HERE THERE BE SPOILERS

Prodigy’s freshman season has explored themes centered around making the right choice and what that looks like for Dal and the other children, and “A Moral Star, Part I” only drives that point even deeper. We’ve watched Janeway guide Dal along the path toward the captaincy for eight episodes until this point, and now, we really get to see her efforts bear fruit. It’s beautiful that she gets to see it before the Diviner rips her away, and I haven’t been this nervous about a cliffhanger in a long, long time.

Plot Ahoy

On the heels of their celebration from having survived the events in “Time Amok,” something triggers Drednok’s disembodied head to play a message. When the image of the Diviner appears, none of them want to hear his message, but Gwyn stops them, curious as to what her father might have to say. The Diviner delivers an ultimatum; they have one day to return the Protostar, or he’ll slaughter all of the remaining miners on Tars Lamora.

The crew debates various alternatives, but the protodrive has only enough power to manage a single jump. If they jump to the Federation and assure their own safety, there’s no guarantee that the Federation will be able to get Starfleet to the asteroid before the Diviner’s deadline. Thus, Dal concludes that they much all choose between turning back and facing their very real demons or going forward and dooming everyone they left behind to death. It’s a tough choice for anyone, much less a teenager. Dal visibly struggles with the decision, so Jankom Pog tries to do it for him, opting to start planning a rescue mission. Dal stands up and leaves to ponder while Gwyn follows. Dal ruminates on what it means to be in command, but ultimately, he agrees that they need to return to save the rest of the Unwanted.

However, his crew remains savvy enough to realize that the Diviner has no intention of honoring his bargain, so they set to planning. At one point, Janeway congratulates Gwyn on making one “heck of an upgrade,” though to what system, we don’t know. Once their preparations are complete, they have one more detail to address, and they do that by walking onto the bridge wearing their own version of the Starfleet uniform. Pleased, Janeway amends her own appearance to adopt the new design.

Dal assumes his place in the captain’s chair and orders them to protowarp to Tars Lamora. Once there, they rendezvous with the Diviner, and Dal points out that once they turn over the Protostar they will have no way to leave the asteroid. The Diviner amends the terms of the deal, offering them the Rev 12 in return for Gwyn. Dal protests, but Gwyn agrees to accompany her father.

The Diviner, Drednok, and Gwyn board the Protostar and leave the Rev 12’s docking bay. As they pull away, the Diviner has Drednok override Janeway’s programming to force her to recognize him as the ship’s commander, and her appearance adopts a more Diviner-like mien. Before they go to warp, the Diviner asks Drednok to target the mining facility’s power generator, but Gwyn protests that doing so will kill everyone on Tars Lamora once the atmospheric generators go down. The Diviner explains that he promised Dal and his compatriots a ship, not their lives. He gives the order for the Protostar to go to warp. Gwyn presses him to find out why he wanted her this time, and he admits that leaving her behind was a mistake. She is, after all, his daughter, but he chose the ship because it represented salvation. Gwyn demands to know what he means and why he considers the Federation and Starfleet to be immoral. Rather than answering her, the Diviner asks why she’s stalling. As this exchange occurs, Drednok discovers that the protodrive is missing.

Back on Tars Lamora, the “Zero” that left the ship with the crew reveals itself to be a fake, concealing Murf who holds the protostar within himself. The actual Zero, having beamed down to the asteroid before they met with the Diviner, reappears, and they all begin the rescue of the miners. However, they worry for Gwyn and can only hope that she can stall long enough for the rest of the plan to work.

Analysis

First, I want to acknowledge how fantastic it is that the Prodigy writers’ room has taken what was a gag and turned it into a salient plot point. They’ve spent a not inconsiderable amount of time establishing that Murf is indestructible, and it eventually became a running gag. Now, Murf’s entire being becomes a neat way for them to thwart the Diviner, and I am absolutely here for it. Similarly, I’d like to acknowledge that while Jankom Pog still hasn’t gotten nearly enough screen time, he does get some major character development in this episode, and credit where it’s due, the script requires about three sentences to make it work. When Jankom attempts to take the burden of the decision from Dal, he demonstrates not only that he’s sensitive enough to recognize Dal’s distress but also that he’s willing to do something about it. That’s huge from the character that was perfectly content to allow the Kobayashi Maru to go up in flames rather than even attempting a rescue.

However, the heart of the show, unsurprisingly, rests with Dal and to a lesser extent, Gwyn. Dal demonstrates real growth here, not just because he recognizes the gravity of the situation, which is already a lot for a character coded as a “teenager” as strongly as Dal is. However, the biggest indication that Dal has grown as a character is that he is torn between the two options. He realizes that his inner turmoil stems in part from his own trauma, but he also acknowledges the duty he owes to the crew under him. For a kid who began the season with zero interest in the well-being of anyone who wasn’t Dal, that’s an enormous step. Then, for him to go on and recognize the needs of more abstract individuals, with whom he doesn’t have the bond he does with everyone aboard the Protostar, indicates just how strongly he has internalized the Starfleet ethos.

I love that Janeway gets a chance to see him make this decision, and her pride in him is palpable. Then, when everyone comes together to plan and modify the Protostar, we really get to see how these kids have gelled into a solid crew. Each one of them also has to make the same choice to prioritize the needs of other people above their own, and their decision remains beautifully unanimous. None of them may have attended the Academy, but Janeway is right when she tells them that she sees Starfleet in them.

Truthfully, I see Starfleet in not only their resolve to make the tough choice and do the right thing but in their clear-eyed determination as well. No one aboard the Protostar seriously believes that the Diviner intends to keep his word, and they plan for that eventuality. We won’t know the entirety of the gambit until next week, but I do have faith that they’ve got a few more cards up their sleeves. I also have faith that Gwyn will see her father’s “truth” for what it is. Very little he can show her will make up for his decision to leave the Unwanted to die, but I’m definitely looking forward to finding out what he conceives of as justification in next week’s conclusion.

Rating:

Four and a half crates of chimerium

Stray Thoughts From the Couch

1. The head thing felt like an homage both to R2D2 and Data’s head from Time’s Arrow.
2. I have to believe Dal and his crew have a plan to rescue Janeway. There’s no way they didn’t anticipate that Drednok would rework her program, and having a hostile Janeway would prove a significant barrier to retaking the Protostar. I’m thinking Gwyn’s upgrade was to Janeway herself, but we’ll have to see.
3. Zero’s panic about its true form is pretty precious.
4. Y’all, they save the Caitian kitten! I’m just so, so happy about that.
5. John Noble remains delightfully malicious as the Diviner, and I really, really hope that Gwyn gets to get some of her own back in part II.