Star Trek: Prodigy Episode 13, “All the World’s a Stage,” spends its entire running time on one question: are the kids on the Protostar faking it the same way the people on this planet are faking it? And you get to the point where you’re like, no, they’re not faking. They’re real.
This was a fun one. I missed last week, so I apologize. If you saw my Andor review, then you know I had walking pneumonia for the last two weeks, which is why we haven’t done reviews. But I’m getting back in the swing of things.
A Distress Signal, and a Planet That Calls Itself Starflight
We pick up pretty much where we left off last episode, which is that there’s a distress signal. They arrive, and it’s sort of a utopian-style planet. It’s all very nice and lush and beautiful, except something is happening to the native culture. Something is destroying it and killing the planet.
When they arrive they get a beacon, and they discover some people who say they are with Starflight. That’s right. It’s an unusual occurrence, and Starflight is obviously not who they are. One of them calls himself Sulu, another one calls himself Kirk, or James T, rather.
You find out that a long time ago the Enterprise came by, an old ship, and there was a shuttle that crashed there. An officer taught the locals, within reason. He explained the Prime Directive and everything else, but ultimately he said one day Starflight would return to rescue them. Now, he was talking specifically about Starfleet.
And the uniforms they’re wearing, while they’re indigenous to the locals, look a lot like the uniforms from Strange New Worlds, which I thought was really cool. I believe that’s a nice little in-continuity way of the show eating its own tail.
Something’s Going On With Murf
The away team goes down. Janeway stays, and Rok stays also, because Rok’s taking care of Murf. Something’s going on with Murf, and we don’t really know what that is. Murf seems to be kind of getting goopier. Less gelatinous and form-fitting, and more sticky and goopy. It’s really odd. No one knows what’s going on.
Stay Away From the Gallows
While they’re down there, they find out they’re supposed to stay away from the Gallows. The Gallows is this place deep in the rough areas that they need to stay away from. The ensign who helped them, by the way, is “En-Son.” Oh, yeah, everything’s misnamed. It’s brilliant.
One of the locals is injured at the Gallows, because they feel like they have to brave things and take on the unknown. That’s the mandate of Starfleet.
So the whole time Dal is very much like, are we just as bad as these people? That’s really the through line of the entire episode.
The Constitution-Class Bridge
So how do we solve this problem? Because what happens is you get some folks who are stuck in the Gallows, and they have to rescue them, but the ship has to get closer.
Dal brings up the folks who’ve followed the lessons and learned the logs and everything. Janeway gives them the Constitution-class control bridge through holo controls, and it translates the controls correctly. And these people, from having watched the logs and having seen everything from before, they’re ready. They fly it, and they do amazing.
What you get is the understanding that these people are doing the best they can within the structures of this life that they want. And it’s a lesson Dal has to learn. It ends this way: we have to go forward, and if we do intend to join, we have to represent Starfleet as best we can until we can. But ultimately, if they do decide that they 100% want to join, that they want to be with Starfleet, then they have to find a way to get rid of the Protostar.
It’s No Longer a Rescue, It’s a Manhunt
There’s a slight cut back where we go to the actual Janeway, Vice Admiral Janeway, aboard her ship. There they have the rescued alien, who is starting to remember things and was a little traumatized by everything. And they decide that this is no longer a rescue, it’s a manhunt. They are going to find the terrible, horrible people who stole the Protostar, and who knows what happened.
She’s looking for Chakotay. That’s who she’s looking for. We still have no idea what’s happened to Chakotay, not fully. That story I believe we’re going to eventually learn and see, and I’m interested to see what they have to say.
The Verdict
Star Trek: Prodigy Episode 13, “All the World’s a Stage,” is an 8.5 on the Know-It-All Index.
I thought it was a good episode. Eight and a half is a solid episode. I love the lessons that we’re learning. I love the duality. It’s very Star Trek, which is, hey, we’re dealing with something, and here’s how these people are dealing with it slightly differently, but it’s essentially the same idea. I really like what they did and the direction they’re moving in.
So I’m excited, man. I’m excited to see what ultimately comes from it. I really want to see the Chakotay story. I want to see what happens to him and what they come up with.
I know we’re building. We’re building to something. But these episodes don’t feel lackluster to me. They don’t feel unimportant to me, and I think that’s important.
Let me know what you thought. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the episode and see what your take is on the whole thing. The conversation lives in the comments on the video above.
