Ups & Downs From Star Trek: Prodigy 1.20 - Supernova, Part 2

It's season finale time! Did Prodigy stick the landing?
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[@jorgekde]

Star Trek Prodigy, proved that it is possible to move ST forward, not just relying on nostalgia, by creating endearing characters and exciting stories.

[@AndrewD8Red]

Meh. To each their own, I guess. I gotta say, the show has impressed me for the last few episodes, though.

[@blu3ste3l]

I was 9 when VOY ended, and would have eaten this up as a kid! The last 3rd of this season felt more like old Trek to me than anything post Ent. Thought they did a great job, especially for a kids show!

[@OhNoTheFace]

And not pushing the emo star trek of early disco and picard

[@unknownvalor9755]

heh well most of the episodes did have some sort of nostalgia link soooooo maybe just a little in that department. either way I'm happy with the serious.

[@laurabailey1054]

@@blu3ste3l I am an adult who thoroughly enjoyed Prodigy

[@Enigmanaut]

Sean, the DIDN’T get into Starfleet Academy. The council determined that fast tracking them would be unfair to those waiting to get in on the merits of their applications. The Protostar crew are being taken on as provisional enlisted status as Warrant officers.

[@amazedsatsuma]

Yeah I kinda laugh to myself at the idea of Protostar crew getting field commissions as warrant officers instead of attending the Academy outright was seen as the more "fair" option 😂

[@nobodyimportant2470]

@@amazedsatsuma Well it depends on the service being discussed. Warrant Officers are either the lowest commissioned rank or the highest Non-commissioned rank. Going to Starfleet Academy is like going to West Point where you graduate with a commission. With the context WO in Starfleet is an NCO and thus under anyone who just graduated from the academy.

[@1993digifan]

@@amazedsatsuma What NobodyImportant said: They are NCOs (in training), which means they are beneath everyone that graduated from the Academy. Like how Miles was lower rank that Nog the moment Nog officially graduated from the Academy and was made an ensign.

[@0xKruzr]

@@1993digifan right -- in the Army, WO-1s are addressed as "sir" by enlisted, but wouldn't dare try to give even an E-4 an "order" unless it was a 5-alarm emergency. The kids are still going to be very much cadet status.

[@buckanderson]

Yes, this! Also I understand their status as to be similar to that of Wesley Crusher in the first TNG seasons. Their uniforms are also kinda similar to that of Wesley, so no problem with that as well.

[@saedo9723]

The Protostar is essentially the kids first home ever and where they became their new found family. They wouldn't want to destroy the only home they ever really known until the exhausted every possible option

[@Sephiroth144]

Well, first good home- the first actual home was a tad abusive

[@saedo9723]

@@Sephiroth144 they probably wouldn't call it a home at all, just a prison

[@blu3ste3l]

100% agree. Also consider the kids we're trying to get Starfleet to help disarm the weapon and only wound up in this situation because of a Starfleet double agent, an inflexible Andorian, and Trigger happy admiral. While Jellico was great for the chair in chain of Command, I feel Picard could have resolved this confrontation diplomatically. Can't down the kids for Starfleet's pockets fomenting.

[@Raphmatic5000]

Not to mention, when did they have a chance to blow it up? Their first desire was to get to the Federation, and the Living Construct obliged. They went to a listtening outpost that was destroyed, The Neutral Zone and then Federation space. Unable to communicate with Starfleet, and with no allies, they were stuck. Even on that Xindi (?) outpost, they were being pursued. They're children, they got scared, they ran back to their home and took off. Expecting non-Vulcan children to act logically? Expect NON-VULCANS to always act logically? C'mon.

[@travelswithsi8932]

@@Sephiroth144 People dont say tad enough

[@jayyates1676]

Prodigy is by far my favorite ST animated series. I'm 60, and have been a Trekkie from the TAS. Also, not enough mention has been made of the moral of story shorts made for each episode. They can have a lot of impact for young viewers.

[@laurabailey1054]

I enjoyed Prodigy immensely. I grew up on the original series

[@DarkstarXOGaming]

Not quite that old but also grown up on ST, this is by far the best animated version yet, some of it is actually moving makes you wonder and I'm super glad they got kate back voyager was my best and all time fave.

[@ferninthehouse]

im way younger but ive been watching over 10 years starting with tos and i love prodigy too. i wouldnt say its my favorite but i also think it stands out even among SNW and Discovery both of which i love.

