1x09 A Moral Star (1)

[8.1/10] It’s never a back tack to have your Star Trek show come down to a difficult, ethical choice. The first part of “A Moral Star” spells that out here, as befits a show aimed at kids. But it’s still heartening to see Dal, Gwyn, and company choose to do the right thing, which is also the hard thing, because whether they intended to or not, they’ve internalized the values of Starfleet.

The Diviner gives them a terrible ultimatum: give him the Protostar back within one day in exchange for the release of “the unwanted,” or he’ll take his anger out on the miners. The crew’s choice is a tricky one: jump to the Federation and ask for help, with the risk that Starfleet won’t be able to get there in time, or go back to the asteroid themselves and try to save their one-time compatriots in the mines, at the risk of being trapped in the one place they were all so desperate to escape.

That’s a good dilemma for our heroes! Given the nature of the show, it’s not surprising that the kid heroes will take action themselves rather than resort to asking adults. And it’s a little convenient that the protodrive is just depleted enough to where they only have enough power for one proto-jump. But granting the premise, there’s meaning in these brave kids deciding to go help the helpless, as a team, rather than look out for themselves. Holo Janeway herself affirms it.

It’s a sign of maturity, none more so than for Dal. He’s the prime candidate for just wanting to get the hell out of dodge and operate on his own as the unquestioned leader. But the fact that he gives up guaranteed escape in order to save others, seeks to collaborate with his friends on a plan rather than bulldoze his way through, and values the bonds he’s formed with this found family so much is an indication of how much he’s grown over the course of this season.

Gwyn didn’t have quite as far to go as Dal. She was already more mature and more capable. But her growth comes in the form of her values. She’s willing to trade herself back to her father in exchange for the freedom of her friends and the miners she helped him corral. (Including the adorable little Caitian who returns for the first time since the series premiere!) She wears the Starfleet insignia proudly, believing in what that symbol stands for as an alternative set of morals to those of the father who abandoned her. And she too embraces the crew of the Protostar as a new family, having known only an abusive one in its place.

That said, the Diviner is arguably his most monstrous and intriguing here. Maybe it’s just more trickery or something mercenary on his part, but he seems sincere in his desire to have his daughter back. He no longer has to choose between her and the ship, and for all we know he wants her for some nefarious purpose. But when Drednok says it’d be better to leave her, he insists on taking her along. Again, I read their relationship of one of, at a minimum, emotional abuse, and any attachment the Diviner feels coming from an extension of his own vanity and ego (see also: Thanos), but it’s the most emotionally interesting the character’s ever been.

Likewise, I’m still intrigued by what exactly his mission is, why he reflexively hates Starfleet so much, and how the Protostar will further his quest exactly. I’d be lying if I said I expected a fully satisfying answer. This is definitely a dose of mystery box storytelling, and it’s often a lot more fun to follow the breadcrumbs and raise your eyebrow at the latest tease than it is to see the often unsatisfying payoffs. But color me interested nevertheless.

I also like the cadets’ plan! The key art spoiled it a bit, but it’s cool to see them in Starfleet uniforms (even if the design is a little weird and not to my taste), and this feels like the plan of a genuine Starfleet crew. The twist is clever and well setup, with the kids nabbing the proto drive from their ship, having Murph swallow it to keep it stable, and hiding him in a replicated version of Zero’s suit so that they can smuggle it all out. It’s all founded on things the audience knows, and shows our heroes anticipating the Diviner’s doublecrosses rather than just being hoodwinked by them.

Plus hey, drive or no drive, it’s pretty menacing to see the Diviner try to kill all the miners he kidnapped while he’s on his way out, Drednok reprogram a “Corrupted Janeway” (who looks like a Mirror Universe version of our favorite Delta Quadrant explorer), and the Diviner once again turn on his own daughter. The villains, while still a little generic and too mustache-twirling evil, are at least a touch more scary this time around.

Who knows if Prodigy will be able to land this one. Endings are hard. Big, twisty endings are even harder. But I’m excited to see how the show closes things out. The finale is poised to be epic, in a way that once again feels of a piece with Star Wars Rebels, and is rooted in how this hardscrabble group of stolen children and refugees has come together as a crew and a family, and seeks to make possible the same for all those in the same position, despite great personal risks to themselves and all they’ve achieved since leaving. It’s a powerful statement for the show, the character, and how the ideals of the Federation, the morality and choices it demands of its heroes, abide even in those who come to them in unusual, but still epic ways.