Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2
Summary
As revealed inStar Trek: Prodigyseason 2, Vice Admiral Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) decided to retire early, but the events ofStar Trek: Picardforced her to return to Starfleet. After returning with the USS Voyager from the Delta Quadrant, Kathryn Janeway became one of the most decorated officers in Starfleet.Not only did she spend seven years commanding Voyager while 70,000 light years from Earth, but she also continued to aid Starfleet even after her return.No one would have blamed Janeway if she had decided to retire soon after returning to Earth, but she remained a dedicated officer, continuing to take on potentially dangerous missions.
After her good friend and former First Officer, Captain Chakotay (Robert Beltran), went missing with the USS Protostar, Admiral Janeway set out to find him. This brought her into contact with Dal R’El (Brett Gray) and his ragtag crew.InStar Trek: Prodigyseason 2, Vice Admiral Janeway took the Protostar kids under her wing, and they became crucial in the mission to rescue Chakotay.By theend ofStar Trek: Prodigyseason 2, Janeway had made the decision to take a much-deserved early retirement. This retirement didn’t last long, however, as every Starfleet officer, including Janeway, was called back in after the devastating attack on Mars on First Contact Day in 2385.
Star Trek: Picard’s Mars Attack Was Worse Than We Thought
Star Trek: Picard season 1 was built upon a devastating attack on Mars that changed the Federation, and Star Trek: Prodigy confirms how bad it was.
Star Trek: Picard’s Mars Attack Ruined Admiral Janeway’s Early Retirement
Janeway only got to enjoy retirement for a few months.
As described inStar Trek: Picardseason 1, rogue synths turned on their creators on July 20, 2025, attacking Mars and the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards orbiting the red planet.Not only did this devastating attack kill over 92,000 people, it also destroyed at least 20,000 ships,many of which were being built for the United Federation of Planets' mission to rescue the Romulan people from their sun going supernova. In the wake of the attack, Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) fought to continue evacuating Romulus, even threatening to resign his commission. To his surprise, the higher-ups at Starfleet accepted his resignation.
The attack on Mars was orchestrated by the secret Romulan sect known as the Zhat Vash and carried out by Commodore Oh (Tamlyn Tomita), who had infiltrated Starfleet to become Head of Security.
When the Mars Attack occurred, Janeway had already begun to enjoy the life of retirement, before Chakotay showed up to inform her that all reserve Starfleet officers were being called back into service.Janeway returned to Starfleet and voiced her protests regarding the decision to stop the Romulan evacuation and scale back missions of exploration.As the new Protostar Class ships were built for exploration, they were due to be decommissioned. Janeway, however, managed to have one Protostar Class ship, the USS Prodigy, assigned to a new pilot program under her command.
Star Trek: Prodigy Promotes Admiral Janeway
Janeway is promoted from Vice Admiral to a full Admiral.
Although Kathryn Janeway had initially refused offers of promotion after returning with Chakotay, she accepted a promotion from Vice Admiral to full Admiral after being called back into Starfleet.As part of her new pilot training program, Janeway grants Dal and his friends field commissions as Starfleet Ensignsand assigns them to theProtostar Class USS Prodigy. With this starship, the new Prodigy crew will fly off to continue Starfleet’s mission of exploration, with an upgraded Janeway Hologram as their guide. The real Janeway encourages the Prodigy kids to be a"beacon of light"to those the Federation cannot reach.
Admiral Janeway remains with Starfleet after the Mars Attack, presumably running her pilot program and staying busy. Sometime after the attack,Lt. Commander Raffaela Musiker (Michelle Hurd) seeks out Admiral Janeway, in search of someone who will support her claim that the attack was a conspiracy.Commander Ro Laren (Michelle Forbes) also seeks out Janeway regarding the Changeling infiltration of Starfleet inStar Trek: Picardseason 3 but never manages to speak with the Admiral.Star Trek: Prodigyfilled in the blanks of Admiral Janeway’s life after the USS Voyager’s return to Earth and offered insight into how Starfleet Command reacted toStar Trek: Picard’sMars attack.
Star Trek: Prodigy
Cast
Star Trek: Prodigy is the first TV series in the Star Trek franchise marketed toward children, and one of the few animated series in the franchise. The story follows a group of young aliens who find a stolen Starfleet ship and use it to escape from the Tars Lamora prison colony where they are all held captive. Working together with the help of a holographic Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), the new crew of the USS Protostar must find their way back to the Alpha Quadrant to warn the Federation of the deadly threat that is pursuing them.
Star Trek: Picard
Star Trek: Picard follows retired Admiral Jean-Luc Picard, played by Patrick Stewart, twenty years after the events of Star Trek Nemesis. The series delves into Picard’s life post-Starfleet, as he navigates a new chapter filled with unresolved past events and new challenges.
