The title refers to both Caleb’s adjusting to Starfleet Academy and the arrival of the Betazoids.
The episode opens with a caption saying it’s the Fall Semester. The US Naval Academy starts its Fall Semester in the last week of August, so it’s a safe assumption that Starfleet Academy starts its academic year around there or early September, which dates the season as beginning end-August 3191. I’m aware that Memory Alpha says it’s 3195, but I disagree with their calculations.
These are the first mentions of mutageocillus arniopolus (self-replicating mucus) and Ferengal tape-worms (presumably from Ferenginar). The cadet speaking to Caleb wears spectacles. Usually vision issues like long-sightedness can be treated by a dose of Retinax Five (ST II), but some people are allergic and so wear glasses instead.
As Nahla addresses the student body, we see a cadet in a wheelchair. This can be for a variety of reasons, including coming from a low-gravity environment (DS9: “Melora”). However, this cadet does not have the same visible braces as Melora Pazlar did.
Lura is the product of a Jem’Hadar father and Klingon mother, given that “Victory is life,” is the Jem’Hadar credo, and “Today is a good day to die,” a Klingon aphorism.
The cadets are at Boothby Memorial Park, named after the groundskeeper (played by the inimitable Ray Walston) who was a mentor to generations of cadets in the 24th Century, many of them becoming captains, including Picard and Janeway (TNG: “The First Duty”, VOY: “In the Flesh”).
The fireworks delta formed by the celebration flight is lit in blue, gold and red, the traditional division colours of Starfleet.
The rocky cadet walking down the corridor is a Brikar. The Brikar were introduced in Peter David’s Starfleet Academy YA Novel Worf’s First Adventure and then used in his New Frontier novels before making their way to the screen in PRO. The look of the cadet mirrors our beloved Rok-Tahk from that series, although the latter was more pinkish in colour and spoke in a higher-pitched voice. The Digitial Dean of Students making announcements is voiced by comedian and talk show host Stephen Colbert.
Behind Caleb and Sam are displays, one mentioning an Association of Cardassian Cadets, a starship escape room and the other with an oft-quoted Picard line from TNG: “Peak Performance”, “[I]t is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life.”
Jay-Den does a little growl we’ve heard often coming from Worf when he’s frustrated.
A red-coloured exocomp (TNG: “The Quality of Life”) is seen in the turbolift with Lura, Nahla and the Doctor and has to keep shifting as the humanoids occupy their space. The closed captioning names them as “Almond Basket”, which is reminiscent of Peanut Hamper, the less-than-heroic exocomp introduced in LD: “No Small Parts”. Kether Donohue voices both.
While San Francisco has been the traditional location of Starfleet Headquarters, the office of the President of the Federation was established to be in Paris (ST VI).
On Nahla’s shelf in her office are three Grateful Dead artifacts: the album covers from Aoxomoxoa (1969) and Wake of the Flood (1973), and a psychedelic poster advertising a gig at the Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco, with Oxford Circle opening for them (September 16-17, 1966).
Talaxian furflies are native to Neelix’s home planet of Talax (VOY: “Timeless”). If one stowed away on a ship, it was supposed to be good luck.
Commander Kelrec wears four pips, indicating a captain-rank (O-6) equivalent. It may be that either the War College uses a different rank system, or “Commander” is being used to mean the title“Commandant”, like Nahla is Chancellor of the Academy at her captain’s rank.
The implication seems to be that the War College is more militarily oriented than the Academy. In today’s terms, war colleges exist for the various branches of the armed forces, but they are meant to train experienced officers. Given that in Starfleet, both are foundational education institutions, the distinction might be more like Army/Navy.
Jett Reno was part of Discovery’s crew when they jumped 930 years into future at the end of DIS Season 2, ending up in the 32nd century.
Reno misquotes the saying: “Old age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill.” It is not usually attributed to Wilde, either - its origins are unclear, but variations can be traced back to the early 20th century.
