THE PLOT
Degra escorts Enterprise to the Xindi council, where he promises that Archer will have the opportunity to present his evidence against the Sphere Builders. The Reptilians and Insectoids would as soon destroy both Archer and Enterprise as listen to him, but the other three Xindi species join forces to enforce the issue. Archer has already secured the trust of two of the Xindi races. Now he'll need to win a third vote to stop the weapon from being deployed. With the Reptilians and Insectoids entrenched against him, his only hope is to focus his evidence on the Acquatics.
Meanwhile, T'Pol, Reed, and Mayweather lead a mission into the closest sphere. They penetrate the sphere's camouflaged entrance. But there are other defenses waiting for them...
CHARACTERS
Capt. Archer: It's fortunate that this mission came after he had already been blundering around in space for two years. The Archer of Season One, or even early Season Two, would have made a hash of things. This Archer is able to act as a strategist with Degra to persuade the council. He quickly ascertains that the Reptilians and Insectoids are a lost cause, and urges Degra to focus on convincing the Acquatics, in order to get the third of the five needed votes to stop the weapon.
Trip: Has difficulty working with Degra, but manages to be "cooperative," if hostile, in preparing the Sphere Builder's pod to be used as evidence for the Council. He later does make peace with Degra - something I would have preferred him not do, because it would have been more dramatically interesting for Trip to remain hostile, but I suppose the writers did not care to jeopardize his standing as the most easily relatable of the regulars.
Reed: When Random Marine Hawkins dies on the mission to the sphere, Reed has a private meltdown. "We've become too comfortable with losing people!" he declares. He draws on his military background when he reveals that "acceptable losses" for any mission are 20%... a percentage that, with Hawkins' death, Enterprise has now exceeded.
Hoshi: Emerges from the periphery to get a fairly good episode. She has become passably comfortable with the primary languages of both the Acquatics and the Insectoids, making her invaluable to Archer in the Council. She takes a moment as they fly in to appreciate the beauty of the Avian architecture, and has a couple of amusing exchanges with Archer on the way to the council chamber.
Degra: He is now absolutely convinced of Archer's claims against the Sphere Builders. When one of the Sphere Builders tries to convince him to change his course, Degra harshly rejects her, telling her, "You were never worthy of my faith." He also swears to Archer that he will be on his side at all times in the council chamber - a promise he makes good on.
The Xindi: After their home world was destroyed, they were saved from extinction by the Sphere Builders. Degra tells Archer that the Builders are all but worshipped in Xindi society. The leader of the Reptilians seems to be particularly under their sway, threatening his own lieutenant when he dares to so much as question "The Guardians."
ZAP THE REDSHIRT!
Reed selects a marine named Hawkins to accompany the shuttle team into the Sphere. That means the Away Team consists of T'Pol, Reed, Mayweather, and Hawkins. Guess which one ends up losing an argument with a robotic claw?
THOUGHTS
David Livingston directs this episode. I mention this at the start because I was thoroughly impressed with the way this episode was directed. The music, effects, design, and performances... They are all good individually, and Livingston puts them together so that they feed on each other. I said way back in my Season One reviews that Enterprise was easily the strongest of the Trek shows visually. This episode not only reminds me of how impressed I was by the early episodes' effects, but enhances that with real craftsmanship. I'd compare it to cinema... but lately, most of the directing work I've seen in recent bigscreen movies falls well short of this level of accomplishment.
The episode grabs attention from the opening shots, as we see the Sphere Builders communicating amongst themselves. We see them one Builder at a time, speaking inside a white void. The images seem to vaguely overlap, creating an otherworldly atmosphere. It's an arresting opener, one that declares up-front that this will be a visually stylish episode.
It also has a lot of momentum. The entire season has been building to this point, and there's a sense throughout that everything is now important. It ends with another strong action sequence, one that recalls the teaser for Twilight. As it cut away to black, I found myself very glad to be able to just move ahead to the next episode. Waiting for the resolution would have made for a very long week.
Rating: 9/10
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