Star Trek: Prodigy season 2’s finale revealed that Star Trek: Picard’s Mars Attack was even worse than audiences thought. Written by Kevin and Dan Hageman, and Aaron J. Waltke, and directed by Ruolin Li, Star Trek: Prodigy season 2’s ending saw the young crew of the USS Protostar save Star Trek’s multiverse with the help of Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) and the crew of USS Voyager-A. Finally accepted into Starfleet Academy, Dal R’El (Brett Gray), Gwyndala (Ella Purnell), and their friends witness the news reports of rogue synthetics attacking Mars on First Contact Day 2385.
Star Trek: Picard season 1’s backstory, first seen in the Star Trek: Short Treks episode “Children of Men”, is built upon the tragic events of First Contact Day 2385. On April 5th, Mars was attacked by the synths originally programmed to help build Starfleet’s new armada at Utopia Plantia Fleet Yards. As a result of the Mars Attack, the United Federation of Planets banned androids and synthetic lifeforms. Further, the Federation ended their mission to help the Romulan people relocate from their sun going supernova, which provoked Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) to resign from Starfleet in protest.
Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2’s Ending Reveals Picard’s Mars Attack Was Even Worse
The Mars Attack changed the trajectory of the Federation
Star Trek: Prodigy’s season 2 finale, “Ouroboros, Part II”, revealed the extent of the Mars Attack of 2385 was even more devastating to the Federation than Star Trek: Picard indicated. In Picard season 1, it was said that over 92,000 souls lost their lives on Mars. Star Trek: Prodigy makes the tragedy even more dire for the Federation by confirming 20,000 starships under construction at Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards were destroyed. Originally built for Admiral Picard’s Romulan rescue mission, this new fleet was equipped with the latest technology that was now lost to Starfleet.
With a severely weakened and diminished Starfleet, the Federation pulled back into its existing borders and ceased all exploration missions. Prepping for war against a possible unseen enemy and fearing its own androids, the Federation became insular, abandoning its directive to seek out new life forms and new civilizations. As a response, however, Admiral Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) assigned the new Protostar Class USS Prodigy to newly promoted Ensigns Dal R’El, Gwyndala, and their friends.
Star Trek: Picard’s Culprit & Reason Behind Mars Attack Explained
The Romulans achieved their greatest success against the Federation
Star Trek: Picard season 1 eventually revealed the true culprit behind the Mars Attack of First Contact Day 2385 was Commodore Oh (Tamlyn Tomita), who was actually a Romulan deep cover agent named General Nedar. A member of the fanatical Tal Shiar sect called the Zhat Vash, Nedar and her followers held an existentital fear of synthetic beings from another galaxy invading and wiping out all organic life. This dread manifested in the Romulans’ hatred of androids and synthetics. Nedar infiltrated Starfleet posing as a Vulcan named Oh and gradually rose to the rank of Commodore, becoming Starfleet’s Head of Security.
Commodore Oh and her Romulan fanatics were eventually uncovered and defeated in Star Trek: Picard season 1.
Commodore Oh masterminded Mars’ synthetic worker drones going rogue and massacring the Utopia Plantia Fleet Yards. Oh’s plan worked, and the Federation banned all synthetic lifeforms for nearly 15 years. Oh and her Tal Shiar agents Narissa (Peyton List) and Narek (Harry Treadaway) then targeted Dahj and Soji Asha (Isa Briones) to find Coppelius, where Dr. Bruce Maddox (John Ales) and Dr. Altan Inigo Soong (Brent Spiner) created a new race of Soong synthetics. Commodore Oh and her Zhat Vash were eventually uncovered and defeated in Star Trek: Picard season 1, but Star Trek: Prodigy season 2’s ending sets up a darker Federation era still about 15 years away from these events.