Now that we’ve made it through a whirlwind San Diego Comic Con and Star Trek Las Vegas, it’s back to our coverage of STAR TREK: PRODIGY Season 2!

With our Protostar crew back on their own again, it feels just like old times. And both “The Fast and the Curious” and “Is There In Beauty No Truth?” feel like old times as well: entries in the classic Star Trek model of a crew on a starship exploring strange new words. Both episodes offer a fresh take on some TOS-style tropes we love, simplified for the younger audience.

It’s “Baby’s First Evil-Supercomputer” and “Baby’s First Planet-Inhabitants-Are-Hiding-Something.” But there are through-lines in both — the time stoppage in “The Fast and the Curious” and the broader implications for Zero in “Is There In Beauty No Truth?” — that keep them from being strictly kid-fare.

After “reobtaining” the Infinity, the crew finds themselves on a long road trip. Perfect time for a sonic toilet mention (I have so many questions!) as frustration with the close quarters kicks in. Zero (Angus Imrie) reviews their flight plan (on a beautifully detailed LCARS map) and finds a way to shorten what is scheduled to be a 61-day journey: a transwarp conduit. It’s great to see the long distances in space acknowledged and even better that they find a work-around that is plausible within the boundaries of the Trek universe. It’s also a great callback to last season’s thriller “Let Sleeping Borg Lie” as they debate whether or not to use Borg tech at all, knowing what they might be getting themselves into.

The animation of the transwarp conduit is among the best of the show, with great detail shots as they approach. The perspective from inside the conduit looking out at the Infinity, the internal mechanics on full display, makes it feel almost sentient and beckoning. The profile shot, showing nothing on the other side makes it seem eerily magical. And then it activates, with a really satisfying green glow — spinning rings covered in green lit symbols. It comes alive with a sublime blend of mechanical and electrical wonder both visually and through sound. We can hear both the gears creaking and the electricity crackling as our crew and their little ship cross over into the unknown.

They are enjoying the view in the green transwarp tunnel until they are knocked off course and onto a planet by a piece of tech that attached itself to the Infinity. Upon closer examination, they discover it’s Kazon tech. Prodigy has used the Kazon to great effect so far in the series. It makes sense as a Voyager callback, but it also gives our crew a unique villain connection, as it was a Kazon who sold them to the Diviner.

Zero and Murf (Dee Bradley Baker) elude capture while the rest of the gang get marched off by what appear to be Kazon soldiers. Dal (Brett Gray) and Zero telepathically work out a strategy. I really enjoyed seeing them communicate this way again, as their connection was a part of what made season one great.

Some great Kazon continuity as well here. The leader Ekthi (James Mathis III) introduces himself as First Maje, and he speaks of Kazon warriors earning their Oglamar names. He demands payment for passage through the transwarp hub and as an alternative for our latinum-less crew he offers a wager: a race. He says he has a pilot who is looking for some worthy competition and if they beat him they can be on their way. A classic race or die. Dal of course jumps at the chance to “go fast.”

Gwyn (Ella Purnell) enters as well to improve their odds, but Dal doesn’t get the teamwork memo and instead of forming a strategy just bulls headfirst into the race. It feels like a plot we should have gotten with Dal back in Season 1, as it seems a little bit out of phase with the character growth we’ve seen since then.

The race itself had all the trappings you could possibly want to see out of this type of action sequence. Cool vehicles, a great course with bright neon checkpoints, a ship blowing up, falling stalactites, and the floor is literally lava. Nami Melumad’s score shines here, adding to the excitement and grandeur of it all. “This should be a video game!” was the consensus from my kids, which appears to have met the intent of the whole enterprise anyway.

While Gwyn is busy saving Dal from himself, Zero and Murf are uncovering the truth about the First Maje. He isn’t the one in charge at all; turns out he is being controlled by an evil supercomputer. Ok! The actual details behind the evolution of this entity is a pretty cool idea: the Kazon racing computer basically got assimilated by Borg tech from the transwarp hub and is now chasing that Borg perfection in the form of the perfect racer. Neat. But this is all just said in exposition and if you aren’t paying close attention you could miss it’s motivation.

But it doesn’t matter because the whole situation exists for Zero to stretch their hero muscles again. We’ve seen it before in “A Moral Star, Part 2” and “Let Sleeping Borg Lie”: Zero giving a bold proclamation of love and friends — always magnificently delivered by Angus Imrie — before unleashing their inner beast with a glorious finishing move. This is easily one of my favorite Prodigy hallmarks. I love a character who is soft-spoken and gentle until you mess with their friends and then they selflessly do what needs to be done. Zero rules!

Zero bravely saving their family, the Kazon, and who knows how many other ships worth of people who would have gotten caught in the trap is, unfortunately, not without consequence. Their protective suit is damaged beyond repair. While I am sad for Zero, I can’t say I’m upset by the loss of this suit — it made them look like a generic Apple product.

