3-8. Twilight.

Sam Beckett wakes up in the future, to find his entire world has been destroyed. "Oh, boy!"


THE PLOT

Archer is awakened by the sounds of battle. He rushes into the corridor, only to be told by a security guard that he must stay in his quarters. He knocks out the guard and heads for the bridge, where he is greeted by the sight of the Xindi weapon, obliterating the Earth as the ship - under the command of T'Pol - watches helplessly.awakened by the sounds of battle. He rushes into the corridor, only to be told by a security guard that he must stay in his quarters. He knocks out the guard and heads for the bridge, where he is greeted by the sight of the Xindi weapon, obliterating the Earth as the ship - under the command of T'Pol - watches helplessly.

Twelve years later, the last few thousand survivors of the human race are hiding from the ongoing Xindi assault on Ceti Alpha V. Archer is still waking up each day, to rediscover that he is no longer captain of the Enterprise and that Earth was destroyed. T'Pol tells him (and us) what happened: Enterprise was struck by an anomaly, which left parasites in his mind. The parasites exist outside of time and space, and so resisted all of Phlox's attempts to treat them, and their existence prevents Archer from forming any new long-term memories.

Now Phlox has returned, having developed a treatment that he believes will cure Archer. But he may never get a chance to use it. The Xindi have tracked him to the human colony, and are moving in for the kill!


CHARACTERS

Capt. Archer: Scott Bakula's best performance in the series to date. He is terrific in playing the frustration and regret of each reminder of his unfitness for duty. Each new reminder of his condition is a little death for the character, but we see Archer trying his best not to show how crushing it is for him to be made useless. When the Xindi attack Enterprise at the end, we see Archer spring back to life - doing his part to fend off the attack giving him a renewed sense of purpose, as he effectively retakes command in these final minutes.

Capt. T'Pol: Accepted command reluctantly when Forrest decided Archer was not fit for command in his current state. As captain, she continued the search for the Xindi weapon. But a snap decision that was logical in the short term but disastrous long-term doomed the mission to failure. After the colony on Ceti Alpha V was founded, she left Enterprise to Trip and devoted the next 9 years to taking care of Archer, during which time her bond with Archer has grown steadily. Jolene Blalock is quite effective as a softer, less rigid T'Pol, and this is the only episode to ever posit a T'Pol/Archer relationship in which such a relationship does not come across as absurd.

Capt. Trip: In command of the Enterprise 12 years in the future, and those signs of confidence that we've seen when he has commanded Enterprise are very much in evidence. Future Trip is absolutely the ship's captain, deferring neither to T'Pol nor to Archer. When the Xindi attack, he is ready with a plan that may well have worked had they attacked in smaller numbers. He is massively outgunned, of course, but he still makes a good fight of it.

Capt. Reed: OK, Reed doesn't really get much in this episode. But I couldn't resist filling out the Captains' Quartet. Beyond that, his old age makeup largely consists of a scraggly beard, but he still likes to blow things up real good, showing that some things never change.

Phlox: In a strong supporting role, Phlox shows how seriously he takes his role as the chief medical officer to the Enterprise. His loyalty to the posting pushes him to work for more than a decade to find a cure for Archer's condition. When he sees the potential of that cure to not only help Archer, but all of them, he is willing to die (and - perhaps more critically for a doctor - to kill) to give Archer that chance.

Mayweather: The most hilarious use of him yet. Writer Mike Sussman doesn't waste any time dealing with just what a useless waste-of-space creation Mayweather is. We get, I believe, one shot of him - disposing of him.

The Xindi: By showing us the future in which the Xindi win, we are shown exactly how much is at stake. The Xindi are not satisfied with destroying Earth. Every human colony is destroyed. Every human convoy that attempts to flee is hunted down and destroyed. Presumably, other races are discouraged from hiding humans or allying with humans, given the power of the Xindi technology. It is clear that this foe will not be satisfied until it has hunted down every last human man, woman, and child in the galaxy. Though the episode does not address it, I can't help but suspect that the resulting collateral damage is high.


THOUGHTS

Twilight was an episode with every reason to be bad. From the moment we see Earth destroyed (in the teaser, no less), we know that this has to be a "reset button" episode. When we come back from the credits to see Archer 12 years older, it's very clear that a reset is the only option the episode has. And Trek reset button episodes have a very bad reputation, with very good reason.

Well, Twilight is a reset button episode. But it's a reset button episode that works.

Mike Sussman, who is arguably the show's best writer, has crafted a very smart script. For one thing, he knows the characters. We see the characters 12 years in the future, and they all are convincingly the people we know, with 12 more years of history behind them. His script flashes back to hit the highlights of how they got to this future, and all of the moments we see work.

That includes seeing how Archer becomes useless. He isn't initially completely useless. Even with no ability to form new memories, he still knows the ship and its crew, and can make recommendations as he is updated on the mission progress. It isn't until a few weeks later, as his suggestions start to repeat themselves, that he realizes that his ability as an advisor is at an end. Even then, we are told that his earlier suggestions were good ones.

The episode also serves a purpose within the arc. By showing us a future in which the Xindi win, we realize just how all-consuming their pre-emptive strike will be. It is not enough for them to destroy Earth, or even to cripple humanity. Humanity needs to be destroyed utterly for them to feel safe. None of the characters will retain what we see here. But because we see this future, we realize just how important it is for Archer's mission to succeed.

Overall, this is probably the best "reset button" episode the Trek franchise ever crafted. It's one of of a very small handful of outstanding Enterprise episodes, and a contender for the series' best.


Rating: 10/10.

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