfleet officer in a prologue that takes place 15 years prior to the rest of "Starfleet Academy." This, in turn, results in her being separated from her son Caleb (Luciano Fernandez), who then spends the next decade and change trying to find her. Now a young man played by Sandro Rosta, the present-day Caleb finally succeeds in his quest when "300th Night" gets underway (with some help from his new Starfleet friends, of course). Unfortunately, their reunion isn't all hugs and catching up. Anisha is a pretty different kind of individual for the "Star Trek" franchise, and Maslany's performance is exactly what she needs.

In "300th Night," Caleb and his new friend Sam (Kerrice Brooks) manage to decode a message from Anisha and head out into non-Federation space to try and meet up with her. Accompanied by the rest of their academy pals, they ultimately find their way to a marketplace that feels much more like something from the rougher parts of the "Star Wars" galaxy than what we usually see in the "Star Trek" universe.

When they find Anisha, we get to see her go through a full range of emotions as she processes her joy, paranoia about spies, and deep desire to simply stay alive with her son. She's a decidedly complex, morally ambiguous character who hates Starfleet and all it represents, and it would be easy to write her off as a villain or play her far too sympathetic. Instead, Tatiana Maslany portrays her as, well, human. She's deeply flawed, but her motivations are understandable, and we can see the conflict as it plays out in Maslany's eyes whenever Anisha has to overcome her fear and hatred of Starfleet for Caleb's sake. Hopefully, she'll go on to become a major part of Starfleet Academy" when it returns for its second season, further elevating it to the ranks of all-time great sci-fi shows like "Orphan Black."

"Starfleet Academy" already punches way above its weight class and takes some huge swings, but having some truly excellent actors like Maslany really gives it the gravitas it needs to succeed. Along with heavyweights like Paul Giamatti as the villainous Nus Braka and Holly Hunter as Captain Nahla Ake, Maslany brings intense emotion and depth to her "Starfleet Academy" character and makes the series sing.

"Star Trek: Starfleet Academy" is streaming on Paramount+.