RECAP | Star Trek: Prodigy - Supernova, Part 1

SPOILER WARNING: This article contains story details and plot points for Episode 19 of Star Trek: Prodigy "Supernova, Part 1."

The penultimate episode of Star Trek: Prodigy’s first season, “Supernova, Part 1” begins with Vice Admiral Janeway arguing with her guard, informing them of the devastating weapon aboard the Protostar. If she isn’t able to warn Starfleet, then the entire fleet could be destroyed.

Dal informs the Protostar crew that, unfortunately, he may have tarnished Janeway’s reputation, and it’s unclear if she’ll be able to help. Aboard the Dauntless, Commander Tysess and Ensign Asencia are explaining the situation to an irritated Admiral Jellico. He approves Asencia’s plan to send a boarding party onto the Protostar.

As the Dauntless opens fire on the Protostar to take down its shields, Zero figures out how to essentially hotwire the ship. They have controls back, but they can’t go anywhere until the protodrive comes back online. They redirect power to boost the shields and make evasive maneuvers.

Rok almost spills the beans to Dal about his augment status, which prohibits him from joining Starfleet Academy. Gwyn realizes that’s not what he needs right now and redirects the conversation. Dal needs to be in command, full of confidence, and Gwyn gives him that. The crew works together beautifully, a testament to how far they’ve come since they first boarded the Protostar.

Aboard the Dauntless, Janeway’s guard reveals that she has a history with the admiral. Years ago, she was one of the telepathic Brenari refugees the then-captain protected and transported across space on the starship Voyager in the Delta Quadrant (seen in Star Trek: Voyager episode “Counterpoint”). Because of that experience, she trusts the admiral and lets her out of the Brig.

The fight is tense, and Gwyn decides it’s time to take a different tactic; she goes to arm herself. Dal follows, trying to convince her that diplomacy might still work. She is unconvinced, but as she’s trying to tell him about his augment status keeping him out of Starfleet, he interrupts her and kisses her.

She’s taken aback, and Dal backpedals. She then proceeds to tell Dal the truth — Starfleet won’t accept him because he’s an augment. Just then the shields go down on the Protostar. Warp and engines are offline.

Dal has a decision to make about what to do next. He does what’s best for his crew; they all deserve to belong somewhere. He may never be able to join Starfleet, but he’ll make sure his people still have a fighting chance.

Meanwhile, the boarding party on the Dauntless is getting ready to head over to the Protostar. Asencia reveals her true Vau N’Akat form as The Vindicator, incapacitates the boarding party, and beams over to the Protostar with The Diviner and Drednok. She orders the enforcer to eliminate anyone who gets in their way, but The Diviner asks Drednok to spare Gwyn.

Dal orders everyone to take up arms and seals the bridge, leaving it in Gwyn’s hands. The Diviner and Asencia are able to get past them, and Asencia uses her Starfleet access to disable Holo-Janeway while Gwyn watches and hides. Drednok is keeping the rest of the crew very busy.

Gwyn locks her father below the Bridge deck with the Living Construct and challenges Asencia. Asencia does not have the qualms The Diviner has about killing his progeny and fights her. She defeats Gwyn and is about to kill her when The Diviner escapes. He tries to kill Asencia, but she turns the tables on him and stabs him with the heirloom weapon.

Just as Asencia opens a channel to the fleet, Vice Admiral Janeway arrives on the Bridge of the Dauntless. She orders Tysess not to answer the hail, but she’s too late. The Vindicator appears on their viewscreen as the Living Construct spreads across all the ships in the area. Shields are down and the ships fire upon one another.

Thanks to Drednok, the entire crew is restrained, but Rok-Tahk refuses to let this be the end. Thanks to her ingenuity, they manage to escape and confront Asencia. She uses Drednok as a lifepod and busts right through the ship’s hull. Luckily, automatic systems kick in; the breach is sealed with a forcefield.

The Diviner is dying, and he asks Gwyn to save their people — to find a way to unify them. She tells him she doesn’t know how, but he reassures her he believes in her before passing. The Protostar crew tries to take stock of the situation, but the Living Construct deactivates the universal translator. Just like on Tars Lamora, they aren't able to communicate with or understand one another.

On the Dauntless, things aren’t looking any better. Janeway orders the crew to abandon ship, but the crew can’t understand her. The situation has somehow gotten worse, but there’s a bright spot. Gwyn learned multiple languages in order to create conflict on Tars Lamora; now she can use that same ability to bridge the divide between everyone.

Now that the Living Construct has been unleashed, the Dauntless and Protostar can communicate. Vice Admiral Janeway reaches out and Dal responds. Together, they come up with a new plan — non-Starfleet ships won’t be affected by the Living Construct, which means they needs to call in some allies. Without the universal translator, she can’t do it; but Gwyn and the Protostar can. Gwyn takes command of the Protostar, and, as the fleet tears itself apart, asks the Klingons for help.

The admiral begins evacuating the Dauntless, but the Bridge is targeted. Without shields, there’s no hope. Janeway braces for an impact that never comes as a Klingon Bird-of-Prey takes the hit.

As more non-Federation ships warp in to help, the universal translators come back online. But there’s bad news — when under attack, the fleet automatically sends out an SOS, which means more Starfleet ships are coming in to help, resulting in more infections and destruction. The Protostar crew realizes that they can’t stop this, and they’re watching Starfleet be destroyed before their eyes.