Travelling deeper into the Expanse, the Enterprise follows up a clue from a freighter which takes them to a mining planet. They have been told that one of the miners is a Xindi, and try to bargain with the seedy mine manager (an enjoyably disgusting Stephen McHattie) to talk to the man. But once they are in the mine's lower levels, they discover that the manager has his own agenda - to lure Enterprise into an attack and enslave the ship's entire crew for additional workers!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Archer: He's still on edge in this episode. There's a sense that Archer is now perpetually holding back a fierce rage that wasn't there before. He always had a temper, but now there's something genuinely volatile beneath the surface. The increased edginess suits Bakula's performance, allowing our lead to help set the new tone of this series in a way that wasn't necessarily true before.
T'Pol: Asked by Phlox to help Trip, she shows surprising tact and delicacy in getting Trip to submit to "Vulcan neuropressure." She first tries to make Trip believe that he is helping her. When that doesn't work, she tells him the truth, then gets Trip to submit rather than prove that he is too stubborn to compromise.
Trip: He's still holding back a lot of rage following his sister's death. He is a little too eager to threaten violence against the Xindi prisoner. Combined with his lack of sleep and his eagerness to resort to drugs to help him sleep, there's a sense that Trip may be in a dangerous place. It would be interesting to see that developed.
Reed: The opening scenes find his position and Archer's from last season's Minefield reversed. Then, Reed wanted Archer to be more formal and militaristic. Now, when Reed is urging caution, Archer snaps at him and establishes a more crisp and military tone. Reed got what he wanted... via the worst possible route. Reed also has a minor turf fight with the commander of the space marines (Steven Culp), which could turn into either a friendship or a rivalry between the two characters, depending on how the season develops.
Dr. Phlox: With the other characters all in an edgier, angrier place, it's reassuring to see Phlox be pretty much the same person he was last season. He's still eternally cheerful, serious about his duties, and using all means at his disposal to see to both the physical and mental well-being of the crew. He is not traumatized - nor should he be, since his planet did not get attacked. Hoshi's one character scene also sees her behaving very much the same as she always has, reminding us that not everyone goes to a dark place in the face of traumas.
THOUGHTS
The title sequence gets a slight facelift, with "Star Trek" now added to the title. Probably a sign of desperation - a network executive figured that sticking the Star Trek in the series title might get the show a handful more viewers. I actually preferred the title being just Enterprise, but it's hardly a substantial change. More irritating is the change to the title music. A change was appropriate, given the change in tone of the series itself. But the new title music should be something darker and grimmer, perhaps an orchestral score. If they felt they absolutely had to stick with a rock song, they should at least have switched to a darker tune. Instead, they simply "jazzed up" the existing song, in a way that makes it quite grating to listen to.
As to the episode itself, it is another good one. There are some forced elements. Hoshi introduces herself to the marine detachment... a marine detachment that has been, per the previous episode, on the ship for months at this point! I understand the reason for this scene, as none of these characters had been created yet, let alone actors hired, when the second season finale was shot. But it does make a "ping" against my suspension of disbelief. A scene in which they interact with Hoshi and are already familiar with her would achieve the same thing in a less jarring way.
On the plus side, the marines are promising additions to a cast that's been in serious need of some non-command staff characters. With veteran television actors like Daniel Dae Kim and Steven Culp, it seems a good bet that these characters will have a role to play in the new season. This episode sees them in action, and sees some limited interaction between them and the regulars. One hopes for more of this as the season develops.
The episode's standalone plot (a breakout from a slave mine) is not terribly far removed from the types of stories we saw in Season Two. But the overall arc gives extra focus and purpose to the regulars' actions. Also, the execution is more textured. This mine is not a generic Trek prison, but a genuinely grimy place, peopled by nasty individuals. Archer and Trip are downright brutal in their treatment of both the mine manager and the Xindi they are there to meet. The Xindi's final actions may help to pull Archer back from going too far in that direction, as he is genuinely surprised to find that the man held up his end of the bargain in the end.
The episode is well-directed. It's also well-scripted by Rick Berman and Brannon Braga, who use the standalone plot to establish a "new normal" for the crew, probably as a cue to writers for the rest of the season. CGI effects are used to create a more alien planet for the mine than most of the planets we've seen to date. Also, the brief scenes in the Xindi council chamber are effectively alien, and the set-up of this heavily divided council offers a lot of potential for future episodes.
Rating: 7/10. A promising start to the reformatted Enterprise.
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