WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Star Trek: Prodigy Season 1, Episode 6, "Kobayashi," streaming now on Paramount+.

Whereas Paramount+'s first Star Trek original animated series, Star Trek: Lower Decks, is a full-on celebration of the wider Star Trek franchise, the digital platform's latest Star Trek animated series, Star Trek: Prodigy, began with a decidedly different approach. Beginning outside of Federation space, Prodigy was initially set in the heart of the Delta Quadrant, a space sector largely unexplored since Star Trek: Voyager. But as Prodigy returns from its midseason break, it has incorporated its connection to the Star Trek mythos significantly, no longer existing on the franchise's narrative fringes.

Prodigy follows a young group of misfits on the harsh prison colony of Tars Lamora, a world far from the ideals and protections that come with Starfleet and the United Federation of Planets. Led by the teenage scrapper Dal, this ragtag ensemble discovers a Starfleet vessel, the USS Protostar, hidden on Tars Lamora and make their escape, pursued by the villainous Diviner who wants to seize control of the powerful starship for himself. In their flight, Dal and his friends learn about Starfleet and how to operate the Protostar from an advanced training program modeled after Voyager's commanding officer Kathryn Janeway, with the hologram serving as their guide.

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Star Trek Prodigy Janeway

Prodigy is a show that hit the ground running, with Dal immediately wanted by the Diviner even before he and his friends stumble across the Protostar. To maintain that pacing and sense of urgency, Prodigy kept its connections to the wider Star Trek mythos initially to a minimum, apart from its starship setting and Janeway occasionally extolling the virtues of Starfleet after confusing the makeshift crew for an unkempt set of Starfleet Academy cadets. This all changed following the midseason break, with the Protostar getting some well-deserved breathing room from the Diviner and the animated series taking the time to bring in some familiar faces and elements from the Star Trek franchise.

With fuller picture now in focus, it makes sense that Prodigy began this more distanced approach -- literally. Prodigy is geared to introduce younger audiences to the Star Trek franchise while entertaining and rewarding longtime Star Trek fans, especially as those payoffs gradually increase in frequency and scope. The five episodes ahead of the midseason break give audiences a chance to know the characters as the show sets its foundation and stakes before revealing its franchise connections. This patient storytelling approach let Prodigy develop its own identity rather than get lost in the shuffle of its own mythos and created more accessibility for audiences not familiar with the Star Trek Universe.

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star trek prodigy terror firma

For Star Trek fans looking for more classic, conventional stories set in the Star Trek Universe, there are plenty of other shows that occupy that space -- no pun intended. Prodigy takes a unique approach to how it handles its own place in the universe and it's all the stronger for it, providing a more freewheeling story that takes place on the literal fringes of the Star Trek Universe while still firmly a reverent part of it. The franchise connections serve to enhance Prodigy rather than confine it, effectively making the animated series the most surprising show to join the franchise, as its main characters serve as proxy characters introducing the universe to the audience through their eyes as they boldly go forward, making their own way.

To see how Star Trek: Prodigy has come into its own, new episodes release Thursdays on Paramount+.

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