Enterprise
| Season
3
Directed By: David Livingston
Written By: Manny Coto
Rating:
 
Reviewed on: 9 June 2004
Reviewed by: Michael Axe
The first of what is effectively a three-part season finale, this episode truly pulls out all the stops. This episode has it all, pure and simple, and is the kind of part one that leaves you craving the next episode.
Events truly enter endgame in this tense episode that barely lets up until the inevitable cliff-hanger. Archer is finally able to address the Council, but comes face-to-face with the fractured nature of their civilisation. While the Humanoids and Arboreals seem willing to accept that Archer's evidence against the Guardians is enough to justify postponing the launch of the weapon while his claims are investigated, the Reptilians and Insectoids appear to be as belligerent as usual. This leaves the Aquatics as the unknown quantity, and the key to securing a majority decision one way or the other.
Archer's sessions with the Council provide a nice opportunity to recap everything that has happened this season, and everything the crew has managed to piece together concerning the Sphere-Builders and their manipulation of the Xindi. Although this may sound dull for a viewer who's followed the whole saga, it's in fact kept alive by the interplay between the various Xindi species.
Degra meanwhile, continues his transformation from enemy to ally, as he becomes Archer's strongest advocate on the Council, and a real force for peace between Humans and Xindi. His transformation is metaphorically completed when he and Trip finally manage to reach an understanding of sorts, symbolising the willingness to move on for both species. It's somewhat inevitable then, that his attempts to achieve peace are rewarded by Dolum, the Reptilian commander, with a knife through the heart, in retaliation for his “betrayal” of the Xindi and his attack on the Reptilian ship in “The Forgotten” . This ‘martyrdom' completes Degra's redemption for his part in the murder of 7 million civilians, as he dies trying to make peace to save lives on both sides of the ‘war'.
This episode also marks the moment where Dolum and the Reptilians go from being simply the difficult and militaristic members of the Xindi Council, to the ones willing to tear apart Xindi society in order to destroy Earth. Despite their differences, all of the Xindi species have been united in their goal of one day creating a unified society – yet in this episode, the Reptilians and Insectoids are willing to jeopardise this by attacking the other species to capture the weapon themselves.
But importantly, even as they bring their society to the brink of civil war, the Reptilians and Insectoids are still doing so with the best of intentions – and this stops them becoming two-dimensional “baddies”. They still believe that the Guardians are there to protect the Xindi (so are arguably the most religious of all the species?) and all their decisions flow from their faith in the Guardians. If the Guardians are telling the truth, then the Humans must be lying, and the weakness of the other species threatens all the Xindi. So although they murder other Xindi and dissolve the Council – they do it to protect all Xindi … although I'm sure the prospect of a Reptilian-dominated united Xindi society is also quite appealing!
Of course, while the A-story revolves around the Council and the weapon, the B-story is pushing the Spheres/Guardians storyline towards conclusion. T'Pol's mission to gather the information core from the Sphere was well shot and quite dramatic, with very impressive special effects complemented by suitably atmospheric lighting – and resulted in the death of another recurring character. Now I know some people will just dismiss the deaths of Hawkins and Degra as being simple “red-shirt deaths”, but the truth is, of course deaths amongst the main cast are going to be very few and far between, but Hawkins and Degra had appeared in a combined total of 14 episodes this year, and so their deaths should not be dismissed as simply “guest star of the week casualties”.
On top of all this, there were numerous nice touches here and there, such as the insight into the Guardian's plane of existence – although it does seem a tad too reminiscent of the Prophet's “Temple”, but then your capabilities for other dimensions are somewhat limited on television budget! Other clever elements were T'Pol quoting Vulcan philosophy to comfort Reed (the classic “Needs of the many…” speech), Degra standing up to his “Gods”, Trip trying to learn to live without the ‘comfort' of his blind anger, and the revelation that the Council resides on the homeworld of the now-extinct Xindi-Avians. We also learn that 23 crewmembers have died thus far into the mission, and Reed's line about levels of acceptable losses is delivered superbly and captures the desperation, exhaustion, and desolation of the crew perfectly.
All in all, this is a perfect start to the finale, as you can feel the various plot elements and threads being drawn together for the conclusion. The final shots of Enterprise leading the Xindi armada after the weapon were wonderfully done, and the cliff-hanger ending certainly left me eager for the next episode.
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. |
