Antimatter Pod

177. Nebula Zoom Call (Prodigy 2.04)

After some minor timeline mishaps, Anika and Liz finally stop to read Temporal Mechanics 101! Yes, we're discussing the fourth episode of Star Trek: Prodigy's second season, including...

• Intertextuality within the Star Trek canon
• Ma'jel upsets the group dynamic in a fun way -- every time a Star Trek starts getting stale, they should add a young Vulcan woman to the cast
• The binge model has robbed us of the joy of speculating wildly about who the mysterious benefactor is
• Ilthuran is not a regular dad, he's a cool dad! AND WE HAVE A LOT OF FEELINGS ABOUT HIM
• The Doctor is so well-used in Prodigy that we're more positive about his joining Starfleet Academy than we would have been a month ago!
• The Antimatter Pod Shipping News
• An interlude where we stop to dunk on Sarek for a while #OurBrand

176. Jankom Pog Politely Disagrees (Prodigy 2.03)

Anika and Liz attempt to change the timeline so Paramount never dropped Prodigy and we got to enjoy each episode week by week … but alas, we did not pay attention in Temporal Mechanics 101. 

We're discussing Star Trek: Prodigy's "Who Saves the Saviors", including…

• Rok-Tahk knows when to keep her mouth shut and when to tattle, and also has done nothing wrong (ever, in her entire life)
• Dal has never watched Star Trek and isn't about to start now
• We have conflicting feelings about birds, and Liz drops some Doctor Who lore
• Tysses and Noum are the Married Mean Gays that Star Trek has needed for eternity. Yes, we just made that up. But it's canon in our hearts. And we would subscribe to their podcast.
• This isn't even the first time Chakotay has abandoned a bunch of kids in the Delta Quadrant!
• Why is everyone so determined to put Janeway and Chakotay in parental roles when it's clear they would both be very bad at it?
• Jankom represents some of Star Trek's best disability rep ever
• Janeway is deeply flawed, and that's good writing

175. Gwyndala's Dad Has Got It Goin' On (Prodigy 2.01 and 2.02)

Anika and Liz sign up for an internship, accidentally steal a ship, and … well, we're discussing the second season premiere of Star Trek: Prodigy! 

(Please note we have seen the whole season, and although we make some very virtuous remarks about sticking to the episodes at hand, we cannot be trusted to respect the Temporal Prime Directive.)

• The binge model and Star Trek
• Dal versus the education system
• Sexualising the Diviner
• Zero's story is both a trans narrative and a disability narrative 
• The romances in this series are super low key and free of inherent drama … but would there be a bigger fandom if the show provided more fodder for ship wars? Is that better? Or worse? 
• Jankom and therapy and Dr Noum
• Rok-Tahk, rules and Liz's Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead trauma

174. The Puzzle is the People (Discovery 5.10)

Anika and Liz get all dressed up to attend a wedding. They just have to figure out the meaning of life first. Easy, right?

It's a very special episode as we discuss the series finale of Star Trek: Discovery, "Life, Itself"!

• We thought we were ready for Discovery to end, but we were wrong
• Liz suffered a finale-related injury and Anika has wine
• The Sega Star Trek: The Next Generation game (and also Jenny Nicholson's four-hour video essay about Disney's Galactic Starcruiser experience)
• It feels like they were setting up Primarch Tahal as the big villain for season 6
• We have even more feelings about Rayner than we do about the Galactic Starcruiser video
• Moll's ending is not what we expected, but we like it
• Discovery streaming movies when?
• The epilogue! The Star Trek: Legacy we deserve!

173. Progenitor-Aged Whiskey (Discovery 5.09)

Anika and Liz put buckets on their head and infiltrate a Breen ship, pausing along the way to have a serious personal conversation. We're discussing the penultimate episode of Star Trek: Discovery (WE ARE NOT READY), "Lagrange Point"! Including...

• What sort of ending do we want for Moll? 
• We already have a crush on Primarch Tahal
• Michael and Book parallel Michael and Ash in "Into the Forest I Go" - is infiltrating an enemy ship a date? 
• We are briefly interrupted by an appearance from Anika's cat's butt
• Paul and Hugh have been sidestepping drama all season and it's great? 
• Saru: relationship role model
• We're not NOT shipping Rayner/Tilly

172. Being Inner Lit (Discovery 5.08)

Liz has done it AGAIN: she forgot to move her microphone. She's audible but a little echoey for the first 10 minutes, before she has a horrible realisation. 

