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Star Trek Enterprise (ENT) Season 3, Part 1

Season 1, Part 1 - Part 2 - Season 2, Part 1 - Part 2 - Season 3, Part 1 - Part 2 - Season 4, Part 1 - Part 2

The episode descriptions are given in normal text, my comments in small text. Rating: 0=worst, 10=best (rating system)

The Xindi No date given: The Xindi Council, consisting of five distinct species, debates about the weapon to be built and possible measures to be taken against the alleged invasion of humans. Meanwhile on Enterprise, the first spatial anomalies show up after entering the Expanse. Archer and Tucker arrive at a mining colony where they would allegedly find a Xindi. When the administrator of the colony traps them together with the Xindi, they attempt to escape, but are captured. The Marines succeed in freeing them, however the Xindi is killed. Briefly before his death, he leaves Dr. Phlox the alleged coordinates of his homeworld, but at that location Enterprise finds nothing but debris of a formerly inhabited planet. Archer orders a course deeper into the Expanse.

"The Xindi" fulfilled my expectations in both a positive and a negative way. Notwithstanding my objections to the general "new direction" I outlined in the review of "The Expanse", the season opener was based on an acceptable yet hardly enticing plot idea which was at least turned into a mostly entertaining episode. In other words, with all errors and misconceptions already introduced in "The Expanse", I had to be rather lenient about "The Xindi". The premise and several details of the episode reminded me of the still unsurpassed "Broken Bow", where Enterprise was facing the unknown likewise, and some of its spirit was palpable again. But overall, "The Xindi" desperately attempted to have a little bit of everything, ending up as an amalgam of things that have been done much better before. That being said, the aftermath of Tucker's mourning about his sister's death was inappropriate for the story once again. Especially since it was nothing but an excuse for the awfully contrived "T'Pol topless" scene that I would not like to further comment on.
The episode began with the introduction of the Xindi as the new enemies. A quite stereotypical, even dull "bad boys gathering" of the kind we have seen them so often before, usually featuring Silik and "Future Guy". I was waiting for someone to say, "The clever fiendishness of your evil plan is brilliant". Only that the incredibly cool new creatures, especially the insectoid Xindi for once managed to make up for the weakness of the screenplay. Speaking of good special effects, I liked the scene with the moving cargo too, and it was a decent intro to the anomalies that are obviously still to come. Most of the episode was dark, visually and figuratively. But it did not meet the dramatic requirements to become an action classic, because the story remained predictable and there was too much brutality. I have never seen such violent scenes on Star Trek except in "First Contact", and I don't think it was necessary here, except for making a statement that the Marines are much tougher guys and girls than the crew of Enterprise.
Speaking of the Marines, they quickly became an annoyance to me, not so much because of their violence, but because it is an obviously all-American unit. Yes, they do have some token ethnicity (Latin and Asian), but ultimately the MACO is made up of people who have nothing better to talk of than American provincial cities and their dialects. What a remarkable narrow-mindedness. Especially in this post-9/11 scenario it would have suited the series well to acknowledge that America is not the only military, political, moral and cultural authority of our world. Something I disliked too was the score of the episode. It was too loud most of the time, and too "militaristic" even during the otherwise silent passages. Similar scores may have suited "Best of Both Worlds" or "Dark Frontier" well, but this story was itself too little dramatic to justify such a dramatizing music. Something I will never understand is why they had to change the title theme. The new opening is visually identical, has exactly the same length and the same pace. But what used to be a romantic guitar rock hymn was turned into a run-of-the-mill pop song. To what end? Those who always liked the old opening credits, are appalled now; those who always wanted an ostentatious anthem will not like the new version either.
There was one scientific error or at least a silly detail: Why would the administrator of the colony insist on liquid platinum? Platinum is a real metal which is solid at room temperature and has a melting point of 1772°C. Why would he want a specially isolated can with molten platinum instead of a much more practical cold and solid bar? It is possible that the authors were awfully mistaken about something and actually meant "latinum", an exotic material that, as they might have remembered, is liquid at room temperature.
Remarkable quote: "Delicate is not a word I associate with Mr. Tucker." (T'Pol)
Remarkable facts: T'Pol has no siblings. -- There is a Benzite among the miners. -- The mined substance, Trellium-D, is unknown to humans, but is used as insulation in interstellar ships. -- The hull of Enterprise is made of duranium.
Remarkable species: The Xindi are made up of five distinct but genetically related species: reptiloid, humanoid, sloths, insectoid and cetacean.
Rating: 4

Anomaly No date given: Spatial anomalies keep plaguing the ship, when Enterprise runs into an alien vessel that has recently been raided, its crew murdered. Then Enterprise is attacked as well and essential supplies are stolen. One crewman is killed by the aliens whom Phlox identifies as Osaarians. Their ion trail leads to a huge artificial sphere hidden beyond a cloaking field. The Enterprise crew retrieve their stolen cargo. Hoshi identifies some signs as being of Xindi origin, whereupon Archer lures the pirate ship into a trap in order to download their whole database, with a code provided by a captured Osaarian.

