WARNING: This article contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Prodigy season 2

I’m mad that Star Trek: Prodigy made me like Chakotay (Robert Beltran). I was delighted as a Star Trek: Voyager fan to see Kate Mulgrew’s return to Star Trek as both Hologram Janeway and Admiral Kathryn Janeway in Star Trek: Prodigy. I loved Prodigy season 1’s Delta Quadrant setting and I eagerly anticipated further nods to Star Trek: Voyager in Star Trek: Prodigy season 2, like the introduction of the USS Voyager-A and the return of Robert Picardo’s Doctor. I was less enthused, however, about the imminent arrival of Captain Chakotay, knowing Star Trek: Prodigy‘s main characters would inevitably find him.

I thought Commander Chakotay was one of the least-developed characters in Star Trek: Voyager. Episodes that focused on Chakotay, like “The Fight” (Voyager season 5, episode 18) and “Nemesis” (Voyager season 4, episode 4) were some of Star Trek: Voyager‘s weaker entries. It seemed Chakotay was on the USS Voyager’s bridge because someone has to be the First Officer on Star Trek, and the Maquis weren’t going to trust Lt. Tuvok (Tim Russ). Basically, I was expecting Captain Chakotay on Star Trek: Prodigy to be the same character as Commander Chakotay on Star Trek: Voyager: dull, static, and subject to a hokey pastiche of stereotypical “Indigenous” spiritual practices. I was wrong.

Star Trek: Prodigy Actually Redeemed Chakotay

The Prodigy Kids Know That Chakotay Is More Than He Seems, And They Prove It

Star Trek: Prodigy redeems Captain Chakotay as a character, which ironically, starts with making Chakotay actively unlikable. After finding Chakotay’s present location halfway through Star Trek: Prodigy season 2, Dal R’El (Brett Gray) lays out the plan to save both Gwyndala (Ella Purnell) and the Star Trek timeline by rescuing Chakotay and the USS Protostar, only to be met with a gruff “No.” Chakotay has little empathy for the cadets, leaving them outside to fend for themselves in the elements. Hologram Janeway explains that Chakotay lost his whole crew and his hope for the future, and that ten years in isolation have hardened Chakotay into the man they see today.

Star Trek: Prodigy’s young cadets start understanding Chakotay, so we do too. Captain Chakotay is tired and grieving, living in self-imposed exile to keep the Living Construct weapon inside the USS Protostar from destroying the Federation. When Dal stumbles on the body of Chakotay’s First Officer, Adreek-Hu (Tommie Earl Jenkins), Chakotay starts processing his grief. The cadets rehabilitate the Protostar and Chakotay together, as the Protostar’s grime and Chakotay’s grumpy hermit persona fall away to reveal a ship and captain ready to return home. It’s a brilliant storytelling tactic that gets us on board with liking Chakotay, whether we liked him to begin with or not.

Captain Chakotay Is A Natural Leader On Star Trek: Prodigy

And Chakotay Was Actually Okay On Voyager, Believe It Or Not

In Star Trek: Prodigy, Captain Chakotay is a natural leader and devoted steward of the USS Protostar and its crew, both before and after his exile. Chakotay’s character emerges through actions that are clearly motivated by values like loyalty, altruism, and empathy. In delegating tasks, Chakotay lets the cadets own their strengths instead of making assumptions about them, as they did about each other. When Dal is hard on himself for failing, Chakotay sits with Dal and listens before dispensing genuinely good advice that motivates Dal’s future actions. Chakotay’s not flashy or bold, but Chakotay is a good captain with his crew’s welfare in mind. Not like Voyager, right? Wrong.

The infuriating aspect of this brilliant bait-and-switch on Star Trek: Prodigy is that it isn’t one at all. Everything that makes Captain Chakotay a likable person in Star Trek: Prodigy is actually also present in Star Trek: Voyager. Commander Chakotay does care for the welfare of the USS Voyager crew when Chakotay argues with Janeway about allying with the Borg. Chakotay uses the same patient approach to mentoring Dal R’El in Prodigy as he does with Lt. B’Elanna Torres (Roxann Dawson) in Voyager. Star Trek: Prodigy made me realize that Chakotay has always been thoughtful, respectful, and compassionate, so even though I didn’t want to like Chakotay … now I do.

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  Star Trek: Prodigy

  Where to Watch

  *Availability in US

  • stream
  • rent
  • buy

  Not available

  Not available

  Not available

  Cast

  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

  
  October 28, 2021
  

  Writers

  Dan Hageman
  , Kevin Hageman

  Where To Watch

  Netflix

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  Star Trek: Voyager

  Where to Watch

  *Availability in US

  • stream
  • rent
  • buy

  Not available

  Not available

  Not available

  Cast

  Kate Mulgrew
  , Robert Beltran
  , Roxann Dawson
  , Jennifer Lien
  , Robert Duncan McNeill
  , Ethan Phillips
  , Robert Picardo
  , Tim Russ
  , Garrett Wang
  , Jeri Ryan

  Release Date

  
  May 23, 1995
  

  Writers

  Michael Piller
  , Jeri Taylor
  , Brannon Braga
  , Kenneth Biller

  Where To Watch

  Paramount+