New York Comic Con saw Paramount+'s Star Trek universe return to the Empire Stage this year, with cast members from Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Discovery, and Star Trek: Prodigy beaming down to share what fans can come to expect from the upcoming seasons of each series. Last year Star Trek: Prodigy premiered its first episode at the convention, igniting a passion for the Star Trek franchise in a whole new generation of fans who finally had a kid-friendly animated series to dive head-first into.

This year, the Hageman Brothers returned with Ben Hibon, Kate Mulgrew, Brett Gray, and newcomer Jameela Jamil to discuss the back half of Season 1 and tease where the crew of the USS Protostar is headed. Before the panel, Collider got to chat with Brett Gray about Dal's journey in the upcoming episodes, how his relationship with Gwyn (Elle Purnell) will evolve, and geek out about some of the legacy characters Dal gets to interact with.

Star Trek: Prodigy marks Mulgrew's return as Star Trek: Voyager's Captain Janeway, and she returns two-fold by playing the hologram Janeway aboard the Protostar and Vice Admiral Janeway, who is tracking down the starship to uncover the mystery of what happened to Captain Chakotay (Robert Beltran). In addition to Gray, Purnell, and Jamil (who plays Ensign Asencia) the cast also includes Rok-Tahk (Rylee Alazraqui), Jankom Pog (Jason Mantazoukas), Zero (Angus Imrie), and Murf (Dee Bradley Baker) who will be continuing their misadventures aboard the Protostar when the series returns on October 27th.

COLLIDER: I am a sucker for the connection between Dal and Gwyn. I love it so much. I watched the premiere here last year at New York Comic Con, and I was just like “These two! I'm rooting for these two.” Can you talk a little bit about how their relationship and friendship evolves this season?

BRETT GRAY: I’d imagine they've had a relationship for a very long time. She's the only person who could speak his language on Tars Lamora. So to me, it's awesome. It's like those childhood lovers who, like, they have that rivalry because they're sort of star-crossed in two different worlds. But at the end of the day, they relate to each other so much. I think they relate to each other so much, in terms of not knowing fully who they are and where they come from, and this sort of impostor syndrome around just origin in general, and purpose in the universe, and Gwyn learning that everything she knows is a lie. Dal is also learning that everything he knows is a lie. I just think they relate to each other so much, and I love their little banter. And I think they need each other, you know, him to calm her down, and remind her that she's still 17 and should have some fun and her to show them how to be a leader.

We have seen five episodes of the next half of Season 1, and we learn a little bit more about his backstory and where he comes from. So it really seems like this half of the season he's searching for who he is and where he fits into the world, if at all. Can you talk a little bit about that journey for him and where he is emotionally when we return to the series?

GRAY: Yeah. When we return to the series, emotionally I feel like he's really wrapped up in everything that just happened. I mean, he's really concerned about Gwyn, and about the state of their crew and about their journey towards Starfleet, and I think for the first time the pressure and the leadership responsibility is very, it's much more serious now than it's ever been. The stakes are the highest they've ever been. At the same time, he still doesn't even know who he is, or where he comes from, or what his purpose is. So, you know, there's lots for him to think about and lots for him to learn. I think self-discovery has been something that he's been struggling with since the beginning of the series, and he's come so far. I'm very proud of him. You know, I feel like even though he's a fictional character, I'm very proud of him. He's come a very long way. And he's learned a lot about other people and how to connect to them. Now it's about trying to learn how to connect to himself.

I’m curious to know what your relationship with Star Trek was beforehand. Because I feel like Prodigy pays such a beautiful homage to all of the shows that have come before, especially this half of the season. Were there any characters that have been brought in this season that you were like, “Oh my God, I can't believe my character gets to interact with these characters”?

GRAY: Well, my “Kobayashi Maru” episode was pretty epic. I was literally sitting there reading the script in my house, and I was like, “Wait, is this the actual Spock right now? Is it the actual Kirk right now? Are these the actual people that I get to interact with?” Yes, I feel super, super lucky that I have been in a scene with these legendary voices, and legendary characters. It's, pretty awesome to me. Also, before Star Trek, I hadn't had any prior knowledge, so now I'll get to do the deep dive going backwards. And there's the Borg. Oh, this is the "Kobayashi Maru" episode. There are things for me to look forward to and see how they originated.

And the Borg are amazing, I love the Borg so much.

GRAY: Come on! You are in for a treat.

You get to do that fun line of saying “Resistance is futile.” Like you got to say the line.

GRAY: I got to say the line! It’s giving iconic. Iconic.

Star Trek: Prodigy returns on October 27th, check out the trailer below: