Archer and Mayweather, having inadverdantly violated the Tandaran military zone while investigating in a shuttlepod, awake inside a Tandaran detention center, whose prisoners are otherwise entirely Suliban. The head of the center, Colonel Grat (Dean Stockwell), assures them that this misunderstanding can be cleared up in just a few days' time, and explains that the Tandarans are at war with the Suliban Cabal. Grat is a genial host, and his only concern - apparently, solely for Archer's and Mayweather's welfare - is that they should keep to themselves until they are released.
Archer, who has never excelled at keeping to himself, quickly makes the acquaintance of a Suliban named Danik (Dennis Christopher), and discovers that none of the Suliban in the complex are genetically modified, and none of them are members of the Cabal. Instead, these Suliban were citizens of Tandar, who were abruptly transformed into prisoners "for their own protection" when the Cabal attacked Tandaran space. Archer resolves to help the prisoners regain their freedom... but as Grat realizes how much Archer now knows, he finds that his and Mayweather's own freedom is now in jeopardy!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Archer: Still shows a tendency to trust those who look human above those who don't. He is instantly inclined to accept the explanations of the nearly human-looking Grat, and instantly inclined to distrust the Suliban. However, he is getting better and better at looking past his prejudices. It takes him the space of one coversation to accept that Danik and his people are not members of the Cabal, and about that length of time to become morally outraged. Of course, Archer becoming morally outraged on behalf of someone else is hardly remarkable - but in this case, it seems difficult to disagree with him.
Mayweather: One of only two regulars with significant screentime... and he still manages to have no real character! I did appreciate Mayweather's chagrin when called on his discomfort around the Suliban. But nothing is done with that, other than to have Mayweather lecture Relucant Suliban X about how Mayweather overcame his preconceptions, so Mr. Suliban should be able to do the same. That can hardly can be labeled characterization, even by Trek's sometimes loose standards.
Villain of the Week: That Stockwell and Bakula play well off each other is hardly surprising; that they do so without a single hint of "Sam" or "Al" cropping up in their scenes together is somewhat more surprising. As Grat, Stockwell does a good job of portraying a man who has managed to convince himself that what he is doing is really, truly for the best. At the prospect of a mass escape, he snaps, "You're not rescuing these people - You're condemning them!" It's very much to Stockwell's credit that we believe that Grat believes what he is saying. Grat is definitely the villain; however, he's not a 2-dimensional, mustache-twirling baddie. He's the more interesting villain: The one who believes he is doing what's right - or at least, what's expedient.
SO LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT...
So where does Enterprise's technology fall, compared with other space-faring species? Early episodes seemed, quite refreshingly, to indicate that our heroes were very much at the low end of military technology, with only primitive shielding and weaponry. Yes, they've now upgraded their weapons. Even so, it seems that they should still be lower-middle at best.
Yet here Enterprise encounters a race that has been at war with the technologically superior Suliban Cabal for years. We have seen that the Cabal possess technology that makes the Enterprise look like something out of the Stone Age. So surely, Enterprise should not be able to: effortlessly jam the Tandaran computers, shoot down two Tandaran ships with as many torpedoes, effortlessly evade the complex's defenses, and then destroy said defenses, all with no real resistance? It's a bizarre discrepancy, given what we've seen in other episodes. Apparently, Enterprise's technology advances, much like the warp engines: at the speed of plot.
THOUGHTS
On the one hand, this is an unsubtle allegory about World War II era Japanese internment camps - one that commits the cardinal sin of an allegory in actually spelling out in the text the event being paralleled! There is no question as to which side is right and which side is wrong. The Suliban imprisoned in the complex are all fundamentally decent, with the only "gray" Suliban being the one who is wary of trusting Archer on first sight. Meanwhile, the Tandarans are either brutal, needlessly strict at enforcing pointless rules, or self-deluded about what it is they're doing. There are no "bad" Suliban in this episode (although a Cabal sympathizer or two would seem to be a natural, given the situation), and there are no "good" Tandarans.
On the other hand, it's another entertaining installment. Once you set aside the lack of subtlety, this is a well put-together show. The script is tight and the acting is good, with particularly strong guest turns by Stockwell and Dennis Christopher. Yes, the regulars other than Archer and Mayweather get minimal screentime. Still, everyone gets something to do. T'Pol gets to negotiate with Grat, and then deceive him while neatly carrying off a jamming maneuver; Reed gets to blow some things up and hit some people, so he has a good day; Phlox gets to be an artistic perfectionist while preparing a disguise; Hoshi gets to trace and jam transmissions; and Trip... well, Trip mostly gets to be loud, but at least he's heard.
Finally, for an episode that is about as subtle as a 2x4 to the side of the head, it has a suprisingly effective ending note. It's probably not much of a spoiler to reveal that Archer rescues all the Suliban, and they get successfully into space and away from the complex. But it's a decidedly mixed victory, as Archer muses that he's fairly sure they will escape the Tandarans, but is significantly less sure that they "will be all right."
It's a nicely ambiguous end note, in an episode that probably could have used a bit more ambiguity.
Rating: 6/10.
Previous Episode: Oasis
Next Episode: Vox Sola
Search Amazon.com for Star Trek: Enterprise
Review Index
No comments:
Post a Comment