TL;DR – This was a joyful jump back into this world that you can clearly see was made with love.  

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this series.

Star Trek: Prodigy Review –

Well, the first season of Star Trek: Prodigy was a bit of an odd duck. It was first meant to be on Nickelodeon, then Paramount+, then even then we couldn’t get it out here, then dropped weirdly, and then it was cancelled on Paramount+ and removed from the service, which was a stupid choice, only to CBS to shop it around and get it picked up by Netflix. While it has been a wild ride to get to that point, I am glad we had it because it means we can look at the first two episodes of the second season today.    

So, to set the scene, after the end of last season, Dal (Brett Gray), Jankom (Jason Mantzoukas), Zero (Angus Imrie), Rok-Tanh (Rylee Alazraqui), and Murf (Dee Bradley Baker) have landed on Earth and have been taking classes to prepare them for the entrance exam to Starfleet Academy. They are not technically cadets yet, but they could be. But when Admiral Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) has a mission for them, they jump to join, especially when they see the new USS Voyager-A. Meanwhile, Gwyn (Ella Purnell) is taking the long trip back to her homeworld on a mission to stop the coming civil war from ever happening. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.  

I will say that there was joy when I started watching the first opening parts 1 and 2. There was a natural bond that built between the cast during the first season, and I wanted to see where that would take them going forward. One thing we see here is how quickly they hit the floor running with a quick introduction to all our main characters that also gives hints at what they are best at while zooming them onto the Voyager-A. This also lets us introduce our next friend from Star Trek Voyager, The Doctor (Robert Picardo). I loved the immediate rapport that they all had together because, you know, The Doctor is one of those characters who would care in this situation.

One of the things that was a bit hit or miss last season was the development of Dal as a leader character. I think they got there in the end, but in a two-step forward, one-step-back kind of way. This new season sees him no longer in that leadership position, but clearly, everyone around him sees his future potential. He could be a great leader of Starfleet if he survives that long. But you feel that drive and that inherent curiosity, so you are 100% on board with the inevitable shenanigans that go down across these episodes that lead to a bunch of them accidentally taking a secret cloaked ship into the future.   

Watching these first two episodes, one of the main takeaways is just how much the production team clearly loves Star Trek. You can feel it in the way the characters are written. For example, I don’t think we have ever gotten two Tellarites having a fight-conversation with each other before. Where they barely keep that professional training in check while some less subtle barbs fly. We get deep cuts like Cetacean Ops, which means that both current animated Star Trek shows have now given us a glimpse into that world. Explorations into Bolian birth and a little timey wimey action. Then, there are all those hints towards Voyager in the musical score and the design of the ship.

The main thing this first season opener needs to do is reintroduce us to everyone and then propel the narrative forward, and the episodes excel in both of these. I really liked the idea of sending Gwen to a non-destroyed Solum and hoping to guide them to a better future, but I found that she was not the first one there. It creates a complete shift in her dynamic from the first season, and it also means we get more of John Nobel, which was a pleasant surprise. Then having an upstart Nova Squadron be the reason everything goes wrong in the Voyager was a good touch. And I think I know who Maj’el (Michaela Dietz) might be named after.    

In the end, do we recommend Star Trek: Prodigy – Into the Breach, Part I & Part 2? Absolutely. It was a clear joy watching these first episodes because you care for the characters, and you can tell that the people behind the scenes also care about them and their stories. Twenty episodes all at once will be a lot to get through, but I am looking forward to it.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

Have you seen Star Trek: Prodigy yet ?, let us know what you thought in the comments below, feel free to share this review on any of the social medias and you can follow us Here. Check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day.    

Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Star Trek: Prodigy
Directed by – Ben Hibon, Andrew L. Schmidt & Patrick Krebs
Written by – Kevin Hageman, Dan Hageman & Aaron J. Waltke
Created by – Kevin & Dan Hageman
Based On – Star Trek by Gene Roddenberry & Star Trek: Voyager by Rick Berman, Michael Piller & Jeri Taylor
Production/Distribution Companies – CBS Studios, Nickelodeon & Netflix
Starring – Rylee Alazraqui, Dee Bradley Baker, Brett Gray, Ella Purnell, Jason Mantzoukas, Angus Imrie, John Noble, Jimmi Simpson, Robert Beltran, Robert Picardo & Kate Mulgrew with Jason Alexander, Daveed Diggs, Jameela Jamil, Michaela Dietz, Sunkrish Bala, Susanne Blakeslee, John Pirkis & Bonnie Gordon