• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Spoilers Star Trek: Prodigy 1x12 - "Let Sleeping Borg Lie"

Rate the episode...


  • Total voters
    62
I wonder if this is Icheb's former cube.

I don't think so.
Icheb's cube was deeper in the DQ.
I was under the impression the Protostar may have been already in the Beta Quadrant given their unfortunate encounter with the relay station in the last episode.
 
Last edited:
I don't think so.
Icheb's cube was deeper in the DQ.
I was under the impression the Protostar may have been already in the Beta Quadrant given their unfortunate encounter with the relay station in the last episode.

Well the show's conceit is it can cross the entire galaxy almost as fast as the Discovery.
 
Assuming those relay stations are only intended to be manned by one person at a time, I don't really see why they'd need more than one escape pod... :shrug:

You mean on a Starfleet station? Starfleet, that builds tertiary backups so that they don't only have one backup? What if your backup fails? You need a backup for your backup, and really, only having two backups is kind of living dangerously!

If they had any sense, they'd transmit a distress call to Starfleet, evacuate in a shuttle or something, and remote pilot the ship into a star. Doubt that weapon would survive inside a neutron star.
 
Well the show's conceit is it can cross the entire galaxy almost as fast as the Discovery.

Yes, but we have no evidence which would suggest the Protostar used the Protodrive as of yet. They may have used it during the break in between episodes 10 and 11 (again, 0 mention they did that), but since episode 11? No evidence of that yet.
Maybe the dialogue in upcoming episodes will show us differently, but we just don't know.
Right now it seems the Protostar has been using regular Warp for travel.
 
Yes, but we have no evidence which would suggest the Protostar used the Protodrive as of yet. They may have used it during the break in between episodes 10 and 11 (again, 0 mention they did that), but since episode 11? No evidence of that yet.
Maybe the dialogue in upcoming episodes will show us differently, but we just don't know.
Right now it seems the Protostar has been using regular Warp for travel.

I was getting the impression our protagonists were zipping and zagging across the galaxy at will. The Federation outpost being in the Alpha Quadrant.
 
So it's unlikely that this cube is the same one that later turns up in PIC season 1?

Another great episode and a fantastic reintroduction of the Borg.

This is definitely the artifact!

9
It's definitely inspired by the design of the Artifact, it has cut-outs in its hull and the protruding sphere escape pod.

I wonder if this is Icheb's former cube.
I think that Cube ended up exploding, or was close to doing so.

I thought it was great episode, even if played a bit loose with Borg lore. I mean I don't think the Borg ignore you if you've already attacked them. Nevertheless, I think it made the Borg sufficiently menacing, something they maybe haven't been for a while. I also enjoyed the depiction of the Borg collective consciousness. I only wonder if real Janeway and the Dauntless will encounter this Cube, seeing as how they're on the trail of the Protostar. 9/10
 
Another good episode, enjoyed the character interaction in the beginning (they are stressing the friendship between Gwyn and Zero, present since episode 6) , everything on the Dauntless and it was nice to see the Borg again, in a somewhat diminished but still very threatening state. This cube may well be what became the Artefact.

Last episode, Dal said they're practically heroes. They certainly acted heroic here, allthough one could call them insane risktakers as well. They should really listen to their advisor more...

Kate Mulgrew said season 1B would be dark, and it turns out she is under doctor's orders not to drink coffee anymore! Probably the most horrific part of the episode for her (Borg are routine).

About the distress call at the end: my guess is that it comes from Okona. Alternatively, from the planet shown in the trailer with the green uniforms. I think the next episode is likely to pick up this thread (the distress call) right away.

To be fair, Picard basically did the same thing in “Best of Both Worlds” part 2 when he gave Data the hint on how to shut them down — and he didn’t even have the advantage of being noncorporeal. I’d imagine just a psychic link with the Collective is easier to break than a physical one, as seen in VOY “Unity.”
While the resolution of the Borg situation may seem a bit underwhelming, it's true that Data and Picard did much the same thing with Picard somehow able to advise Data what to do. I have no issues with Zero being able to break free, though it was a bit much to have him be swayed for a while. Would have been better if he had merely been pretending.

Dang, no sign of Barniss Frex in his little escape pod? RIP to a real one.
It was surprising they didn't find him, but then they still may early next episode. The Protostar didn't pick him up and his escapepod seemed to get away cleanly, so he should have gotten away. Did he hide his pod somehow, did he drift off slightly and will the Dauntless find him if they scan the area properly, or did another ship pass by and pick him up?

With the information he has, Janeway and Ascencia would be able to link the Diviner's daughter with the Protostar.

