I actually preferred the early episodes when it felt... I wouldn't say "less" Star Trek, but where the Star Trek tropes and settings weren't so pronounced. I thought the pilot double-episode might even possibly have been the best pilot of the franchise - focused on character, and with the Federation (via tech like the universal translator) being a symbolic and literal way of different people coming together. I'm always interested in shows that push Star Trek beyond what's familiar, but still true to its core, and Prodigy definitely falls into that group.