Prodigy Season 2 Character Is Linked to TOS in More Ways Than You Think
Author's Note: This article contains spoilers for Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2.
The Big Picture
- Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2 introduces Vulcan teenager Maj'el
- Maj'el's character offers a fresh perspective for younger audiences, exploring the nuances of a teenage Vulcan.
- Maj'el is named after Majel Barrett-Roddenberry and her black and white hair signifies her ancestral lineage to a Vulcan from The Original Series.
Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2 has been live on Netflix for almost a week. This has allowed fans now six days to digest the full 20 episode season. A new addition to the team from Season 1 is a Vulcan teenager and Starfleet Cadet named Maj'el (Michaela Dietz). She was a member of Nova Squadron (yes, that same one Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) was a part of in the Next Generation episode "The First Duty".) Further tying her to Wesley Crusher, she joins the main plot of season 2 after she was identified by him as being important to the future of the former USS Protostar crew.
In an interview with Screen Rant, creators Kevin and Dan Hageman wanted to add Maj'el because "I [Kevin] haven't seen a teenage Vulcan. What's a teenage Vulcan? It's not going to be exactly like all the adults. It's someone who's halfway there." They, along with executive producer Aaron J. Waltke confirmed to the podcast Syfy Sistas that Maj'el is a descendant of the house of T’Pau (Celia Lovsky). The Vulcan T'Pau was seen in The Original Series episode "Amok Time". She's described by Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) as "All of Vulcan in one package."
Both Dan and Kevin drive home their aspirations for the intended younger audience of Prodigy with the inclusion of Maj'el. Dan says, "a new viewer who has never watched Star Trek, they don't know what a Vulcan is. So it can be really interesting to put a little light on it." As seen in the motion picture Star Trek: First Contact, the Vulcans are the first alien species that choose to interact with humans after the invention of the Warp Drive by Zephram Cochran (James Cromwell).
Who Else Is Maj'el Tied To From The Original Series?
CloseIf the name Maj'el sounds familiar to your Trekkie ears, you're onto something. In an episode of All Access Star Trek: A TrekMovie.com Podcast, Waltke confirms that Maj'el is named after Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, the "First Lady of Star Trek." Barrett-Roddenberry was married to creator Gene Roddenberry until his death in 1991. She would play a multitude of characters across the different Star Trek shows, most notably Christine Chapel in The Original Series, Lwaxana Troi in The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. She was also the voice of most of the ship interfaces across Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager.
Brilliantly played by Michaela Dietz, [the Vulcan] named Ma’jel. Named as a sort of homage to the great Majel Barrett-Roddenberry. She’s wonderful…
Show executives confirm that Maj'el ancestral giveaway is the white in her hair. The black and white seen in T'Pau's hair now serves a marker of that family line. Maj'el's Vulcan is nailed perfectly by Dietz, according to Kevin. He says on the podcast, "to be able to portray a Vulcan in live-action, you could do a lot of subtle facial features to suggest and emote. But in animation on a TV pipeline, it's really difficult. And so, it's all about her voice and how to have that Vulcan drone."
Star Trek: Prodigy is available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.
Star Trek: Prodigy
TV-Y7Animation Sci-FiActionAdventureA group of enslaved teenagers steal a derelict Starfleet vessel to escape and explore the galaxy.
Release Date October 28, 2021 Creator Dan Hageman, Kevin Hageman Cast Kate Mulgrew , Ella Purnell , Brett Gray , Jason Mantzoukas , Jimmi Simpson , Jameela Jamil , Daveed Diggs , Dee Bradley Baker Main Genre Animation Seasons 2 Franchise Star Trek Streaming Service(s) Netflix Showrunner Dan Hageman , Kevin Hageman ExpandncG1vNJzZmibn6G5qrDEq2Wcp51kwLWt0Warq52bYr2zu8OinrJlnZa3priMraearV2YvK%2B6xJyroqeeYrK5vMuaoKedlGQ%3D