This week’s Star Trek: Prodigy episode 1×18 “Mindwalk” was definitely not what I had in mind. We’re getting Star Trek does Freaky Friday, again? Now with fewer hijinks, and additional drama! But this is more than just a humorous body-swap episode. Let’s get down to business and chat about Star Trek: Prodigy episode 1×18 “Mindwalk.”
Freaky Friday at Its Finest
My favorite episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is “Spock Amok.” I thought the idea of putting a Freaky Friday-style episode in what is supposed to be a more traditional Star Trek series was an interesting and fun choice. It provides a bit of levity, while also highlighting some of the more serious emotional baggage between Spock and Chapel. What Star Trek: Prodigy episode 1×18 “Mindwalk” does is humorous in the traditional Freaky Friday sort of way, but also creates a real problem.
While Dal playing Janeway is great, Janeway playing Dal is HYSTERICAL on the outside looking in. AMAZING. *chef’s kiss* Kate Mulgrew really captures the humor of that wild scenario. But it also makes it clear to the crew of the Dauntless that something is wrong with Janeway and she needs to be confined to sickbay or by the end of this episode, the brig. And of course with Asencia back in disguise, it’s no surprise she’s pushing for Janeway to be confined. How is Janeway going to escape the brig? I think Tysess will be the key here, assuming she gets a chance to speak with him. We’ll have to use those “Hold Onto Your Butts” grab handles until next week to find out more.
Empathy Goes a Long Way
The biggest surprise for me in “Mindwalk” is The Diviner’s kindness shown to Janeway. I think he might be the key in unlocking these issues. Asencia is bent on revenge. She is the Vindicator after all. But The Diviner has a child to care for, which has given him a capacity for empathy. Janeway’s kindness to him, even though she had no idea what he had planned, allows him to have some compassion for her too. I hope this empathy extends to the crew of the Protostar and to Starfleet in general.
Final Thoughts
There are a lot of interesting things to highlight in Star Trek: Prodigy episode 1×18 “Mindwalk.” The title of “Mindwalk” seems to be a hybrid of what is effectively a light mind-meld and a spacewalk. Nice play on words there. I also enjoyed the small things that really added some flavor to this episode. Rok-Tahk calling Vice Admiral Janeway in Dal’s body, “Admir-Dal” is adorable. Janeway references turning into a salamander, aka the most infamous episode of Star Trek: Voyager of all, “Threshold!” And bonus: we now have a debugged Hologram Janeway!
Now, here’s the tougher part. Vice Admiral Janeway now knows that Dal is an augment and our crew is now faced with the sad news that augments aren’t allowed in Starfleet. All I have to say to that is *stares in Dr. Bashir*. I hope we get an exception made for him. There was also a bit of sweetness in Dal-as-Janeway’s conversation with The Diviner where he says, “You know, I get it. I’d do anything for Gwyn too.” I’ve really enjoyed watching Dal and Gwyn’s friendship grow and I hope this bit of compassion pricks The Diviner’s heart too. Finally, our episode ends with our crew being surrounded by numerous Starfleet ships. Who called that party to order? The only person who can call it off is Vice Admiral Janeway and she’s in the brig! I can’t wait to see how they get out of this one.
What did you think of Star Trek: Prodigy episode 1×18 “Mindwalk”? Leave a comment and let’s talk Trek.
The next episode of Star Trek: Prodigy will air on December 22, 2022, on Paramount+.