Just as last week's episode was reminiscent of "Broken Bow", "Anomaly" is a bit like a dejà vu of "Fight or Flight". Maybe this is because the scenes with the raided vessel are similar and because Hoshi saves the day again after a long time. Speaking of neglected characters, this is one of the very few episodes in which everyone has a couple of useful lines or is otherwise valuable for the story development. But most of all it is a solid action episode with a few nice twists, unlike the too predictable "Archer captured by mean aliens and attempting to escape" thing last week. Nonetheless, there are several similarities between the two episodes, tying them and what will follow together to a true story arc, as we have last seen it on DS9. As much as I still dislike many aspects of the "new direction", I'm eager to see more of it. In this light, even the most noticeable common style element, the obtrusively militaristic score, becomes more tolerable -- and I found it more fitting this time, simply because more was happening here.
As another dejà vu from Star Trek's history VOY: "The Void" comes to my mind. The setting inside the Expanse is very similar. Unfortunately, here the bad aspects the of the desperate situation prevail, as the Osaarian crewman outlines the predetermined development from civilized people to ruthless predators. Much worse, Archer is on the verge of becoming just like that. Ironically, while Janeway was unusually cooperative in "The Void", here Archer's behavior is Janeway-ish -- arbitrary, self-righteous and subject to be rewritten every few weeks. Clearly I'm alluding to the scene where Archer was putting the alien into the airlock just like Janeway was ready to have the Equinox crewman killed. Unlike Janeway with her uncompromising yet always changing canon, Archer has been making decisions with almost adolescent naivety so far. Even if that often made him a bad captain (and caused him more trouble than any of his future colleagues), it was a clear distinguishing mark. I wonder why every character development needs to take a direction in which the character ticks off or becomes obsessed with something. It didn't work with Trip and the rage about his sister's death either (the Vulcan neuro-thing fortunately being only a side note here).
There were two possible inconsistencies I noticed: Firstly, the doors of the sphere and the Osaarian ship's hull are both said to be made of polyduranium, as if there were a logical connection between them. But the sphere is 1000 years old and was definitely not built by the Osaarians. Well, it may simply indicate that the Osaarians built the door into the sphere. The second strange observation is that Archer orders to fire at the sphere in order to lure the Osaarian ship back from the cloaking field. Did he expect that they could scan through the field?
Remarkable quote: "Considering all the hostile aliens we have met, I suppose it's fortunate we haven't lost more people." (Reed)
Remarkable facts: The Osaarians have a large merchant fleet, but there are no records of piracy. The hull of their ship is made of polyduranium. In addition, they have a Trellium-D coating, which we learn is necessary to cope with the anomalies. -- We also get to see something that is identified as stembolts, but looks quite different than what was seen on DS9.
Remarkable station: The sphere is said to be 19km across, entirely of a single alloy, about 1000 years old. It has seven fusion reactors, each 12km long, only three of them are still operational. The portholes are made of polyduranium. It is also emitting "massive amounts of gravimetric energy" (in other words, it's heavy).
Crew losses: 1, Fuller, torpedo expert (Wasn't there a female crew member called Fuller?) 
Rating: 6

Extinction No date given: The Xindi are tracked to an apparently uninhabited planet, where a landing party comprised of Archer, Reed, T'Pol and Hoshi find a Xindi shuttlepod and a corpse that is initially found to be not Xindi. Soon the three human members of the team mutate to a different species and begin to seek a place called "Urquat", while T'Pol is only slightly affected. They are victims of a mutagenic virus, long ago created by the now extinct Loque'eque in an effort to preserve their species. Urquat is now in ruins. Two starships appear in orbit and an alien announces that they would kill any mutated individual. After fighting against the extermination team, the mutated crew members can be restored to their human form using an anti-virus produced in T'Pol's body. Phlox gives the anti-virus to the aliens. Archer, however, insists on keeping a sample of the virus as a last reminder of the Loque'eque.

Welcome to the first episode of Star Trek Enterprise! The title change, like other insignificant new details, was obviously deemed necessary to appease fans who are otherwise believed to be upset about the series -- only that true critics don't really care about superficial details meant to distract from poor writing.
Although "Extinction" strives to make an ethical statement, it is mostly unremarkable and is digressing from the actual mission to find the Xindi. It is a bit of a disappointment when the initially scary atmosphere (when we first see Reed's mutated face) quickly turns into a standard situation. We have seen very similar stories already in TNG: "Identity Crisis" as well as in the much dreaded VOY: "Threshold" and in VOY: "Favorite Son". The only twist in "Extinction" is that the very purpose of the mutation is futile here, considering that the Loque'eque civilization ironically ceased to exist a long time ago. And even this idea of a long dead civilization taking late revenge is a very common motive in Star Trek, just like seen in TOS: "Miri" or TNG: "Masks", to name only very few of a dozen examples. A lot of the screen time is spent on showing how T'Pol tries to befriend the three aliens that were once her shipmates, and to communicate with them. On a side note, she is amazingly open-minded, and I could hardly imagine any other Enterprise-era Vulcan to have that much patience with them. But whilst it may have been a challenge to the actors as well as to the make-up artists, I don't really see the point of showing the crew as savage aliens with erratic behavior. It neither tells us anything about their personalities as humans (it is possible that that Archer-Loque'eque would have used the rock to kill the flamethrower alien if T'Pol hadn't stopped him), nor do we learn much about the true Loque'eque from that.
Which takes me to the point why they have to become savage at all. The Loque'eque clearly weren't savages, considering that they managed to construct the virus. Maybe the victims are intentionally reduced to the mental state of toddlers to facilitate their integration? So does the transformation mutilate their brains in a way that they would lose all their skills and knowledge? This was obviously not the case, since they are all fine in the end. Clearly Enterprise is not the first series facing such a logical dilemma. But bearing in mind that we have the right to expect medical technology to be less advanced, it is sad how fast and easily Phlox once again manages to develop a cure, as if he were Voyager's EMH.
As already mentioned, the episode attempts to make an important point in the end, when Archer insists on keeping a sample of the virus in order to remember of the Loque'eque. But this part of the story is a complete failure. Archer's reasoning reminds me unpleasantly of his "playing god" speech in "Dear Doctor", which he used to justify his verdict to let the Valakians die, awkwardly deriving their "natural" fate from the not yet existing Prime Directive. In "Extinction", on the other hand, Archer links the preservation of the Loque'eque virus to the mission of Enterprise to save Earth from the Xindi, as if this had anything to do with one another. After all, it's only a virus that he is going to save, something artificially created with cruel intentions that is not even really alive. If he wanted to preserve anything valuable of the Loque'eque, why not something positive like the ruins or some artifacts that may still be found in their city? Agreed, the hostile aliens were giving him no choice but to leave the scene quickly. But, in a crude analogy, it is like some alien in a far future would want to preserve atomic bombs as a monument of an extinct species called humans. Finally, and this really makes me ponder about his state of mind, Archer's decision is in strong contrast to the one in "Dear Doctor". He denied the Valakians, who were never going to harm anyone, the right to live. But, against all security considerations for his own crew, he is concerned about a nasty virus created by the ruthless Loque'eque who were not better than the Borg with their unethical methods to save their civilization. His stupid stance also reminds me a lot of Neelix in VOY: "Memorial", who insisted on permitting himself to be tortured, only to be reminded of a long ago war that was none of his business. Such a masochism clearly doesn't help anyone and shouldn't be shown as an ideal.
Notwithstanding the unrealistic "miraculous healing" plot vehicle, there are two pleasant surprises in the episode. For once, the Xindi data were hard to analyze, because Archer needed to figure out how they plot coordinates. This is unlike the many cases where the computer simply displays clearly understandable data taken from previously unknown aliens. The second observation is that the transporter is considered an option to save the transformed crew members, but is not used, because there is no possibility to contain the virus. In other words, the author (Andre Bormanis) kept in mind that there is no biofilter yet.
Remarkable quote: "This was created as a final effort to preserve a civilization, a people. That species we became, they cease to exist the moment this virus is gone." (Archer)
Rating: 3

