There’s nothing more interesting than when something finally catches its stride and has something to say, and I really feel like that’s where we are with Star Trek: Prodigy. This is season 1, part 2, Episode 14, “Crossroads,” and I feel like it’s a payoff. By that I just mean this feels the most connected to Star Trek, and I’m happy about that.

Who Asked for This?

When I first got into Prodigy, at the beginning of season 1, part 1, I remember doing it very reluctantly. In fact, I think it was even over by the time I watched it. And I remember thinking the same thing I thought back in the day when they announced they were going to do Deep Space Nine. Who asked for this? Who needs this? Why are we doing a Star Trek show that has no attachment to Starfleet other than the ship?

I was actually more concerned that it was going to end up being a series like where Discovery went. Meaning, I thought we were going to find out this is the far-flung future and Starfleet has fallen away. Very Andromeda-esque, for those of you who remember that. That was a Gene Roddenberry show also.

So I started watching it. I watched the first episode because I couldn’t sleep. I had insomnia, and it wasn’t a day I was supposed to be reviewing stuff, and I was like, fine, whatever, I’ll watch this thing. I put it on, and it was really good. I was like, okay, I see what they’re doing. Then you really get into Hologram Janeway, and Dal and everything he’s going through, and Gwyndala, the whole bit, and you start to fall in love with these characters.

And then you get today’s episode. Now, some of the decisions they made, we’ll see.

What Happens in Crossroads

The episode starts with the Diviner, who woke up in sickbay last episode, trying to do some work on his walking. Asencia is there. She’s the ensign who’s helping him, and you’re supposed to be understanding a little bit more about what he’s going through. He remembers the name of his daughter. Gwyndala. So now they know that name.

Meanwhile, we go back to our crew of the Protostar. Murf has gone into a chrysalis, full-blown. And they’ve decided they’re going to leave the Protostar on a frozen planet. They land it, they cause a phaser avalanche, and it covers the ship over. The plan is to get to a transport town and catch a ride over to Federation space so they can warn them: hey, don’t connect up to this thing, the ship is there, but here’s the problem you’re going to face, so be careful.

That’s the only solution they have. If they’re going to make it to Starfleet, they have to leave the ship behind.

So they hike through the cold and ultimately get to the transport hub, the Denaxi Depot. It’s their version of the scum and villainy line, because they’re standing on a cliff overlooking this thing, transports coming in, the whole bit.

The Outrageous Okona, Still Outrageous

As they’re looking for a ship to take them to Federation space, a guy steps out and introduces himself as Captain Okona.

That name may sound familiar to you as an Easter egg, because of the episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, “The Outrageous Okona,” which was season 2, episode 4. And he’s voiced by the same actor, Billy Campbell, who does a great job. He really, really does a great job.

He’s about to make a deal to take them to Federation space when the Xindi security force stops him, for contraband smuggling of course, because what else is the Outrageous Okona going to be arrested for?

A Classic Comedy at the Denaxi Depot

Meanwhile, the real Admiral Janeway and her away team transport down. And it’s really funny. It’s almost like a classic comedy, in that everybody’s moving around each other. Rok literally bumps into one of them. And then you see Pog, who finally meets a Tellarite. Come to find out, poor guy, Pog is the name they give to runts. That’s right. If you’re the runt of the litter, you’re named Pog. He’s got this little teeny horn. It’s terrible. I felt so bad for him.

Gwyn approaches a Klingon to try to get some help. She talks in Klingon and everything, and what he wants is her little doohickey, her Diviner-style doohickey, the little shield thing that she uses. She’s like, no, it’s not for sale. They’re about to start a fight, and that’s when Asencia shows up. Gwyn gives her name, takes her hood off, and Asencia goes, “Gwyndala?” And then: yeah, your father’s with us. That makes Gwyn totally scared, and she runs, because reasons and plot.

Then Dal, same thing, is walking around, and he walks right past Janeway. He hears the voice behind him, “Janeway to the Dauntless,” and he’s like, “Captain Janeway?” And she turns around. “I prefer Admiral Janeway.”

They finally did it. They met. It’s great, and he’s all flummoxed.

