The Vulcan/Andorian confict erupts into violence, as Andorian troops led by Shran (Jeffrey Combs) land on a planet that both they and the Vulcans have laid claim to. As the fighting intensifies, Shran agrees to negotiations with the Vulcans - but only if those negotiations are mediated by Capt. Archer.
Archer finds himself stepping into the middle of a war zone. Shran trusts him, at least to a point, but Shran's second-in-command believes he is just a Vulcan puppet. Meanwhile, the Vulcans, represented by Archer's old nemesis, Ambassador Soval (Gary Graham), still believe Archer is unreliable and seem to actively hope that his attempts with the Andorians fail.
When Archer's shuttle is shot down while bringing Ambassador Soval to meet with Shran, and Andorian reinforcements near the planet, everything seems poised to tip over into a full-scale interplanetary war!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Archer: Both Archer and Scott Bakula's performance seem to function at their peak level when Archer is in crisis mode. Archer's stubbornness comes in handy when he insists on continuing with the plan to meet Shran even after the shuttle is shot down. On the other hand, Archer continues to show blind spots. He truly doesn't expect trouble when bringing Soval to the planet's surface, something even Trip finds naive. Still, Archer continues to win Shran's trust, while at the same time earning a certain grudging respect from Soval - on this occasion, at least. I also appreciated that while Archer refuses to cede authority to Soval, he's no longer actively trying to antagonize him.
T'Pol: In her interactions with Soval, we learn exactly how much T'Pol is sacrificing by continuing to serve on Enterprise. She is effectively crippling her own career for the sake of the work she finds so rewarding. I do think this episode should have preceded Stigma, as it is clear that T'Pol still has the option of reclaiming her "fast track" career here - a career which is likely to be even further crippled in the wake of her Pa'Nar syndrome. This is not the first time that I have wished a few of the episodes in this series had been aired in a slightly different sequence. I do wonder sometimes who was responsible for the airing order, when it seems clear that the series' weaknesses could have been reduced and its strengths better exploited by just a few, intermittent tweaks in the episode order.
Trip: Though mostly peripheral, Trip does get some strong scenes on the Enterprise bridge, interacting with the trigger-happy Vulcan and Andorian ship captains. He recognizes the gravity of this situation, and is willing to put the chance of peace ahead of the safety of the ship when the ship is in his hands.
Shran: In his third Enterprise appearance, Shran continues to be a very strong recurring character. The anger of his first appearance is still there, as is his hatred of the Vulcans. Still, in an intriguing development, this soldier is gradually evolving into a diplomat. It's a dangerous situation for him, as he is at odds with both his own second-in-command and the Vulcans. Shran appears to be stepping into the role of a "moderate" in the extreme Andorian community, grudgingly meeting Soval halfway and even agreeing to further negotiations. I look forward to his next appearance, as all of the episodes featuring this character have been good ones.
THOUGHTS
The second season of Enterprise spent its first half largely avoiding the very interesting issues surrounding the more aggressive Vulcan society of the show. This was not to the series' advantage. It may have reduced the frustrations of certain Trek fans who have no room for a Vulcan who doesn't behave more or less like Spock, but it steered the show away from one of its most interesting running elements. It was a relief to see the darker side of Vulcan society return in last week's episode, and gratifying to see yet more follow-up on last season's Vulcan episodes here.
The Vulcan/Andorian conflict fueled the series' first truly strong episode, in The Andorian Incident, and was fleshed out in an intriguing fashion in Shadows of P'Jem. Far too much time was allowed to pass between that episode and this one, but we finally see the conflict raised again here.
The war zone is well depicted, particularly the physical sets which Archer, T'Pol, and Soval are forced to traverse. Ruined buildings, exposed beams... It's effective. Some of the establishing CGI isn't so convincing, but it's still eye-catching. At least there seems to be some genuine effort taken to do something atmospheric with the set design, while at the same time matching the CGI to that and pushing forward television CGI. Performances are strong across the board, with the relationships between Shran and Archer and Soval and Archer continuing to evolve.
I could have wished for less predictable plot development, particularly involving Shran's second-in-command. Still, this episode offers some pretty good action, a strong plot that builds on what went before, and even some good character pieces. There was a fair-sized stretch of Season Two in which this show seemed to lose its way. With the last couple of episodes, it seems to have found itself again. Now I just hope it doesn't run back to the "safety" of generic TNG reject scripts again.
Rating: 7/10.
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