Warning! The following contains spoilers for the Star Trek: Prodigy episode “Asylum.” Read at your own risk!
Star Trek: Prodigy has returned for the second half of Season 1, and what an episode it was! Dal and the Protostar crew managed to get their first taste of Starfleet, and longtime fans were treated to their first new Chakotay and Janeway scene in decades. The two Voyager characters shared a brief scene via Vice Admiral Janeway’s hologram replay, so what’s next for the characters down the road? CinemaBlend has some answers thanks to actress Kate Mulgrew and Prodigy showrunners Kevin and Dan Hageman.
To recap the scene in question, Vice Admiral Janeway (a.k.a. the real Janeway seen in Episode 10) replayed the final conversation she had with Captain Chakotay before he took the Protostar back to the Delta Quadrant. Janeway told Chakotay she was surprised he’d return to that section of space, and that the hologram of her they added to the ship was the only way she’d ever return. Janeway told Chakotay to be careful, and he assured her that if he ran into any trouble, she’d be the first person he called. As Janeway revealed though, Chakotay never called.
Kate Mulgrew has fielded questions about Janeway and Chakotay for decades since Voyager’s ending, so she has a good read on how fans feel and what they want from Janeway and co-star Robert Beltran’s character. I asked Mulgrew if fans will be happy with what’s to come on Star Trek: Prodigy with Janeway and Chakotay, and the actress gave a very encouraging answer:
They're going to be very happy. First of all, qualitatively, they can't be happier. The quality of this thing is sky-high. Kevin and Dan Hageman have seen to that. I think they will be very pleased with what happens between Vice Admiral Janeway and Chakotay… As you well know, it is a relationship of great importance and significance to Janeway. So, when she feels that she has lost anyone like that, let alone Chakotay, that was her second in command, she has an investment of great personal importance. We're going to see that really brought to bear in these episodes, and what she feels when she feels she may have lost. What she feels when she feels she may have won, and what she feels when she feels it can all disappear in a moment.
I can already hear the Janeway and Chakotay shippers screaming with excitement and renewing their Paramount+ subscriptions, and that’s completely understandable. Star Trek: Voyager never pulled the trigger on what many viewers saw as an obvious relationship pairing, but alas, romance was never in the cards during their trip back home through the Delta Quadrant. Fans were left wanting closure, and since there was never a Voyager movie, they never got it. (Kate Mulgrew likes the idea of a movie happening though.)
The good news is that Kevin and Dan Hageman confirmed to CinemaBlend that we will see something resolved with Janeway and Chakotay in Star Trek: Prodigy. The not-so-great follow-up comes from Dan Hageman, who said that it’s going to take a while for this arc between Janeway and Chakotay to play out:
I mean, we can say that it will not be resolved in Season 1.
Hey, you have to appreciate the honesty! Dan Hageman just dropped a subtle note for Star Trek: Prodigy fans who are eager for more to pump the brakes just a bit, because it’s going to take some time for this Janeway and Chakotay saga to unfold.
Kevin Hageman quickly chased on the comment with a bit more on the behind-the-scenes of Janeway and Chakotay’s reunion, and a positive upside to stretching the story between two seasons. After all, this technically means two seasons of Janeway and Chakotay story, and a lot more time to do justice to a storyline that Voyager never played out. He said:
The good thing is it keeps going into Season 2! And we promise that we will deliver the goods. We’re not just going to tease people and frustrate them. That would be terrible on our part to do, right? But I think we’re going to embrace what the next chapter is between these two characters. A lot of fans are divided on what they want to see happen with Janeway and Chakotay. I feel like we in the writers' room really discussed it a lot. We discussed it with Kate and Robert, and I feel like we came to a wonderful place that we’re really excited to share. But know that it’s a Season 1 and 2 arc with those two.
Rest assured, Star Trek: Voyager fans – answers will come (though not on other Voyager fan wish list items like Harry Kim’s redemption arc). With that said, Prodigy is not strictly about Janeway and Chakotay, and there’s still plenty of story to tell regarding what’s happening with the young crew, and if they’ll ever be able to get to Starfleet with The Diviner’s weapon embedded in the Protostar. Franchise fans should have plenty to enjoy beyond following up on Voyager plot threads.
Star Trek: Prodigy streams on Paramount+ on Thursdays. It’s the latest Trek show to arrive on the platform, but more Trek fun is on the way in the coming months.