Rajiin No date given: When a landing party is seeking information about Trellium-D and about the Xindi, a woman runs away from a slave market and is granted asylum by Archer. Tucker and T'Pol unsuccessfully attempt to synthesize Trellium-D. Meanwhile the woman, Rajiin, is going to transmit a message to someone, but her actions are discovered and she is put into the brig. Two Xindi ships appear. After breaking into the ship, the Xindi manage to free Rajiin, who was going to collect information about humans for a bioweapon that the Xindi are about to build.

The first half of "Rajiin" was quite boring, the second half had just the deal of violent action that we are used to from so many previous Enterprise episodes. As hard as I may have tried, I couldn't discover anything special about the story in this episode. The gathering of the Xindi at the beginning looked like it was repeated from "The Xindi". T'Pol's and Trip's "massage" scene was indefinite too, with its trivial outcome that there was gossip about the two officers. Like so many times before, a landing party was running around, seeking for information. Visually, this didn't turn out very interesting either. The scenery on the alien world, with the usual colorful oriental bazaar atmosphere and a variety of exotic aliens was something we have seen so many times before -- maybe also because something like this is easier to arrange than a consistent "alien"-looking style. I was particularly disappointed that, except for the opening shot, we didn't get to see anything of the water city again.
But most of all the further development of the story became a disappointment as well. It was blatantly evident that Rajiin was not the innocent slave girl she pretended to be. But as the fighting was taking over the plot, no big deal was made about her "Mata Hari" role any longer, and her remorse about deceiving people who would have done anything for her remained superficial. On the other hand, it was quite realistic that she only tried to save her own life -- although I have the impression that she wouldn't survive anyway at the end of the episode. What annoyed me most about Rajiin is that it did not become transparent what kinds of powers she was using to "enchant" the crew. Not even a crude attempt was made to explain them. Moreover, Rajiin could have fulfilled her mission without these unnecessarily exotic tricks. In this light, the episode could have easily gone without all the sexual allusions and the effect of Rajiin penetrating Archer's and T'Pol's skin (which I think was only an illusion anyway). Instead of this awkward attempt to bring in one more sci-fi element, it may have been *a lot* more interesting if she had been actually romantically involved with someone of the crew. Summarizing, I neither cared much about her character nor about the story built around her.
All that I liked about the episode was in some little details. There was very good continuity with "Extinction", seeing that Archer was still suffering from the genetic transformation and had dreams about the alien city. I also liked that Crewman Cutler was at least mentioned (she broke her arm when an anomaly hit the ship). Another nice detail were the costumes of the female slaves, just as if William Ware Theiss had created them. It was a good idea that Trip and Reed were trading spices for the Trellium-D recipe, after all these should be a really unique commodity of a planet. Finally, the Xindi "spore" weapon was a cool idea -- maybe a predecessor to the bioweapon the Xindi are going to build. I wonder if it was lethal, but no human casualties were mentioned.
On the technical side, there are three problems. The first is that Reed is surprised that Trellium-D has to be synthesized in its liquid form. It is annoying that once again after "The Xindi" the authors make a big deal about something that is merely a different state of the same material and that they obviously don't know that hardly any chemical reaction takes place in the solid state. The second example of bad writing is that Reed (again him...) mentions "the smaller [Xindi] ship". But both were evidently the same size. Clearly the modelers might have created two different versions with a bit more budget, but the writers should have anticipated that they would end up building two identical models. The third isn't really a new problem, because we already know that the Xindi probe in "The Expanse" appeared from a vortex. But thinking further about this technology, it is absurd that Starfleet shouldn't have acquired it until the 24th century.
Remarkable quote: "Some of our calculations may have been slightly off." (T'Pol, looking at the exploded lab setup)
Remarkable fact: Trellium-A is very common, but Trellium-D is hard to synthesize and unstable in its liquid form.
Rating: 3

Impulse No date given: Enterprise picks up signs of a Vulcan ship in distress. The Seleya is adrift inside an asteroid field with high Trellium concentration. When a team boards the ship, they discover that the crew have gone insane. The boarding party is cut off from the shuttle by the ravaging Vulcans, and T'Pol soon exhibits the same symptoms. In the meantime Phlox has analyzed their condition and determined Trellium as the cause. After their return, he manages to restore T'Pol's synaptic pathways.

