Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2’s Finale – “Ouroboros, Parts 1 and 2”

Star Trek: Prodigy‘s spectacular and paradigm-shifting season 2 finale brings the saga full circle before turning the tragic events that lead to Star Trek: Picard season 1 into a new mission of hope for Starfleet’s youngest heroes. Star Trek: Prodigy‘s season 2 finale, “Ouroboros, Parts 1 and 2” simultaneously resolves three universe-altering crises: Ascenia (Jameela Jamil) controlling Solum and her plans to destroy the United Federation of Planets, an invasion by the reality-eating creatures of the Loom, and sending the USS Protostar back in time to Tars Lamora in order to reset Star Trek‘s Prime Timeline.

Most of Star Trek: Prodigy season 2 takes place in a paradox timeline that the Traveler known as Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) worked to repair before the Loom could consume this reality. On Solum, Gwyndala (Ella Purnell) finally defeated Ascenia when the Vau N’Akat accepted Gwyn as a true member of their people. Meanwhile, Dal R’El (Brett Gray), Jankom Pog (Jason Mantzoukas), and Murf (Dee Bradley Baker) reprogrammed Ascenia’s temporal beacon to create a wormhole that the USS Protostar could use to travel back to Tars Lamora. This plan was the ingenious brainchild of Wesley, Rok-Tahk (Rylee Alazraqui), Zero (Angus Imrie), and Maj’el (Michaela Dietz), who figured out the “timey-wimey” solution that could reset the timeline.

Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2’s Time Travel Ending Brings The Saga Full Circle

This time, the Protostar crew sent the ship back to where they found it.

Wesley Crusher’s long-range plan to let Ascenia capture him was necessary because Ascenia would use his knowledge as a Traveler to create new weapons that would open wormholes to attack the Federation. But those wormholes were ingeniously threaded together by the USS Protostar’s scientific geniuses like Rok-Tahk, Maj’el, Zero, and Wesley to create the one stable wormhole needed to send the USS Protostar back to Tars Lamora. While the events of Star Trek: Prodigy season 1 happened and are irrevocable, this time, it would be the young crew of the Protostar who would send their starship back in time so that they could find and steal it in 2083.

Dal, Gwyn, Zero, Jankom Pog, Rok-Tahk, Murf, Captain Chakotay (Robert Beltran), and Hologram Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) worked together to restore the USS Protostar to the exact same condition it was when the kids found it in Star Trek: Prodigy‘s series premiere. Crucially, Dal remembered his first Starfleet comm badge, the discovery of which opened the door to being able to communicate and become friends with his fellow Tars Lamora prisoners. But this also required Hologram Janeway’s memory to be wiped blank.

The USS Voyager-A followed the USS Protostar through the wormhole and beamed the Protostar crew back so that Chakotay’s starship could complete its fateful journey to Tars Lamora. In a stunning, emotionally resonant sequence, Star Trek: Prodigy closed its own loop and synched the events of season 1 with the events of season 2, merging it all into one singular timeline. Meanwhile, resetting the timeline made the Loom retreat from Star Trek‘s Prime reality, safeguarding it. And, with Ascenia defeated, Admiral Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) led a proper First Contact with Solum and its leaders, changing the Vau N’Akat’s future for the better.

Wesley Crusher Visits His Mother Beverly & Meets His Brother, Jack Crusher

The moment Star Trek: Picard season 3 was lacking is in Star Trek: Prodigy season 2’s finale.

Star Trek: Prodigy season 2’s finale contained a jaw-dropping moment fans hoped to see in Star Trek: Picard season 3: Wesley Crusher finally visiting his mother, Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden), and meeting his baby brother, Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers). In 2385, Wesley traveled to Cor Coroli V, where Beverly was living with Jack after she left the USS Enterprise-E. After their heartwarming reunion, Beverly introduced Wesley to the very young Jack (before Picard’s son developed a British accent). At long last, the Crusher family reunion audiences waited years for happened in Star Trek: Prodigy.

In an exclusive interview with Screen Rant about Star Trek: Prodigy season 2, executive producers Kevin and Dan Hageman revealed how Star Trek: Picard showrunner Terry Matalas helped coordinate Wesley meeting Beverly and Jack Crusher, which explains why the moment wasn’t in Picard season 3:

Dan Hageman: We had talked to Terry Matalas about what they were doing with [Star Trek: Picard season 2 and 3.] He had contacted us because he knew we were playing with Wesley, and they were going to have Wesley in Picard. And so, we just kind of lined up, and we go, ‘He’s got a brother and that’s something that we can put into the show.’ So it was all Kismet…

Kevin Hageman: I think they were trying to be respectful because they knew that we were already down the line. We had written a whole season with [Wesley] in it. And so, they let us have a little bit of him.

Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2’s Ending Connects To Star Trek: Picard Season 1

Star Trek: Short Treks’ “Children of Men” takes on a new importance.

After saving the universe once more, Dal, Gwyn, Rok-Tahk, Jankom Pog, Zero, and Murf are all accepted into Starfleet Academy, and they’re now rock stars looked at with admiration by their fellow cadets. However, Star Trek: Prodigy season 2 finale’s Starfleet Academy scenes lead into First Contact Day and one of the greatest tragedies the Federation ever suffered: On April 5, 2385, rogue synthetics attacked the Utopia Planitia shipyards on Mars, destroying the new fleet under construction to help with the relocation of the Romulan people from their sun going supernova.

