Star Trek: Prodigy streams new episodes Thursday’s in the North America via Paramount+.
Synopsis
When the U.S.S. Protostar is fractured in time by an anomaly, Hologram Janeway must synchronize the disjointed crew and save their ship before it destructs.
Review
Each week Star Trek: Prodigy continues to impress with its serialised storytelling. Growing up in a generation where episodic cartoons were predominantly stand-alone it’s mind-blowing to see this level of storytelling aimed at a young audience.
Picking up soon after the events of “First Con-tact”, this week we’re dealing with the fallout of the U.S.S Protostar crew’s failure at making first contact with a new alien race. As expected, it’s Dal (Brett Gray) who takes on the lions share of the guilt. Admitting to Holo-Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) that the crew are not Starfleet cadets is another huge turning point. Superficially it gives the narrative of the season a huge push. But it’s also the next step in Dal’s personal and emotional development as a leader.
The series’ focus on character is never more present than in this episode. Writer Nikhil S. Jayaram does an outstanding job of taking the classic Trek time anomaly trope and presenting it to a new audience. Modifying the language used by Janeway to explain the phenomenon perfectly pitched the episode at its young audience. As an adult watching the series, it was obvious the dialogue was handled with delicacy and care so as to not alienate viewers. I’m not a scientist or a mathematician, but it felt like “Time Amok” was Star Trek does STEM and I cannot applaud it enough.
Dal’s development over the course of these eight episodes still amazes me. His arrogance has given way to a real conviction towards his leadership. Prodigy brilliantly reflects his young age in his temperament. The same can be said of all the main cast. with Holo-Janeway jumping between time frames it gives the series chance to focus on each individually. This week that results in some great character development for Rok-Tahk (Rylee Alazraqui). It’s great to see Rok forging her own path as the series continues. I was also pleased to see Janeway and Gwyn (Ella Purnell) concerned for Rok after years alone in her own time frame.
Given the teamwork the group showed this week it seems, for now, Holo-Janeway will overlook the fact they stole the Protostar. Part of me hoped that in discovering her crew was not Starfleet, Janeway would immediately steer the ship to the nearest starbase. We’ll have to wait and see what happens next…
I’ve been praising the visuals of this show every episode. This week is no different. The visual of the anomaly in space is beautiful. The colours and the way it interacts with the U.S.S. Protostar and the space around it is, once again, nothing short of stunning.
Verdict
“Time Amok” is Prodigy at its finest. Pulling heavily at the science of Trek and also at the heartstrings of its audience.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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