First of all, I have to admit that I was not really willing to give this episode a chance in the first place. I'm anything but a horror movie fan. So a plot mainly relying on zombies running around, trying to kill everyone without uttering a single comprehensible word must be bad in my view. Even "Return of the Archons", a hardly inspiring TOS episode (that coincidentally aired on German TV an hour before I sat down to watch "Impulse"), had a story behind the zombies, but here there is none but the simple finding that a substance made them ill. With so little input, there is simply no way for it to develop to a good drama. What makes the poor premise even worse, is that it's once again the Vulcans who have to suffer, the once enlightened and revered species that has been degraded to morons-of-the-week in the fifth Star Trek series. They are not even a bit creepy, but only silly. The impression given here is clearly not typical of Vulcans in general, but adds to the overall devastating image. The fact that for once Vulcans are not superior to humans (as humans are not affected by Trellium) is worth at least one pleasant side note, but can't really comfort me.
As for the story itself, it turned out even more appalling than I was prepared for. I can't tell what is less desirable: complete rip-offs like in "Dawn" or "Judgment", or rather a screenplay that is composed of all kinds of clichés that are not only overused, but even showed up lately. We already had a dangerous flight through an asteroid field in "Singularity", the asteroid/comet landing trick with spacesuits is very reminiscent of "Breaking the Ice", the crew is trapped on an alien ship just like in "Sleeping Dogs", T'Pol is running berserk as we have recently seen in "Bounty", T'Pol's paranoia exactly mirrors Trip's in "Strange New World", and the last miracle healing dates back only two weeks. What adds to my annoyance is the dialogues that consist of nothing but phrases, except for the very beginning and the humorous end. And I don't like the dramatic quirks either, to continue with "One day earlier" only to have a more exciting teaser, and to artificially prolong the action phase with T'Pol's dream sequence, like in cheap horror flicks. To conclude my rant, isn't it convenient how the Vulcan ship suddenly blows up (after staying intact for months!), just to allow Enterprise to leave the now roasted zombies without remorse? Blame me for not allowing myself to see anything good in it, but my impression is that the episode didn't want to give itself a chance either. It is just cheesy writing -- I think I have turned down fan fiction that was still better conceived.
Agreed, we have at least a lot of eye candy in this episode. The beam-up of the Trellium with for once careful spark formation and the flights through the asteroid field, for instance -- although vastly exaggerated, there would hardly be a window to maneuver at all. And the story is still somewhat thrilling despite all the obvious deficiencies. What I like too is the continuity, as the Vankara is mentioned, the ship whose crew was shown as insane already in "The Expanse". Also, there is a little Vulcan history lesson from T'Pol. In fact, Jolene Blalock once again manages to preserve a little bit of decency in a ridiculous story. Well, there is nothing new in what she says. Just that the Vulcans were once violent and about to destroy themselves, until they learned to suppress their emotions. At least this overly careful homage doesn't ruin anything.
But speaking of continuity, I noticed one oddity. In "The Xindi" Archer and Tucker have obviously never heard of Trellium with or without a letter suffix. But Trellium is mined in large amounts on the outpost, it is said to be "quite common" in "Rajiin", and here is an asteroid field with a high concentration of the compound (one kilogram in a small piece rock Trip can carry with ease). How can it be that Trellium is that common inside the Expanse, and does not seem to occur outside? Clearly the material has a special significance here, but if it existed outside, wouldn't the name of the mineral be familiar to humans (at least known to people who had a couple of chemistry lessons)? It has to be something that human science already knows.
Remarkable quote: "Part of the fun of a mystery is trying to solve it before it ends. Using logic. You of all people should appreciate that." - "Then use logic more quietly." (Trip and T'Pol, during the movie show)
Rating: 1

Exile No date given: Hoshi is plagued by hallucinations which turn out to be messages from Tarquin, a telepath who has been exiled to a lonely planet because his people were afraid of him. While Enterprise is investigating a second cloaked sphere, Hoshi stays with Tarquin who has promised to provide information about the Xindi in return. But the true intention of the long-lived Tarquin is to keep Hoshi with him, like four other companions before her. Only when Hoshi threatens to destroy his telepathic amplifier, he agrees to release her and gives her the coordinates of a Xindi colony where parts of their weapon are being built.

This episode has commonly been dubbed "The Beauty and the Beast", but what strikes me much more is that the plot is almost the same as a combination of VOY: "Think Tank" and "Alter Ego". And aside from that, it shamelessly borrows elements from other, often hermit-themed Trek episodes, beginning with TOS: "The Squire of Gothos" and TOS: "Who Mourns for Adonais" over Troi's numerous telepathic ordeals to the appalling TNG: "Sub Rosa". On the other hand, all these episodes were full of sexist clichés as they fortunately don't appear in "Impulse". All the way through the episode Hoshi is staying strong and is eventually gaining the upper hand, without falling for psycho tricks like Troi or losing all her reason like Beverly. Also, Tarquin has to concede that love cannot be enforced, like at least Marayna in "Alter Ego" before him, whereas other opponents of the same archetype used to be villains who would fight for what they want to have with the stubbornness of children in the sandbox. At least in these respects, television has matured since the 60's and also since the 80's, when the principal goal was having as much of a conflict as possible. Yet, Hoshi's running around in a night gown is left as a slight sexist annoyance, along with other typical horror clichés like the castle, the squeaking doors, the wind sounds and the omnipresent candles. Only a cat was missing. Something that I liked about the horror part was the camera moves half-way around Hoshi. It would have been great to see even more of them.
Overall, while the episode was lacking a lot in terms of plot originality and could have gone without that little bit of horror, it was nice to watch. Besides Linda Park's performance as Hoshi, which I will always appreciate, I also enjoyed the shuttle that suddenly left without Trip and Archer. This is a nice addition to the small list of things that definitely wouldn't go awry in the 24th century, but do on Enterprise (since the first time when Trip scratched the paint of the ship). Furthermore, "Exile" fits well into the storyline. It is still developing slowly (as we know it from DS9 too, so I'll stay patient), but the revelation that the spheres are actually responsible for the anomalies is a step into the right direction.
Remarkable quote: "Did you bring a phase pistol?" - "I'll keep it under my pillow." (Archer and Hoshi)
Rating: 4

The Shipment No date given: Archer, Reed and Major Hayes prepare to blow up a kemocite refinery run by the Xindi. Kemocite produced there was evidently part of the weapon used in Florida. They capture the chief engineer, a Xindi-Sloth called Gralik. When Gralik is confronted with the purpose of the kemocite he produces, he changes his mind and decides to help the landing party. The plan is now to sabotage the material so that the shipment can be tracked to its destination. However, the ship of the customer, Degra, vanishes in an energy portal. Still, Archer leaves with the knowledge that not all Xindi are his enemies.

