We’ve been using those “Hold Onto Your Butts” grab handles all week, eagerly anticipating the resolution of last week’s cliffhanger on Star Trek: Prodigy. This week’s episode, “Terror Firma” offers us a promising resolution and lots to chew on between now and its return in January. Here are a few of the things that I’ll be mulling over until we get the next episode of Star Trek: Prodigy.
Stuff of Nightmares
The play on words we get with this week’s title, “Terror Firma,” echoes a few things for me within the Star Trek universe. First, I am reminded of the Star Trek: Discovery season 3 episodes, “Terra Firma Part 1 & Part 2.” While this isn’t a Mirror Universe episode, the nightmare world the crew of the Protostar faces certainly has Mirror Universe-esque tones.
Second, Rok-Tahk, being the stand-in for our young target audience mishears Gwyn (Ella Purnell) say, “Terraforming” and cries out in fear, “THEY’RE TRYING TO SCARE US?!” The terror our young crew faces is realistic. Not only is the planet literally out to get them, but now The Diviner and Drednok are on the planet too! All of these things definitely qualify as “trying to scare us,” Rok-Tahk.
Finally, the real nightmare here is the horror Gwyn feels when she realizes her father, The Diviner, would choose the ship over her own life. I can’t imagine anything more terrifying for a child to feel than the utter rejection of her parent, but especially when that child is in mortal danger. Not only did her father choose the ship, he literally left her to die. That is the real terror of this episode, and it’s painfully sad as well. Talk about the stuff of nightmares…
Gwyn’s on the Team
I think this is more obvious than just about anything else in this series, but I’ve been waiting for Gwyn to join up. She is more kind than her father, but after he gives her the ultimate brushing off, it’s not a surprise that Gwyn would jump ship. While I hate that Gwyn has experienced such horrible rejection, I’m also glad for her to be out of that abusive and uncaring environment.
In addition, Gwyn is a real boost to the Protostar’s crew. Not only does she have knowledge of the ship’s functions, but she isn’t afraid to push back on Dal. Pushback is exactly what Dal needs and she’s just the person to dole it out.
We’ve got WHAT in the engine?!
Finally, I am fascinated by the reveal of the Protostar’s experimental engine. While it’s no secret that the Protostar is an NX class ship, meaning that it is an experimental ship, it is only now that we get the exact details of the experiment. Now, we still have a few mysteries associated with the Protostar.
First, who is the Protostar’s original crew? Are they stuck on Tars Lamora? Did The Diviner kill them? Second, how in the world did a Starfleet ship make its way all the way back out to the Delta Quadrant that quickly? It’s not like the Protostar got rocketed into the Delta Quadrant by the Caretaker as Voyager did. I can only assume that the protostar within The Protostar is far beyond the capabilities of a standard warp drive. There is still much to learn in regards to this ship and I am hopeful that we’ll get our answers very soon.
Final Thoughts
I’ve got lots to mull over the holidays this year in regards to Star Trek: Prodigy. I’ll be pondering the implications of this new drive, where our crew might be going, and just how The Diviner and Drednok might be able to catch up to our crew.
Where will we boldly go next? According to TrekMovie.com, we’ll find out early next year. Better keep using those, “Hold Onto Your Butts” Grab Handles until then.
Star Trek: Prodigy will return to Paramount+ on January 6, 2022.
