Still hiding out in the Neutral Zone, the crew gets trapped in the holodeck when bizarre malfunctions start to pull in various programs into a sort of endless mystery game. Safety protocols are off and the crew can’t tell what has been programmed, and what is real.
1. I Scream Defeat
Dal has the crew running a training simulation in the holodeck to ensure a way of getting past Janeway and the Dauntless without incident, and continue to keep the weapon away from the Federation. After running the program nearly eighty times, the crew is ready to call it quits for the day. Exhaustion and frustration has taken hold of each of them and they head to the mess hall for some enormous ice cream sundaes courtesy of Jankom’s proficiency with the replicator. The gang sits around the table and for the first time in a long time they get to act their age. It’s really enjoyable to see them cut loose for a bit to mock some of the adults in their lives or the situations that ultimately led them to the Protostar. Though annoyed with their inability to find a way around the Dauntless, and Dal once again expresses his disgust in being a lab created being, the crew still gets to have some fun and laughs before heading to bed. Other than Dal’s little bit of whining it is a great scene to remind us that we are still dealing with tweens and they can’t be locked into Federation protocol at all times.
2. Haunted
After the ice cream party, the crew goes to bed. Dal shuts everything down for the night, but begins to hear some old-timey string music and upon leaving his quarters, runs into Gwynn who also heard the music during her late night workout. Out of the corner of their eyes they see a pale, malnourished looking person running around the ship. And this is when things start to get out of hand. For just a few moments the episode takes on an excellent creepy tone and the ship gets that deserted haunted house vibe, until everything starts to get really weird and the crew realizes they are still in the holodeck and are unable to leave. For a split second it’s easy to get excited over a haunted ship story, but Star Trek has had a strained history with horror episodes. For every “All Those Who Wander” there is a “Sub Rosa.” So, being a kid’s show, it’s probably best that Prodigy doesn’t dabble too much in real horror knowing that it would have to pull its punches.
3. Genre Blending
The holodeck begins blending together every program in its database starting with the stories and games that the crew regularly use. It turns this adventure into a bonkers hodge podge of detective mysteries, street fighting, and 1930s lounge acts. It’s a wild time and the crew finds it shocking, amusing, and terrifying once it is clear that the safety protocols have been lifted by and unknown source. The mash-up of programs makes for a fun episode that takes itself just as seriously as it needs to to keep the gang in danger.
4. Nefarious Hidden Objectives, Oh My!
Once the crew figures out how they’ve been trapped and that the way out they were seeking all along has turned out to be a false goal meant to keep them in the game indefinitely, they discover that the only way this could have happened is that someone on the ship did this. And this episode gives us a dark reveal and an answer to something from earlier in the season. Holo-Janeway has been behind the deception through hidden programming that even she was unaware of, unfortunately making her too dangerous to trust even though she had no idea what she was doing. How can the crew stop an all powerful hologram that has complete control of the ship and has zero control over when her evil side comes out.
5. Murf…SINGS?!
When the crew briefly ends up in a 1930s bar, Murf hits the stage and throws down some crooning like Sinatra. It is one of the most insane things I’ve ever seen. IT MAKES NO SENSE AND I LOVED IT.
