‘Star Trek: Prodigy’ 1×08 Review: “Time Amok”

Star Trek: Prodigy gives our young audience another first look at a standard of Trek lore–the temporal anomaly in episode 1×08, “Time Amok.” Longtime Trek fans will notice that the title is an inversion of Star Trek: The Original Series episode, “Amok Time.” This season two opener is a bit notorious among Trek fans, where Spock is suffering through his first infliction of pon farr. Obviously, that’s not what’s happening here in “Time Amok,” but I applaud the creativity the Prodigy writers are employing here, giving a little nod to the longtime Trek fans in the audience, while also introducing a younger crowd to a temporal incursion. Here are a few of my other thoughts on “Time Amok.”

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

Learning cooperation and teamwork are important skills, no matter who you are. But for our crew, these skills are vital to their survival, especially in this temporal incursion scenario they find themselves thrust into. Though our crew is on their own in each of their respective timelines, the way they are able to work together across time is important. They learn to persevere through difficult circumstances and learn to push themselves harder than they think they can. Succeeding through this experience also forces them to grow together. It’s that kind of bonding experience that really makes this ragtag bunch of misfits into a functional crew. 

Rok-Tahk Grows Up

Rok-Tahk (Rylee Alazraqui) is our gentle giant, but she is also very much a little girl. She’s unsure of herself. After living a life of slavery on Tars Lamora, she is afraid to be alone. And now she’s forced into a situation where she has to be alone and must learn to rely on herself to survive. The question remains–just how long was Rok-Tahk by herself? That’s terrifying, and yet, she survived. Not only did she survive, she far exceeded what she thought she was capable of, or what anyone else thought she was capable of doing. I’m eager to see what will be revealed about the length of time Rok-Tahk was alone and what all she was able to learn. 

Final Thoughts

Finally, I feel like Prodigy is going a lot deeper than I expected a show aimed at children to be. We’re getting a child’s eye view of trauma, making this sort of thing easier for children to understand, but also it gives adults a deeper look at a “children’s show.” We’ve only got a couple more weeks before Prodigy goes on hiatus again until later this year. Even so, this first half of the season has far exceeded my expectations.

Finally, as a creepy aside, did anyone else get Terminator vibes from Drednok? Just me? Especially that final shot. 

*shudders* 

The next episode of Star Trek: Prodigy will air on January 27, 2022 on Paramount+.