"The Shipment" is a very conventional story without any particular highlights. Still, it left me rather content. The only twist is a well-known cliché: the one hostile alien who suddenly changes his mind and ends up helping the crew. Unfortunately this idea is overused since Voyager, but here for once it is quite fitting and also due at this time, considering that the Xindi might otherwise have developed to consistent villains. Gralik, who was previously supposed to be a ruthless minion of the Xindi leaders, changes his mind when he learns that seven million people were killed with a weapon he had contributed to. And even more than the mere knowledge about the possible application of the kemocite it is Archer's personality that eventually convinces him. After all, Archer could have been lying to him all the time. Ironically it has never been Archer's intention to find an ally on the planet in the first place, and he didn't act like that either when he first met Gralik, pointing phase pistols at him. But there must have been something in Archer's determination telling Gralik that the captain was right. Archer, on the other hand, seems to undergo an even harder process of reconsideration. At first, he takes into account the Xindi who would be killed in the scheduled explosion only in a side note. Then he gradually learns that gaining Gralik's trust is the preferable option over simply blowing everything up -- which would only have proven that humans are as ruthless as some Xindi keep disseminating. This is a story of mutual trust, worthy of Star Trek in every respect.
The latent racism in the episode is a bit controversial, though. Gralik, as much as he comes to respect his new human allies, openly shows his contempt of the other Xindi species, both in his recount and when he deals himself with the "ape-like" Xindi-humanoid and the frightening Xindi-Reptilian. This animosity among the Xindi is something that ought to be handled with more care in the future. We already know how the Insectoid Xindi are always pressing to extinguish the humans, and how the Reptilians are more than willing to fight with or for them. Hopefully it will not be getting one-sided again with certain Xindi who are still all villainous. We learn a great deal about the Xindi here, that they once consisted of six species, also including the Xindi-Avians. But the Avians were exterminated in the course of the century long war that ended when the Xindi-Reptilians and Insectoids blew up their home planet (obviously the one whose debris was found in "Anomaly").
What I liked too about the episode is the secondary plot, where Tucker, Phlox and T'Pol are investigating the Xindi weapon with its biological components. It is the only exciting moment of the otherwise unspectacular episode when Trip activates the rifle and the viewer already knows that it will overload a second before he realizes that. It didn't really contribute a lot, but lately these little tidbits are quite well-conceived, considering how easily they may have become silly.
Nitpicking: Not everything in the episode is quite plausible. But something that strikes me most is that no one anticipates that the Xindi ship might be capable of opening a spatial vortex (which is why the kemocite can't be tracked in the end). Not only the Xindi sphere, but also the previously encountered ship (in "Anomaly") of the same type as here could accomplish that. Moreover, it is called an "energy portal" here, which sounds rather awkward compared to "vortex", as if the effect were just observed for the first time.
Rating: 5

Twilight No date given: When an anomaly hits the ship, Archer is infected with parasites that frequently erase his short-term memory. 12 years later, he doesn't remember how T'Pol took command of the ship, how the Xindi destroyed Earth, and how the few surviving humans settled on Ceti Alpha V. In the meantime, Phlox has devised a therapy to destroy the parasites, which exist outside normal space-time, using a subspace implosion in a special chamber. The device is installed on Enterprise, now commanded by Captain Tucker. But the Xindi have located the human settlement and are attacking the system. Phlox finds out that the eradicated parasites don't only vanish in the present, but also in the past. When the chamber is damaged in the attack, Archer, Phlox and T'Pol set the warp core to overload to create the ultimate subspace implosion. The ship explodes, and the past is changed.

