STAR TREK: PRODIGY
SEASON 2, EPISODE 5
SEASON 2, EPISODE 5
Observer's Paradox
Series: Star Trek: Prodigy - (2021 - 2024)
Season: 2
Episode #: 5
Original Airdate: July 1st, 2024 (March 22nd, 2024 in France)
Writer(s): Jennifer Muro
Director(s): Ruolin Li & Andrew L. Schmidt
Guest Stars
Robert Beltran as Captain Chakotay
Robert Picardo as The Doctor
Jason Alexander as Counselor Noum
Michaela Dietz as Maj'El
Ronny Cox as Admiral Jellico
Daveed Diggs as Commander Tysess
Sunkrish Bala as Zeph
Bonnie Gordon as the Voice of the U.S.S. Voyager Computer
Bonnie Gordon as the Voice of the Translated Whale
Stardate: 61865.1
Synopsis
Aboard the USS Voyager-A, Vice Admiral Kathryn Janeway records a log for stardate 61865.1. Janeway states they’re dealing with the fallout of the USS Infinity’s trip through the wormhole. In the observation lounge, she pours herself a mug of coffee. Also present is her command crew. There’s The Doctor, Counselor Noum and First Officer Tysess. She hands the mug across the table to Dal R’El. He insists he was only trying to move the ship. While he disliked coffee in “Mindwalk,” he finds it quite tasty with sugar. Jankom Pog says he’s done with being nice. Maj’el states that the Protostar alums are “very difficult to reason with.” Rok-Tahk disavows involvement. Zero admits some mistakes were made despite an attempt to comply with the Temporal Prime Directive. Murf recounts his involvement in his special way.
Dal recounts the events of the season’s preceding episodes. Jankom blames a ghost. Gwyn says she’s alive because of the others. Janeway dismisses Murf, the conclusive interview. Outside, our heroes wonder if they’ve been believed. Inside the Observation Lounge, the command crew reflects on their learning. The Doctor says he hasn’t seen a crew this dysfunctional since the USS Cerritos. He says they need more supervision. Janeway points out Gwyn has been destabilized from this reality, and more consequences could follow. However, she acknowledges that the events were an accident. Janeway reminds the command crew that they were all a part of the mission a few hours ago, so they all bear responsibility. They wonder about the mysterious entity that has contacted them several times. Janeway says it feels like bigger things are at play. She asks The Doctor to watch out for their “wayward guests.”
In the cafeteria, our heroes lament being placed on probation. Meanwhile, Gwyn fiddles with her temporary temporal stabilizer. Maj’el enters, and Zero calls her over. However, Maj’el declines, favoring an invitation from her fellow Nova Squad members instead. As the conversation continues, Dal insists they rescue Chakotay. Rok compares this to continuing to dig the hole they’re already in. Murf draws their attention to a spiral pattern he’s made on the floor. Gwyn remembers the spiral from the voice in the cave. The voice told her they must stay together. Jankom gasps and identifies this as the ghost. Rok recalls seeing Murf’s odd behavior. They determine that whoever has been helping them left a secret message with Murf. But no one speaks “Murfese.” Unfortunately, Murf’s knowledge may be the key.
The Doctor arrives and startles our heroes. He offers to discuss the “harrowing mission” with them. They try to leave, but The Doctor offers to chaperone them. Next, he tries to sell them on his demographic-targeted ten-step anxiety program. He won’t leave them alone. Separated, Dal and Jankom agree that they must evade The Doctor. His holographic nature means he can essentially be everywhere at once. Zero posits they may have a way to distract him. Finding The Doctor outside their door, Zero asks The Doctor to detail his latest holonovel. As Zero distracts The Doctor, Dal calls everyone else to rendezvous. Rok refuses to be involved. Soon, Dal, Gwyn and Jankom are attempting to decipher Murf’s communications. Meanwhile, Zero is enduring The Doctor’s excited elaboration. Jankom has modified a comm badge and says it will now translate Murfese.
But it malfunctions. Murf spouts word salad and flees from the Jeffries Tubes. Dal, Gwyn and Jankom pursue. Rok attempts to ignore it. Gillian the Whale asks if she wants to discuss it. Rok says it’s a long story. Later, Gwyn laments her failure to locate Murf’s spiral in the Starfleet databases. Given the stressful situation she’s enduring, Dal asks if Gwyn’s all right. Gwyn says she’s okay. Dal says from here on out, they’re a team. They’re interrupted by the computer’s identification of the symbol. It is a petrograph of the kind used by the Rubber Tree People, who now occupy a planetary colony. They scan the resident list, but it’s a long list. Nevertheless, they identify that the list includes a Starfleet Officer — Chakotay.
