Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Prodigy season 2, episode 9, “The Devourer of All Things, Part 1”
Star Trek: Prodigy cleverly flipped the central meaning of Star Trek: Voyager‘s series finale. As the sequel to Voyager over 20 years after the other series ended, Prodigy has taken a lot of inspiration from Voyager in its first two seasons. This has mainly included the return of many members of Voyager‘s cast of characters, like Admiral Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and Captain Chakotay (Robert Beltran). However, Prodigy has also paid tribute to Voyager in smaller ways, with little meaningful references sprinkled throughout seasons 1 and 2.
Season 2 of Prodigy, which aired on Netflix on July 1st, 2024, upped the show’s number of Voyager connections exponentially. Prodigy season 2 focused on Admiral Janeway and the young former crew of the USS Protostar as they embarked on a mission to rescue a marooned Captain Chakotay and restore the timeline after accidentally creating a paradox. Much of the first half of the season featured Prodigy‘s cast of characters on their journey to locate Chakotay and their former ship, and it was during these episodes that one character cleverly flipped one of Voyager‘s most iconic lines.
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1 Gwyn Line In Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2 Flips Voyager’s Finale Meaning
Gwyn parodied Harry Kim in Prodigy season 2
During Prodigy season 2, episode 9, “The Devourer of All Things, Part 1,” Gwyndala (Ella Purnell) had one line that was a subtle play off of something Harry Kim (Garrett Wang) said in Voyager‘s series finale. While approaching the supposed end of their journey, a hidden planet that they received the coordinates for via a mysterious message. Gwyn stated in her personal log, “It’s not about the journey. It’s the destination.” This sentiment came at the end of Gwyn’s reflection on the toll it had taken on her and her friends to achieve their ultimate goal of finding Captain Chakotay.
Gwyn’s line is apt for the crew’s situation, but it also cleverly flips Harry Kim’s “Maybe it’s not the destination that matters. Maybe it’s the journey,” from “Endgame.” Prodigy parodying Harry’s line acts as a tongue-in-cheek Voyager reference for viewers in the know, one of many in both seasons 1 and 2. However, it also reveals a lot about the differences in storytelling that both Prodigy and Voyager employed, despite being in the same franchise and using many of the same characters.
Why “The Journey” Matters More In Star Trek: Voyager Than Prodigy
The journey and the destination mean different things to the different shows
Voyager and Prodigy‘s distinct reflections on “the journey” are the result of each show using different storytelling mechanisms. On Voyager, the journey really did matter more than the destination, since Voyager‘s entire premise was based around the idea of a stranded crew trying to find their way home. The USS Voyager’s journey through the Delta Quadrant was the backbone of the series and allowed Voyager to tell its most interesting stories. Likewise, much of the character development that was so central to the show could never have happened without the journey the crew ended up going on.
Prodigy is a very different show than Voyager, despite all their connections. Prodigy‘s more serialized storytelling nature means that each season’s ultimate goal is more important than the sum of its parts. In season 2, this is especially true given the universe-altering stakes that the crew’s accidental time paradox sets up. Although Star Trek: Prodigy season 2 still had several “side quest” style episodes that contributed to the overall plot of the season, the season’s destination was more important than the characters’ journey to reach it.
Star Trek: Prodigy
*Availability in US
- stream
- rent
- buy
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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.
- Cast
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Brett Gray
, Kate Mulgrew
, Ella Purnell
, Angus Imrie
, Dee Bradley Baker
, Jason Mantzoukas
, Robert Picardo
, Robert Beltran
, Jameela Jamil
, Jimmi Simpson
, John Noble - Release Date
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October 28, 2021
- Seasons
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1
- Network
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Netflix
- Streaming Service(s)
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Netflix
- Franchise(s)
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Star Trek
- Writers
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Dan Hageman
, Kevin Hageman - Showrunner
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Dan Hageman
, Kevin Hageman - Franchise
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Star Trek
- Creator(s)
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Kevin Hageman
, Dan Hageman - Number of Episodes
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40
- Where To Watch
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Netflix
Star Trek: Voyager
*Availability in US
- stream
- rent
- buy
Not available
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Not available
The fifth entry in the Star Trek franchise, Star Trek: Voyager, is a sci-fi series that sees the crew of the USS Voyager on a long journey back to their home after finding themselves stranded at the far ends of the Milky Way Galaxy. Led by Captain Kathryn Janeway, the series follows the crew as they embark through truly uncharted areas of space, with new species, friends, foes, and mysteries to solve as they wrestle with the politics of a crew in a situation they’ve never faced before.
- Cast
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Kate Mulgrew
, Robert Beltran
, Roxann Dawson
, Jennifer Lien
, Robert Duncan McNeill
, Ethan Phillips
, Robert Picardo
, Tim Russ
, Garrett Wang
, Jeri Ryan - Release Date
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May 23, 1995
- Seasons
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7
- Network
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UPN
- Streaming Service(s)
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Paramount+
- Franchise(s)
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Star Trek
- Writers
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Michael Piller
, Jeri Taylor
, Brannon Braga
, Kenneth Biller - Showrunner
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Michael Piller
, Jeri Taylor
, Brannon Braga
, Kenneth Biller - Where To Watch
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Paramount+