That’s when her Andorian first officer shows up with that really weaselly guy from the outpost, who immediately goes, oh yeah, they’re horrible, they tried to destroy our space station, I don’t know how, they have some technology that made everything attack itself. Janeway is a little suspicious. But he’s describing them, and he describes Dal, with the little thing coming off the back of his head. At which point Janeway is like, they’re here.

And now it’s on. It’s literally hide and seek. She tries to lock down the place, they manage to steal a transport hover thing, and they make it out just before the gates close. It’s a giant snow chase. Come to find out, Okona hitchhiked in their ride, so now he’s with them. They get to where the ship is buried and go down underneath. Janeway and everybody else get there, the Xindi arrive, and all of a sudden the ship explodes out of the ice. She’s like, Janeway to Dauntless, beam us up now.

Bless You, Rok

They wake up Hologram Janeway and explain, and even Rok is like, so let me get this right. Everybody met Starfleet and nobody warned them about the killer technology? Really?

Bless you, Rok. Bless you for being the only one with even a modicum of perspective.

So they’re in warp and the Dauntless is chasing them. Hologram Janeway is like, the real me is on that Dauntless-class ship with a slipstream drive? Yeah, good luck running from that.

And they can’t communicate. The Dauntless is just hailing them and hailing them, but they know the minute they answer, the device the Diviner put into the ship is absolutely going to latch on, and the next thing you know it’ll infect all of Starfleet. That’s all it takes. Right now the Protostar is separate from the Starfleet network. It’s all by itself. The minute it connects, that’s when the problems go down.

So that’s why they’re running. Because, like idiots, when they were on the planet and they had the opportunity, nobody said anything. That would’ve been the safest place to do it. I’m so disappointed in them. Not the writers. The characters. And I think you’re supposed to feel these things, so I’m okay with that.

Murf Hatches, and a Contrivance I’ll Accept

Right about this time, Murf decides to hatch. He’s got little legs now. He’s still a little squishy dude, but he has form. So I think there’s a chance he may actually grow up at this point, which would be awesome.

He’s all interested in whatever Rok is doing, jumps up onto the console, and starts firing torpedoes. And I’m like, no!

It’s a contrivance that I’ll accept from an animated series. It’s one I would totally have been mad about if it was a live-action show. I’d have been like, really, guys? That’s what we did? In an animated series, I get it. I’m down. I don’t bump into it.

The real Janeway manages to shoot a torpedo and hit them in the third nacelle before they can go into proto drive, so the Dauntless is going to catch them.

The Neutral Zone

So they make the decision to jump toward the Neutral Zone. Dal’s rationale is, we can go there, but they can’t. Then let’s do that.

As Janeway is about to go into the Neutral Zone, her first officer calls her out. You always say you can’t let your emotions rule your decisions, and that’s what you’re doing. I can’t follow this order.

And the Romulans show up on the other side of the border. You’re grossly close to entering the Neutral Zone, and that’s going to be an act of war. And Janeway knows that any answers she’s ever had about Chakotay potentially exist on the Protostar.

I’m excited, man. It was a good episode. It was fast-paced, too. I know it’s supposed to be a 27-minute show, almost a half hour, but at the end of the day it felt like it was 15 minutes.

I’m really happy with the direction they’re going in. I even felt excited for Dal when he got to meet Admiral Janeway. I like what they’re doing, and I really hope they figure out how to make this happen. And the fact is, this is only the back half of season 1. I think the reason that’s the case is, if I’m not mistaken, the show was rushed out. They only had half of it done when the pandemic happened, so they gave us what they had.

The Verdict

Star Trek: Prodigy Episode 14, “Crossroads,” is an 8 on the Know-It-All Index. It’s a solid 8.

I like this episode a lot. I’m okay with the plot contrivances. It’s animation, so what are you going to do? This is a good episode. It’s an 8 for sure, all day long.

I’d love to hear what you thought of the episode, and I’d love to know your ratings. Do you love Murf? Is Murf not just the cutest thing in the world? I can’t stand it. I really can’t. The conversation lives in the comments on the video above.