[@RunnerX13]

I love that ST is constantly making up for the fleet at the end of Picard S1.

[@xedalpha1]

H Janeway made me actually cry. Damn it. I wont be able to rewatch the earlier episodes without choking up now. What a finale. The modern Trek era has truly hit it's stride. Go fast!

[@djashley2002]

An emergency beacon would be a transmitter. Are you sure you'd want to risk even the smallest chance of a fragment of the Construct surviving to contaminate other Starfleet ships?

[@andrewfarmer6126]

Decent point

[@veggiet2009]

good idea, though I was worried about having a copy a Janeway being corrupted by the construct, at least I did until the reveal that she wouldn't fit on the card

[@michaelbachler2716]

But a replicate shuttle isn't

[@travisfoster1071]

Probably buried itself deep in the Starfleet mainframe.

[@DMSProduktions]

@@andrewfarmer6126 I agree!

[@LordAzrael707]

The whiplash of going from Prodigy to Picard S3 is going to make me wish we'd designed a shuttle with seatbelts.

[@brentsimard977]

haha🤣

[@Renne308]

Hold onto your butt.

[@Cylver1]

My favorite thing about watching this first season of Prodigy is just seeing this group become a crew. They started out with none of them even knowing each other and freaking out every time something on a console beeped or buzzed, and with Janeway’s help they became a cohesive and disciplined crew who truly deserved to be there. Looking forward to seeing where Season 2 takes this great crew!

[@StealthyJim]

I had serious doubts about Prodigy being too kid-targeted with the Nickelodeon branding, but this ended up being one of my favorite first seasons of any Trek show. I can't wait for more in season 2...like finding out what ship class Voyager-A is going to be. I also never expected the big losses in this episode. Hologram Janeway seeing "Insufficient Capacity" on that control panel hits hard, especially after being given the hope of her making it off the ship in a backup. And we knew the kids weren't going to be keeping the Protostar as their own, but seeing them actually destroy it was a bit surprising.

[@Daginni1]

People often expect kids shows to be nothing but fart jokes and dumb humor, but often times they can be really good and respect that a kid is a lot smarter than adults give them credit for.

[@blu3ste3l]

Also just imagine all the Sisko./Jennifer battle of Wolf 359 moments that happened in these episodes off screen. I would gladly watch several trek shorts detailing this battle from other viewpoints

[@AzraelThanatos]

Part of me wonders if the we're still going to see Hologram Janeway again with the entire weapon being of temporal origin, which could also have monitoring and data access...

[@ViroVV]

If you go back and listen to the musical themes closely, they may have already told us.

[@DavidKnowles0]

I'm for a completely new class and bling out with all the goodies Janeway crew encountered.

[@lovehawks2814]

Obviously Jelico couldn't be at that tribunal. He was an admiral on Gamma shift, and that was a Delta shift trial. 😜

[@FreihEitner]

Ha! Very nice. :-)

[@GSBarlev]

Conspiratorial take: _Admiral Jellico doesn't exist!_ and is instead an "Emergency Starfleet Command Hologram" programmed into everyone's comms.

[@chrismantonuk]

When Dal said “I am the captain of this ship…” and was prepared to sacrifice himself to let the others escape, that was a fantastic character growth moment. I got real Picard/First Contact vibes. Excellent episode, can’t wait for season 2!

[@jeremydale4548]

RIP OG protostar. She went out doing what all ships in Starfleet aspire to do when they're called on to do it. Saving lives.

[@frankm.2850]

Dal has grown A LOT. Dal is what Wesley should have been. Seeing Wes go through the character growth Dal does would have been awesome, and they had more than one season to do it!

[@brentsimard977]

I cried a lot, I loved hologram Janeway. Thank you STP for an outstanding season.

[@grumpyoldnord]

This episode brought me to tears more than once. Kudos and cheers to everyone involved. This was great Trek.

[@FreihEitner]

These darned inferior monitors--they get blurry sometimes, and it happened all throughout this episode of ST: Prodigy.

[@LydiaSalem]

it really was. Crazy how good this show is.

[@AliceJoy78]

This has to be the best first season for a Trek series, so far despite it being an animation series. I love how this episode has ended the season and I have a feeling that the new Protostar class vessel shown at the end is to be revealed as the Voyager-A. I think the first half of season 2 will be preparing for the rescue and the 2nd half will take place in the future to undertake the rescue.

