Author’s Note: This article contains spoilers for Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2.
Star Trek: ProdigySeason 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 theNext Generationepisode “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 aninterview 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 producerAaron J. Waltke confirmed to the podcast Syfy Sistasthat Maj’el is a descendant of the house of T’Pau (Celia Lovsky). The Vulcan T’Pau was seen inThe Original Seriesepisode"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 ofProdigywith the inclusion of Maj’el. Dan says, “a new viewer who has never watchedStar 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 pictureStar 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?
If the name Maj’el sounds familiar to your Trekkie ears, you’re onto something. In an episode ofAll Access Star Trek: A TrekMovie.com Podcast,Waltke confirms that Maj’el is named afterMajel Barrett-Roddenberry, the “First Lady of Star Trek.” Barrett-Roddenberry was married to creatorGene Roddenberryuntil his death in 1991. She would play a multitude of characters across the differentStar Trekshows, most notably Christine Chapel inThe Original Series, Lwaxana Troi inThe Next GenerationandDeep Space Nine. She was also the voice of most of the ship interfaces acrossNext Generation, Deep Space Nine, andVoyager.
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: Prodigyis available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.
Star Trek: Prodigy
A group of young aliens escape captivity by commandeering a derelict Starfleet ship, the U.S.S. Protostar. As they navigate the galaxy, they must learn to work together and uncover the ship’s secrets. The show blends adventure and discovery, appealing to both new viewers and longtime Star Trek fans.
