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Five Thoughts on Star Trek: Prodigy‘s “Supernova”

By | December 23rd, 2022
Posted in Television | % Comments

The first half of Star Trek: Prodigy‘s season one finale “Supernova” (Part One) drops quite the bomb on all of us. Fair warning, MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD

1. Construct 359

The backdrop and main thrust of this episode is the epic space battle that most viewers have probably come to expect was on the way as the season has progressed over the last year. The worst has happened as Ascensia aka The Vindicator, played with true anger and pain by Jameela Jamil, has brought about the connection between the Construct and Starfleet by connecting the Protostar’s comms to the Dauntless’s. This moment comes in swift and almost makes you feel like maybe it won’t be as bad as expected, but as it turns out it is one of the worst things that could happen to the Federation. The emotion and power of it all is front and center in this truly harrowing, and excellent episode.

2. Counterpoint

With Janeway’s reputation in the figurative waste extraction fixture thanks to Dal’s spastic nature during their mind swap in the previous episode, we get a deep-cut callback to Star Trek: Voyager‘s tenth episode of season five, “Counterpoint.” It is both a reference for long time fans, but also an excellent example of who Janeway is a character and hero. It prove that the good that Starfleet does has an equally long standing effect as any wrongs they have done in the past. So while the Vindicator and the Diviner have a bone to pick with how Starfleet will handle their First Contact in the future, Janeway and Starfleet have saved countless lives and civilizations and Janeway’s actions in “Counterpoint” are some of her best making it one of her finest moments in Trek history.

In that episode Janeway saves a ship full of refugees of a race called the Brenari. They are being hunted simply for having telepathic abilities by another race called the Devore in a highly policed region of the Delta Quadrant. In one of “Star Trek’s” many Nazi/Holocaust allegories, the Devore hunt down any race with these abilities as they see them as a threat, no matter who they are. Janeway and her crew go through an incredibly difficult game of hide and seek to smuggle these people to a distant wormhole so that they can make safe passage to a far off end of the galaxy away from the Devore. In an incredible moment of fate and luck, the ensign assigned to guard Janeway in the brig was one of the Brenari children she helped save all those years ago, so she knows to believe Janeway’s plea for what is to come. It’s a wonderful moment in an already fantastic episode that shows that the good that you put out into the universe can come back around when you need it most. In a bit of interesting fate and luck in my own life, I just happened to watch “Counterpoint” the night before “Supernova” aired during my current re-watch of Voyager. I couldn’t have timed it more perfectly and it made for an unbelievable realization and experience.

3. Going Viral

The moment I mentioned earlier about the Construct gaining access to all Starfleet ships is really scary and goes all in on making it feel truly dire. Any ships that come in range of its signal are taken over, but as more ships jump out of warp and get taken over, they send out automatic S.O.S. beacons calling for more ships. This never ending wave could paint destruction for all of Starfleet, just as the Vindicator hoped. It’s a great sequence of doom and lands perfectly as the cliffhanger for this episode as the Prodigy crew realize the hope they gained when non-Starfleet ships initially came to their rescue is to be short-lived.

4. A Divine End

In an equally telegraphed and shocking moment, the Diviner does have a full change of heart seeing that his anger and actions were wrong and no pain he doles out on the galaxy will save his people. Getting amnesia was the best possible thing for him as it made him rethink his priorities, namely caring for Gwynn, who he still calls his progeny rather than daughter, but hey, the love is there. In an attempt to save her and stop the Construct he is fatally wounded and dies in Gwynn’s arm in a beautiful scene of connection. It was still surprising to see who we believed to be this show’s greatest villain turn back to the light and then die, but that just furthers the fact that this show, marketed for and aimed at children, is so much more than just the “Star Trek kids’s show.” It is truly taking some decent risks when it comes to crafting the overall story for this series.

5. Kung Murf Hustle

I know this column, if you read it each week, will seem like a Murf love fest, but if I’m being completely honest, I don’t care about the character all that much. I understand and can appreciate why he is part of the show, but some of his moments are so outlandish it does tend to take me out of the episode. He especially feels out of place in the world of “Star Trek.” This week had him going into full Bruce Lee mode taking down Drednok in an insane fight scene that did make me chuckle. And while it is a nice heroic moment for the little blob, it does take away some of the power of the emotion from the rest of the episode. Just a bit.


//TAGS | star trek prodigy

Christopher Egan

Chris lives in New Jersey with his wife, daughter, two cats, and ever-growing comic book and film collection. He is an occasional guest on various podcasts, writes movie reviews on his own time, and enjoys trying new foods. He can be found on Instagram. if you want to see pictures of all that and more!

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