[@JuPMod]

I don't agree that Protostar is the Voyager-A. If this episode showed that the shuttles, which rescue Dal and crew from Frisco Bay, are from the Voyager-A, it means the Voyager-A must be big enough to have a shuttle bay to house those shuttles. I think that Protostar is the Protostar-A. Let us hope the Voyager-A will be reveal in Season 2.

[@DavidKnowles0]

@@JuPMod It also have to be more capable than the Dauntless.

[@theblackwidower]

@@JuPMod My guess is the Protostar-A (of course it could be named anything, but let's go with this for now) is probably basically the new Delta Flyer for the Voyager-A. Something a bit more than a shuttlecraft, but not it's own ship. Actually, what'd be really interesting is if it was more like the Captain's Yacht/Aeroshuttle. A craft that's built-in to the ship with its own specialized docking booth. Kinda like (if you've seen it) the Ancient Shuttles in Stargate Universe. But mainly, I'm thinking this because I feel that they shouldn't change up the cast dynamic too much. In-the-flesh Janeway is no longer merely an 'advisor'. She's their commanding officer. So making Janeway captain of the Voyager-A, and keeping Dal as Captain of the Protostar-A would make a lot of sense. She's still in charge overall, but on the new Protostar, it's Dal's ship, and that means he's in charge. And it's doubtful Janeway would pull rank on him on his bridge for the same reason she wouldn't have liked it on her bridge. I like the rag-tag nature of the show. And keeping the main gang somewhat independent would maintain that.

[@BrighteyezMcFairin]

I cried. This episode was great, and the season overall was definitely an up for me! Thanks for all of the hard work you guys put into these videos. I love being able to watch the ups and downs and my husband and I enjoy the easter eggs in cetacean observations! We have a "tradition" of sorts of putting our hands together and doing dolphin moves every time hahaha! Yeah we're weird. :D Thank you guys again and looking forward to Star Trek Picard Season 3! Grats on 250k!

[@DarkstarXOGaming]

Yeah so did I don't want it to end 😭

[@mrs.onyango6504]

Kool

[@LancerJak]

Cried because of a holo gram of a character that’s still very alive. Great writing.

[@MaddyDever]

In the credits there was traces of the voyager theme and it just really moved me after seeing the supposed demise of hologram Janeway and the strong hints that Voyager-A will be there next season. Such a good episode.

[@DanGoodchild]

I have a hypothesis about Murf: I wonder if Mellanoid Slime Worms have not been considered sentient because nobody has ever seen a mature one? After all, Murf doesn't look like worm anymore, so why call them worms unless that's the only form anyone has ever seen?

[@DavidKnowles0]

I'm thinking that is a possibility but that is sort of copying Saru storyline. I'm really looking forward to seeing Murph background story.

[@GSBarlev]

As for the universal translator not working-it doesn't work on George & Gracie in _The Voyage Home_ and, we get subtitles on screen for Lt.s Kimolu and Matt in _LDS_ (though I guess everyone speaks Beluga??)

[@andresaguirre1840]

Sean, I'm surprised that you didn't mention how the destruction sequence of the ProtoStar mimicked the destruction of the USS Kelvin. The slow motion, the music, the sadness. It almost brought a tear to my eye. . . . Great Job, by the way, to you and your team ! ! ! !

[@kadria8338]

I thought so too, I heard a snip of the 2009 ST theme as the Protostar got the hell out of Dodge so they could distance thenselves from the melée. So good to hear references to the Kelvin timeline theme-wise

[@GSBarlev]

Nami Melumad showed such amazing reverence for the _musical_ canon of _Trek._ Can't give her enough props.

[@bbartky]

Seán, It’s New Year’s Day 2024 and I just finished watching the first season of _Prodigy_ on Netflix. I absolutely loved it. I do think it took a few episodes to get going but by the sixth episode it really took off and was great right through the end. And I agree 💯 with you about Dal. His character development was so good. I’m now really looking forward to Season 2.

[@deepstonecostco]

I agree re: "I didn't think they'd destroy it!" but I am really happy they did because I feel like it was the last big tether they had to their previous lives. It was the literal and metaphorical vehicle for their escape out of lonely or traumatic origins in the series, and it felt very thematic to me to see it leave while they moved onto better things.

[@simonupton-millard]

Same i did say last week I thought the supernova in the episode was going to be the protostar, makes a change to time travel fixing things

[@bobd2659]

Agreed! It was a bloody good (Emmy Award winning) first season! Sort of disagree on your point on the ending. I thought about it, and think it was good that they didn't reveal the ship they'd be on at the end(if it is Voyager-A). To me, that's the 'adult' ending of a season. BUT, for kids, they know they'll be off on another ship, but get the joy of the reveal of that ship at the beginning of the next season! Kids are easier to please to bring back to a show, whereas a 'real cliffhanger' you need to draw adults back isn't...