The “holo-guide” that appears to neutralise the mucus on Caleb is a hologram. Caleb glitches it while trying to leave the campus by giving it impossible commands. In DIS: “Die Trying”, Georgiou manages to glitch a 32nd century hologram by blinking at their “harmonic rate”, creating a reference loop that makes them shut down.
President Emrin Sadal signs rather than speaking out loud, indicating that he is probably deaf. The last deaf character that signed of note was the Ramatsian mediator Riva (TNG: “Loud as a Whisper”).
The DDS mentions the Kirk Pavilion, named after James T. Kirk, as we see later.
The joke about not realising gazpacho is served cold calls back to the BBC science fiction comedy Red Dwarf. Rimmer complains about it being cold, which embarrasses him in front of the senior officers.
“Gideon S. Turner” is not a previously known name in lore. The Replicafé now serves raktajino, which is commonly called “Klingon coffee”, but its origins are a bit more complex. We see that the War College sports team is called the Mugatos (TOS: “A Private Little War”), while the Academy team is called the Laplings (TNG: “The Most Toys”).
Humpback whales were hunted to extinction in the 21st century (at least in Star Trek’s timeline), but the species was repopulated beginning in 2286 when two whales were brought from 1986 by Kirk and his crew (ST IV). One of their descendants, Gillian, was seen in 2384 in PRO: “Into the Breach, Part I”, serving on board Voyager-A.
Tamira wears a gem in her tooth, which she claims represents the sacred eye of Nadia, ritually bestowed upon the first daughter of the First House when she reaches Moonflow (a nice euphemism for menses) and becomes Guardian of the Holy Mantle of Betazed. Similarly, Lwaxana Troi was a daughter of the Fifth House, Holder of the Sacred Chalice of Rixx and heir to the Holy Rings of Betazed.
The star charts in Stellar Cartography are based on Geoffrey Mandel’s initial work in Star Trek: Star Charts, which have been the basis for on-screen star charts since. You can tell from the placements of Minos Korva and Tagra in relation to Betazed. In more recent episodes of SNW, the star charts are taken from Modiphius’ Star Trek Adventures TTRPG 2nd Edition, which were also developed from Star Charts.
Betazoid weddings are traditionally in the nude (TNG: “Haven”), although there are options to follow the customs of the respective spouses-to-be.
The Doctor is performing in the duet “Pa-pa-pa Papageno”, from Mozart’s The Magic Flute, which also sang a bit of to himself in SA: “Kids These Days”. The waiter that snatches the glass out of Caleb’s hand appears to be either robotic or cyber-enhanced. The empty space where one would expect a brain is reminiscent of the Decraniated from Star Wars. As Tamira leaves to meet Caleb, the duet - appropriately enough a love song between Papageno and Papagena - reaches its end.
Psilocynine is a neurotransmitter involved in telepathy that exists in Betazoids. In TNG: “Eye of the Beholder”, Troi had elevated psilocynine levels after experience a traumatic empathic vision.
The piece that the Doctor and his singing partner are performing is from Beethoven’s Fidelio, with the repeated line, “Oh, when will you say to me yes?”. In the opera, Jacquino repeatedly proposes to Marzelline with this line and she repeatedly refuses, paralleling Sadal’s refusal to rejoin the Federation.
The reason why Earth is the seat of the Federation has never been outright said, but it’s been assumed that it’s because of the vital role it played in establishing the Federation in the 22nd century. With Vulcans and Andorians and Tellarites at each other’s throats, it was Humans who brought them all together and made the alliance work. A new Federation doesn’t have to be bound to that history.
Band-Aid is a brand name, but it’s become a generic term for plasters (much like hoover became generic for vacuum cleaners). Still, to have the term survive for 13 centuries, with dermal regenerators being commonplace, was a bit anachronistic to my ears.
As Caleb walks back to his room, we see a Kelpien cadet sidle by with their hands waving in typical Kelpien fashion. Ocam Sandal has joined the Academy while Tarima has opted for the War College.