Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2
Summary
To help explain the complexities of time travel,Star Trek: Prodigyrevealed its own version of Miss Minutes (Tara Strong) fromMarvel’sLoki.Prodigyseason 2 picks up about a year after the finale ofStar Trek: Prodigyseason 1.The ragtag crew members of the USS Protostar finally made it to Starfleet,and are working to prove themselves worthy of attending Starfleet Academy. As they continue their studies and share their expertise, Admiral Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) recruits Dal R’El (Brett Gray), Gwyndala (Ella Purnell), and their friends for a mission aboard the newly commissioned USS Voyager-A.
Dal soon begins to suspect that Admiral Janeway and her senior officers may be hiding something, and he discovers a cloaked ship called the Infinity. Janeway plans to mount a search for Captain Chakotay (Robert Beltran), flying into the wormhole created at theend ofStar Trek: Prodigyseason 1. Unfortunately, Dal and his friends complicate matters by inadvertently taking the Infinity into the wormhole too early.After they accidentally alter the timeline, Gwyn begins to phase in and out of time, her very existence now a paradox.Confronted with complicated time travel problems, Dal finally decides to study Temporal Mechanics 101 as he and his friends turn the Inifinity into a time machine.
Star Trek: Prodigy Creators Kevin & Dan Hageman Spill Season 2’s Biggest Secrets
Screen Rant interviews Star Trek: Prodigy showrunners Kevin and Dan Hageman about season 2’s mission, ending, and behind-the-scenes secrets.
Star Trek: Prodigy & Marvel’s Loki Explain Time Travel With Dr. Erin & Miss Minutes
Both shows incorporate fun little videos explaining some of the complexities of time travel.
InStar Trek: Prodigyseason 2, episode 4, “Temporal Mechanics 101,” Dal has to quickly catch up on the mechanics of time travel. As his friends had been repeatedly reminding him, Starfleet offers a helpful lesson on this subject that Dal has yet to watch.Dal finally sits down to watch the videos, asDr. Erin Macdonaldwalks him through the many complexities and complications of time travel.With her upbeat attitude and obvious expertise on the subject, Dr. Macdonald feels somewhat reminiscent ofLoki’sMiss Minutes, and the time travel explanation videos feel similar as well.
Star Trek: Prodigy’sDr. Erin Macdonald is voiced by the real-life Dr. Erin Macdonald, an astrophysicist and aerospace engineer who has served as the science advisor for theStar Trekfranchise since 2019.
InLoki’sseries premiere, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) arrives at the Time Variance Authority, or TVA, with no knowledge of the organization or its purpose. Loki had inadvertently created an alternate timeline, and it was the TVA’s job to remove Loki from that timeline to preserve the Sacred Timeline.When the TVA brings Loki in, they show him a video in which a little orange clock called Miss Minutes explains the Scared Timelineand the TVA’s duty to protect it. With its retro animation style and chipper voiceover, the TVA’s introductory video could have inspiredProdigy’sTemporal Mechanics 101 video.
Star Trek’s Travelers & Supervisors Serve The Same Purpose As Loki’s TVA
Both entities seek to preserve the timeline and ensure the universes remain in balance.
LokiandStar Trek: Prodigyseason 2 have other similarities as well. ThroughoutProdigyseason 2, a mysterious entity sends messages to the Protostar kids, urging them to stay together. This entity is eventually revealed to be none other than Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton), who joined a group known as the Travelers inStar Trek: The Next Generationseason 7. As aTraveler, Wesley can manipulate time and space, andhe helps to maintain balance between the various universes.Although many of the details differ, the TVA and the Travelers both work to ensure time flows properly and the universes remain in balance.
InStar Trek: Prodigyseason 2 andLokiseason 2, the balance of their universes is threatened, and the shows' protagonists work to restore order and save the day.While Loki involves more time loops and jumps throughout various time periods,Prodigyfocuses on closing one loop to restore the proper timeline.Still, both shows incorporate paradoxes and confusing time-travel shenanigans. Thankfully,Star Trek: Prodigy’sDr. Erin Macdonald does not turn out to be evil likeLoki’sMiss Minutes, but both characters help make time travel a little clearer with fun explainer videos.
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.
Loki
Loki is a series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe following the alternate version of the titular character, Loki, after the events of Avengers: Endgame. Taken by the Time Variance Authority, he must confront his identity and choices while aiding in fixing the disrupted timeline to avert a greater threat.
