Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Prodigy season 2!

I will forever be grateful to Star Trek: Prodigy for finally paying off Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and Chakotay’s (Robert Beltran) relationship. I became a Star Trek: Voyager fan at a young age, after first watching all of Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: The Next Generation. While the Star Trek timeline had already hooked me with its wonderful stories and characters, Voyager struck a different chord, catapulting me into a full-blown obsession that has never quite gone away. One aspect of this obsession was my love for Captain Janeway and her relationship with her First Officer.

Beginning as wary allies after both becoming stranded in the Delta Quadrant, Janeway and Chakotay’s relationship blossomed into something beautiful throughout Voyager‘s seven seasons. The two ended up making an incredible command team and maintained a friendship built on mutual trust and respect, but it was their romantic subtext that captivated me. For good reasons, Janeway and Chakotay never became a couple on Voyager, but their chemistry was palpable even if their true feelings weren’t something the series often acknowledged.

Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2 Is The Ultimate Payoff Of Janeway And Chakotay’s Relationship

Prodigy season 2 really improved Janeway and Chakotay

Now, thanks to Star Trek: Prodigy season 2, Janeway and Chakotay’s chances at realizing those true feelings are better than ever. Before season 2 premiered, I was cautiously optimistic about Janeway and Chakotay’s portrayal and was crossing my fingers that Prodigy would finally address their relationship head-on. Despite still stopping short of anything overtly romantic, I couldn’t have asked for a better continuation of Janeway and Chakotay’s story than Prodigy has given us.

Aside from the improvements Prodigy made to Chakotay’s character, Janeway’s relentless drive to rescue him coupled with their truly touching reunion and scenes together in the later half of the series knocked it out of the park. Janeway and Chakotay may not have kissed, or engaged in any heartfelt declarations of their feelings, but their love for each other was on full display in Prodigy season 2. Seeing how much care the series put into portraying their relationship has made my heart not only happy but hopeful about Janeway and Chakotay’s future chances for the first time in years.

Will Star Trek Give Chakotay And Janeway A Real Romance?

The franchise still had a long way to go

However, the question remains whether the Star Trek franchise will ever truly depict Janeway and Chakotay in a romantic relationship. It’s more than understandable why Voyager never did, but now that their story has been brought back to the forefront of the franchise, Janeway and Chakotay deserve their own version of a happy ending. Unfortunately, there’s no guarantee that this will happen, given that Prodigy is a kid’s show not heavily focused on romance and there are currently no plans to reintroduce the characters to live action.

However, I’ve never been less discouraged about Janeway and Chakotay’s future than I am right now. Even if Star Trek: Prodigy season 3 keeps their interactions platonic, their friendship is still a joy to witness and consistently does justice to their arc in Star Trek: Voyager. Likewise, Prodigy‘s revamp of Voyager and Seven of Nine’s (Jeri Ryan) success on Star Trek: Picard has made the possibility of seeing Voyager characters in future live-action projects more likely. Of all the many reasons I love Star Trek: Prodigy, Janeway and Chakotay’s relationship in season 2 might have just become the biggest one.