[@blu3ste3l]

100% can't wait to be disappointed by the design of the Voyager-A!

[@jeremydale4548]

Since when has Star Trek EVER put out an awful starship design?

[@thomaslarson459]

Zero's new suit should have been an up. They looked fantastic. Also, that homage to the Klingon theme.

[@CoyoteFitzy]

This episode had me blubbering, great season of Trek.

[@AnimalFacts]

Prodigy is IMO the best of the new trek. Love it!

[@JohnnyWednesday]

What an amazing finale to a great first season! can't wait to see how the production team build upon this foundation in Season 2!

[@LarryGarfieldCrell]

The kids did try to ditch the ship and contact Starfleet, on the ice planet. It didn't quite go well. And they've been on the run operating in panic mode ever since. They couldn't dump it in the neutral zone. And blowing it up only to tell Starfleet without any evidence would not have gone over well.

[@RyanRead]

Really enjoyed the show and yes when Janeway said: “I have something bigger planned.” I was like the Voyager-A.

[@jeremydale4548]

My theory is that Janeway for the Proto warp technology installed on Voyager A. I mean they wouldn’t come up with this new technology and NOT install it on more than one shop class.

[@jeremydale4548]

Also. If season 2 doesn’t have more voyager crew members onboard the A. I’m gonna be pissed. There is NO WAY in heck that Janeway would leave out cremates like tuvok, Paris, and ensign Kim (who I am HOPING is at least a lieutenant commander by this point.

[@digitalrailroader]

And I hope that they tour the OG Voyager before they reveal the Voyager-A!

[@SynchroSk8]

Loved this episode and love that we got 20 episodes for season one!

[@riptide8350]

Ups & Downs is how I discovered this channel. The quality content is what kept me around.

[@gerardbehr2355]

Prodigy was totally unexpected. Was a terrific first season. And appreciated given its target is kids didn't feel like a kids show.

[@louferrao2044]

I loved this season. Losing Hologram Janeway got me choked up. Happy New Year Sean!

[@_ohnojono]

Small nitpick, it shouldn’t have taken any time at all to find the kids… The Protostar flew off at impulse before the kids left in the shuttle and HJ took it to protowarp. So the shuttle itself would have been within easy impulse range of all the other ships, easily locatable on sensors (given we’ve seen time and again that starfleet sensors can accurately locate ships light-years away)

[@kadria8338]

Was anyone else especially tearing up when Hologram Janeway said "Go fast"? Nami Melamud's soundtrack was exquisite during the Protostar's final moments.

[@ShovelingJedi]

Seán Ferrick is the TrekCulture Maestro, benchmarking and making so entertaining the Ups n Downs, and the Top 10s...I think Brie, Thomas, The Marvelous Ellie (and, maybe someday, *me*???) All are coming along, learning and joining that Top-Shelf Presentation technique Seán is lavishing the viewer with... Well done, Editor Kris and TrekCulture Powers-That-Be, and I am already storing up my snacks & drinks for Star Trek: Picard S3...

[@etarnkufecin]

Loved the season as a whole, they did a lot of great things with it, the story and integration of old characters and new characters. BIGGEST problem with the finale though is that it felt a lot like it was a series finale. Very glad you said there is going to be a season two.

[@Arvyn992]

All I can say is I can't wait for season 2 of Prodigy

[@FreihEitner]

I know how you feel. This was my favorite first Trek season ever (and I really, really liked Lower Decks' first season).

[@thod8820]

@@FreihEitner First seasons of Trek just keep getting better and better. It feels like every new one is the best one yet, I'm loving it.

[@Enigmanaut]

I think next season is going to create a timeloop. Gwyn going to Solum in the present will cause the disastrous first contact that led to the Diviner et Al to going into the past. Which is why Diviner was forbidden to have an offspring, which he ignored. We’ll follow Voyager-A into the wormhole to retrieve Chakotay and find an older, bitter Gwyn bent on their destruction. It’s going to be harsh.