I think "Twilight" is the best Enterprise episode since "Broken Bow" mostly because it brings back the excitement. I just like this type of stories, I only don't like to explain everything about it. ;-) This time I don't care that much that we have seen similar stories before and that even several plot details seemed to be déjà vus. The captain, suffering from a disease that causes him to run around confused, not remembering anything? TNG: "All Good Things". A strange temporal bond that is finally broken with someone's death? DS9: "The Visitor". A chamber to treat a biotemporal disease? VOY: "Before and After". A weird effect that travels back through time? All of the above. Anyway, this time the weirdness was handled with care, although it bears the usual paradox. Nonetheless it remained somewhat plausible as it was neither heavily technobabbled like in the TNG episode nor shown as an inexplicable destiny like in the DS9 episode.
The only slight criticism about "Twilight" is a rather general one. Episodes taking place in the future, in a hallucination, on the holodeck or in a parallel universe come with a built-in reset button. Trek authors are quite fond of "what if" scenarios, and they don't need to make them plausible, as everything will be fine in the end anyway. So they allow their fantasy to go berserk, kill off everyone and let the VFX people blow up everything. But who am I to complain about that, considering that "The Year of Hell" with the most powerful reset button of Trek history ranks among my all-time favorites. But I come to the conclusion that this Voyager episode was still more intelligent and more profound, as it showed two sides of the medal, had much more diverse character interaction, ended with an ingenious twist and also because of its strong symbolism. In this respect I don't know if it is good that "Twilight" will always be remembered as the episode where they blow up Earth (and Enterprise too, but that we already know from several previous instances in other series). Maybe the episode could have done without these stunts, and could have focused more on the characters besides T'Pol and Archer. But speaking of symbolism, I found it quite worrying to see how Archer killed the Xindi-Reptilian with his Cochrane statue.
For the reasons mentioned above, we are not supposed to give too much credence in what will happen between the characters in the future, but I found T'Pol's change (not only to her hair) quite palpable. Ironically, in the future it was Archer who was unable to feel anything for T'Pol because he always saw her still and only as his first officer. They somehow switched roles. Future T'Pol was clearly more than only sorry for humanity and for Archer. When she talked to Phlox about that, she turned away to a panel and had a sad expression on her face like she was going to cry. Although it seemed insignificant, this was one of the best scenes in the whole episode. But I am glad that future T'Pol won't be like that.
It usually makes me frown how Enterprise authors are frequently throwing bones at the fans, by adding an overdose of awkward homages. But this time the references are almost all well-considered. Human colonies are located on Mars, Alpha Centauri (Cochrane!) and the previously mentioned Vega colony. We see the two Starfleet ship types from "The Expanse" again, and the authors didn't even forget that the lead ship was the Intrepid with Captain Ramirez (Malcolm replaced him). There are also freighters of the Y-Class and J-Class in the human fleet. The survivors settle on Ceti Alpha V, which we are familiar with from "Star Trek II". We also see an Yridian, and for once an alien species on Enterprise corrects a mistake in another Trek series, namely the idiotic notion that Captain Ransom of the Equinox should have discovered them, although they were already well-known at the time of TNG. Finally, Shran is mentioned to have helped the humans and Soval has an appearance, and although he just utters his usual preconceptions, it is quite useful to tie everything together.
Remarkable quote: "I suppose there's not much point in thanking me. A few hours from now I won't remember." (Archer, to T'Pol), "How do you feel?" - "Like a shuttlepod landed on my head." (Phlox and Archer, in both timelines when Archer wakes up in sickbay)
Remarkable fact: The night before Archer graduated from Starfleet, he asked his girlfriend Margaret Mullen to marry him. But she declined, because she didn't want to become a Starfleet widow.
Rating: 8

North Star No date given: Archer, T'Pol and Tucker investigate a human Western-style settlement on an alien planet. The ancestors of the humans were abducted from Earth almost 300 years ago but they later defeated the aliens. Members of the alien race, the Skagarans, are living on the planet too, now deprived and subject to the arbitrary justice of the ruthless Deputy Bennings. Only the teacher Bethany is helping the Skagarans, although it is illegal. Archer accompanies Bethany to the Skagaran camp where she is arrested by Bennings. Archer frees her from jail, and returns with a landing party. After overwhelming Bennings and his people they leave with the impression that a first step has been made to re-integrate the inhabitants into human society and to overcome their intolerance.

This episode was announced like it was a homage to TOS episodes like "Spectre of the Gun", but the actual similarity is very superficial. Plot-wise there is a much more obvious parallel to VOY: "The 37's", where humans were abducted by aliens likewise and later defeated them. Only that history takes another direction here, so different that "North Star" could be even regarded as an antithesis to the success story in the Delta Quadrant. If we neglect the stereotypical setting, "North Star" may be even the more realistic version. Instead of making progress and working on a better society (which left the Voyager crew impressed), these people are still living in the Wild West with all its lacking justice and uncivilized customs, even if these are just clichés created by Hollywood.
With regard to parallels between "North Star" and real-world developments, different interpretations are possible. Most obviously it could reflect the treatment of native Americans, whose land was taken from them and who became victims of lacking education and of alcohol. But also Apartheid or any other form of racial discrimination that was always a part of human history and surfaced most violently on Earth after the alien abduction. Finally, considering how the human settlers are overly vigilant not to let the aliens endanger their way of life, it may be a hidden criticism of the policy of the current US government. It would be far-fetched to assume this was the writer's intention though. Most of all, it was becoming of a Star Trek episode to show that humanity is not a perfect homogenously benevolent society, but that there is hope that one day this dream may come true. One aspect I didn't like was the finding that Bethany was part Skagaran. There is absolutely no point about that in the following, except for suggesting that this is the reason why she is the only person to support the Skagarans, as if humans are intrinsically bad.
We may accept it as a symbolic part of the setting, but I found it quite unrealistic that the setting was exactly like a Western town without any sign of either progress or degeneration or of alien technology. On the other hand, these people had guns and other devices, but even with all raw materials available, a 19th century society with a total population of only 6000 could hardly sustain a steel industry, for instance. And where does the coffee come from in such an arid prairie?
Remarkable fact: Archer was born in up-state New York and spent most of his life in San Francisco.
Rating: 5

Similitude No date given: When the ship's drive is disabled by a polaric field, Trip is injured and falls into a coma. Following Phlox's suggestion, Archer approves of using a Lyserian mimetic symbiont to grow a clone that would stay alive for 15 days, just enough to provide neural tissue for Trip. Sim, as the clone is called, grows up quickly as expected, but he also inherits Trip's memories and develops a personality of his own. It turns out that Lyserian scientists have been working on an illegal enzyme to prolong a clone's life span, but eventually Sim grudgingly agrees to sacrifice himself for Trip.

