Perfectly symmetrical violence never solved anything. Nevertheless, prepare for some in Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2 Episode 6, “Imposter Syndrome,” was written by Diandra Pendleton-Thompson and directed by Sung Shin.
RELATED: Read our recap of the previous Star Trek: Prodigy episode, “Observer’s Paradox.”
Star Trek: Prodigy “Imposter Syndrome”
Dal R’El (Brett Gray) runs through the halls of the USS Voyager-A. He’s pursued by Gwyn (Ella Purnell). Next, Zero (Angus Imrie) and Murf (Dee Bradley Baker) appear and urge Dal to trust them. Dal turns and runs in the other direction. But he’s stopped by Jankom Pog (Jason Mantzoukas), who activates his hand drill. Dal declares his “real friends would never do this.” Jankom’s drill approaches Dal’s face.
Twenty-four hours earlier, Voyager is traveling through space. The Doctor (Robert Picardo) is reviewing information on a Padd when laughter from behind a door draws his attention. Inside the holodeck are Dal, Gwyn, Zero, Murf, Jankom and Rok-Tahk (Rylee Alazraqui). The Doctor reminds them they’re under restricted access. Dal convinces him they’re just immersed in their studies.
After The Doctor has left, Dal says they must begin locking the door. They return to analyzing the enigmatic symbol, which they believe leads to Chakotay (Robert Beltran). It seems to indicate a planet that disappeared from star charts years earlier. But Gwyn suspects it may simply be concealed. If Chakotay and the USS Protostar are located there, it could ensure Gwyn gets re-stuck in time. While stealing the USS Infinity and retrieving it aren’t really Starfleet, the cadets aren’t technically Starfleet yet. They discuss the possibility of informing Vice Admiral Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) of their plans. But Dal again floats the idea of “borrowing” a Starfleet ship. But when their absence is noted, Janeway will come after them.
RELATED: Star Trek: Prodigy Season 1’s Top 10 Moments
A Possible Solution
Zero reveals they have been working with Jankom on a possible solution. Drawing inspiration from The Doctor’s holonovel, they have created hologram copies of the cadets. It is revealed that the other cadets have been speaking with Jankom’s holo-double for the whole scene. Jankom declares the plan perfect. Then, the JHD glitches. Dal points out that, unlike holograms, the real cadets have corporeal form and can touch things. Rok offers to soup up the code and make them more realistic. Dal instructs Rok to help Zero and Jankom improve the efficacy of the holo-doubles.
Meanwhile, Dal, Gwyn and Murf gather intel towards “borrowing” the Infinity. Also, Gwyn is beginning to comprehend Murf’s speech. They’re surprised by the arrival of Tysess (Daveed Diggs). He informs them that he’s located one of their tricorders on the floor of the Infinity. Tysess then informs them that the Infinity can be destroyed. This is on Starfleet orders. The ship’s existence does violate several Federation treaties, after all. Tysess invites them to watch the launching of the Infinity into a blue sun at 0800.
RELATED: Star Trek: 8 Trek Pets
Once Tysess leaves, Dal suggests the ship’s destruction could provide cover for their stealing it. Dal agrees with whatever Murf says.
Dal and Gwyn return to the holodeck. Rok has recreated the Protostar bridge. The holo-doubles of the cadets are prepared and are even solid now. They’re interrupted by the arrival of The Doctor and Janeway. The cadets stall for time as the AI completes calibration. But this also reveals that the holo-doubles don’t realize they’re holograms. The real cadets hide, affording them a field test for their duplicates. The Doctor and Janeway are convinced and leave.
Hologram Hijinks
After The Doctor and Janeway have left, the cadets reflect on the accuracy of the holograms. But convinced they are authentic, the holo-cadets lock the actual cadets in the holodeck and head off to duty on Voyager. The real cadets realize this means they’ll also plan to steal the Infinity. But without Voyager’s holonodes, the duplicates will simply wink out of existence. This will leave the Infinity to be destroyed. Thus, our real cadets would lose their ride.
Gwyn asks how they can tell a holo-double from the real thing. Dal says they’ll each track down their doppelgängers. Soon, Dal encounters Zero. Each immediately identifies the other as the hologram. Dal chases Zero through the halls. They both run into the other Dal. Zero leaves the two Dal duplicates to sort it out. Perfectly symmetrical violence ensues before they both head off in opposite directions. Both believe they are the real Dal. Meanwhile, the Infinity launch grows near.
RELATED: Blu-Ray Review: Secrets of the Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 2 Commentaries
Elsewhere, The Doctor nearly sees both Murf duplicates at once. Meanwhile, Zero runs into Maj’el (Michaela Dietz). She attempts to reconcile with Zero, but Zero is preoccupied with the duplicates. Elsewhere still, the two Jankoms run into one another. One issues a replicator fix-it challenge to the other. While the hologram fails, the real cadet fixes it. He hands the Jankom duplicate a milkshake.
The Jankom duplicate leaves with the milkshake, in the throes of an existential crisis. Counselor Noum (Jason Alexander) runs into him outside and offers to talk about it. However, he’s relieved when the Jankom duplicate declines. He enters the holodeck for some relaxation.
Infinity Launch
In Cetacean ops, the two Rok duplicates are getting along. In the halls, Dal and Gwyn run into each other and team up. This is subterfuge by the Gwyn duplicate. She sics the duplicates of Zero, Murf and Jankom on Dal. The scene from the cold open transpires. But Dal is rescued from the drill by Gwyn.
Only 10 minutes remain until the Infinity launch. But then the other Dal, Zero, Jankom and Murf arrive. A phaser standoff ensues. Both Roks arrive and declare they’ve found a solution together. Their solution requires everyone to cooperate. By overloading the ship’s holo-matrix, the holographic duplicates will reboot. Meanwhile, the actual cadets can get to the Infinity.
RELATED: Read all of our Star Trek: Prodigy recaps.
The Roks reset the holomatrix. This causes The Doctor and Noum’s holo vacation to reset, too. As the holodeck they’re in resets, so too do the duplicates of the cadets. The real cadets head out of the holodeck towards the hanger. They run into The Doctor, who mentions the effects of the reset. Fortunately, Maj’el comes in to distract him with a request for an opera lesson.
In the hangar, the Infinity takes off just as the cadets arrive. On the Voyager bridge, Janeway and Tysess discuss the situation as they watch the launch. Fortunately, Gwyn masks an emergency transport to beam the actual cadets aboard the Infinity. As the ship leaves scanner range, Jankom uses percussive maintenance to activate the cloak. Aboard Voyager, they believe the Infinity to be destroyed.
Holo-Oops
Rok reports a tiny irregularity in the resumption of the holo-duplicates but assumes it’s fine. Back in the holodeck, the cadet duplicates appear. However, their personalities and voices have been scrambled.
All 20 episodes of Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2 are available to stream on Netflix.
- 5 Things We Love About THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: ECHOES OF WISDOM - October 11, 2024
- STAR TREK: LOWER DECKS: The Final Season 5 Trailer Debuts - October 10, 2024
- Book Review: MARVEL SUPER STORIES: AMAZING ADVENTURES BOOK 2 - October 10, 2024
