Star Trek: Prodigy — The Story So Far

Star Trek: Prodigy returns with the second half of its first season on October 27. If you need to get caught up on what happened in the first 10 episodes, or just need a refresh, we’ve got you covered.

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The series began on Tars Lamora, an asteroid mining colony in the Delta Quadrant run by a mysterious overseer called The Diviner. But it’s quickly clear that The Diviner’s main goal isn’t mining crystals; he’s searching for something else, something far more valuable. Even his daughter, Gwyndala, has no idea what his plans are. What she does know is that the two of them are the last of their race, and she feels the pressure of that on her shoulders every day.

Deep in the mines of Tars Lamora, a worker named Dal R’El stumbles upon a huge ship resting inside crystal formations. He and a fellow prisoner, Rok-Tahk, manage to get aboard. There, they meet a fugitive named Zero who’s a Medusan — one look at their true form will make a person lose their mind. Zero, who is a telepath, reveals that The Diviner used them to torture prisoners, which is why they are on the run.

Dal knows they can use the ship to escape Tars Lamora, but they need more than just three people to get the vessel airborne. The would-be crew recruits Jankom Pog, a Tellarite engineer, and Murf, a gelatinous purple-blue lifeform, to help them escape. But Gwyn and Drednok, The Diviner’s enforcer, stumble upon Dal and the starship. Drednok reveals that it’s the U.S.S. Protostar — it’s what The Diviner has been searching for all these years. Gwyn is surprised that her father never trusted her with this information.

The crew takes Gwyn hostage and manages to escape Tars Lamora. Once they’re in space, a hologram comes online — it’s a program based on Starfleet Captain Kathryn Janeway, and she’s there to help the confused crew.

Dal tells Hologram Janeway that he’s the captain, and she assumes they’re a group of Starfleet cadets. They listen closely when she reminds them of the principles of the United Federation of Planets and of Starfleet. The rest of the crew are interested in heading towards Federation space, but Dal overrules them. Dal tells the crew privately that he thinks the Federation is too good to be true, and he’s only lying to Hologram Janeway about them being cadets for their own good.

As the crew gets to know their new ship, they notice a few interesting things. First, it has a vehicle replicator that can create shuttlecraft and more. Second, the Protostar has a new kind of propulsion system powered by a protostar. It can travel thousands of light years in just a few minutes.

While the crew are on an away mission exploring a new planet, Gwyn manages to escape from the Brig, take control of the Protostar, and contact her father. However, when her father comes to the planet, he’s forced to choose between saving his daughter and the ship — and he chooses the Protostar. Seeing his true nature, Gwyn is heartbroken and realizes her father is only using her. Dal and the others manage to save her and escape in the Protostar in the nick of time. After this, Gwyn is truly a member of this found family.

After this experience, the crew works on learning to operate like a crew — and Dal begins to really understand what it means to be a captain. He takes the no-win Kobayashi Maru test and learns the demands of leadership, thanks to a few holographic faces from Star Trek’s past. The crew also start to understand what Starfleet really stands for — and reveal to Hologram Janeway that they’re not, in fact, cadets.

Dal isn’t the only one who goes on a personal journey. Thanks to a time anomaly, Rok-Tahk realizes that she wants to be a scientist (during an extended period in which she’s alone — the consequences of which are continuing to make themselves known).

The kids also uncover more about the Protostar’s mission in the Delta Quadrant. Prior to the ship ending up on Tars Lemora, Captain Chakotay — Janeway’s former first officer on the U.S.S. Voyager — was in command. They find a distress call from him, but it’s not clear what happened to the Protostar’s original crew, nor why Hologram Janeway has no record of what happened to them or their original mission.

The Diviner is still trying to get his hands on the Protostar, and comes up with a new scheme. He hijacks the vehicle replicator aboard the ship to make a Drednok. While the crew manages to defeat him, they find a message from The Diviner embedded within that vows if they don’t return to Tars Lamora, he will kill all the prisoners on the asteroid.

The crew is faced with a dilemma. Do they return to Tars Lamora with the limited resources they have now or try to contact Starfleet for help? It’s clear that the crew supports a rescue mission but, as captain, it’s Dal’s decision to make — and he decides they must go back. The crew adopts new uniforms and becomes a true Starfleet crew, much to Hologram Janeway’s pride.

When they get to Tars Lamora, The Diviner unsurprisingly tries to trick them — he strands the crew and miners on Tars Lamora, leaving them to die, while he escapes on the Protostar with Gwyn.

As the crew scrambles to save themselves and the rest of the miners by activating The Diviner’s ship (they’d planned for this double cross!), Gwyn finally gets the truth behind her father’s mission. He knew the Protostar was on Tars Lamora because The Diviner is from the future. In 50 years, Starfleet will make first contact with his people, leading to a civil war in which they destroy themselves. The Diviner’s mission was to find the Protostar and install a weapon on it, one that will turn Starfleet ships against each other when they establish communications with one another. Eventually he’ll be able to wipe out Starfleet and save his people.

The crew is successful in leaving Tars Lamora and arrives to save Gwyn. Zero defeats The Diviner by showing him their true form — but unfortunately Gwyn catches a reflection of Zero in a combadge and falls ill. She recovers but loses her memories — including those of the weapon that’s now aboard the Protostar.

With The Diviner returned to Tars Lamora, a prisoner in his own cage, the crew sets course for the Federation. And we’re left with an image of the (real) Admiral Janeway, onboard a ship that’s been tracking the Protostar — and is coming to find out what happened to her former first officer.

Will Admiral Janeway catch up with the crew? Will Gwyn’s memories return in time to save Starfleet? The answers to these questions and more are just around the corner, so stay tuned!

Star Trek: Prodigy returns on October 27!