Review Text
Zero is contacted by a non-corporeal colony on a planet the Infinity is traveling near, so the youngster crew makes a detour to the beautiful world, where the various non-corporeal species living here have undergone a transformation allowing them to take humanoid bodies that provide them a full range of feelings and sensation, something Zero has longed desired. They offer to provide Zero the procedure, although there's always a hidden catch, as one of the other colonists notes after Zero has agreed to the transformation, "You did not tell them everything."
This outing provides a nice (if conveniently timely) new direction for Zero's character following the destruction of their containment suit in the previous episode. As a Trekkian window into a different society featuring new life forms, the episode provides a successfully fresh take with an intriguing angle on the reliable franchise staple of the outsider who just wants to understand what it means to be human(oid).
What these colonists failed to tell Zero was that there's a ritual called the Running of the Nazamon that all newly transitioned corporeals undertake, which brings them more fully in touch with their new sense of being. They run across a field while trying not to be eaten by the Nazamon, a giant flying creature that swoops down from the sky and picks up those runners unfortunate enough not to duck low enough. There's also the catch that these bodies are somehow connected to the planet and will eventually deteriorate if they leave. No one who has undergone the transformation has ever left before. Zero points for guessing Zero will be the first one to make that alternative choice. (It's unclear exactly how long it will take before Zero's new body will deteriorate after leaving the planet. Days? Months? Decades? Plenty of wiggle room here.) All in all, it's a pleasant outing that provides a regular character with a big change.
Meanwhile, back aboard Voyager, the hologram jig is up. Now that everyone notices the kids' personalities have been switched around, it doesn't take long to figure out they are holograms. (But, wait — Gwyn's hologram has been missing for two days and no one has realized it until now? Not the tightest ship being run here.) Reactivating Gwyn's hologram leads to the realization for Janeway that there are larger problems here, involving the mysterious tentacled creatures that for now I'll just call the Time Ghouls. This at least indicates that Voyager is catching back up with regard to the main storyline, and can become more directly involved.
Previous episode: The Fast and the Curious
Next episode: The Devourer of All Things, Part I
Like this site? Support it by buying Jammer a coffee.
10 comments on this post
Karl Zimmerman
Another semi-episodic plot, but way, way more effective than the previous episode (almost said last week, heh) because it focuses on a character and explores them.
Zero has had low-level discomfort with their non-corporeal nature building the entire season. Here, the gang finds a planet of non-corporeal beings who can not just fix up their old robo-shell, but give them a whole new humanoid body. While I do have to say I think it's a bit presumptuous to think so many energy beings want to be humanoid (I was always under the presumption that they were considered a higher form in the Trekverse), it does allow for an interesting exploration of the desire for what we cannot have. One could even squint and see a bit of a trans metaphor here, though I'm not sure that was intended.
That said, not all is as it seems. The new humanoid bodies are not supposed to leave the planet (which I expected). More surprisingly, there's a race with life-or-death consequences - very similar to what Discovery did in its past season with Whistlespeak. I think it comes across as more effective here, as it's built into the episode's concept and not tacked on. I also love there was no twist antagonist, the planet was not sinister, and the other embodied energy beings were exactly what they seemed. It both befitted the status of Prodigy as a kids show, along with keeping to the ethos of Star Trek.
Unsurprisingly, Zero leaves with the others. Surprisingly, they are still embodied - though I expect it will not last all season. Really hope they get to smooch M'Jel before their shell falls apart.
In terms of the overall plot arc, there's not much else to say here, other than by the end the jig is up with the holo-bodies, meaning Voyager will be searching them out again. I do wonder how the hell holo-Gwyn knew she was a hologram - and knew where they were going. I thought there was a partial mind wipe?
Brandon
This is one of the Trekkiest concepts of the Kurtzman era. Fascinating possibilities, played straight and reasonably, and with terrific visual flair to boot. Angus Imrie gets to expand Zero's voice and just nails it.
Brandon
Also, am I right in thinking that this episode gave us our first canon glimpse of actual Parisses Squares play?
Chris W
@Brandon - totally agree with you. I've enjoyed the story and the concepts put forth here. And yeah, I think this is our first view of Parrisses Squares! Doesn't look _that_ dangerous... 😆
Jeffrey's Tube
Classic Star Trek premise right here: take the alien crew member and explore their alien-ness, and in addition to the thought experiment, learn something about what it means to be human along the way. All with a really big sense of wonder thrown in for good measure.
A non-corporeal crew member like a Medusan could never work as a series regular on a live-action show. I like that Prodigy is making the most of its animated nature to ask "what can we explore in this format that Star Trek couldn't explore in the past?"
Also like that Zero's constructed body was carefully designed to incorporate subtle elements of both genders so that it was, in effect, non-gendered. That's trickier to design than people realize, I think. Our brains are designed to sort people into categories on very subtle indications. This one was very well done.
I expected Zero to have to go back into the box at the end of the episode. That would have been an okay ending too, but I'm glad the show swerved on that and avoided the obvious. More interesting this way.
. . .
Why are Kurtzman and co shooting a Starfleet Academy TV series? Prodigy is already doing that, and there's no way that show is going to do it better than this. Prodigy is going to straight up eat that show's lunch.
Jeffrey's Tube
@ Brandon
I checked Memory Alpha, and I think you're right that this is the very first time we ever actually see Parrises Squares being played. I remembered it was basically a gag for a while (often mentioned and purposely never explained), but I did think it was eventually shown in an episode somewhere along the line. Only now that I think about it, I think I'm getting it mixed up with Pyramid from BSG! Shame on me, pyramids and squares are nothing alike. Heh.
Jess
Dal has been annoying this season but I liked his moment when he thanked Gwyn for overruling him and looking after Zero. That's the signs of maturing Dal needs
Daya
Isn't the title of this episode a wonderful twist on the title of the original episode that introduced the Medusans? ("Is there in truth no beauty?" TOS S3E5).
"Beauty" stands for corporeality, and "Truth" stands for the ideal, perfect, existence. Does one have to be non-corporeal to be perfect? Can't the imperfections, and specificity of corporealness be perfect as well? Can't the manifest be ideal as well? Religions and philosophers have debated this question for millennia. Here we have Star Trek dabble in it, that too in a kids' show!
Kyle
I also liked how the crew wore the red glasses/goggles to protect themswlves that Spock and Co. wore in TOS S3E5.
Black Oat
The Hugga Bunch (1985) had less hugging in it than modern Trek.
Submit a comment