Star Trek’s [SPOILER] Return Explained (& Why She’s Not On Voyager)

Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Prodigy Episode 10 – “A Moral Star, Part 2”

Admiral Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) makes a shocking return in Star Trek: Prodigy episode 10 but the Starfleet legend isn’t aboard her signature ship, the USS Voyager. The training hologram of Janeway is a pivotal character on Star Trek: Prodigy as the Admiral’s virtual avatar instructs and inspires the six young aliens who have become the crew of the USS Protostar. But the arrival of Admiral Janeway in Star Trek: Prodigy now sets up a collision course with her virtual self aboard the Protostar.

Captain Janeway led Star Trek: Voyager for seven years and she commanded the USS Voyager through the Delta Quadrant back to Earth. Voyager’s unintended mission proved to be historic as Janeway’s ship explored a region of space previously unknown to the United Federation of Planets. Indeed, Voyager recorded more First Contacts than any Starfleet ship since the five-year mission of Captain James T. Kirk’s (William Shatner) USS Enterprise. Janeway was promoted to Vice Admiral upon her return to Earth and she gave Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) his orders to go to Romulus in Star Trek: Nemesis. Since joining Star Trek: Prodigy, Kate Mulgrew has voiced Hologram Janeway and a couple of evil incarnations, including the Corrupted Janeway. But Admiral Janeway, who is the real deal, on Star Trek: Prodigy marks her first canonical appearance since Star Trek: Nemesis.

Admiral Janeway formally arrives in the closing moments of Star Trek: Prodigy episode 10, “A Moral Star, Part 2,” because she’s personally looking for the USS Protostar and Captain Chakotay (Robert Beltran). Janeway may be back on the bridge of a starship but she’s commanding the USS Dauntless (NCC-80816) not the USS Voyager because Voyager may have been turned into a museum in Star Trek: Prodigy‘s 2383 timeframe. The USS Voyager became a museum in San Francisco’s Presidio near Starfleet Headquarters in Star Trek: Voyager‘s series finale, “Endgame.” Although that happened in a now-deleted alternate future that saw a different Admiral Janeway travel back in time, it’s possible the Intrepid-class USS Voyager did become a museum anyway in the Prime Timeline, hence Janeway took over the USS Dauntless. However, the USS Voyager-J is on active duty and even potentially teaming up with the Starship Enterprise in Star Trek: Discovery season 4’s 32nd century.

The USS Dauntless itself is a callback to the Star Trek: Voyager season 4 episode, “Hope and Fear,” when an alien named Arturis (Ray Wise) disguised the Dauntless to resemble a Federation starship. The Dauntless had a quantum slipstream drive, which Voyager’s crew knew could get them home to Earth. However, the Dauntless was an elaborate trap by Arturis so that Voyager’s crew could become assimilated by the Borg. Given Janeway’s Star Trek history with starships named “Dauntless,” it’s surprising that the Admiral is now in command of a vessel with the same moniker. It’s also not clear yet whether Starfleet’s real USS Dauntless has its own slipstream drive, but it must if Janeway hopes to intercept the USS Protostar and its incredibly fast Proto Drive.

Now that the Protostar’s crew has defeated the Diviner (John Noble), Star Trek: Prodigy potentially sets up Admiral Janeway herself as the young rebels’ new antagonist. After all, the Admiral has no idea that Dal R’El (Brett Gray) and his friends have commandeered the Protostar since Janeway is expecting to find and rescue Captain Chakotay. Further, neither Admiral Janeway nor the Protostar’s crew is aware that the Diviner hid a weapon aboard that could destroy the Dauntless and every ship in Starfleet if the Admiral does intercept the Protostar. Although they’ve left the USS Voyager behind, the safety of all of Starfleet is in the balance when Admiral Janeway aboard the USS Dauntless faces off against Hologram Janeway and the USS Protostar’s young crew in the second half of Star Trek: Prodigy season 1.

Star Trek: Prodigy season 1 continues in late 2022 on Paramount+.