Pitched as a gateway show to bring more young adults tot he Star Trek franchise, Star Trek Prodigy quickly became one of the most consistent and well rounded shows in the modern era of the franchise. Following the tale of a young group of aliens who stumble upon an abandoned starship, the random team became a crew as they fought for freedom and adventure under their mentor and guide, Kathryn Janeway – well, sort of…
Over two seasons the crew and their goals were clearly established, with the second being set primarily aboard the Voyager-A as Admiral Janeway tested the chain of command while her protégé’s completely ignored it to save Captain Chakotay, it all ended with wannabe Captain Dal realising his best place was supporting Gwyndala as leader as they set course for a full time training cruise on board their own new ship while Starfleet dealt with the Mars Attack.
The final moments of season 2 ended on hope and adventure as the crew warped towards the unknown. But behind the scenes, the future of the show was just as unknown thanks to Paramount cutting the show in a massive restructure and Netflix holding the streaming rights and any future it had in their hands. But that future seems less than bright. Following the recent departure from Netflix which, combined with the Hageman’s moving on to other projects, signals the end of the road for Gwyn and her crew. So we decided…. why not look at what made the show so much fun?
Last Flight of the Protostar (S2E11/12)
Bringing back legacy characters has been somewhat of a success in Star Trek lately. From half the Strange New Worlds crew to tying Picard and Seven of Nine’s fates together. For Prodigy, it’s all Janeway. A few of them really as the first season introduced a training hologram version to mentor the crew while season 2 mostly focuses on the Admiral herself. But a large chunk of the plot came down to her former first officer Chakotay, and where he is considering it’s his empty and abandoned ship that starts the adventure.
When they find Chakotay lost in time, he’s a man defeated. Found alone on a beaten up USS Protostar, he’s the last survivor of his crew and guardian of the weapon that’s been coded into his ship. The story is as much about getting the Protostar where it need to be to kick start the events of the first season as it is saving Chakotay. Though saving him means breaking him from the mindset he’s been in while trapped alone for years…
It’s a relatively simple thing. Young hopeful cadets versus grumpy loner where everyone aligns by a common goal at the end. There’s also some cool stuff in how they get the Protostar to it’s final destination – and all with a surprisingly happy ending that doesn’t hit the reset button. But the best part was seeing (well, hearing!) Robert Beltran energised in a role just as much as he was in the early seasons of Voyager and reviving a once stale and forgotten character.
Starstruck (S1E3)
The opening episodes of Prodigy were a great start for the show. It quickly introduced Dal, Gwyn, what would be their crew on the new ship they’d stumbled on, and what they’d face from the bad guys as they tried to flee. But this is a show thats acting as a gateway for Star Trek, not one specifically designed for long time fans like Lower Decks was so the audience needed an introduction to Starfleet just as the kids did….
Once everything kicked into gear, episode three properly starts off each characters own story, bringing a little bit of background as they muddle together to figure themselves out in a wild and unexpected scenario for them all. But the real gem is taking the time to give us an episode that acts as an explainer for whats to come. If you’ve never seen Star Trek, you might know what a phaser does, but would you know your replicator from your tricorder? Starstruck does with the perfect balance of introducing personal journeys along with a breakdown of what goodies are lurking inside the Protostar.
Supernova (S1 E19/20)
A finale can make or break a show. For every ‘Goodbye, Farewell and Amen’, there’s a Dexter out there sailing into a storm or a dragon queen being unceremoniously stab-hugged. Prodigy set up a lot in it’s first season – the crew, the bad guys, Gwyn stuck between them both and the Protostar itself turned into a weapon that’ll destroy any Starfleet ship it comes in contact with. Throw in Janeway and the Dauntless chasing them down with Gwyn’s evil sister on board…. it’s a lot.
With so much going on, it can be hard to find a balance. Especially with an animated show who’s episodes are half the length of live action and the often tiring trope of another big battle fleet on the horizon. But… it works. There’s no time wasted, most questions answered and enough tension to keep you on the edge of your seat right up to the moment Hologram Janeway figures out how to save her students, passing the baton to the real Janeway to fight their corner to make the rogue heroes official trainee’s under her guidance.
A Moral Star (S1 E9/10)
At it’s best, Star Trek often falls into moral dilemma and for the Protostar crew, their biggest decision comes with no experience or anyone else to fall back on with a calm conference room to talk out the answers. The big bad of the series, the Diviner, ran the prison planet the crew escaped from. In exchange for returning the Protostar to his world, Tars Lamora, he’ll give his thanks by releasing everyone under his control. On the flip side, there’s this cool ship from a civilisation that could save them all anyway. In the middle is Dal, the self chosen captain and his new ally Gwyndala as they have to choose to go back and save everyone, or keep heading to the Federation and put their trust in them bringing a better future the hard way.
The relationship between the two wasn’t automatic. Dal was the idealistic idiot, and Gwyn is the daughter of the Diviner and still has loyalty to him. But both have been inspired by what they’ve learned through Janeway and the Protostar and their solutions show that, while they come from a place far removed from the Federation, the hope and values they’ve seen already have changed them for the better.
Ascension (S2 E 15/16)
After sneaking around posing as part of Janeway’s crew, Gwyn’s sister Ascenia follows in the Diviners footsteps to become even more fun as the antagonist in season 2. Manipulating her people the Vau N’Akar into following her, and building her own war fleet, she wins the evil villain jackpot with her flagship having another new toy on board: The ‘Incursor’, a temporal weapon that kills people with time; rapidly increasing their rate of decay and ageing them to death.
As Janeway leads Voyager, Chakotay takes his chair back on the Protostar while Dal takes flight alongside a group of Nova Squadron cadets in fighter shuttle and suddenly, we have ourselves a battle! Which is fairly awesome. We know those kinda of shuttles exist thanks to the Next Generation, and we’ve seen raider-like Peregrine fighters in DS9. The wonderful world of animation brings them to life in spectacular fashion which is in itself an absolute delight.
The squadron’s action sequences are spectacular all on their own. Throw in ever raising threat levels, self sacrifice from the crew and a big twist at the end and this just becomes one of the most fun and exciting episodes of the series as a whole that showcases every level of why Prodigy has proven itself worthy!
While Prodigy has no streaming home at the moment, both seasons one and two are available to buy on BluRay from all good retailers including HMV and Amazon.
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