8 Years Later, Tig Notaro Proved Jett Reno Is One Of Star Trek’s Greatest Characters

A longtime close friend of Star Trek executive producer Alex Kurtzman, Tig Notaro is a brilliant and respected comedian, and Tig agrees that she was a surprising pick to join Star Trek. In 2018, Notaro debuted as Commander Jett Reno in Star Trek: Discovery season 2’s premiere, “Brother.” Reno became the USS Discovery’s Chief Engineer and time traveled to the 32nd century on the Disco’s one-way trip.

Tig Notaro was recurring on Star Trek: Discovery, but Jett Reno was a reliable scene-stealer. Acerbic, sarcastic, no-nonsense, experienced, and wise, Reno told inconvenient truths with a forthright dry wit. Tig Notaro joining the cast of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy was compelling for the potential of seeing Reno interact with impressionable young minds. It has worked out better than anyone dreamed.

Starfleet Academy Makes It Clear Tig Notaro’s Jett Reno Is One Of Star Trek’s Greatest Characters

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy season 1’s finale leaves no doubt about the greatness of Commander Jett Reno. Simply put, without Reno, Nus Braka (Paul Giamatti) would have succeeded in killing billions by destroying the United Federation of Planets. Reno is the unsung hero of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy season 1’s ending, and arguably, of the entire season.

When Nus Braka abducted Captain Nahla Ake (Holly Hunter) and Anisha Mir (Tatiana Maslany), Commander Reno was beneath the Klingarite villain’s notice. But Reno rose to the impossible task left to her with the clear-headed problem-solving gusto of the engineer she is. Even though she’s “not a Captain,” Jett took command of the USS Athena’s saucer and correctly assigned the cadets to tasks that suited their abilities.

Even as Commander Reno tended to the warp core continually leaking plasma, she held the Athena’s skeleton crew together with insight and compassion the cadets didn’t expect. Jett knew that listenning, understanding, and straight-talk would cut through Caleb Mir’s (Sandro Rosta) self-pity and focus him on finding where Nus Braka took his mother and Captain Ake.

Jett Reno is tough and demanding, but she also knows how to motivate and praise the cadets for a job well done. Reno buried her own fears and doubts and was a calm port during a maelstrom. Every move Reno made successfully connected the dots to her goals: 1. Find Captain Ake, 2. Stabilize the Omega-47 mines, and 3. Bring down Nus Braka’s wall so that a heavily-armed Starfleet cavalry could ride to the rescue.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy season 1’s finale showcased Commander Jett Reno as the epitome of Starfleet: Hyper-competent, adaptable, problem-solving, but also distinctly human and someone who builds others up to be their best. Jett Reno is extraordinary, and always was since Star Trek: Discovery, but Star Trek: Starfleet Academy truly gave Reno a platform to showcase her greatness.

Jett Reno Quietly Held Starfleet Academy Together All Along

Among Star Trek: Starfleet Academy’s command team and faculty, the buck stops at Chancellor Nahla Ake, while Commander Lura Thok (Gina Yashere) and The Doctor (Robert Picardo) are outsized personalities. However, Commander Jett Reno has quietly been the glue holding Starfleet Academy together since the USS Athena landed in San Francisco.

Commader Reno may not have been Caleb Mir’s favorite professor, but Jett has been unassumingly looking out for Mir and the other cadets since day one. Reno provided a sarcastic counterbalance to the fury of her romantic partner, Commander Lura, and Jett nonchalantly put out numerous fires during Starfleet Academy’s prank war with the War College.

Jett Reno keeps the cadets at a distance and doesn’t project the warmth of a counselor, but she genuinely cares about the kids of Starfleet Academy. When Reno sees a cadet in emotional distress, like Darem Reymi (George Hawkins) lamenting his parents never contacting him in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy episode 3, her compassion shines through and she warmly helped Darem just as she does Caleb in the finale.

When Starfleet Academy emptied out for the All-Worlds holiday, Reno stayed behind to tend to the facilities many problems, including catching Caleb and Genesis Lythe (Bella Shepard) when they broke into the USS Athena’s bridge in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy episode 7. In her understated way, Jett’s diligence is the reason why the USS Athena is fully-functional.

Commander Jett Reno lived in two timelines. Reno has a clear-eyed view of the universe, a throrough understanding of human nature, and an outsider’s outlook on life, along with a drive for excellence, not just for herself, but for every cadet at Starfleet Academy.

While Jett Reno may shy away from attention or acclaim, but she is one of the finest characters in Star Trek, old and new, and Star Trek: Starfleet Academy would be far lesser without her.