Spoilers Star Trek: Prodigy 1x09 - "A Moral Star, Part 1"

Discussion in 'Star Trek: Prodigy' started by Commander Richard, Jan 26, 2022.

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Rate the episode...

  1. 10 - Excellent!

    26.9%
  2. 9

    41.8%
  3. 8

    20.9%
  4. 7

    9.0%
  5. 6

    1.5%
  6. 5

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  7. 4

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  8. 3

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  9. 2

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  10. 1 - Terrible.

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  1. Tuskin38

    Tuskin38 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    That ending was pretty abrupt.
     
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  2. tomalak301

    tomalak301 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I didn't think the ending was that abrupt. It's the start of a two part episode, the Diviner has the ship, and the plan continues. I hope next week is a bit of an extended episode (Like making it to 30 minutes) because we are at the end of the first arc of the series.
     
  3. Precious Tritium

    Precious Tritium Commander Red Shirt

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    Wonder if the intention was the air both of these as one long continuous episode, much like the premiere, but something changed recently. Might explain the mildly strange ending.

    Fantastic episode either way though. Love those uniforms. Must say, I’m preferring this a lot more in comparison to Lower Decks, which is always fun, but never quite required viewing for me.
     
  4. AnimationAdmiral

    AnimationAdmiral Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    “Mr. Worf… Fire.”

    [​IMG]
     
  5. Deks

    Deks Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Oct 16, 2003
    Another great episode, though I have to agree it ended kinda abruptly... you'd think this episode would have had a better end if the fade out when the ship jumped to Proto-Warp was the end scene (meaning they would spend majority of the episode concocting the plan... leaving the 10th episode as a 45 min conclusion one to the overall arc - but, Trek also wasn't too big on fleshing out 'planning' bits... just quick montages mostly of the crew doing the work in that direction.

    There's a whole lot to be said about Diviners notion about SF uniform representing 'lies and hypocrisy'... but he wasn't the first with this impression, and he definitely wasn't the last.

    Loved Janeway's line about 'nothing is more SF than that' ... definitely evoked some feels for me.
    THAT is what Starfleet and the UFP are about indeed... they're not perfect... but at least they do live up to their principles and ideals (or at least TRY if the situation is exceedingly difficult).
     
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  6. Tuskin38

    Tuskin38 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Yeah I know, but it felt like a cut to commercial, not a cut to an ending. It was just sudden.
     
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  7. cooleddie74

    cooleddie74 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I really like the Protostar's unique uniforms. I had a feeling they were designed specifically for the ship and its mission.

    A solid 9.
     
  8. eschaton

    eschaton Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Finally got to see it. I'd say it's a great episode, but I can't really call it an episode, given how suddenly it ends. I'm guessing that eventually (maybe not next week though) they'll compact both parts into a single streaming episode, similar to what they did with the pilot. Because...this doesn't really work as a standalone. It's all setup and no payoff.

    I like the fact that there has been payoff for some of the season-wide arcs they have been hinting at. The crew putting on Starfleet uniforms was a great visual moment. Dal and Gwyn's relationship has come along quite a long way as well - and they once again hint at something romantic, at least in Dal's feelings for Gwyn. I honestly wish they'd be more explicit - they're supposed to be 17, not 12 - but I understand it doesn't work well tonally given the age this is being marketed at.

    I'm getting a little sick of being constantly teased regarding the complex motivations of The Diviner. I really hope there's some reveal in the next episode regarding this, and we don't have to wait till next season. Regardless, unless he plans to use the protostar to rewrite the timeline, he's a monumental jerkass for consigning the thousands (?) on his asteroid slave colony to death.

    I wondered if perhaps they copied Janeway's holo-matrix off the ship, but I'm guessing no, now that Janeway has achieved Sith form. I'm also wondering if Gwyn's combadge - which was crushed by her father - was actually a fake, and she has a real one stowed away. The camera focused on it for a long time, and it just looked like a lump of metal, with no electronics inside.
     
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  9. cooleddie74

    cooleddie74 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    The Diviner really gives me Gul Dukat vibes. He's evil, yet has a sliver of a redeeming factor that bubbles to the surface for a few minutes before once again being subsumed in villainy.
     
  10. eschaton

    eschaton Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I can see that. Particularly because he's animated similar to Dukat, in being a really lanky, long-necked dude. Similar voice as well.

    That said, the difference IMHO comes down to ego. Dukat was ultimately a man driven entirely by his own sense of self-aggrandizement and desire to be loved. I don't get that from The Diviner at all. He comes across as someone who is relentlessly pursuing an ideal to the exclusion of all other moral concerns.
     
  11. Campe

    Campe Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Damn. Worth the delay in seeing it today.

    Tears when they got the uniforms. That moment was so well earned after 9 episodes. The ending did feel a little abrupt and that makes me wonder if this was initially designed as a one-hour midseason finale. Interesting to see how part 2 pans out.
     
  12. YetAnotherSubspaceAnomaly

    YetAnotherSubspaceAnomaly Lieutenant Junior Grade Red Shirt

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    The design of the Protostar com badges is extremely cool and I would like one for my collection now, please
     
  13. Yistaan

    Yistaan Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    What happened to criticize the post and not the poster? Hasn't this already veered way over into personal attacks?
     
    Last edited: Jan 27, 2022
  14. M'Sharak

    M'Sharak Definitely Herbert. Maybe. Moderator

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    There's no criticism of the poster there.

    When the subject of the statement you quoted is "your arguments," it cannot be any more clear that what you posted is exactly what's being addressed.
     
