Enterprise | Season 3

Harbinger

Directed By: David Livingston
Teleplay By: Manny Coto
Story By: Rick Berman & Brannon Braga

Rating:

Reviewed on: 19 May 2004
Reviewed by: Michael Axe

In Brief:

Review: (Contains Spoilers)

Wow, what a change of pace this episode is. While the “revamped” third season has managed to do some really good plot-driven episodes, there hasn't really been much in the way of purely character-driven episodes – until now.

That's not to say, of course, that the episode is devoid of plot. There's an interesting subplot concerning a dying alien who's found adrift in a massive anomaly before being rescued by the crew. He appears to be the victim of some terrible experiment, possibly conducted by the aliens responsible for the anomaly-creating spheres. This sub-plot develops nicely, and its conclusion is truly chilling, leaving the viewer even more worried about what the true intentions of the sphere-building aliens may be…

But the difference with this episode is that the alien sub-plot is just that – a “sub-plot”, secondary to the main events of the episode. The real story concerns the crew's various developments as they journey towards Azati Prime and the inevitable confrontation with the Xindi.

The main, and most tense, storyline involves the escalation of the animosity between Reed and Major Hayes. While this has been touched on a few times (such as in “The Xindi” ), the story has never really come alive like it does in this episode. This is due largely, I feel, to the fact that this is another episode scripted by Manny Coto. Whereas other episodes have dryly stated that Reed and Hayes don't get on – in this episode, you feel the tension for the first time. And the conflict is given more depth too, as we find out there's more than just petty pride between these two men. Both genuinely care for the safety of the crew … and both genuinely believe the other's methods jeopardise that safety. It's a joy to watch the tension slowly simmer and build throughout the episode – until the inevitable explosive finale.

And as a side note, it's been said that Archer has never looked more like a true captain than when he disciplines Hayes and Reed – and I would have to say that I agree. It's good that the captain has a softer side, but it's also about time that Archer reinforced his authority every now and then…

The other main plot-thread is just as interesting, but is at the opposite end of the emotional spectrum from Hayes' and Reed's conflict. Trip and T'Pol's “relationship” has (surprisingly) been a highlight of this season, and is one of the best written relationships seen on a Trek show for a long time. So it's a joy to watch T'Pol struggle to contain her un-Vulcan-like jealousy when she learns of Trip's late night liaisons with a female MACO, and it's equally fun to see Trip struggle to acknowledge what is really going on, and finally admit that he was jealous of his own clone!

The truth is, you can have the best ongoing plot arc in the world – but if your characters are two dimensional and unengaging, the end product will still be a mess. But an episode like this helps develop everyone into much more believable characters, and can turn a good show into a great show.

Michael Axe is the author of a number of novellas and screenplays, and is a main reviewer for ST Universe. All his reviews are copyright © Michael Axe and are used here exclusively with his permission.