WARNING: Contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Prodigy season 2, episode 5!
Summary
Admiral Janeway’s (Kate Mulgrew) ready room on the USS Voyager-A inStar Trek: Prodigyseason 2 contains an obscureStar Trek: Voyagercallback. After being canceled and removed from Paramount+ in 2023,Star Trek: Prodigythankfully found a new streaming home on Netflix, and has kicked off its second season with a bang. Picking up where season 1 left off,season 2 follows the young former crew of the USS Protostar as they embark on a covert mission to save Captain Chakotay (Robert Beltran)from his imprisonment on Solum.
Prodigy’s main cast of charactersis joined by Admiral Kathryn Janeway and the crew of the newly minted USS Voyager-A, withJaneway’s desire to rescue her close friend and former Number One acting as the driving force behind the season’s plot.Prodigyseason 2is also chock-full of references and Easter eggs toStar Trek: Voyagerthanks to the presence of Janeway and other characters like the Doctor (Robert Picardo). Some of these are easily noticeable, but others, like a particular decoration in Janeway’s new ready room, were likely inserted for eagle-eyed formerVoyagerviewers.
Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2 Ending & Shocking Season 3 Set Up Explained
Star Trek: Prodigy season 2 brings the time travel saga of the USS Protostar full circle. Here’s what happened and what it all means for season 3.
Janeway’s Spider Decoration In Prodigy Season 2 Could Be A Reference To Voyager’s Captain Proton Program
The spider might be a callback to Arachnia, Queen of the Spider People
InProdigyseason 2, episode 5, “Observer’s Paradox,” a look at Janeway’s ready room reveals several of these smallerVoyagerEaster eggs, including a possible reference to Captain Proton. In keeping with otherStar TrekCaptainsfrom previous series, Janeway’s ready room on the Voyager-A is decorated with a few personal touches, which are shown when she enters for a moment during episode 5.Among these decorations is a curious addition: a framed metal spider on the wallnext to Janeway’s Starfleet Academy diploma.
Prodigyseason 2, episode 5 was written by Jennifer Muro and directed by Ruolin Li and Andrew L. Schmidt
The spider may seem like an odd choice, but could be a callback to one ofVoyager’s most memorable episodes. Janeway played Arachnia, Queen of the Spider People during a holodeck misadventure involving Tom Paris’s (Robert Duncan McNeill) Captain Proton program inVoyagerseason 5, episode 12, “Bride of Chaotica!”Janeway’s stint as Arachnia is an unforgettableVoyagermoment, and there’s no better reason for spiders to be significant to herinProdigy. Referencing “Bride of Chaotica!” shows just how closelyProdigy’s creative team paid attention to importantVoyagerevents from Janeway’s past.
Other Voyager Easter Eggs In Janeway’s Prodigy Ready Room Explained
Janeway’s Voyager-A ready room has a lot of Voyager references
Besides the spider, Janeway’s ready room has several otherVoyagercallbacks that make it clear how important her most famous command still is to her.A model ofthe original USS Voyager, along with Janeway’s combage and phaser from the ship, make up the most obvious references. Additionally, there is a picture of Janeway and an Irish Setter which acts as a reference to Molly, Janeway’s dog who she left behind when Voyager became stranded in the Delta Quadrant. It is unclear whether the picture is actually of Molly or a new dog, but the callback is present all the same.
The otherVoyagerrelics in Janeway’s ready room serve as the final piece to tie the two shows together in episode 5.
The final and perhaps most significant Easter egg present in Janeway’s ready room is Chakotay’s palm stone with the CHAH-mooz-ee symbol etched on it.Prodigysubsequently shows Chakotay conveying the stone into Janeway’s safekeeping before his initial mission on the Protostar. Chakotay’s stone was first introduced inVoyageras part of his medicine bundle, andacts as an emotionally significant anchor between him and JanewayinStar Trek: Prodigyseason 2. Its presence and the otherVoyagerrelics in Janeway’s ready room serve as the final piece to tie the two shows together in episode 5.
Star Trek: Prodigy
Cast
Star Trek: Prodigy is the first TV series in the Star Trek franchise marketed toward children, and one of the few animated series in the franchise. The story follows a group of young aliens who find a stolen Starfleet ship and use it to escape from the Tars Lamora prison colony where they are all held captive. Working together with the help of a holographic Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), the new crew of the USS Protostar must find their way back to the Alpha Quadrant to warn the Federation of the deadly threat that is pursuing them.
Star Trek: Voyager
The fifth entry in the Star Trek franchise, Star Trek: Voyager, is a sci-fi series that sees the crew of the USS Voyager on a long journey back to their home after finding themselves stranded at the far ends of the Milky Way Galaxy. Led by Captain Kathryn Janeway, the series follows the crew as they embark through truly uncharted areas of space, with new species, friends, foes, and mysteries to solve as they wrestle with the politics of a crew in a situation they’ve never faced before.