Anika and Liz are spending their vacation AT THE LIBRARY, where they are checking out some books and checking in on Michael Burnham.

• Every single thing in this episode is Sarek's fault
• Libraries and archives are never apolitical
• Primarch Ruhn heard there were drag queens doing storytime at the Eternal Archive, and he is NOT happy about it
• Anika has been linking Labyrinth and Alice in Wonderland for YEARS
• An alarming amount of people don't believe in atonement or redemption
• Michael's riddle is, do you understand the point of Star Trek: Discovery?
• Is the Federation bigoted against slime people?
• "What I'm about to say is going to make it sound like I ship Vance and Rayner, and I want you to know that I do."

171. Ice Cold Hot Take (Discovery 5.07)

It is so awkward when you literally stick a guy in a refrigerator and then his death provides motivation for his grieving partner to go on a rampage. Anika and Liz discuss season 5, episode 7 of Star Trek: Discovery - "Erigah"(!!!).

• It is DEVASTATING that this is Discovery's last season and we're going to lose Rayner as fast as we got him
• Liz accidentally talks herself into shipping Michael/Nahn and also Nahn/Ortegas
• We have unlocked Rayner's tragic backstory
• Hot take: Michael is now a better captain than (prime) Georgiou
• Anika is here to make it about Jack Crusher
• We aren't puzzle people, but neither are the Discovery writers, and it kind of shows
• Jett/Pelia has never been more canon

170. Kovich Ex Machina (Discovery 5.06)

Anika and Liz infiltrate a pre-warp society, where they absolutely do not enter a race, that is clearly a trap. Not because of the human sacrifice, because of the running! 

• Like episode 3, this felt a bit predictable, but ALSO like a rebuke to "Lift Us Up Where Suffering Cannot Reach" and "Who Watches The Watchers", so we're not mad about it
• What if obeying the Prime Directive is the unethical option? 
• (Caretaker + Who Watches the Watchers) x (Lift Us Up Where Suffering Cannot Reach + Sacred Ground) - Christopher Pike/Evil Ex + Michael "Fuck the Prime Directive" Burnham
• Hugh Culber and ChatGPT therapy
• Paul and Hugh are both at turning points, but it's not a crisis for them or their relationship
• This season is the opposite of a mystery box
• Discovery has always been a series where science and religion co-exist
• Paramount, the most competent media company, accidentally took Anika off their Star Trek list and put her on the Knuckles list. So … we talk about Knuckles! 
• Is Kovich a little too omniscient?
• We are not here for fandom's fatshaming of Mary Wiseman

169. (Anika's Version) (Discovery 5.05)

(Note: our episodes are getting shorter because the screeners are fairly low quality and don't have subtitles, so it's a bit harder to get deep into the weeds of a story than if we were recording as episodes air. But our day jobs are quite busy, so we need to record as far in advance as possible in order to make our self-imposed deadlines. It's a pickle!)

Anika and Liz beam over to an eerily familiar starship, steal a locket and a plush gecko, and discuss episode 5 of Star Trek: Discovery's fifth and final season, "Mirrors".

• It's a double date for L'ak and Moll and Book and Michael!
• We take it back about not being able to emotionally engage with L'ak
• Liz has a theory about what this episode is setting up
• We're checking in with Hugh
• Respectfully, so far the puzzle isn't very puzzling
• Rayner's performance anxiety

168. Wig Continuity (Discovery 5.04)

Anika and Liz are caught in a time loop, which is actually a nice opportunity for a nap when you think about it. We're talking about Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 4, "Face the Strange"!

• Let's check in with Anika, The Only Person Who Hated "Magic To Make The Sanest Man Go Mad". She thought "Face The Strange" was … good
• "I don't wanna sound creepy, but I have a pretty good idea of where Jason Isaacs is at all times."
• This season feels like an intentional final season, even though we know that's not true
• Michael is the collaborative leader that Pike pretends to be
• We are platonically shipping Rayner and Reno as BFFs
• Book's job in this episode is to turn up, take his shirt off and be supportive. Perfect, no notes
• L'ak is SO going to die
• So far Discovery has focused on fleshing out Rayner, but at the expense of Moll and L'ak