I expected a lot from "Similitude" and it fulfilled my expectations for the most part. Knowing that it was supposed to be something about cloning Trip, I was quite lucky that it didn't come out as yet another silly doppelganger story along the lines "Who is the right one?" I also appreciated that all technical matters were of secondary importance and that the ship had been saved before the decision whether to save Sim or Trip was due. Already the teaser with Trip (actually Sim) in the coffin was an admirable introduction -- though I usually dislike spoilers that anticipate later events and though Archer's phrasing could have been toned down a bit. Overall, the episode left me quite impressed, but also disturbed, as I am still struggling with the raised controversies. But that's what good Trek episodes are made of.
The relevance of the story becomes clear regarding the ongoing discussion in the real world about growing stem cells to regenerate human tissue, often even suggested as a precaution for a possible accident. But while creating a complete clone for harvesting organs is still a hypothetical idea in our days, it is possible in the 22nd century. So the problem is not only "Are we allowed to tamper with what nature has given us?" but also "Can we deny so created 'unnatural' lifeforms the rights that should apply to any sentient being?" Starfleet or Star Trek do not really have an answer to the latter question. This uncertainty complicates the episode, as it adds to the general problem of allowing cloning in certain limited cases, for reasons which were swiftly made up by Phlox and Archer here. Cloning has been outlawed by the Lyserians, probably because their simple procedure (which obviously requires few to no technology) has been subject to extensive misuse. Cloning, like any kind of genetic tampering, has been almost consistently condemned for several reasons in Star Trek so far. But the discussion usually boiled down to rather practical and superficial questions of cloning. Moreover the clones themselves, just like various other types of doppelgangers, were depicted as threatening, like in TNG: "Up the Long Ladder" or DS9: "A Man Alone". This one-sided impression is eventually corrected in "Similitude" by letting the clone speak for himself.
Quite obviously the dilemma that Archer is facing mirrors Janeway's in VOY: "Tuvix". It doesn't matter that much that Tuvix was accidentally created, whereas Sim is supposed to serve as a spare part provider from his very inception. Both exist here and now, and both are denied their right to go on living because they would do it at the expense of someone else, of friends of the crew. In both cases the situation is complicated through the discovery that the "unnatural" being isn't as mindless as expected, but is even more intelligent, somehow "better" than the original. I have a strong dislike for this sort of twists. They suggest that some little accident or illegal tampering with genes could only help improve ourselves. Moreover, the impression is created that we should take into account an individual's abilities when his life is at stake. I would rather have been interested to see how they would have treated a Sim who was barely self-aware, and not the engineering genius who can do everything like Trip, only better. Compared to that, the impact of the second twist, that there may be hope that Sim's lifespan could be extended, is much weaker. I think the story could have gone without it, especially since Archer correctly objected that the life expectancy doesn't matter when someone is killed.
But the basic question is still which person would "deserve" to live, if the chances of survival are about equal. In the case of Tuvix, the fact that no one ever wanted to let him come to life may speak in favor of Janeway's decision to sacrifice him for Tuvok and Neelix who never had a chance to express their individual opinions once they were merged. On the other hand, the argument that they live at the expense of others may be used to get rid of various other forms of unwanted life. So the possible ethical failure in "Similitude" may not have been cloning Sim in the first place, but rather consciously killing him, even if this was the original intention. In this light Sim's remark that he was meant to die just like Trip was meant to be an engineer and Archer a captain leaves a bad taste. It sounds like false heroism out of a false sense of duty, and this is unfortunately bolstered by Archer's speech at the funeral. Not that Sim wouldn't deserve to be honored this way, but it obviously serves to alleviate the matter after it has previously been complicated by the discovery of the enzyme that might prolong Sim's life. Even without the enzyme Sim would have deserved to live his whole life of 15 days, as Archer quite correctly recognized. Whether self-sacrifice for a greater benefit should be praised at all, is still another question. Especially American TV is prone to glorify that instead of posing critical questions how the situation that led to the sacrifice could have been avoided in the first place. Not that I have any suggestion how to avert Trip's accident or crime or war once and for all, but generally we should at least try to understand the problems instead of fixing them with causing new ones.
I liked almost everyone's performance in this episode. First an foremost Connor Trinneer as Trip and Sim was extraordinary -- once again. Although I still wonder if they shouldn't have made Sim a dull child-like person, Trinneer proved quite successful in giving us the idea that Sim was someone with generally the same nature as Trip, but with a different perception and perspective that makes him react differently - most obviously when he confesses to T'Pol that he and/or Trip are in love with her. I was a bit irritated when T'Pol kissed Trip. Not only because I'm not sure if it would befit a Vulcan woman, but also because authors routinely treat "unreal" characters (time travel, parallel universe etc.) in such a fashion, knowing that it would have no effect on their "real" counterparts. But I think out of reverence to a person who is going to die the kiss was acceptable. Phlox was in character as usual, considering how promptly he came up with the idea to clone Trip and how much pleasure he took in raising young Sim. Once again his nonchalance helped him to make or accept tough decisions with ease. At least that's what he let it look like. His role in the story wouldn't have worked with McCoy or any other Trek physician. Archer, on the other hand, was pondering throughout the whole episode whether it would be warranted to discard medical ethics just to save his friend's life. Trip's importance for the mission of Enterprise was only a half-hearted excuse, and Archer was aware of that.
Science & technology: The one clear weak point of the episode is that Sim has inherited nearly all of Trip's knowledge (Sim is a skilled engineer after all), although only a DNA sample has been transferred to the mimetic symbiont. How is this possible? The explanation given in the episode is that some species pass on their cultural memories genetically, and that humans might have this ability too. Yet, there is clearly more about it in Sim's case. How could a huge memory be comprised in a tiny DNA sequence? If this were so, wouldn't that make our brain woefully redundant? Then why do we have to learn anything, if we could just rely on our parents' memories? Also, wouldn't our DNA be subject to continuous change? -- A possible problem occurs when the two shuttles, with fully powered engines, don't manage to move the ship at all. But as the ship is covered with the magnetic stuff, of which a lot more is floating around, there may be an initial momentum to overcome, as opposed to open space. Yet, after they have escaped from the field, suddenly the stuff isn't magnetic any longer and just falls off the hull.
Remarkable fact: Trip once had a big dog called Bedford. His father wanted him to become an engineer, while his mother would have liked to see him study architecture.
Remarkable ship: Sim plays with Archer's model ship from "Broken Bow", and he accidentally breaks off a nacelle.
Rating: 7

Carpenter Street No date given: Three Xindi-Reptilians have traveled to Detroit, Michigan in 2004. They have hired an employee of a blood bank to abduct persons of different blood types, as they are going to build a bioweapon based on that. Only samples of AB positive and B negative are still missing. Daniel sends Archer and T'Pol back in time to stop the Xindi. After getting hold of the man who helped them, they manage to kill the Xindi just before they can release the poison.