Star Trek: Prodigy season 2 finale’s Mars Attack ties into the Star Trek: Short Treks episode, “Children of Men”, which introduced Star Trek: Picard‘s Mars Attack of 2385 from the perspective of two elementary school girls who lost loved ones in the tragedy. Star Trek: Prodigy now shows the Mars Attack from Starfleet Academy’s perspective, as well as Starfleet Command’s. Star Trek: Picard season 1 established that over 92,000 people died on Mars, and Star Trek: Prodigy now confirms 20,000 starships were lost in a crippling blow to Starfleet.

Admiral Janeway’s Early Retirement Is Canceled By Starfleet’s Mars Crisis

Janeway is called back into action and given a promotion.

Vice Admiral Janeway returned to the Captain’s chair of a starship twice in Star Trek: Prodigy, and both missions were originally to find and rescue Captain Chakotay. Aboard the USS Dauntless, Janeway witnessed the heroism of the young USS Protostar crew, and Kathryn took them under her wing as her proteges. Commanding the USS Voyager-A in Star Trek: Prodigy season 2, Janeway was instrumental in saving the Federation from Asencia and reality from the Loom, as well as helping the Protostar kids reset the timeline. Now reunited with Chakotay and triumphant, Vice Admiral Janeway chose a well-earned early retirement from Starfleet.

Meanwhile, Captain Chakotay took over command of the USS Voyager-A, finally getting to sit in the center seat of the newest version of the starship that brought the former Maquis rebel back to Starfleet. Among Chakotay’s crew are his First Officer, the Andorian Commander Tysess (Daveed Diggs) and the Tellarite Counselor Noum (Jason Alexander). As for The Doctor (Robert Picardo), the highly-evolved Emergency Medical Hologram’s experiences aboard the USS Voyager-A inspired his latest holo-novel.

Unfortunately, Kathryn Janeway’s restful new life in her idyllic Indiana farmhouse didn’t last long. Following the First Contact Day Mars Attack, Captain Chakotay arrived to bring Janeway back to Starfleet as all active reserve officers were recalled. Now fully an Admiral, Janeway argued against Admiral Edward Jellico (Ronny Cox) and the weakened Starfleet’s plan to cease exploration and pull back to the Federation’s shrinking borders. Instead, Admiral Janeway had a better idea…

Star Trek: Prodigy Sets Up Season 3 With A New Protostar Ship & Captain

The USS Prodigy launches with a new mission.

Star Trek: Prodigy set up season 3 with a thrilling new mission: Admiral Janeway created her own Starfleet pilot program and assigned the brand new Protostar Class USS Prodigy (NCC-80184) to Dal R’El, Gwyndala, Jankom Pog, Zero, Murf, Rok-Tahk, and Maj’el as the Prodigy’s crew. They will be led by Hologram Janeway, the Emergency Command Hologram, who retains her memories because Starfleet was able to download and transfer her entire program before the USS Protostar was sent to Tars Lamora. The USS Prodigy’s bold new mission is to explore beyond the Federation’s shrinking borders, contact new worlds, and help those in need.

Earlier in Star Trek: Prodigy season 2, Dal saw a vision of his future that the Captain’s chair was never really his. Wesley Crusher also hinted at Dal’s potentially dark but equally amazing future to come. Dal finally understood his next steps when he wisely ceded command of the USS Prodigy to her new Acting Captain, Gwyn. Dal still wants to be on the Command track, but acknowledges there may be other Starfleet options for him. With Gwyn in the Captain’s chair, Hologram Janeway as their mentor, and the new crew in place, the USS Prodigy warped to its hopeful future.

Will Star Trek: Prodigy Season 3 Happen?

Or a Star Trek: Prodigy movie?

Star Trek: Prodigy season 2 concluded the epic 40-episode story that began with season 1 and opened the door to what’s next with a thrilling setup for Star Trek: Prodigy season 3 – but will it happen? The future of Star Trek: Prodigy is now in the hands of the viewers, who must binge-watch, post high enough streaming numbers, and deliver sufficient amounts of social media chatter to warrant Netflix ordering more Star Trek: Prodigy. Fans already saved Star Trek: Prodigy from Paramount+ canceling the show, but now they must watch in massive numbers to ensure Star Trek: Prodigy‘s future.

While another 20 episodes of Star Trek: Prodigy season 3 (and even more seasons after that) is the ideal outcome, another possibility exists to continue the saga: a Star Trek: Prodigy animated movie streaming on Netflix. Star Trek: Prodigy season 2’s ending could also lead into a 2-hour feature film. Co-executive producer Aaron J. Waltke said a Star Trek: Prodigy movie was discussed early in the series’ development. Whatever comes next for the brave and inspiring young heroes of the USS Prodigy, Star Trek: Prodigy season 2 may well be the greatest second season of a Star Trek series ever produced, and it’s an awe-inspiring achievement that enriched and made Star Trek even better in innumerable ways.