RECAP | Star Trek: Prodigy - Supernova, Part 2

SPOILER WARNING: This article contains story details and plot points for Episode 20 of Star Trek: Prodigy "Supernova, Part 2."

It’s the finale of Star Trek: Prodigy’s first season, with "Supernova, Part 2," and things look pretty bleak. The Living Construct has been unleashed on the fleet; as more ships come in to help, more continue to get infected. Soon, all of Starfleet’s ships will be lost — ensuring completion of The Diviner and The Vindicator's mission, and Solum's salvation.

Dal realizes the only thing they can do is destroy the Protostar, and the Living Construct with it. But Jankom Pog points out that blowing up the protocore will destroy everything in a 50 million mile radius and create a supernova. Rok-Tahk has an idea — they can jump to protowarp right at the exact second they destabilize the core. The destructive energy would then be spread across multiple light years.

They can create a shuttlecraft and eject before detonation to save the crew. There’s just one problem — someone has to stay behind on the Protostar to detonate the the protowarp drive.

Dal decides to stay behind as the captain. He trusts that Vice Admiral Janeway will take care of his crew. But Holo-Janeway has another idea; she has Dal’s command codes and can stay behind. What’s more, they can download her program and take a copy with them so she won’t be lost for good.

As Holo-Janeway tries to copy her program, she is unable to because there isn’t enough storage. But she doesn’t tell Dal that and hands over the isolinear chip as if nothing is wrong. She’s going to sacrifice herself for her crew.

The crew boards the shuttlecraft and is ejected out into space, while Admiral Janeway engages the protowarp drive and destabilizes the core. The ship is gone.

Back at the fleet, the lockouts lift and the ships are no longer under the influence of the Living Construct. Admiral Janeway sends out a search party for the crew.

As the crew in the shuttlecraft tries to bring Holo-Janeway back online, they receive a goodbye message from her. Her program had grown too large and complex to be able to transfer, so she couldn’t go with them. She asks them to find Starfleet and to go boldly, before signing off.

A month later, Starfleet still hasn’t found the crew. But what they have discovered is that the Protostar created an interstellar rift where it detonated, and they’ve picked up a message through it. It’s a mayday from Captain Chakotay, but it’s not the message we’ve heard. Instead they get a message from 52 years in the future, saying the Vau N’Akat are about to relaunch the Protostar. A lot of his crew is gone, but he’s still hanging on.

It turns out that Holo-Janeway’s last act was to duplicate the interspatial flecture that took Chakotay forward in time. Starfleet may send an exploratory ship through the rift, and if they do, Janeway wants to be on it.

Just then, Admiral Janeway’s meeting is interrupted with the welcome news that they’ve located the U.S.S. Protostar crew. The shuttle landed in San Francisco Bay, right outside Starfleet headquarters.

Unfortunately, they are pretty quickly put on trial for their actions — but Admiral Janeway argues for leniency. She even argues that Dal, as an augment, should be allowed into Starfleet Academy.

The good news is that the Federation opts to drop all charges. The bad news is that the crew won’t be fast tracked into Starfleet Academy. However, five of them will be allowed to be officers in training, taken under Admiral Janeway’s wing. They won’t be a part of the Academy, but they’ll still be allowed to be a part of Starfleet.

Rok-Tahk begins to study xenobiology, while Jankom Pog learns to use a lighter touch when it comes to engineering. Zero gets a new and improved suit.

But Gwyn won’t be joining them. She will be returning to her home planet, with Starfleet’s help. She wants to save her people, if she can. Before she leaves, she gives Dal a kiss and they promise they’ll see each other again.

As Gwyn leaves, Admiral Janeway unveils a new ship — the first of the new Protostar-class Starfleet ships (the original was just a prototype). But Janeway’s plans for this group is even bigger than just one ship. It looks like we’ll have to wait until Season 2 to find out what that plan is!