The weakness of this episode already lies in its premise. Although it is somewhat exciting, the underlying crude action plot can hardly justify Star Trek's umpteenth time travel to 20th/21st century USA (as if human history had not taken place at any other place or time). But I have previously ranted enough about that. As soon as during the first few seconds of the episode an abundance of time travel and "ancient Earth" clichés came to my mind, and I was already alarmed that it could turn into a second "11:59". While it was not quite that pointless, "Carpenter Street" turned out equally mindless. There is not really a need to discuss any aspect of the plot, which is overly simple and devoid any incentive of discussion. Well, except for Archer's once again overly violent conduct. As if a character that is otherwise supposed to be likable would become edgier just by showing inappropriate hostility.
In addition, it becomes clear too fast what the whole episode is about. The first ten minutes (before anyone of the Enterprise crew appears), may have been supposed to be not very revealing. Yet, it is just too obvious already then what the Xindi are doing - pursuing their usual plan to extinguish humanity, this time with a bioweapon. Even the decisive clue - that the guy is looking for different blood types - is given away during that early stage. All Archer and T'Pol still have to accomplish is to stop them, and they manage to do so without much pain and without any major complication. The course of the plot is just too clear-cut, and the many allusions how primitive present-day humanity is don't really cheer up the story either. There have been plenty of more hilarious and more original gags about people from the future trying to adjust to the rough customs of our time. Only the drive-in scene is something to remember, as it shows absurd comedy without exaggeration - just what it could really be if someone came to our crazy time.
Only some time travel details on a separate page are worth a closer look. Aside from that, there is a bit of trivia about Archer and T'Pol and Earth's history. Overall, except for Archer's aggressiveness there was nothing about "Carpenter Street" that I really disliked. Still, it ranks among the least inspiring episodes of the whole series.
Remarkable fact: Archer's blood type is B negative.
Rating: 2

Chosen Realm No date given: Enterprise rescues a small ship from an anomaly near one of the large spheres. But its crew, all members of a religious group from the planet Triannon led by D'Jamat, take over the ship, ready to perform suicide attacks with organic explosives. D'Jamat wants to execute one Enterprise crew member for desecrating their "holy" sphere. Archer volunteers, and using the transporter he pretends to have his molecules dissolved. He organizes resistance against D'Jamat, getting help from Yarrick, one of the hijackers who does not agree with D'Jamat's extreme views. After the terrorists have been overwhelmed, they arrive at Triannon to see that the planet has been devastated by the war between the religious groups.

"Chosen Realm" is successful as a solid action plot that tackles a delicate subject. Only that the outcome is quite one-sided and decidedly anti-religious like several Trek episodes before, most prominently TNG: "Who Watches the Watchers?".
First of all, it is just too obvious how "Chosen Realm" is a homage to the classic anti-racist TOS episode "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield". And for once here is a homage that carefully cites the original without imitating or even devaluing it. The rationalization for D'Jamat's jihad is as dull as the one in the TOS episode. From an objective viewpoint no one would give a damn if the Chosen Realm was created in nine or in ten days, but fanatics thrive on what little distinctiveness they can accomplish. And like the "scientific" arguments of racists, such religious peculiarities are usually made up due to a lack of better ideas. In the only glance we get of a "heretic", we even see that he has his facial mark on the other side, just like the facial colors of Bele and Lokai in the TOS episodes were switched. Finally, Triannon has gone up in flames in the same way as Cheron.
The second parallel is almost as evident as the first one, but it bears a problem. The conflict Archer vs. D'Jamat seems much like the one between Bush and bin Laden. We know that bin Laden is a stinking bastard, merciless and inhumane. Bush may have bad habits and sometimes questionable intentions, but first of all he is the leader of a free and benevolent country. In this light it is no question that we are supposed to sympathize entirely with Archer, despite his failings (the airlock incident in "Anomaly"), which D'Jamat points out with pleasure. But in two or maybe more remarks throughout the episode, Archer explicitly blames the faith for D'Jamat's misdeeds. Not inflexibility or fanaticism, but the very basic idea of their religion. We are supposed to believe him, witnessing how Archer is right about everything else and how D'Jamat is evil all over (he even claims to be merciful when he says he would kill only one crew member for the crime of desecration). The outcome of the episode is that, instead of keeping a bit of a controversy, we are readily served a preconception that any religion will ultimately end up in conceit and in discrimination of "heretics". While there is some truth in that stance regarding the history of Christianity and Islam, neither religion is based on intolerance or hatred. It is actually quite the contrary, and only ruthless leaders have misused faith for their own purposes. Millions or even billions of religious but peaceful human beings prove that there is nothing intrinsically wrong about their religion. D'Jamat repeatedly makes silly claims that his "truth" should be the only one, but Archer's stance that there must not be anything besides science is not really that much better. Only that it is easy to show you're right when someone points a phase pistol at your head.
Some random observations: Where is Hoshi? After a brief appearance in the beginning I don't remember seeing her again. -- Mayweather has a few lines! -- Well, the old cliché: One of the evil aliens ends up helping the crew... -- There is one logical problem, considering that D'Jamat had access to all the specs of the ship. The transporter would almost definitely have caught his attention, and Archer couldn't have made him believe that it is used for waste disposal and even for occasional executions.
Remarkable quote: "When you begin sympathizing with the enemy, you risk to become the enemy." (D'Jamat)
Remarkable dialogue: "These people you're fighting, what makes them heretics?" - "We believe the Makers created the Chosen Realm in nine days. They say it took ten." (Archer and Yarrick)
Remarkable facts: Triannon is a planet 6.2 light years away from the particular sphere. D'Jamat deletes 14.3 XB of data about the spheres (exabytes?).
Crew losses: 1
Rating: 5

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