Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2 Finale - “Ouroboros, Part II”
Summary
Star Trek: Prodigy’s newest Protostar Class starship continues two classicStar Trektraditions. Written by Kevin & Dan Hageman and Aaron J. Waltke, and directed by Ruolin Li,Star Trek: Prodigyseason 2’s finale sees the combined crews of the USS Protostar and the USS Voyager-A save everyStar Trektimelinefrom the reality-eating menace of the Loom. To reward their heroism, Admiral Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) presents the newly-minted Starfleet cadets led by Dal R’El (Brett Gray) and Gwyndala (Ella Purnell) with their own starship, theUSS Prodigy (NCC-80184).
The launch of the USS Prodigy is a result ofStar Trek: Prodigyseason 2’s finale lining up with the backstory ofStar Trek: Picardseason 1.“Ouroboros, Part II” concludes in 2385, shortly after the tragic events of First Contact Day, August 18, 2025, whenrogue synthetics attacked Marsand the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards. 92,000 souls lost their lives and 20,000 starships were destroyed. Consequently, the severely weakened Starfleet ended exploration missions and retreated to the United Federation of Planets' borders. However, Admiral Janeway charged the USS Prodigy with a mission to be a beacon of hope to worlds beyond the Federation.
The original USS Protostar was destroyed at the end ofStar Trek: Prodigyseason 1, and a second USS Protostar from an alternate future timeline was sent back to Tars Lamora in the 24th century to resetStar Trek: Prodigy season 2’s paradox timeline.
Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2 Ending & Shocking Season 3 Set Up Explained
Star Trek: Prodigy season 2 brings the time travel saga of the USS Protostar full circle. Here’s what happened and what it all means for season 3.
USS Prodigy Is The Latest Starship Named After A Star Trek Show
From Voyager to Discovery, and now Prodigy
Star Trek: Prodigynaming its brand new Protostar Class starship the USS Prodigy meansStar Trek: Prodigybecomes the latestStar Trekseries to join the proud tradition of a starship named after its show.Star Trek: Deep Space Ninewas the first series to be named after its primary setting, butStar Trek: Voyageroriginated its starship named after the show’s title. (Or vice versa, depending on your point of view). Next cameStar Trek: Enterprise, which wasoriginally titled simplyEnterprise.Star Trek: Discoverycontinued the tradition, and soon,Star Trek: Starfleet Academywill join them.
Interestingly,Star Trek: Prodigydecided not to call its new Protostar Class starship the USS Protostar-A. After all,Star Trek: Prodigyseason 2 also featured the USS Voyager-A. However, using alphabet designations appears to be aStar Trektradition reserved for certain starships with particular legacies. Themany starships named USS Enterpriseare the prime example, which reached up to the USS Enterprise-G in Star Trek: Picardseason 3. The USS Protostar was only in service for 2 years before it was destroyed.Naming the new Protostar Class ship the USS Prodigy is also fitting considering the wunderkinds Admiral Janeway chose to be her crew.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’s second Defiant Class starship, the USS SaoPaulo, was renamed simply USS Defiant and not USS Defiant-A.
Star Trek: Prodigy’s New Protostar Is A Training Ship LIke USS Enterprise
Starfleet training vessels go all the way back to Star Trek’s “The Cage”
Star Trek: Prodigyalso joins anotherStar Trektradition in that theUSS Prodigy is a training vessel manned by Starfleet Academy cadets.The concept of cadet-run starships was actually mentioned inStar Trek’s original pilot, “The Cage,” when Captain Christopher Pike (Jeffrey Hunter) mentioned a"cadet ship".Years later, Pike would be horribly disfigured saving cadets aboard a J-class training vessel. InStar Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, the USS Enterprise itself became a training vessel manned by Starfleet cadets overseen by Captain Spock (Leonard Nimoy).
Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Nova Squadronpiloted their own shuttles as training vessels, when they attempted an illegal maneuver that resulted in a cadet’s death - which Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) and his cohorts covered up. Perhaps the most infamous Starfleet training vessel wasStar Trek: Deep Space Nine’s USS Valiant run by the elite cadets called Red Squad. The hubris of Red Squad led to nearly all hands killed and the destruction of the Valiant during the Dominion War. It’s safe to say, however, that the heroic young crew of the USS Prodigy will not make the same mistakes as Red Squad ifStar Trek: Prodigyseason 3 happens.