[@amazedsatsuma]

Funny, I was thinking the same thing...Janeway & co have to face off Alt future Gwyn as the villain to rescue Chakotay (she stay back knowing that they will come) and after they return to the present...Dal will then goes rouge with Protostar crew to prevent Gwyn from turning into a bitter monster

[@blu3ste3l]

Was thinking what you guys we're initially, but Chakotay being in an "alternate timeline" suggests event's in the prime universe will be different. My thought is that Gwen and Asencia will both B-line it for Solum, and arrive at about the same time causing the population to pick sides like Preludes suggested. Voy-A and crew will grab Chakotay who will explain what caused the civil war, and the Voy-A will return to the past to remove Asencia, reclaim Gwyn, and make peace with a SNW:E1 speech about their future. Solum will be independent but at peace, and maybe Admiral Ronny Cox will be-unsploded due to a partial restoration of the timeline.

[@ViroVV]

Which I think you are on to it and I will take it a step further and suggest that bitter Gwyn may in fact be revealed to be ascensia. In sort of a Kes turn. We know Gwyn is young here. Specifically about 17. Many changes can happen to a character who lives through a civil war resulting in the death of her people. Doesnt matter if it plays out that way or not. Its just the excitement we have about trek again where we can speculate like this is what is important.

[@JuPMod]

That would be so mess-up if that becomes the case. I hope that will *not* become the case, for what good is going through all that trouble to warn Starfleet, only for them to actually fulfill igniting the Solum Civil War.

[@ViroVV]

@@JuPMod Probably because as we have repeatedly seen in trek history, trying to alter the past often leads to worse consequences than leaving it alone. Kinda like Pikes whole Season 1 arc in SNW. and kinda in STP S02. And the year of hell. And Harry Kim, And even Endgame Janeway. and so many more examples dont have time to list them all. Maybe little changes, but major ones dont work out well.

[@Richardmlv]

I just have to say that I love this show! I was hesitant... but I am SO GLAD I STAYED WITH IT!!! I Cannot wait for season two! (And when the Protostar went on it's final flight... and Holo-Janeway closed her eyes before the climax.... I WASNT TEARING UP! (you were tearing up... shut up!).

[@drian1236]

These last two episodes left me in tears. Incredible.

[@Antagonizer-br5yq]

I think the Living Construct, before it started infecting Starfleet ships, would have found a way to stop any self destruct, as to complete its mission. It was only after it spread itself thin going and fighting the computers of the Starships, that it could have been a viable option.

[@SmartassEyebrows]

And they didn't use the actual self destruct system through the computer, but did mechanical sabotage made to trigger at a critical unavoidable moment, something the construct would have no awareness of or ability to stop.

[@coasty3072]

I think the debris field and damage to the surviving ships needed to be an up. We usually do not see that level of detail. USS Dauntless had a major hull breech in the saucer section.

[@mateovncnt7411]

wow.... Prodigy is officially Voyager 2.0 love it! this is now my fav show

[@UltimatePerfection]

You have no idea how right you are.

[@MikeyRussell88]

Look forward to hopefully the return of the Voyager crew, perhaps the child of B'elanna and Tom? Naomi Wildman?

[@christianedavi5166]

This serie has a heart. This is Star Treck.

[@breegrimm7142]

The Slime Worm question reminds me of something. Have we ever seen a Horta again in any official media? They were clearly sentient but unable to communicate verbally with anyone because that's not how they communicated. We've got a Medusan character (I was SO Happy when Zero showed up believe you me) and now a Slime Worm but what about the Horta? Could they even join the Federation? On that note, maybe Murph doesn't communicate in the same way as other sentients, Maybe they have a situation like Species 10-C from Disco and their method of communication is just so foreign that the Universal Translator has no frame of reference to work off of.

[@thod8820]

I may be wrong, and Memory Alpha doesn't mention it so I likely am, but wasn't there a Horta crewmate in Discovery? I vaguely remember a little creature like that scurrying past Captain Burnham.

[@Dracattack]

The scientist that suggested xenobiology to Rok seems to imply they don't know exactly what Murph is

[@RobertWilke]

Back in the day when TNG wasn’t even thought of. There was a Horta in the Center Seat in the Movie Era Comics. And somehow with the universal translator it was able to communicate.

[@DavidKnowles0]

I do wonder if all slime worms are sentient or is Murph the first in species. Clearly other people look down on his species as calling someone Mellanoid slime worm is considered a insult. Or is he the first that has been allowed to grow up to the point he sentient through that be copying saru storyline a bit. There some really interesting story lines to go down here with Murph, the only character without a background story.