There's essentially two sections here - crisis of the week and arcwork. The entire first act is more or less serving the needs of the arc as a whole, with us first checking in with the kids, then with the real Janeway. Then of course we come back to real Janeway again at the end of the episode for a final scene. All of the arcwork is...fine. The real issue here is the characters are learning things that we as viewers already know, which means there's zero drama. They can gussy it up a bit with character dynamics, letting us see the responses each one has to the revelations, but it's nothing which is surprising to us at all.
[...]
I will give the episode some credit though. First, unlike last week, they remember that having a character arc is important, and Zero gets a bit of focus here. They start the episode feeling isolated and guilt ridden regarding the damage they did, go through the trials of being temporarily assimilated, and realize the "Magic of Friendship" is powerful enough to turn back. It's all extremely cursory because of the short runtime, but it's there. Also, I think they did a good job finding a way to make the Borg creepy yet still child-appropriate - and I'm happy in animation we finally get to see non-humanoid Borg.
The drama on the arc side is mostly in the Diviner being revived, which is a major development (note also that the opening credits still have both Jimmi Simpson and John Noble). Tension for the audience is in what he will tell Janeway and the others, and what other actions he may take. In any case, there is a major longterm threat for the protagonists that returns. And I think the characters on the Dauntless, that are slowly being introduced, are worth noting also. Ensign Asencia is quickly taking the spotlight, and the Tellarite doctor gets some real dialogue for the first time. Those characters will also matter for the arc.

As for character arcs, on Prodigy, those are not a thing-of-the-week like on most (older) ST shows, but arcs are made over the entire season or even the first 2 seasons (which have been planned together). And I would say that Dal's character arc - his species/identity being a major part of that - was developed in episode 11. The supportive reaction of the others was telling as well, even though I think they all misinterpret how welcoming Starfleet is going to be when all consoles line up in red.

I liked the tie-in with "Endgame," that the cube had been put to sleep by future-Janeway's virus. The mention that the nanoprobes, specifically, were wrecked, was a good handwave for why the crew wasn't immediately assimilated as soon as a drone got close enough to touch them.
Excellent observation, this seemed like a minus point for the episode (defanged the Borg a bit for the kids) until I read your post. The Borg were still scary anyway, though in a TNG-style rather than a First Contact style.

In FC, when the crew as working on detaching the deflector dish, individual drones kept glancing up at them before the Collective decided they were being sufficiently suspicious to warrant interrupting the drones' work. The cube could've just decided that Gwyn need only one drone's worth of additional scrutiny before writing her off, and it wasn't worth delaying the rest of the group to also look at her.
Was a great scene, Gwyn wandering all alone and scared among the drones.

Maybe he's a Northern Tellarite.
From interviews, it seems they may be going in that direction (a bit in the style of Lower Decks, where they also love pointing out certain inconsistencies in other Trek shows). The difference between Jankom and Noum is deliberate, and apparently they will have interaction at some point, where this issue might come up.

If they had any sense, they'd transmit a distress call to Starfleet, evacuate in a shuttle or something, and remote pilot the ship into a star. Doubt that weapon would survive inside a neutron star.
Good call, except for the distress call, as that could potentially already be enough of a signal to activate the weapon in a way that would kill the Dauntless. Still, I would think that the option of ditching the Protostar should be discussed at some point. I would guess that nor holo-Janeway, nor the kids would exactly be enthusiastic at the idea though, in the former case for self-preservation and for the latter it's their home, plaything and safety. Maybe they will have to ditch it in the end, though it's also possible that a Vau N'akat (Gwyn or someone from "The Order" who gets swayed) will disable the weapon at some point. That it can't be deactivated or destroyed is also the opinion of the Borg based on the info they have available, and might not be the absolute truth (I like the suggestion of turning Murph loose on it!).

It was surprising that the name "living construct" came from the Borg. The Diviner may use a different term, in that case.
 
Last edited:
Tellarites over the decades
https://twitter.com/gaghyogi49/status/1489728801991020544

W2oeh9r.png

6kLjKfi.png
 
This was a pretty good episode, nice to have the show back. Not a fan of the Borg, as years and years and episodes and episodes of them have worn me out. Still, glad to see the kids back in the game and having adventures again.
 
Oh and as an aside...when that one random drone glanced back, I was all ready to find out he was a non-assimilated guy hiding out on the cube...and then we got nothing.

I mean, his behavior didn't fit with a Borg drone at all.
In FC, individual drones glanced at Data, and at Picard, and one drone turned to Lily only to make her scream and then turned away again :D
 
I think there's a lot of course correction for Kathryn Janeway in this episode and I wonder if it's Mulgrew's influence as I have a much more consistent grasp of her character than I do from Voyager (and I just rewatched the series). To be blunt, Hologram Janeway is SCARED of the Borg and pretty much tells the crew to run away from them. It's a vulnerability that adds to the character and fits much-better with what we know of the Borg while regular Janeway never did run from the Borg but more or less ran at them.

Part of what I like about this episode is the Borg are also treated as far less personal in their evil and no less malevolent for it. The Borg aren't doing this because they get pleasure from evil like the Borg Queen or sadistically tormenting Seven or Doctor Jurati. No, they're an assembly line and the rest of the galaxy is parts. It's like my best friend, Michael, has the same opinion on Davros for the Daleks.

The Daleks are infinitely better and more terrifying without Davros because the Daleks are terrifying due to their lack of individuality and indifference. This episode nicely conveyed the Borg are dangerous because we're ants to them.

Oh and a reminder that our heroes straight up killed two Borg in this episode.

Also, apparently are indirectly responsible for the Junior Lieutenant's death.
 
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top