This article contains spoilers for Star Trek: Prodigy, Season 1, Episode 11, "Asylum."Star Trek: Prodigy is back from hiatus, and it has already brought answers to some of the show’s biggest questions. In the midseason premiere of Prodigy, Season 1, Episode 11, “Asylum,” the crew of the Protostar arrives at Comm Relay station CR-721, where they are scanned for intake purposes. During this sequence, we get confirmation of the long-teased species of Murf (Dee Bradley Baker)! Just as promised, the revelation is connected to a previous Star Trek episode. Murf is a Mellanoid slime worm, alluded to in the nineteenth episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 1, “Coming of Age.”
Before we met Murf on Prodigy, the Mellanoid slime worm had only been alluded to through dialogue. In “Coming of Age,” Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) travels to the planet Relva III, where he is taking the Starfleet Academy entrance exam.
When he arrived on Relva III, Crusher bumped into Rodon, a Zaldan. Rodon called him a Mellanoid slime worm and other used other insults. While Crusher was at first apologetic, he soon realized that Rodon was becoming infuriated by his manners. As such, Crusher adjusted his attitude and asked Rodon if he wanted the confrontation to become violent. This satisfied the Zaldan, who called Crusher his friend in response.
It was ultimately revealed that the incident had actually been a test to determine Crusher’s mettle in dealing with extraterrestrial species and cultures.
Who is Murf on Star Trek: Prodigy?
On Prodigy, Murf was introduced in the first episode. The noisy but non-verbal gelatinous entity was recruited to the Protostar crew by Rok-Tahk (Rylee Alazraqui), who has repeatedly demonstrated an ability to connect with alien animals – although Murf may be her greatest success.
Throughout the first half of the season, Murf has progressively become a more integrated member of the crew. And while it may seem like he lacks higher cognitive function, it’s possible that he’s actually more intelligent than he appears. The rest of the Protostar crew has simply not yet determined how to communicate with him.
In the teaser trailers for the second half of Prodigy’s first season, it was revealed that upcoming episodes will see the Mellanoid slime worm undertake a metaMURFosis, potentially emerging from his chrysalis with an all-new, all-different form. However, thanks to the fact that the Mellanoid slime worm has only previously been mentioned through dialogue on Trek, it’s anyone’s guess as to what that might end up looking like.
The midseason premiere of the animated series Prodigy is available for streaming on Paramount+ now, with new episodes being released each Thursday.