[@davidturner3704]

Maybe Zaldans don't like slime worms because they look like they're always smiling?

[@daneyoshida]

Indeed more people need to be watching Prodigy, watching them all!

[@greysapocalyptic]

One of my favorite Star Trek's EVER

[@joshuaeverett9887]

Star Trek sips have literally never looked better to me than on this show. absolutely gorgeous.

[@JasonBoyce]

Prodigy Season 1 was great and I will miss Hologram Janeway, she was a trooper. Vice Admiral Janeway is great but I don’t think she has quite the same capacity for growth as Hologram Janeway

[@JohnnyWednesday]

Perhaps the photonic lifeforms from another dimension saved her at the last moment!

[@blu3ste3l]

A few questions/thoughts: 1) Did Admiral Ronny Jellico got blowed up? 2) Wont Gwyn be violating the temporal prime directive by making first contact? Also why haven't we seen Captain Braxton yet? 3) Is Dal working on a version of Pikes hair Peak? Prodigy Season 1 did not disappoint, and neither did TrekCulture on these ups and downs. Thanks for a great 1st season review Sean an Company! Catch you for Picard season 3!

[@JohnConnVT802]

Great work Sean and the rest of the TrekCulture Team. Because of this channel, I pressed forward on Star Trek : Prodigy and was rewarded as Sean suggested. I watch all TrekCulture and enjoy them tremendously.

[@aitruscolso]

Thank you so much for doing all of these videos! It’s pretty much required watching for me; I don’t get to watch the episodes until later in my day, so I watch the episode and then your Ups and Downs, and I’ve never been disappointed in watching them. Keep up the good work, and can’t wait to see you in February!

[@alliekingsley7919]

This was an almost perfect season finale for me, and it did what every show SHOULD do with its season finales... it would function well as a series finale, too. Obviously hoping for more, but goodness knows there've been worse endings on some of my favorite shows, which this one has swiftly become. I rarely rewatch shows within a year or two of watching them, but my roomie and I have already watched Season 1 part one three times, and I predict S1P2 is on our watchlist soon.

[@truepsyfon5550]

Totally not gonna lie... I cried...

[@MikeTazz]

I loved this series so much. I might rewatch now - and I'm glad it was a LONG 20 episode series. Great overarching story and great stories along the way.

[@kriscerosaurus]

I’ll always be a sucker for a scrappy little ship doing its best against all odds, even up to its own destruction. “But when you tell the gallant tale beneath the open sky Give honor to the gunboat that was not too small to die!” Enjoyed the heck out of this season, and looking forward to more. Thanks for another delightful run of Ups and Downs, and keep up the great work!

[@AzraelThanatos]

For the NX registry for the Protostar, remember that there is almost no information about how the Protostar actually performed there and if there are issues there. So, having a second prototype makes a lot of sense there on it's own, which might be even more of a situation where the design might be one that's now a 2 off ship, with the second being a replacement for the original lost one to test various technology for further development. Also with the wormhole schematics, that's something that makes me think of some recent STO stuff, mainly the Red/Blue Shift missions because of the coloration there which also involved Janeway.

[@bolerogamer3320]

New Trek is fairly divisive, but it's got to be said but they've really been knocking it out of the park with first seasons this past year...I mean both 'Strange New Worlds' and 'Prodigy' have had not only the best first seasons of Trek, but some of the best seasons of Trek we've ever had. They've earned their places as my second and third favourite Trek shows...behind only DS9, because The Sisko is literally a god.

[@Kels1701e]

Prodigy proved to be far better than I was expecting and I look forward to seeing season 2 whenever that arrives.

[@JeanLucPicard85]

Prodigy's been a delight, exceeded expectations.

[@TheSuperSnake313]

Bravo to everyone involved with this show. WAY exceeded my expectations. These animated shows have been some other the best Trek we've gotten in this new era. I really look forward to where they go from here, sum serious hints and Easter eggs dropped for Season 2!

[@SweetBrotato]

Thank you for seeing the season through to the end. I do enjoy Ups and Downs and hope it helps bring more audience to Prodigy I really want this show to thrive and flesh out how it's going to advance the entire ST universe forward from a time period we left off at after Voyager ended.

[@BaldAndCurious]

First time watching 2 ups and downs in a row without watching the actual episodes. Looks like I'm in for a treat!

[@augustjsb]

Just as Shaxx got to finally drop the warp-core. Janeway finally got to destruct her ship.

