OCTOBER 27, 2022 - After a seven month hiatus, Star Trek: Prodigy is back on our screens today with “Asylum,” the first of season 1, part 2’s episodes. I’ve seen the first 5 episodes of the season’s back half and the first question I have is, “Why isn’t this just called season 2?”

I understand it’s probably a business thing, and maybe once we’ve seen the rest of the episodes it will make sense.. But “A Moral Star, Part 2” certainly felt like a season finale and when we rejoin the crew in “Asylum,” it’s clear they’ve been through a thing or two since we last saw them.

But that doesn’t dampen the enjoyment of the series. The Hageman brothers have doubled down on their references to other Treks, including an early musical nod to the Star Trek 2009 series of films, and every one is a pleasure. An episode in the first five will appeal especially to Original Series fans.

And, of course, we know Billy Campbell will return to reprise his role as Thadiun Okona. “I think we had a laugh about that episode, “The Outrageous Okona,” in the Writer’s Room, and we loved that he was kind of this two-bit Han Solo, Dan Hageman told me at New York Comic Con, and as soon as you meet Okona in PRO you absolutely get that Han Solo vibe.

We got our first look at Ronny Cox’s Admiral Jellico this week, but the timing was a little misleading. Don’t fret, we will get to see him during the next five episodes, but not in today’s premiere.

By this point, we know our main characters pretty well and can start having fun with them. The introductions are over, they’ve become a (somewhat) cohesive team, and the writers feel they can delve deeper into their individual characters.

We, along with Dal (Brett Gray), get some answers about what his species is, but those answers (which have a legacy connection) actually just raise more questions. “I think for Dal, especially, the position he’s taken as captain, you know, it’s going to be a tough reality to come to terms with who you are and to be able to accept that and figure out what to do with that after that,” Gray commented at the NYCC press roundtable.

Rok-Tahk (Rylee Alazraqui) discovers that there’s more than one type of science and begins a quest to decide which one she’s interested in pursuing; Jankum Pog (Jason Mantzoukas) must face disappointment when he meets another Tellarite; Zero searches for a way to atone for her past; and Gwyn? Well, there’s a secret in her brain that changes the kids’ mission.

That secret plus a particular event in “Asylum” turns them from a ragtag band of Starfleet-wannabes to fugitives from Starfleet, with Vice Admiral Janeway hot in pursuit, a misunderstanding that could be the death of them.

PRO season 1, part 2 has it all: excitement, laugh-out-loud humor, touching character moments, legacy shoutouts galore, and valuable lessons for children and adults alike. It’s even better than the first half of the season, a terrific way to get kids interested in Star Trek, with plenty of Easter eggs for those kids-at-heart who grew up with one of the legacy series. If you haven’t seen PRO yet, get caught up, then keep going. You’re in for a wild ride!

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