THE PLOT
Enterprise has just surveyed a third sphere, enabling T'Pol to map the locations of anomalies within the Expanse to a more accurate degree than ever. Then it receives a distress call from a ship that has been badly damaged by an anomaly. The ship carries religious pilgrims, from a sect who worship the Spheres and considers their "Makers" to be gods.
Archer takes them aboard while Trip conducts repairs on their craft, and carefully humors their beliefs. But the head of the sect has a surprise for Archer. His people have concealed a chemical explosive within their bodies. Upon their leader's orders, they are willing to blow themselves up - severely damaging Enterprise, and potentially destroying the starship, unless Archer agrees to turn his ship over to them. They intend to use Enterprise and its weapons to "cleanse" their homeworld of "heretics."
They have one other nasty surprise. Upon discovering that Archer and his crew have "desecrated" multiple spheres, the sect leader declares that such a crime can only be punished by death. Archer must select a crewman for execution!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Archer: Though I often liked his performances in the first two seasons, Scott Bakula has really raised his game in Season Three (really, starting with late Season Two), going from strength to strength. He gives another excellent performance here. I was glad to see Archer behave with some caution when rescuing the pilgrims at the beginning. He's still the dutiful Starfleet captain who wants to do the right thing. But he pauses to make sure his ship can rescue them safely before moving in, and he asks Reed to take security precautions.
Bakula gets to do some more of his angry acting once D'Jamat takes over the ship. But it's not the same angry acting we've seen before. He doesn't lose control, instead using his anger to focus into a controlled simmer. First he tries to reason with D'Jamat. Once he realizes that his captor is insane, he focuses on outmaneuvering him. He does a particularly good job of playing the final scene, both when delivering the moral (The Archer Sledge-Hammer?) and in his non-verbal reactions as he walks away in disgust.
T'Pol: Should be counselled that when arguing with an idiot, it's best to make sure he is not engaged in the same pastime. While at the captain's table with D'Jamat, it quickly becomes clear that D'Jamat's beliefs are... not overly susceptible to interference by pesky things like facts. At this point, Archer quite sensibly shuts up and humors the man, which is probably the best way to deal with that sort. T'Pol continues to try to argue science for a while. She does get a very good scene late in the episode. When D'Jamat orders her to fire on the ships belonging to the "heretics," T'Pol simply replies, "No," to very good effect.
Dr. Phlox: Another good supporting episode, as Phlox reacts with suitable outrage to the injuries caused by D'Jamat's "demonstration." When the members of the sect try to remove him from sickbay, he flatly refuses to leave, insisting that he will stay to treat his patients in a tone that brooks no argument. It's John Billingsley's most memorable moment in the episode, though he does get some fun bits later on, particularly when using a flying creature from his menagerie to create a tactical advantage.
Psycotic Alien Religious Nut of the Week: Conor O'Farrell is Pri'Nam D'Jamat, the leader of the religious sect that captures Enterprise. O'Farrell does something very smart in his portrayal of this villain - Namely, he doesn't play him as a villain. He plays D'Jamat quietly, with his most evil actions done with a regretful tone in his voice. He seems genuinely sad that he cannot get Archer to see "The Truth." He isn't murdering for the sake of murder, but because he has decided it is his duty to kill all unbelievers. His generally reasonable bearing, carrying himself as someone who not only believes, but knows that he is a Good Man, makes him quite scary, particularly when he cautions one of his followers that questioning him is equivalent to questioning God. It's a very good performance of a well-written fanatical villain, and elevates the episode substantially.
ZAP THE REDSHIRT!
Redshirt count: One. As D'Jamat orders one of his men to provide a "demonstration" of the organic explosive, a sympathetically pretty female crew member happens along the corridor to watch - and thus get caught up in the explosion.
THOUGHTS
Manny Coto's second Enterprise script. It isn't as good as Similitude, but fair enough - very few Enterprise episodes have been.
Chosen Realm is, at its core, a stock plot. The ship is taken over by a force that can destroy it at will, and the crew has to use its wits to overcome them. I'd dub it Die Hard on a starship, but the episode isn't actually action-oriented for most of its length (a choice that I appreciate). Besides, TOS had a handful of similar episodes more than a decade before Bruce Willis ever set foot in that high rise.
As is typical of Trek, the story parallels current concerns. Coto, a fan of the original '60's series, borrows heavily from it here, particularly from Let That Be Your Last Battlefield. Instead of paralleling race, as that episode did, Coto parallels religious fanaticism. D'Jamat will probably most bring to mind current conflicts in the Middle East, but some of the background of his war also parallels the Catholic/Protestant conflicts of the 1600's, particularly when we find out exactly what it is that separates the beliefs of D'Jamat from those of the "heretics."
Ultimately, I found this to be good, solid Trek, mixing a decent sci-fi storyline with (somewhat less than subtle) social commentary. It's highly watchable, with particularly strong performances by O'Farrell and Bakula. The ending, while derivative, is still effective, and benefits from some more of Enterprise's superb CGI.