[@navibc31]

A true Janeway pi(e)

[@rinazzle]

You're so right about the Dal thing. I only watched it for the Janeway/Voyager nods initially but quickly got hooked. Wasn't a fan of Dal but his redemption has been amazing.

[@lesegoleso4918]

Dal was a true captain in these last two episodes,I loved seeing it. He has Kirk like spirit.

[@DanTheMan4Life1]

Can’t wait for szn 2, hopefully we get some more Voyager crew members like captain Harry Kim, Tuvok, or Paris & his writing ☺️

[@ColinPMcEvoy]

Maybe Harry will finally be a Lt JG?

[@CantankerousDave]

@@ColinPMcEvoy That's just mean. /s

[@CalvinNoire]

@@ColinPMcEvoy this is what bugged me from stuff post voyager, like, surviving the adventures of a LEGENDARY ship would surely give you a promotion, right?

[@joermnyc]

Have a gag where Adm Janeway calls him Ensign, “Sorry Harry, old habits.”

[@ChrZao1703]

The Animation on DAL and Gwin Dala has been superb. Kudos to the great team of Animators, who are as important as the voice actors to make us immerse into the world of Star Trek - Prodigy. This is hard work for very skilled people who don't get enough credit...

[@thorley1983]

trek culture is my post episode routine now. love it!

[@chelmrtz]

As i said in my comments here on every down you gave Dal about his character: he had to have a place to start and room to grow. I’m glad you came around to understand this

[@ematuskey]

Loved the ep! A couple quick thoughts: 1) Janeway seems to imply they /won't/ be based on the Protostar-A. And while the Dauntless is cool, I think, based on those shuttlecraft registries, Janeway is actually leading the kids to a nearby landing pad where their /actual/ new home will be: the USS Voyager-A. 2) My guess is Admiral Jellico is doing damage control, since he was the one who gave the order that led to the Signal being released. A little comeuppance after being such a jerk to Janeway. :D

[@waynechinnery150]

Who’s to say that the new “protostar class starship” in the hanger, isn’t the new Voyager A ??? That would be awesome wouldn’t it!!!

[@darrenhann5026]

Great job covering the season,thank you

[@leovalverde1508]

Season 2 needs to have Voyager-A along with Lt. Commander Harry Kim aboard!!

[@miah74656]

Sean, you know I was absolutely screaming my head off that we didn't get to see Voyager! She should have been in that hanger. I absolutely loved this episode and the entire season.

[@Fred247]

All the feels in this ep! The music! Zero is so beautiful! The kids got the homecoming Voyager should have.

[@jeremydale4548]

And earth wasn’t even their home. They literally just landed for the first time in their lives. That to me will always be a DOWN directed towards voyager. They didn’t show a homecoming.

[@CaptainJonathan]

I liked Prodigy from day 1, but was on the fence as to whether or not to call it "Star Trek", until this episode. It couldn't be any more Star Trek. I nearly cried on this one. Very well done, my favorite episode I think.

[@ThangPlants]

BEST VOYAGER SEQUAL EVER!!! Can't wait for Season2!!!

[@woogha]

Also I'd like to remind everyone that Murf is Chakotay. Using warp 10 and time travel at the same time has consequences.

[@CalvinNoire]

Well that would be a surprising twist 💀💀💀.

[@Cfmanj]

Okay first off I LOVED this season. It honestly has been one of the better Star Treks in a while. Dal and the rest of the crew grew so much. Murf literally and figuratively transformed. It was just incredible writing, plot, visuals, I could go on. To some of your points in the video, the kids didn't get into the Academy yet, that was made very clear. So I do not believe those are new cadet uniforms, I think they are Warrent Officer unfiroms thus NCOs at this point. They would be below a cadet or any other officer on a ship in rank. The only people they might "rank" above would be an NCO that is on the ground grunt but there's little to no cannon sources that say that is a thing or a continuing thing past DS9. So no I don't think those are new cadet uniforms but WO uniforms, which kind of make sense since they're so plain but we'll see.

[@twocvbloke]

I guess they never managed to clone the Doctor's mobile holo emitter by that point yet then, could have been handy to have that available... :P

[@johngobbeti8422]

I really look forward to your ups and downs after each episode. Great channel

[@Samuleish]

An up for you Sean and thanks for ups and downs it's become a ritual in our house to watch the show then watch you, I'd love to see an ups and downs for the older shows like a retrospective on them but good work to you and the crew at trek culture.

