College campuses are filled with strange and fascinating characters in real life, but that’s nothing compared to colleges in the world of Star Trek. From ex-convicts to 900-year-old holograms, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy‘s characters make for a vibrant and varied cohort, but one student has left a particularly strong impression.
Jay-Den Kragg, played by Karim Diané, adds a splash of Klingon blood to Starfleet Academy‘s halls, giving Star Trek its best Klingon character in the modern era and allowing for an (admittedly pretty bleak) update on the Klingons’ status in the 32nd century. Whereas most Klingons are only interested in learning the art of battle, Jay-Den is studying medicine with hopes of fulfilling his dream of becoming a doctor.
Jay-Den’s peaceful personality and chosen career path represent a stark departure from traditional Klingons, who think of little besides conflict, war, honor, and death. That makes Jay-Den unique among Star Trek‘s Klingon pantheon, but his story also pays off a joke made almost 30 years ago in Deep Space Nine.
Klingon Doctors Have Been Joke In Star Trek For Years
The concept of Klingon doctors has been present in Star Trek for a long time, with Enterprise‘s Antaak being disowned due to his choice of profession, very similar to Jay-Den Kraag in Starfleet Academy. Unsurprisingly, there appears to be a strong sense of dishonor and shame among the Klingons whenever one of their own chooses to practice medicine.
And yet, it does happen in Star Trek‘s universe. Deep Space Nine season 6’s “A Time to Stand” featured the Klingon Martok joking with Captain Sisko, “Klingons make great warriors, but terrible doctors.” Evidently, Klingon doctors exist, but have the same kind of reputation in wider Star Trek lore as Klingon opera: best avoided if at all possible.
Seeing a Klingon finally enroll in Starfleet with the express purpose of becoming a doctor takes that Deep Space Nine gag and uses it as a starting point for the next progression in Klingon history – one where the sight of a Klingon doctor doesn’t inspire fear in patients.
Jay-Den Can Change Star Trek’s In-Universe Perception Of Klingon Doctors
In fairness, it makes perfect sense that Klingons are so bad as healers. Antaak had to disguise himself as a member of another species in order to receive his medical education. Jay-Den fought with his family over the same issue, even if they secretly accepted his wishes in the end. The Klingons’ lack of interest in medical knowledge, combined with the species actively discouraging its people from practicing, would explain why their doctors are so terrible.
It’s also why Klingons like Jay-Den are so crucial to the species’ survival. After the Burn, Klingons are on the brink of extinction. Jay-Den’s brother died from a wound that, with basic treatment from a Federation doctor, could have been easily healed. Without change, Klingons will continue dying unnecessarily until the race has dwindled from existence.
There’s still the thorny issue of honor to overcome. As Starfleet Academy episode 4 demonstrates, Klingons would rather be extinct than suffer dishonor or swallow their pride. As Jay-Den learns, however, the definition of “warrior” can have many applications, and if his philosophy is adopted into wider Klingon society, medicine may eventually lose its taboo status.
With Jay-Den leading the way in terms of changing the culture of his people, Klingons living in Star Trek‘s 34th century might be able to finally say, “Klingons make great warriors, but also great doctors.” They’ll be as good at patching wounds up as they are at inflicting them.
- Release Date
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January 15, 2026
- Network
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Paramount+
- Showrunner
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Alex Kurtzman, Noga Landau
