WARNING: This article contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Prodigy season 2
Summary
Star Trekintroduced non-gender-specific aliens, the Medusans, inStar Trek: The Original Series56 years ago.StarTrek: The Next Generationbrought in another species of non-gender-specific aliens 32 years ago.Zero (Angus Imrie), the young Medusan hero ofStar Trek: Prodigy,continues this tradition.The cast ofStar Trek: The Original Serieswas a trailblazing force on TV, but the franchise didn’t get a real comeback with progressive themes until the diverse cast ofStar Trek: The Next Generationcharactersushered in the subsequent (and iconic) 1990s era ofStar Trek.
Star Trek: The Next Generationfeatured a species without a set gender binary in theTNGseason 5 episode, “The Outcast,” which helped define the willingness ofStar TrekTV showstopush the boundaries of its 1990s time period.By the timeStar Trek: Prodigycame out, it was perfectly poised to take the franchise forward regarding alien species that aren’t based on human societal standards. After all,Star Trekhas had genderless aliens since even before the 1990s.
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Star Trek: The Next Generation Introduced the Genderless J’naii
TNG featured a short-lived romance between William Riker and a genderless alien named Soren
Star Trek: The Next Generationseason 5’s “The Outcast” features an alien race called theJ’naii, which is an androgynous species that finds the concept of gender offensive.The crew of the USS Enterprise-D are introduced to Soren (Melinda Culea), a young member of the J’naii.Commander William Riker(Jonathan Frakes) accompanies Soren on a mission to recover a lost J’naii shuttle, and the two quickly grow close. Soren admits to Riker that they are beginning to identify as female despite the J’naii social taboo against having one gender.
Their romance is cut short by another member of the J’naii reporting both Soren and Commander Riker to the J’naii authorities. Soren is arrested for harboring beliefs that would harm their society. Despite Soren giving one of thebestStar Trekspeechescalling for the acceptance of all J’naii with a gender, they are nonetheless subjected to psychotectic therapy. This “treatment” removes all traces of a single gender and, subsequently, the feelings Soren once had for Commander Riker.With “The Outcast,“Star Trek: The Next Generationchallenged the human concept of gender identity and portrayed a species whose idea of gender was reversed.
Soren is arguably the first openly transgender character onStar Trek, paving the way for future gender-diverse characters such as Adira Tal (Blu Del Barrio) and Gray Tal (Ian Alexander) inStar Trek: Discoveryand Captain Angel (Jesse James Keitel) inStar Trek: Strange New Worlds.
Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2 Highlights Zero’s Genderless Medusan Species
Medusans stand entirely outside of gender
InStar Trek: Prodigy, Zero (Angus Imrie) represents thealiens called the Medusans. Like all Medusans, Zero is a telepathic, empathic, and non-corporeal lifeform. Zero is contained in a suit that protects onlookers from going insane by looking at their true form.Medusans have no body, no gender, and no concept of either. However, while Zero does not strive for a gender, they wish to use human senses to experience life like their friends. InStar Trek: Prodigyseason 2, it’s revealed that Zero has that chance after all. Zero also sparks a close friendship with Maj’el (Michaela Dietz), a young Vulcan, which could grow into something more.
Ambassador Kollis was the first Medusan introduced inStar Trek: The Original Seriesseason 3’s “Is There No Truth In Beauty?”
The Medusans are an alien species that are outside of gender altogether, and they areStar Trek’s latest exploration of non-human concepts surrounding gender and identity. The J’naii wereStar Trek: The Next Generation’s inclusion of non-gender-specific aliens.Star Trek: Deep Space Nineexplored the changeable identity of the Trill.Star Trek: Discoveryfeatured openly transgender characters.Star Trek: Prodigy’s Zero is a welcome addition toStar Trek’sdiverse list of genderless or gender-diverse characters.
Star Trek: Prodigy
Cast
Star Trek: Prodigy is the first TV series in the Star Trek franchise marketed toward children, and one of the few animated series in the franchise. The story follows a group of young aliens who find a stolen Starfleet ship and use it to escape from the Tars Lamora prison colony where they are all held captive. Working together with the help of a holographic Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), the new crew of the USS Protostar must find their way back to the Alpha Quadrant to warn the Federation of the deadly threat that is pursuing them.
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation follows Captain Jean-Luc Picard and his crew aboard the USS Enterprise NCC-1701D as they embark on interstellar explorations, seeking out new worlds and civilizations.