[@Aracore]

I hope we get Gwen back next season. She was my favourite character on the show.,

[@twelvefootnine]

There were many many times over the course of this show where I asked myself "Why don't they just... (insert fanboy-knowledge and/or Trek-nobabble here)" only to stop and remind myself that the characters are not Starfleet, not Federation citizens, and very much KIDS. They don't know what we know. They don't have the experience and flexibility of the ship crews we know and love. So, no, it should NOT have been the only logical conclusion or the plan from day one. It 100% makes sense that the green crew of KIDS didn't consider that act of last resort until it was well and truly an act of last resort.

[@CRanapia]

Agreed - and I'm as prone to doing that as anyone. It's the fandom version of 20/20 hindsight and if writers indulged it, it would lead to a lot of really bad and boring deployment of handwavium.

[@robertsdm4652]

You missed Zero’s disappearing legs. In the scene where the new Protostar is revealed his legs keep disappearing and reappearing. My 10 yr old was confident that you would bring it up in Cetacean Observations.

[@Sk8rToon]

Saw that. Like they couldn’t remember if zero floated or used legs

[@cosmow123]

Thank you for all of the ups and downs for prodigy. just wished you had done it on all the 1st 1/2 season. looking forward to 2023 star trek

[@RitzyBusiness]

I did not expect to like this show the way I did. Looking forward to getting more.

[@DarkstarXOGaming]

Gotta admit the last few bit's of the episode made me tear up when janeway shoots off in the PS and also when they get accepted into starfleet best emotional parts ever...

[@scottgardener]

I would agree that Prodigy was a surprise hit for me. It was really good and fully deserving of its place in Star Trek canon. I'm figuring that the events of the season finale is why Picard season 3 has an Enterprise F; we may have just seen what happened to the E.

[@chacaf22]

You know,I have to agree with this men I was thinking that exact same thing,the only thing I can't figure out, its the dates This is prior to Nemesis,or at least prior to Lower Decks, and clues in S1 of Picard, and I understand than by 2380's and the timestamps of those shows, Sovy's E its still there... Maybe salvage? Maybe 6 months kn drydoc?

[@mateovncnt7411]

yep.....and Iove it! Who was commander of the Defiant is my question

[@JohnnyWednesday]

@@mateovncnt7411 - Probably nightshift - didn't know what was happening until they were destroying the Thunderchild

[@Sephiroth144]

Or why they needed to build so many ships to help Romulus...

[@TheWyldehart]

I was thinking about that "down" for how it ends with just the barest teaser for what's to come, and I concluded that it was written this way in case the powers that be at Paramount decide to drop the series. It's a safe ending with most first season plots tied up neatly enough to act as both a season-or series-finale. It also leaves it wide open for continuation. In my opinion, considering the fickle nature of today's audiences, it was a brilliant way to end.

[@NathanWeeks]

The entire main thread of this episode was a re-mixed version of Star Trek 4, not just the SF Bay rescue. The Protostar flying into the solar system and nearly wiping out Starfleet, basically what the probe did. The destruction of the Protostar is a call back to the destruction of the Enterprise which is what lead into ST4. Immediately following the Bay rescue they are facing charges, some of which were identical to the charges Kirk and crew faced immediately after they were rescued from the Bay. There's a fake-out with the not-their-ship of the new Protostar, just like the Excelsior fake-out. And the implication is their new ship might be the Voyager-A while Kirk and crew got the Enterprise-A. There's even a time travel subplot thrown in.

[@MickTheMage]

I agree, it is enjoyable piece of entertainment, and also a nice sequel to Voyager :)

[@karenleblanc6634]

Thanks and congratulations on 250,000 subs! It has just become my practice to watch ups and downs after all my ST viewing...it rounds off the experience. C.Obs is the best.

[@QuintusAntonious]

The new uniforms are clearly based on Wesley Crusher's provisional ensign uniform since they are essentially in the same position. I think the black uniforms were just the Starfleet version of judge's robes. I hate all the new uniforms too, but these ones at least made sense.

[@ChaosUnit178]

Cetacean Observations missed the absolutely wrecked Enterprise-E, which may be a Canon Watch teaser for why the Enterprise-F is out already in Picard

[@BlackHedgehog]

Surprised you missed the fact that the theme from First Contact was playing at one point or at least a variation of it.

[@countroshculla]

Prodigy has been really good. For a show that was intended to be a kids show to bring in more younger fans to the Star Trek fold, it actually has this adult enthralled. I like the show a lot and cannot wait for season 2.