I don’t think it comes as a surprise to anyone who’s read any of my reviews of Star Trek: Prodigy that I am an absolute, unironic fan of the franchise instalment that’s theoretically geared toward a younger demographic. The show’s first season introduced us to Starfleet through the eyes of children coming to experience the world of Star Trek for the first time, allowing new viewers and experienced fans alike to revel in the sheer optimism that characterizes the franchise without losing sight of the Federation’s flaws. The series never underestimates the savvy of its target audience, demanding that viewers grapple with both the Federation’s successes and its missteps. Most importantly, however, Prodigy asks us to remember that the greatest threat to the sheer wonder that permeates every scene in the show is fear. That fear isolates the Vau N’Akat on Solum and drives them to rip their society apart, and that same fear drives the Federation’s bigotry toward Dal R’El.

Season two seems to pick up that message in its first two episodes “Into the Breach Parts I and II” by pitting our Protostar alumni against Ascencia’s xenophobic rage once again while also adding a dash of mistrust from a group of hopefuls seeking admission to the infamous Nova Squadron.

Plot Ahoy!

As each of our friends from the Protostar seeks to fit themselves into the fabric of Starfleet, Janeway summons them for a special mission aboard the Voyager A. Rok-Tahk has taken to her studies like a duck to water, even finding birth control for tribbles. Jankom Pog chooses to work on himself as much as he works on the engines, striving to make improvements in not only his interpersonal skills but also his personal hygiene practices. Murf has gleefully embraced security training and is legitimately kicking butt and taking names, and Zero seems to be doing well in the medical sphere, if they have begun to lament some of the limitations of being incorporeal. Dal, however, seems to be struggling with some of the structure imposed by Starfleet life. He’s a bit bored, as evidenced by him skipping class.

Admiral Janeway summons all five of them on a mission to investigate the wormhole they created when they self-destructed the Protostar at the end of season one. Four of the five intrepid kids are overjoyed. Dal, however, remains a bit lost, as he’s never going to be the paperwork guy. He actively plots to get on the bridge, but Rok-Tahk refuses to participate, arguing that she doesn’t want to jeopardize her place in Starfleet. Zero, however, takes pity on their erstwhile commanding officer and notices that Janeway appears to be up to something. Dal gleefully seizes on Zero’s hint that something seems amiss in a restricted hangar, so he, Jankom, and Zero investigate the restricted area with gleeful aid from Murf and begrudging participation by Rok-Tahk.

There, they discover a cloaked ship and a clandestine mission to rescue Chakotay from Solum, 52 years in the future. Unfortunately, Admiral Jellico has canceled the mission, much to Admiral Janeway’s displeasure. Dal seeks to find out more, and while an unfamiliar entity shows up to warn Janeway against going into the wormhole, Dal falls through the ceiling of the bridge. Janeway takes the opportunity to brief the cadets and asks for their discretion. Now understanding that Chakotay’s decision to send the Protostar into the past saved them from Tars Lamora, the cadets agree to keep quiet about Janeway’s more secret mission.

Unfortunately, Ma’jel, one of the Nova Squadron potentials overhears Dal, because of course it’s Dal, and decides to investigate. Dal and his crew try to stop her, and they succeed only in triggering Janeway’s wormhole approach sequence. The illegal courier ship Infinity departs the Voyager A with Dal, Zero, Jankom, and Maj’el aboard, leaving Rok-Tahk, Murf, and the rest of the Nova Squadron back on the ship. Janeway and the bridge crew can do nothing to stop the Infinity.

Gwyn doesn’t have any more success keeping to her own mission. While she does successfully reach Solum and tries to appeal to the council, Ascencia reveals that she has already arrived, poisoning the Vau N’Akat against Gwyn’s message. Gwyn escapes capture, and she stumbles upon the present-day version of her father, Ilthuran. A far cry from the Diviner, Ilthuran is a kind astronomer rather than a ruthless tyrant and soldier, and Gwyn asks for his help, which he immediately offers. He offers Gwyn a possible solution to her problem, as Ascencia has claimed that Gwyn is no Vau N’Akat. She can participate in a potentially deadly ritual that will prove her status as a true daughter of Solum.