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  15. Yistaan

    Yistaan Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Since you're the mod that's that. If it's ok if I say for the record, my posts are not in bad faith, but what I genuinely believe. If people don't agree with them fine, but please let's not go further than that. Thank you.
     
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  16. DaveyNY

    DaveyNY Admiral Admiral

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    I gave it a 7 and that's only because it's not the whole story.

    It left me wanting to see the outcome now! :techman:
     
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  17. Lakenheath 72

    Lakenheath 72 Commodore Commodore

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    The vibes I get from the Diviner is that he is a mix of Nero and Krall. I hope that I am wrong.
     
  18. Garak234

    Garak234 Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    Awesome episode I give it a 9, Dal seems pretty immature for a 17 year old captain like when he went to the captains room though he was likely going there to think through his plan, the removal of holo Janeway marked however the true beginning of Dal as a Captain accepted by the crew while the Kobayashi marked his beginning as a Starfleet captain . The show raises a number of interesting why did the Diviner hate the “ Unwanted” so much?
    They were more then expendable slaves to him. While the writers are giving the Diviner a genuine fatherly side to make him a sympathetic character they simultaneously had him try to destroy the children laborers on Tars, this is no accident. Indeed the Diviner had Gwynn and the Protostar, his attempt to kill the miners is likely connected to the information he will impart in part 2. The episode is set up so you only guess with hints the actual plans- Dal’s plan, and the telepathic connection with Gwynn and the Diviner. At the end of the arc it is going to be interesting to see what happens to the miners in Tars Lemora and if they will join Starfleet.
    Murph is likely a space whale in his infancy and his presence at Tars Lemora was no accident, the end of this ark will likely be the beginning of the Murph, the Diviner could always retrieve Murf in outer space, if he needs him again, though Murf could also be native to Tars Lemora as well. The character development was top notch and had 5+ aspects that could have been their own episodes but were successfully done in 1/2 an episode. Looking forward to part II
     
    Last edited: Jan 27, 2022
  19. Amaris

    Amaris Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    This one was fast paced, and it makes me wish the show were longer than 24 minutes, because it gets so many things right. Yes, Dal has grown on me quite a bit. He's still cocky and headstrong, but he has awareness and his friends to keep him grounded, and it works for him. It really does. Good job on the writers for bringing me around.

    Once again, I get reminded that holo-Janeway isn't real, and it's jarring when she gets programmed to be corrupt. I'm hoping once the crew get the ship back (I hope they do), they find a way to patch up some of these rather gaping security holes in the ship. I mean, I get it, ship's experimental, but come on, holo technology should be more secure than that. I bet you Rok can do it.

    Speaking of Rok-tahk, she has utterly endeared herself to me. What a sweetie, and she's grown so much just in 9 episodes. I really like what the writers have done with her character, and hope we see her continue to grow stronger, more mature, more capable as the series carries on.

    On that note, Gwyn makes a full redemption, as far as I'm concerned. I already liked her anyway, she's my second favorite character, but there was always the question (at least for me) of whether her father could convince her, temporarily, of the rightness of his actions, however he may justify them, but it was good to see she was firmly in with her friends, and his conditioning has no hold over her. I do want to know more about this revelation he has, and I already figure the Federation played a huge part in it, but we'll have to see.

    I seriously hope they rescue kitty cat (I know he/she/they're Caitian). I think that's a new thread that will be picked up soon, anyway. Lots of foreshadowing there. Kitty may be Chekhov's gun. I mean other Chekhov.

    Random thoughts:

    * Starfleet uniforms looking real spiffy!

    * Coffee.

    * Janeway's speech about Starfleet fighting a hopeless battle to bring hope to others made me tear up. Yes, yes yes yes, that is why I love Star Trek. The belief that there is good, and that good people can join together to bring hope to the hopeless, to fight in their stead and by their side for their liberation, to rescue them from oppression and evil, that is what I believe in. Thank you, Janeway, for saying it. Thank you writers for knowing why someone like me fell in love with Star Trek in the first place.

    "Today you're risking everything on a seemingly impossible mission to save others; to bring hope to a hopeless cause. Nothing's more Starfleet than that." - HoloJaneway

    * Murph makes a good Zero.

    This one gets an easy 9/10.
    Come on part two, don't let me down. I want to give the season finale a 10. Make it so.
     
  20. Yistaan

    Yistaan Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I do have doubts whether the Diviner actually would have gone through with the slave purge, although it's possible. That seemed to be his only bargaining chip, and if he followed through on that and if for some reason the kids didn't even hear the message (as very nearly happened if Dal hadn't knocked over the robot head), he'd have nothing left to bargain with.

    I'm also unclear as to whether the Diviner's enslavement of multiple species automatically means the Federation will get involved. The tellarite isn't automatically a fed citizen because of his species--the human native americans in that one TNG episode that had to escape the cardassians come to mind. The Dominion was enslaving tons of species long before the fed went to war with them, and I'm not sure the female changeling calling sisko and telling him to hand over the defiant or she'll kill a thousand vorta and jem'hadar would justify sending a squadron in to help.
    (minor Picard season 1 spoilers)
    Romulan General Oh almost got away with claiming the synth planet as Romulan jurisdiction to annihilate at will and it was only Admiral Picard's claim of first contact with the synth planet that averted that fate. No Federation official has first contact claim to the Diviner's slave empire that I'm aware of. I concede Chakotay's defeat by them might count, barely.