A transwarp conduit? What could go wrong? Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2 Episode 7, “The Fast and the Curious,” was written by Erin McNamara and directed by Sung Shin and Sean Bishop.
RELATED: Read our recap of the previous Star Trek: Prodigy episode, “Imposter Syndrome.”
Star Trek: Prodigy “The Fast and the Curious”
Aboard the USS Infinity at warp, Dal R’El (Brett Gray) records a captain’s log. Stardate: 61875.9. Dal recounts the events of the previous episodes and reaffirms their goal of locating Chakotay (Robert Beltran). Gwyn (Ella Purnell) mocks his logging. Rok-Tahk (Rylee Alazraqui) whangs her head, trying to find her PADD. She finds Murf (Dee Bradley Baker) has it. Jankom Pog (Jason Mantzoukas) reports the sonic toilet is out of order. Zero (Angus Imrie) sings the virtues of being non-corporeal.
Everyone else joins in questioning Dal’s choice to call his log “Captain’s.” Zero reports their trip will take 61 days. However, a much shorter trajectory is also offered. This is through a transwarp conduit. Gwyn reminds them of the events of “Let Sleeping Borg Lie.” Zero agrees. But Rok, Jankom and Dal vote for the conduit. The Infinity approaches the conduit. Zero activates a tachyon pulse. The conduit is activated, and the Infinity enters.
Inside, the ship travels through the green tunnel. However, their travel is interrupted by a probe. It attaches itself to the Infinity and takes control of the vessel. Soon, the Infinity has left the conduit and landed on an enigmatic planet. Zero investigates the probe and reports the tech is Kazon. Kazon guards appear and apprehend everyone but Zero and Murf. Dal instructs Zero to continue fixing the ship.
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USS Voyager-A
Aboard the USS Voyager-A, Vice Admiral Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) addresses her command crew: Tysess (Daveed Diggs), The Doctor (Robert Picardo) and Counselor Noum (Jason Alexander). She instructs them to perform sensor sweeps for Chakotay and the USS Protostar. They enter the cafeteria.
Inside, the holo cadets from the previous episode are seated at a table together. They continue to act out of character. The command crew makes note of the odd behavior of the holo cadets. Maj’el (Michaela Dietz) notices, too. She shares the observation with the other two members of Nova Squadron.
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On the planet, Dal, Rok, Gwyn and Jankom meet Ekthi (James Mathis III). His behavior oscillates radically between aggressive and mouselike. It seems connected to his crown, which makes a static noise when his demeanor shifts. Dal attempts to stand up to Ekthi but is met with aggression. Gwyn utilizes diplomacy to urge Ekthi to consider allowing them to go. Ekthi offers their freedom in exchange for a race against his trained driver. But it’s two drivers to a skiff. Jankom joins Dal. Gwyn and Rok will also race. In the meantime, Zero and Murf discover many other ships have previously run afoul of the planet. They lie abandoned below Infinity‘s current resting spot. They also include the USS Cairo.
In a hanger, our heroes approach Ekthi’s skiffs. Gwyn suggests strategy. Dal says flying is his thing and urges her to keep up. Ekthi’s favorite pilot arrives, already inside their skiff. The skiffs are moved into launch position. Ekthi starts the race. Gwyn and Dal continue to spar verbally. Watching the race via a holographic display, Ekthi continues to display dual personalities. He activates traps to increase the difficulty of the race.
Star Trek: Racer
As the race continues, Dal pushes ahead. Gwyn urges him to be more careful. Rok notes Gwyn’s temporal stabilizer is struggling. Ekthi continues to throw more obstacles in their path. Rok is terrified. Gwyn’s stabilizer needs fixing, but Rok can’t do that without the tools on Infinity. Jankom’s scared, too. However, Dal and Jankom’s skiff is gaining on their unidentified opponents.
But a collision causes Dal and Jankom’s skiff and the other skiff to crash. Gwyn and Rok abandon the race to assist. Ekthi is enraged at the failure to race. He shakes a guard until the guard’s mask falls aside. From a hidden location, Zero tells Murf that he’s gone mad. Meanwhile, Dal tells Jankom they must check the other crashed skiff for survivors. But he discovers the other racers are automatons. Meanwhile, it is revealed that Ekthi’s guards are robots, too.
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Dal contacts Zero to inform them that Ekthi’s racers are robots. But the sound alerts Ekthi to Zero and Murf’s presence. He and the guards advance on them. The guards and Ekthi attempt to apprehend Zero and Murf. But Zero and Murf successfully repel him. His crown is knocked off in the struggle. Zero identifies a device on Ekthi’s head as the “master control.” They pull it off. Ekthi suddenly changes, immediately regaining his senses and becoming a different person.
Zero wonders who the master manipulator is, if not Ekthi. The wall crumbles and reveals a computer behind it. Code Landru! Meanwhile, Gwyn, Dal and the others are rescued from the racetrack floor by a larger ship.
Star Trek: Resistance
Inside the wall, Ekthi explains to Zero that the space they’ve entered used to be a training facility. This would test them so they could become great pilots. However, an error in programming caused the machine to pit pilots against one another. This escalated until no pilots remained. Then, Ekthi can remember no more.
They are addressed by the computer (Debra Wilson). The computer says its objective is to help others achieve their potential. As it defends its decision, robot appendages creep towards Murf and Ekthi. Under its control, Murf attacks Zero. Then, the appendages seize Zero. The computer says it will help them reach their full potential.
RELATED: Read all of our Star Trek: Prodigy recaps.
The rest of the cadets arrive at the former training facility. They are soon seized by the appendages as well. Zero activates their suit’s booster rockets. They continue to fire them until the body of their suit has torn free of its limbs. It collides with the computer. The computer is destroyed. Everyone is freed from the appendages. But Zero’s suit is immobilized. Dal begins recording a supplementary log. However, he hands it off to Gwyn. Zero’s suit is damaged beyond repair. Gwyn is confident they’ll make it through with a crew like this.
Aboard Voyager, Maj’el passes Holo Gwyn, sensing something amiss. She follows Gwyn to her quarters. But as Maj’el knocks on the door, time aboard Voyager freezes. Translucent tentacles emerge from space and slither into Gwyn’s room. They are disappointed by Holo Gwyn’s deactivation and retreat. Time resumes. Maj’el enters Gwyn’s room and finds it empty.
All 20 episodes of Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2 are available to stream on Netflix.
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