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Elsewhere, in Voyager’s hangar, Tysess, Janeway and Noum examine the returned Infinity. Tysess questions how children could accomplish the modifications. Janeway cites the mysterious entity and wonders if it could be Chakotay. Tysess says strange things are afoot. Janeway receives a message from Edward Jellico. Jellico says a time anomaly is a serious threat. Janeway’s orders are to collapse the wormhole immediately. Citing Chakotay and Gwyn, Janeway protests. Jellico says this is bigger than Chakotay. The mission has been terminated. Meanwhile, Gwyn and Dal share the revelation about Chakotay with Jankom and Murf. Gwyn says it’s too big of a coincidence. She also posits that Chakotay could have been the one attempting to communicate with them after he vanished in the wormhole. However, Murf’s reaction makes it seem like she’s off-track.
A dejected Zero arrives. They say The Doctor has been called away. Zero posits he’s adding additional Rodrigos to his holonovel. Murf continues to attempt to communicate, growing more frustrated. Desperate, they turn to Rok in Cetacean Ops. Rok says she’s had no success translating Murf before. Furthermore, she’s concerned about punishment for breaking Starfleet rules. Dal insists that Gwyn’s existence is at stake. They say Rok’s an integral and necessary part of their crew. Rok says she can at least help them do it right. Rok sets Murf on a console and begins reasoning through the problem. She reflects that Mellanoid Slime Worms evolved from aquatic life. Meanwhile, Gillian circles the lab in her tank. Rok wonders if Murf must be underwater to be understood. She compares this to the harmonics of a whale. The rest of the crew enjoys watching Rok as she sciences. Rok reaches her eureka moment. Murf’s language could be too sophisticated for the universal translator but might be understood by a whale. Gillian has been eavesdropping and agrees to assist.
While Murf fears the water, Rok reassures him she’ll join him in the tank. Wearing respiratory equipment, Rok jumps into the tank holding Murf. When they reach the bottom, Murf swims out of her arms and shifts forms, growing a mermaid-like tail and arm fins. He excitedly swims around the tank in his new form. Then, he approaches Gillian. Gillian listens to his speech and shares the resulting information with our heroes. Murf is saying, “DMEFIN.” When unscrambled, these letters spell “find me.” Murf continues, this time with numbers: “20742146.” It’s too short to be coordinates. It isn’t an address or a Fibonacci Sequence. What could it be?
On the bridge, Tysess reports that a Tachyon Torpedo should be sufficient to collapse the wormhole. Noum asks for permission to speak freely. He says everyone agrees. The Doctor says that no one on the bridge wanted the rescue mission to end this way. Janeway gives the order to begin the countdown. She retires to her ready room. Inside is a stone with the same symbol our heroes have attempted to decipher. Janeway flashes back to Chakotay’s departure. He assures her that she’ll be his first call if he runs into trouble. Then he hands her that same stone. Chakotay tells her to think of it like a beacon to guide him home. In the present, Tysess counts down to the wormhole closure. The torpedo fires and the wormhole closes.
The Doctor enters, and Janeway asks if she’s a fool to hope Chakotay survives. He says this may have been their only door to reach him. However, he says hope is never a foolish thing. He says when a door closes, a window may open. In Cetacean Ops, Murf presses his hand against the transparent aluminum, sharing a joyful bonding moment with Gwyn, who returns the gesture with her right arm.
This causes Gwyn to notice the numbers on her temporal stabilizer. She wonders if this is where Murf’s numbers are meant to be entered. Rok says the stabilizer is the only thing keeping her in this reality. Gwyn believes someone is attempting to contact her. Gwyn reassures Dal. They all agree they’re in this together. Gwyn promises if anything seems wrong after she’s crossed over, she’ll immediately return. She enters the numbers and vanishes.
On the other side, Gwyn seems to be floating in space, but safely. She begins traveling at great speed. This disorients her, but Gwyn comes to her senses when arriving at her destination. She sees a glowing galaxy. Next, she hears her friends calling out in fear. Now, a voice says, “Find me before they do.” She grabs her stabilizer. Gwyn returns to the Voyager in the present day. She says that the spiral is a map.-geekgirlauthority.com
