"Star Trek Prodigy, Year Two"

Minor spoilers ahead.

The second season of "Prodigy" might still be aimed at younger viewers, but is one that can be recommended to all "Star Trek" fans, especially if you are a fan of "Voyager."  The young recruits set out on a new adventure this year under the command of Admiral Janeway on the USS Voyager.  There are new characters, like the Vulcan cadet Maj'el (Michaela Dietz), and newly introduced old characters like the recruits' advisory hologram, the Doctor (Robert Picardo).  And there are new versions of old characters, like the very different version of Gwyn's father, Ilthuran (John Noble), that she finds when she arrives on their homeworld, Solum.  

Several characters are also keen to become new versions of themselves - Jankom Pog and Rok-Tahk are eager to throw themselves into Starfleet training, while Dal struggles, and is less sure about where he fits on the Voyager crew.  Zero goes through some of the biggest changes this year, as he explores the possibilities of corporeality.  I think I prefer the character dynamics of the first season, where the kids were figuring themselves out on their own, but it's good to see that they're still growing and developing in the second.  Gwyn ends up back with her friends pretty quickly, through circumstances that I will not spoil, and Maj'el makes a good addition to their group.  

However, this season is far more focused on the time-traveling mission to rescue Captain Chakotay (Robert Beltran), which almost immediately goes awry and puts the whole timeline in danger.  The season is still twenty episodes, but there's more serialization, with four separate two-parters.  "Prodigy" actually is canonical with the other "Star Trek" series, so we also get some more substantial references and tie-ins that establish where we are in the timeline.  There's less room for character-building and universe-building stories this year, which is a shame, but the writers still manage to introduce concepts like tribbles, the Mirror Universe, and the Travelers.  Cetacean Ops is something that can only really be done right in animation, and I was glad to see Rok find her way there this year.    

There are some great episodes in this season.  I love the Mirror Universe visit, which is kid-friendly but also genuinely nerve-wracking, and has one of the best laugh lines in the whole show.  "Prodigy" is also probably the best "Star Trek" series of the past few years in terms of how well it's structured as a season of television.  Not everyone gets the same amount of narrative emphasis or attention, but the storylines are well balanced and nothing feels neglected or shortchanged.  Additionally, none of the running subplots feels overly manufactured, such as Zero or Gwyn's ongoing storylines.  I appreciate that a good amount of the action actually centers around the "Voyager" alumni, and everyone has their opportunity to shine.

I do have one major criticism.  The show's production values are about on par with the previous season, which is actually a bit of a problem.  What's become more obvious with more characters from the older, live action "Star Trek" series participating, is that the CGI animation is not quite at the level to keep human faces out of Uncanny Valley.  With the hologram Janeway, the plasticine, slightly dead-eyed look actually felt appropriate.  However with Admiral Janeway, Chakotay, and more in the mix, the deficiencies are far more glaring.  I'm not watching "Prodigy" for the graphics, but it's definitely somewhere we could see improvement.  

At the time of writing, there is no indication that "Prodigy" will have a third season, but it's already made quite a mark on the "Star Trek" universe.  I'd love to see it continue, but the current adventure has been wrapped up well enough that these forty episodes stand quite well on their own.  

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