Plot – The only relevant thing I took from the teaser was that Archer, T’Pol and Trip are happily getting on with very Star Treky things like scanning nebulas without their very separate ideologies getting in the way. Indeed, there seems to be a gentle humour shivering away amongst them, highlighting their differences in an aimable way.
This episode provides some much-needed insight into both Archer and the first NX Class flight into the unknown. The former comes far too late in the shows run (this really should have been a season one episode) and the latter is a welcome surprise that I never thought I would get to see. This is offering some valuable insight into the testing of the first Starship that Starfleet sent out into space and the struggles they went through to get there. Inversely, this is prequel material to prequel material but I would say this is one of the most vital flashbacks we have ever had because it informs all of the shipboard Trek shows that follow. It’s not easy and the Vulcan’s are breathing down their necks and watching every move they make.
Character – It says a lot about T’Pol that she reminds the Captain that he cannot leave the ship unaccompanied and that it is unusual to head off on a science mission without the science Officer when what she is actually saying is that she doesn’t want him to be alone and she wants to help him through his tragic news. How she says this without saying it at all is wonderfully done, all in subtext.
In the flashbacks, I love the fact that Archer, who is clearly pissed that he wasn’t chosen for the first flight, squashes his ego because all that really matters to him is that they succeed. He even publicly shakes Robinson’s hand to show there are no hard feelings even though he is crushed inside. It’s probably the most likable thing I have seen Archer do. Archer learns a valuable lesson that sometimes you can try too hard at something and lose it because you are blinded to everything else in your life.
How nice to see the first meeting of Archer and Trip and how immediately Jonathan is by the engineer’s forthrightness. Their friendship is built on a beautiful moment when Trip sticks up for Archer’s father by suggesting that his life’s work cannot be sabotaged by the Vulcans and should be protected. You can completely understand Archer’s warmth towards him. It’s nice to see the moment where Trip is promised a place on Archer’s ship should be ever score a command.
Performance – Scott Bakula gives one of his most rounded performances here, running an entire gamut of emotions and getting a chance to portray Archer as both amiable and reasonable and stubborn and violent. I could have done with more of the former characterisation earlier in this shows’ run (I still think they got me off on entirely the wrong foot with Archer having recently re-watched Broken Bow) but I am grateful to see Bakula given the chance to rectify some of the mistakes made in the first season. He seizes the opportunity and whilst it is clear that he isn’t as young as the script suggests he is, Bakula gets away with it by injecting an energetic enthusiasm and earnestness into the role that helps sell the younger, greener Archer.
Best moment – Men being men it was bound to spill over into physical violence at some point and I could see the blood flying the second Archer and Robinson first meet. For all their amiable rivalry, it is still competition and when mistakes start happening it appear that either Archer’s father (who designed the engine) or Robinson (the pilot) at fault. It’s a pretty bloody scrap too, which feels very unlike the usual cartoon violence of Trek. ‘Humans can have funny ways of forming friendships…’ – never a truer word spoken, Archer.
The chewing out of Archer and Robinson is a vital scene to make the struggle of what they have done count. Typical Star Trek logic suggests that they are welcomed back as heroes for proving that the warp tests are feasible in practice. What actually happens is quite the reverse and it could be criminal charges for them both. It’s a terrifically acted sequence.
I wish they hadn’t done that – To me to make the Vulcan’s such a undesirable presence in this series was a mistake. TOS often drew the differences between humanity and Vulcan’s but it did so in a way that allowed both sides to come out of any argument with some dignity intact. Enterprise has decided that early relationships with the Vulcans was awkward and adversarial and there was a certain envy in how quickly humanity reaches the same scientific developments compared to them. This leads to scenes that border on the racist that feature Archer acting like a spoilt child being told no and acting out to his folks and the Vulcan representatives like inflexible parents refusing to budge on their own ideologies. The tension is uneasy because it isn’t particularly educational or explored in much depth beyond ‘we don’t like being told what to do.’ The only real worth to come out of this tension is T’Pol, who breaks out of the typical arrogant Vulcan mould that Enterprise has pumped for and makes Archer, who reacts differently to her as he gets to know her over time, move on his stance that all Vulcans are an uncompromising pain in his ass. That’s what makes the framing device here so worthwhile. To see how far he has come. It’s just a shame that the Vulcans, who I have always considered an ally to the Federation, albeit a cold, distant one, should be promoted in such a disagreeable way. They come across as pretty emotional, and so does Archer and those emotions aren’t altogether pretty.
A reason to watch this episode again – It comes a little late but First Flight is a most welcome sketching out of Jonathan Archer’s backstory, how he met Trip and the problems faced with the NX class ships first launching into space. I was impressed with a lot of what we learnt here and how it gave some substance to some of the things I objected to in the first few episodes of this show (namely Archer’s rivalry with the Vulcans). It plays out in flashback with some nice input from T’Pol and allows us to see the inner workings of Starfleet in a fresh and interesting way. I really like how Archer and Robinson are both characterised as flawed but also men with integrity, initially lashing out at each other and then seeing each other’s points. It’s a one-episode friendship that has legs and makes the loss keenly felt. That’s some effective writing and acting. The is a dramatically and emotionally satisfying story and my only hesitation in scoring it higher is that if it had been one of the other shows I have been reviewing (any of them) I would have been more immediately involved with the characters and this would have hit home even more forcefully.
**** out of *****
Clue for tomorrow's episode:
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