It’s time to look at “Preludes,” the sixteenth episode of Star Trek: Prodigy. As the crew repairs the Protostar, they share their origins. In turn, more is made known as the Diviner’s origins and even the fate of Chakotay. Here we go with our thoughts on the episode!
Music
Mr. Daps: “This week the music was decent. They really did a nice job of accompanying the story being told, or should I say, different stories being told. I think that while it perhaps wasn’t the most memorable, it was definitely more solid than some weeks. It could be the beginning of getting a solid feel for the music for this series? Here’s hoping!”
Murray: “This was an episode that the music was sticking out to me, and in a good way. The score with Rok-Tahk’s origin was a delightful one for me. It had a good mix of menacing and fun. It could be a sign that the music is starting to come into its own, which would be great.”
Design
Mr. Daps: “This week’s designs seemed a little phoned-in to me. When the premise of the episode was getting started I kind of thought we might get to see some pretty impressive things. On the flip side, I did like the connections to previous Star Trek shows with some of the ship designs. This wasn’t their greatest week in terms of design but there are a few things to keep your eyes open for!”
Murray: “The designs weren’t stellar (no pun intended). I found the settings to be a bit boring, and the friend of Rok’s didn’t seem all that Star Trek. It felt more in line with it being a kids show, which isn’t a great fit for it being a Trek show as well.”
Story
Mr. Daps: “This week’s story almost reminded me of a sitcom flashback episode. I definitely think it was done better than most of the times a sitcom does it, though. I thought it was an interesting way to show the backstory of the characters and add some depth. I’m also guessing some of the things that were shared during these stories will have implications down the line. I wouldn’t say this was the most original episode but it did further things along a bit.”
Murray: “The story wasn’t one plot, but a few plots to tell the tales of the crew’s origins. It was cohesive and even nicely packaged amidst the idea of having time pass to make repairs. It even made the origin of the Diviner fit within the episode. But, it was a bit plain in story, and even a couple of the origins felt that way too.”
Hit or Miss?
Mr. Daps: “At this point, I’m going to say this was a miss. At first, I was thinking that maybe it was a nice change of pace after a lot of action lately. However, I think there could have been a change of pace and also still feel like it was a bit more solid. There were some good portions of the episode but as a whole. It was nice to see why some of the characters do what they do. I also hope some seeds were planted for the future. As an entire episode, though, it just didn’t meet the mark for me. I am very curious to see how the different story elements in this episode play out moving forward.”
Murray: “I hate to say, but I give it a ‘miss.’ I’m not usually one for flashback origin stories inter-spliced in main, current-time plots, but this had me wishing for that. I don’t know that we needed all of the characters’ stories in one episode, and I would have liked them expanded more. However, the Diviner’s story was a great origin. It was also great finding out what happened to Chakotay. It’s not a terrible episode, but I felt it a bit lackluster compared to some great ones this season.”
