All of that changed in Star Trek: Prodigy episode 9, “A Moral Star, Part 1,” when the crew firmly pivots from rebels on the run to brave, would-be Starfleet officers with a mission. Of course, this change didn’t happen in this one episode. It’s been happening for the entire series. And in this way, Prodigy has demonstrated how a fairly generic sci-fi premise can be molded, slowly into something greater than the sum of its parts. After the Diviner issues an ultimatum to the crew of the Protostar, the kids of Prodigy are faced with a choice: They can either use the proto-warp drive to jump to Federation space or all the way back to Tars Lamora, the prison planet where they came from. Zero makes it clear they’ve only got enough power for one jump either way. Gwyn knows her father (The Diviner) will totally make good on his threat to kill all the “unwanted” still living and toiling in the mines on Tars Lamora, so, as the crew quickly realizes, they’ve got their own Kobayashi Maru, a test of character that will define who they are. From the perspective of Prodigy being a kids’ show, the idea that the crew has to go back and rescue all the other folks left behind — including that adorable kitten alien — feels like a no-brainer. Kids’ shows tend to try to teach lessons about being a good person. But, Star Trek has always had a slightly more nuanced approach toward morality tales in which the decision to make the right call can get sticky. In a Star Wars ethical framework, the moral decisions are easy: Fight to survive, because the oppressive status-quo will kill you. This is why the heroes of most Star Wars stories — including ones for kids — tend to be given weapons as soon as possible. In the end, this episode ends on a cliffhanger, and the gang loses their ship and Gwyn is captured by the Diviner. Jankom Pog (Jason Mantzoukas) says, “Why does it feel like we lost?” And Dal responds, “Because we did the right thing.” A more conventional victory is probably in the future for the crew of the Protostar, but it’s very telling that in their first adventure as a unified, Starfleet-ish crew, they don’t actually save the day at all. As Picard famously told Data: “It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life.” With their big cliffhanger episode, the young crew of the Protostar is learning that big life lesson the hard way. And in doing so, Prodigy has lept from being a Star Trek curiosity to a perfect representation of the soul of Starfleet. Star Trek: Prodigy will air its 10th episode on February 3, on Paramount+, before going on hiatus until later in 2022.
