Sacrifices Were Made for the Greater Good in the 'Star Trek: Prodigy' Season 1 Finale

Warning: The following article contains spoilers for the Star Trek: Prodigy Season 1 finale on Paramount Plus.

The aspiring Starfleet Academy recruits faced their final test aboard the Protostar in the Star Trek: Prodigy Season 1 finale. With the Living Construct unleashed, more and more Starfleet ships arrive in an attempt to help the Protostar, which results in said ships being infected as well. It's a horrible chain of destruction that seems to be unstoppable.

Things appear to be truly dire with a capital D. What's Hologram Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) to do, given that the Protostar is housing the weapon infecting all of Starfleet?

It's during times of chaos when heroes are born — and Hologram Janeway makes a choice that will change the trajectory of the Protostar's crew forever.

How do you destroy a virus? Well, if you don't have the benefit of time and well-trained scientists, you pretty much have to eradicate the host.

That's what Hologram Janeway realizes with the Protostar.

In an act of ultimate sacrifice, Hologram Janeway stays aboard the Protostar to make sure the core explosion detonates, thus destroying the living construct and saving the entire solar system and Starfleet from destruction.

Unfortunately, that meant the end for the Protostar crew's wise mentor. However, Vice Admiral Janeway (also voiced by Kate Mulgrew) is still very much alive and in need of a crew for her ongoing mission to save Captain Chakotay. Does the crew of the destroyed Protostar have what it takes? They weren't even admitted into Starfleet Academy after all.

Thankfully, Hologram Janeway's sacrifice helped lead Admiral Janeway in the right direction to finally save Chakotay, and our Protostar heroes got a promotion to serve as suitable crew members for Janeway's rescue mission. They're given the rank of warrant officers in training, after facing a tribunal for offenses committed to warn Starfleet about the living construct in the first place.

As Admiral Janeway prepares for her mission, she introduces her new crew to a Protostar upgrade ship, explaining that the one they were on was just a prototype.

Excited, our heroes ask if they get to fly that ship with Janeway. She leads them away from the Protostar upgrade, teasing that they're going to need something much bigger for their next destination.

Thankfully, we don't have to wait to know if we're going to find out what happens next. After all, Star Trek: Prodigy has already been renewed for a second season.

Although an official release date for Season 2 has yet to be confirmed, it's highly likely we'll see Janeway's crew return sometime in 2023. In the meantime, you can stream all 20 episodes of Star Trek: Prodigy Season 1, now on Paramount Plus.