Rating: 8/10
Enterprise has just surveyed a third sphere, enabling T'Pol to map the locations of anomalies within the Expanse to a more accurate degree than ever. Then it receives a distress call from a ship that has been badly damaged by an anomaly. The ship carries religious pilgrims, from a sect who worship the Spheres and considers their "Makers" to be gods.
Archer takes them aboard while Trip conducts repairs on their craft, and carefully humors their beliefs. But the head of the sect has a surprise for Archer. His people have concealed a chemical explosive within their bodies. Upon their leader's orders, they are willing to blow themselves up - severely damaging Enterprise, and potentially destroying the starship, unless Archer agrees to turn his ship over to them. They intend to use Enterprise and its weapons to "cleanse" their homeworld of "heretics."
They have one other nasty surprise. Upon discovering that Archer and his crew have "desecrated" multiple spheres, the sect leader declares that such a crime can only be punished by death. Archer must select a crewman for execution!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Archer: Though I often liked his performances in the first two seasons, Scott Bakula has really raised his game in Season Three (really, starting with late Season Two), going from strength to strength. He gives another excellent performance here. I was glad to see Archer behave with some caution when rescuing the pilgrims at the beginning. He's still the dutiful Starfleet captain who wants to do the right thing. But he pauses to make sure his ship can rescue them safely before moving in, and he asks Reed to take security precautions.
Bakula gets to do some more of his angry acting once D'Jamat takes over the ship. But it's not the same angry acting we've seen before. He doesn't lose control, instead using his anger to focus into a controlled simmer. First he tries to reason with D'Jamat. Once he realizes that his captor is insane, he focuses on outmaneuvering him. He does a particularly good job of playing the final scene, both when delivering the moral (The Archer Sledge-Hammer?) and in his non-verbal reactions as he walks away in disgust.
T'Pol: Should be counselled that when arguing with an idiot, it's best to make sure he is not engaged in the same pastime. While at the captain's table with D'Jamat, it quickly becomes clear that D'Jamat's beliefs are... not overly susceptible to interference by pesky things like facts. At this point, Archer quite sensibly shuts up and humors the man, which is probably the best way to deal with that sort. T'Pol continues to try to argue science for a while. She does get a very good scene late in the episode. When D'Jamat orders her to fire on the ships belonging to the "heretics," T'Pol simply replies, "No," to very good effect.
Dr. Phlox: Another good supporting episode, as Phlox reacts with suitable outrage to the injuries caused by D'Jamat's "demonstration." When the members of the sect try to remove him from sickbay, he flatly refuses to leave, insisting that he will stay to treat his patients in a tone that brooks no argument. It's John Billingsley's most memorable moment in the episode, though he does get some fun bits later on, particularly when using a flying creature from his menagerie to create a tactical advantage.
Psycotic Alien Religious Nut of the Week: Conor O'Farrell is Pri'Nam D'Jamat, the leader of the religious sect that captures Enterprise. O'Farrell does something very smart in his portrayal of this villain - Namely, he doesn't play him as a villain. He plays D'Jamat quietly, with his most evil actions done with a regretful tone in his voice. He seems genuinely sad that he cannot get Archer to see "The Truth." He isn't murdering for the sake of murder, but because he has decided it is his duty to kill all unbelievers. His generally reasonable bearing, carrying himself as someone who not only believes, but knows that he is a Good Man, makes him quite scary, particularly when he cautions one of his followers that questioning him is equivalent to questioning God. It's a very good performance of a well-written fanatical villain, and elevates the episode substantially.
ZAP THE REDSHIRT!
Redshirt count: One. As D'Jamat orders one of his men to provide a "demonstration" of the organic explosive, a sympathetically pretty female crew member happens along the corridor to watch - and thus get caught up in the explosion.
THOUGHTS
Manny Coto's second Enterprise script. It isn't as good as Similitude, but fair enough - very few Enterprise episodes have been.
Chosen Realm is, at its core, a stock plot. The ship is taken over by a force that can destroy it at will, and the crew has to use its wits to overcome them. I'd dub it Die Hard on a starship, but the episode isn't actually action-oriented for most of its length (a choice that I appreciate). Besides, TOS had a handful of similar episodes more than a decade before Bruce Willis ever set foot in that high rise.
As is typical of Trek, the story parallels current concerns. Coto, a fan of the original '60's series, borrows heavily from it here, particularly from Let That Be Your Last Battlefield. Instead of paralleling race, as that episode did, Coto parallels religious fanaticism. D'Jamat will probably most bring to mind current conflicts in the Middle East, but some of the background of his war also parallels the Catholic/Protestant conflicts of the 1600's, particularly when we find out exactly what it is that separates the beliefs of D'Jamat from those of the "heretics."
Ultimately, I found this to be good, solid Trek, mixing a decent sci-fi storyline with (somewhat less than subtle) social commentary. It's highly watchable, with particularly strong performances by O'Farrell and Bakula. The ending, while derivative, is still effective, and benefits from some more of Enterprise's superb CGI.
Rating: 8/10
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