Analysis

First off, I am so grateful that Netflix picked up Prodigy so we could get this second season because from the jump the writing is just so beautifully tight. At no point is anyone doing anything that’s out of character or actively ridiculous for the world. How Dal and his friends end up aboard the Infinity is very truly them. Dal’s scheme to move the Infinity rather than seeking aid from the authority figures aboard is perfectly on brand for a teenager who has never in his entire life been able to rely on the adult figures surrounding him. Honestly, it probably didn’t even occur to him that he could simply reach out to Janeway and have her apprehend Maj’el. His entire experience has mostly been relying on himself, and he’s only recently expanded his circle of trust to include Zero, Gwyn, Rok, Murf, and Jankom. That’s a pretty short list. Add to that life experience his intense desire to return to being in charge of an adventure, and you get exactly what he chose to do.

Rok’s extreme hostility to Dal’s cockamamie plans makes an equal amount of sense. Remember, Rok spent way too long on her own when she was separated from everyone in the season one episode “Time Amok.” She had her own company and her studies to keep herself from going insane from the isolation. On top of that, we know from her backstory that she spent most of her life as the odd Brikar out, an alien amongst aliens. Starfleet has given her the opportunity to study in a communal environment, and Rok is in no way going to risk that, not even for Dal.

My other favorite part of the season openers is that Janeway never condescends to the Protostar kids. It would have been easier for her to order everyone to quarters, berating them for childish misbehavior because they are in fact children. However, she opts not to do so. She treats them, not as adults per se, but rather meets them where they are, offering them not only classified information but also her trust. For kids with the backgrounds they have, that offer makes an enormous gesture, and it demonstrates that Janeway remains an emotionally competent leader because she secures their cooperation and loyalty by offering them a personal stake in the matter. Her explanation regarding Chakotay not only reveals her investment but also conveys that they owe a debt to this man whom they’ve yet to meet as well. It’s a sequence that’s wonderfully done.

I also happen to love that Gwyn gets a chance to meet her father as a person, before he’d become embittered by Solum’s self-destruction. One of the hardest things to do is to realize that your parents are people, as imperfect and flawed as you are, and Prodigy gave us glimpses of that by exposing us to a reformed Diviner and the vicious Nandi. In keeping with the deeply balanced portrayal of the Federation and Starfleet as institutions, Prodigy also explores why Ilthuran became the Diviner without excusing the decisions he made along that path. In season one, Prodigy offered us an expectation of personal accountability tempered with compassion and empathy, and season two looks to be expanding on that theme. Yes, Gwyn gets a new chance at interacting with this different version of her father, but hopefully, the show gives Ilthuran the opportunity to make different choices and be a better father to his daughter. I’m really looking forward to seeing how the show chooses to develop that relationship.

“Into the Breach Parts I and II” throws Dal and his new crew into a literal breach, but these two episodes do an amazing job of setting up the stakes for everyone. I’m looking forward to eighteen more episodes of beautifully realized Star Trek in Prodigy’s second season.

Rating:

Five crates of chimerium

Stray Thoughts From the Couch

1. Why yes, Rok makes an allusion to “The Trouble With Edward.”
2. CETACEAN OPS! And, of course, they’re navigators.
3. Robert Picardo is back as the Doctor. I’m so excited.
4. Delta radiation is a nod to Star Trek: Enterprise.
5. There’s no way Maj’el’s name isn’t a reference to Majel Barrett-Roddenberry.
6. At some point, can we have a discussion with Maj’el about the logic of dying her hair? I really desperately need that in my life.
7. Loved the throwaway line about the Romulan evacuation.
8. Solum is absolutely gorgeous, and I love the heirloom designs.