Luckily for Zero and for us, we don’t have to wait long to get some resolution on Zero’s mobility problem. “Is There In Beauty No Truth?” begins with Zero getting a psychic communique from another Medusan that leads them to a planet colonized by non-corporeal beings — who all have bodies. Their leader, Ion, voiced with aplomb by Christine Rose Schermerhorn (an actress who is also a transgender woman), explains that the planetary rings decay into the atmosphere, delivering nourishing hydrocarbons to their bodies. Sure! Don’t really need a justification for this one. This concept isn’t about the science, it’s about the idea. And it’s a really thought-provoking idea. Handled both with the care and straightforwardness it deserves.

Zero wants to experience this and they are tucked into a cocoon-like bed. They awaken in a new body — a striking, androgynous, lanky alien body — moving at first like a baby gazelle fresh on their new legs. Any hint of uncanny valley, mostly around the swirling eyes, is offset by a smile that could light up the whole quadrant. The crew is thrilled for their friend and very supportive of the change they have undergone. The group hug that ensues is heartwarming.

The Infinity crew has arrived at the perfect time: it’s “Feast of the Senses” night. I would normally laugh at the trope of them happening to arrive on a special night, but I get the feeling every night is “Feast of the Senses” night here as these beings really enjoy experiencing everything a corporeal form has to offer. Angus Imrie is outstanding as Zero experiences all types of new delights in the form of eating and belching and dancing.

The playfulness of it all channels Leonard Nimoy’s performance also as a Medusan experiencing corporeal delights for the first time in the original series episode “Is There In Truth No Beauty?” in a way that similarly portrayed the joy of the moment. It connects the two episodes in a special way that goes deeper than just the titles.

During the feast, my daughter asked “So are these people evil, or what?” and I had to laugh at her television instincts as I was, of course, also waiting for the other shoe to drop as planets that seem too good to be true always are in Star Trek. But unlike other recent turns in somehow both Strange New Worlds and in Discovery, children aren’t being sacrificed for the good of the society here. Rather, it turns out, they are just adrenaline junkies who lied by omission to Zero about the fact that without the influence of the planetary conditions, their bodies would degrade.

While I was devastated for Zero, I was very relieved that the reveal was so mild and kid-friendly and the gang running with the nazamon crowd to let Zero know became another wonderful supportive moment between the friends. Even the nazamon scooping up Dal and Zero just became a moment of natural beauty and wonder. Just lovely.

While the Infinity crew is off exploring these strange new worlds, the Voyager crew is at first none the wiser. Their pretty decent plan — the 24th century equivalent of shoving pillows under their sheets and sneaking out the window — appears to be working, even despite the little snag of the hologram appearances and personalities not matching up.

Can’t fool Maj’el (Michaela Dietz) though, and she can sense something is off. She trails Gwyn (who has Murf’s personality) and as she knocks on the door to confront her, time literally stops. Everyone is frozen. Maj’el frozen at the door, the Gwyn hologram frozen in her quarters. In a lovely nod to one of Voyager’s finest hours, “Blink of an Eye” — where Janeway appears frozen in time as Neelix pours her a cup of coffee — Tysess is handing her a cup of her beloved dirtwater.

This is all incredibly jarring and unexpected in the best way. Even more so when a tentacled creature seems to appear out of nowhere to attack the Gwyn hologram. This was at the end of “The Fast and the Curious” and the seemingly non-sequitur was the best “cliffhanger” ending yet. This show is just full of surprises.

The jig is up, though, in “Is There In Beauty No Truth?”, as Maj’el uses a game of Parrises Squares to demonstrate to Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) how strange the Protostar gang are acting. What an unexpected delight to finally catch a glimpse of the often-mentioned-never-seen sport of choice of so many of our Star Trek heroes. Moving platforms, ramps, and ion mallets (What a satisfying “clink” sound they make!) are all present and it’s a fun reveal that this is what we are seeing with an offhand “Computer, end Parrises Squares program,” from Janeway.

Robert Picardo is pitch perfect as the EMH humorously realizes both what is happening with the Protostar gang and that his holonovel gave them the idea. He then recreates the Gwyn hologram where they learn of the gang’s message from whom they believe is Captain Chakotay. The EMH also discovers a missing eight minutes in the ship computer, which we know was them getting frozen. The Gwyn hologram then recalls the memory of being attacked by the tentacled creature. What intriguing mysteries lay ahead to be solved!

“The Fast and the Curious” and “Is There In Beauty No Truth” are the first episodes this season that seem geared more towards kids than adults, and I’m glad for that. That’s one of the reasons we’re here. They are also the first episodes that stand almost apart from the season’s main objective. I’m glad for that as well. It’s much more interesting to slow down a little and let a season ebb and flow instead of just hurdling through the plot at warp speed.

I love getting a chance to live and breath with these characters again and through whatever changes may come for them. And the little tidbits of the time paradox stuff we did get made me thirsty for more of that as well.