Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2 Review

Summary

• Star Trek: Prodigy
  ‘s second season offers a thrilling new direction with complex serialized narratives and iconic characters.
• The crew adapts to life in San Francisco and faces challenges, while Gwyn must prevent a civil war on her homeworld.
• The show’s writing team balances scientific concepts with accessible storytelling, and the animation enhances the narrative.

Star Trek: Prodigy warps to Netflix with a fantastic second season that takes the series in a thrilling new direction. The motley young misfits that escaped Tars Lamora to find belonging with Starfleet continue to learn the value of teamwork, duty, and sacrifice. Showrunners Kevin and Dan Hageman craft a bold and remarkably complex serialized narrative that incorporates iconic characters and classic lore. They succeed in appealing to die-hard older fans while making the show accessible to new audiences and children. There are some filler subplots over the 20-episode arc, but nothing is ever boring. Families will be dazzled by superb storylines and action-packed animation.

Set several months after the destruction of the Protostar, its crew reacts to life in San Francisco as potential Starfleet Academy cadets. Rok-Tahk (Rylee Alazraqui) has embraced her training as a xenobiologist. She cherishes not being viewed as a monstrous beast meant for fighting. Jankom Pog (Jason Mantzoukas) has literally cleaned up with a sharp Tellarite makeover. The gooey blue Mellanoid slime worm, Murf (Dee Bradley Baker), excels in butt-kicking security training.

Zero (Angus Imrie) enjoys every aspect of the Federation but aches for corporeal senses. They desire the ability to touch, feel, and experience real emotions. Dal (Brett Gray) expresses his disappointment at the stringent rules. Why does he have to take a class on Temporal Mechanics 101? He quickly learns that the former teenage captain of the Protostar has no pull in Starfleet. Dal has to prove that he can follow orders.

New Kids on Campus

Star Trek: Prodigy

4/5

Star Trek: Prodigy is the first TV series in the Star Trek franchise marketed toward children, and one of the few animated series in the franchise. The story follows a group of young aliens who find a stolen Starfleet ship and use it to escape from the Tars Lamora prison colony where they are all held captive. Working together with the help of a holographic Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), the new crew of the USS Protostar must find their way back to the Alpha Quadrant to warn the Federation of the deadly threat that is pursuing them.

Release Date October 28, 2021

Seasons 2

Writers Dan Hageman

Streaming Service(s) Paramount+

Showrunner Dan Hageman

Pros

• Great sci-fi ideas and storylines told in comprehensible, kid-friendly ways.
• The characters grow and mature, and Trekkies will be delighted by some surprises.
• The animation is unique and serves the story.

Cons

• There’s unfortunately too much filler in the season, which runs long.

Expand

Meanwhile, Gwyn (Ella Purnell) finally arrives at the Vau N’Akat homeworld of Solum. She must convince her people that alien life isn’t a threat and prevent a civil war that destroys their civilization 52 years in the future. Her clandestine beaming to the surface reveals a vibrant society that’s deeply suspicious. She’s dumbfounded to see that her mortal enemy is also there and fomenting violence. Asencia (Jameela Jamil) has already proven she’ll do anything to annihilate Starfleet and the Federation.

Back on Earth, the teens are stunned to receive orders from Admiral Janeway (Kate Mulgrew). She has a new ship perched at the edge of the wormhole created by the Protostar’s explosion. There’s a theory about how to save Chakotay (Robert Beltran), who’s trapped in the future on Solum. The rescue cannot change the timeline or temporal chaos will ensue. A botched rescue could literally erase existence.

Star Trek: Prodigy’s second season is loaded with epic reveals. The first 10 episodes are both a rescue mission and an intriguing mystery. Trekkies are going to absolutely lose their minds at who pops up along the way. The Hagemans don’t spoonfeed critical details or go to the well for cheap nostalgia. Unexpected dangers have serious consequences. To say there’s a lot going on is a vast understatement. The lead cast has to find clues and piece the puzzle together before getting the true picture of what’s actually happening. The classic characters introduced are instrumental to that process.

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Smart Science in a Kid-Friendly Way

Bravo to the Hagemans and their writing team for not dumbing down the dialogue. Quantum mechanics and theoretical physics are explored in relation to space travel and time paradoxes. Yup, you read that right. This is a children’s show that requires abstract thought. But it expresses science in a comprehensible way that draws in the audience through easily understood interactions.

Rok-Tahk, in Alazraqui’s sweet 13-year-old voice, serves as a kind teacher who helps Dal with the nuts and bolts of their missions. He openly states confusion, and she, along with the adults, come to his aid without judgment. No one watching will ever feel stupid. This is a key achievement in the scripts that cannot be understated.

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Star Trek Has Always Been They/Them

It pains me to continually broach this subject in reviews, but these are divided times and context must be a part of any potentially divisive issues. Zero is a genderless Medusan seen as colorful energy in a robotic containment suit. They, and that pronoun is used, have a significant story arc about wanting to live as an organic, which would naturally be represented in an androgynous form.

Star Trek has previously tread this path. Data’s goal was to be human. Will Riker disobeyed direct orders to rescue a non-binary lover in Star Trek: The Next Generation. No sexual or political agenda should be inferred by the Zero subplot. Star Trek: Prodigy has a TV-Y7 rating. Don’t allow adult preconceptions and prejudices to cloud the show.

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Prodigy Has Great Animation and Developed Characters

Netflix
CBS

There’s eye candy aplenty, but the incredible CGI animation always serves the narrative. The Hagemans rejoice in the grand spectacle of space travel, weird aliens, and amazing future tech. But they also do a superb job with minor details that give the characters depth. Jankom Pog combing his unruly hair to appear cultivated will have you in stitches. He, along with everyone else, is more sophisticated. The characters’ growing maturity is both seen and heard. This also works for the established supporting ensemble that audiences haven’t seen in a while. A former ensign who left Starfleet looks sharp with a beard and a few wrinkles.

Season two takes great care to fit seamlessly into events previously portrayed in the reboot film, Star Trek: Picard, and Star Trek:Lower Decks, but primarily follows the further adventures of the Star Trek: Voyager characters. Robert Picardo nearly steals the show as The Doctor. The only quibble is the length of the season. The Hagemans could have whittled down to 16 all-killer, no-filler, action-packed episodes. But the fluff isn’t terrible and has entertainment value. Who doesn’t want to see genetically modified monster tribbles? Stream multiple times on Netflix, because Star Trek: Prodigy deserves a third season.

Star Trek: Prodigy is a production of Secret Hideout, Roddenberry Entertainment, Nickelodeon Animation Studios, and CBS Television Studios. Season two premieres July 1st exclusively on Netflix. You can watch it through the link below:

Watch on Netflix

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