15 Ups & 0 Downs For Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2

15. UP — Solum Not Solemn

Star Trek Prodigy Vau N'Akat Solider
CBS Media Ventures

The Doctor says 'So-lum,' Zero says 'Soh-lem ['solemn'],' let's please, please not call the whole thing off again! My Bolian hearts couldn't take it! However it is pronounced, we knew Gwyn(dala) was headed back to her home world at the end of season one in order to provide her people with a brighter future. As with, and because of, time-travel, what happens when she arrives turns narrative and character on their head, all the while giving us the most finely detailed, visually stunning look at Vau N'Akat society, culture, and history, enough to keep Federation scholars busy for decades.

'Solum' may also sometimes sound like 'solemn,' but that is the antithesis of a descriptor for Star Trek: Prodigy's second season. The show is resolutely transcendent, never allowing itself to fall into the darkness of the themes it is exploring, never becoming the allegory or the high stakes it presents. As I will discuss later, a hope runs through it, and more than that, a sense of humour, too — self-referential, self-deferential, always hilarious.

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Jack has been a content creator for TrekCulture since 2022, and a Star Trek fan for as long as he can remember. He has authored over 170 articles, including one of TrekCulture's longest, and has appeared several times on the TrekCulture podcast. He holds a first-class honours degree in French from the University of Sussex, a master's with distinction in Language, Culture and History: French and Francophone Studies and a PhD in French from University College London (UCL). He has previously worked in the field of translation. His interests extend to science-fiction television and film more widely. His favourite series is Star Trek: Voyager, followed closely by Stargate SG-1.