I think this is my favorite of Prodigy so far - calls back to one of my favorite TNG eps, "Cause and Effect", without rehashing it. Everyone gets some good character development and Rok-Tahk, who up to this point has been the least well-developed of the core five, gets her time in the sun.
It's impressive how compact this episode is: clever time gimmick plus killer robot, a number of developments in the ongoing story, screen time and character moments for everyone, and a couple of good emotional punches (Gwyn's heartfelt apology to Rok, Rok watching the simulation nostalgically, Janeway's "Too long").
Don't think I'll find myself thinking about this episode again, the way I do with my favorites, but it was quite solid and entertaining.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2022-01-20T21:52:18Z
[7.8/10] I really liked this one! It feels like a classic 90s Trek style spatial anomaly. Having the Protostar go through a tachyon storm and end up in multiple different temporal eddies, moving at different rates, presents a unique challenge for our heroes. And like the best Star Trek stories, also works as a potent metaphor for how they all feel estranged and disconnected from one another after their difficulties in the last episode.
The mechanics of the setup are fun. I like the choice to make it so that Hologram Janeway, given her temporal programming, is one of the few constants who can connect with each member of the crew. The idea of sequential problem solving, where each young hero has to do work to help the next person in the chain is a clever one. And the way that the progression from one person to another alternates between time moving faster or slower adds to the uniqueness of the concept.
It’s also a fun episode visually. The show does a good job with communicating the different speeds of the passage of time, like when Rok-Tahk throws off her blanket while it floats in the air. And I love the interstitial bits where we fly across the sine wave and run into the different heroes, which feels like an homage to the time travel sequence from Star Trek IV. The show doesn’t get too funky outside of those sequences, but there’s some nice, subtle stuff.
My favorite part of it, though, is Rahk-Tok’s story. Gwyn encourages her to be the security officer just because she’s big and strong, but Rahk-Tok doesn’t want to do that and nobody else seems to care. Part of what makes her shut down is the sense of being crammed into a box. But when left to her own devices, encouraged to figure out how to do things her way, she turns out to be one hell of a science officer and engineer!
There’s something so heartening about Rahk-Tok pulling a Groundhog Day and developing incredible skills while stuck in a crazy time scenario, buoyed and motivated by a desire to save her friends and see them again. Gwyn’s mea culpa, Rahk-Tok’s determination and triumph, and the group hug that follows when all is well again work like gangbusters.
We also get some movement in the ongoing plot. Dal confesses to Janeway that they’re not really cadets, and Janeway still affirms them as “my crew”, which is nice. I’m glad the show doesn’t overplay the moment, even if it does drive a further wedge between the young heroes at first. We also get another assault from Drednok, who utilizes the ship’s vehicle replicator to transfer himself aboard the vessel, in a clever twist. And he not only recognizes Janeway, but indicates he’s not the one who killed her crew and hid her files. So there’s a lot going on right now, and it all moves the needle.
Overall, this is a momentous episode, not just for the way it advances the season’s arc, or how it deploys a cool science fiction idea that would be fit for the crew of the Enterprise or Voyager (which gets a musical nod here), but for the way it brings our heroes back together emotionally after some tough times and lifts up Rahk-Tok in particular.