Plot – This episode deals with prejudice and racism in a very subtle way, which seems to be the way of Enterprise but for once it works in the shows favour. By boiling down the conflict between two races to two well characterised people in a room we get up close and personal to the beleifs that both sides share and start to see them try and discover some common ground. This is not revelatory material, but it is thoughtful. I especially liked the ending that didn’t see a huge coming together of two species who have put their feelings aside but instead goes for the tentative first steps of two races sharing a space together. It offers hope for the future that both sides would consent to travel together, without stating that any kind of reconciliation would be easy.
Character – Good God, Travis Mayweather has a skill that is put to good use in this episode. Someone get these writers an exec producer credit as they have the ability to recognise that this show has a crew outside of the triumvirate of Archer, T’Pol and Trip. As the three men of the crew head off on a rescue mission you can see absolutely what they were trying to do with Enterprise. It’s a bit like what was happening with Stargate Universe, a chance to focus on the more human side of the Trekverse. Here we have the lads out to impress each other with their physical prowess. The trouble is these need to be hugely likable characters to make this sort of thing work. With Trip I would say they succeeded. Reed I cannot stand for a multitude of reasons (just go and watch Shuttlepod One and come back to me). Mayweather I barely register. Put them together like this and you have the better character (Trip) bringing something out of the lesser one (Mayweather) but unfortunately the reverse is also true. Proximity to Mayweather means that Trip is pretty dull. He needs a vivid character to bounce off to really come alive. The sad fact is that when you remove the alien presence from a Trek show (Enterprise only has Phlox as a true alien presence, T’Pol is like a moony teenager) it lacks the interest of the other shows. You may as well be watching a show set on Terra Firma.
Performance - Any episode that focuses on Phlox is automatically in the upper end of the Enterprise scale because it affords the show the chance to show off the dazzling acting talents of John Billingsley. There’s a terrific scene where Phlox refuses to treat his patient because the man refuses Denobulan help and his ethics state that he cannot save somebody against their will and Archer, ever the angry pragmatist, orders Phlox to do so and he refuses. It’s not exactly revolutionary Trek material but it is nicely written and played and shows that Phlox is a man of his word. Phlox is given some fine characterisation here, losing his temper when the racism directed at him reaches boiling point but revealing that he has taught his own children to respect all cultures, despite the past and the education his family gave him.
Production – Robert Duncan McNeill has turned out to be a very proficient director and one who has spread his wings far beyond Star Trek. His four Voyager episodes were outstandingly brought to life and I am not surprised that he took his talents on to Enterprise. His work is flashy and full of memorable camera tricks, but he often gets some sterling work out of the actors too (Mulgrew in Sacred Ground, Jeri Ryan in Body and Soul…and those are the two of his weaker episodes). It doesn’t surprise me that he was offered a chance to direct an episode of Discovery.
Every Trek series needs to have a rock-climbing sequence, it appears. Blood Fever springs to mind as a notable example but DS9 is not immune either. The sequence is fairly ponderous until one of them slips and then it is one of the best action sequences this show has ever pulled out. They slip and slide down that rock face for what feels like an eternity and I wondered just how long McNeill could keep it going from. When Mayweather stops their descent with his foot all I could think was damn, that is going to hurt.
Best moment – I couldn’t see how anything could top the glorious scene at the beginning where Phlox reveals a Tribble amongst his menagerie and then promptly and savagely feeds it to one of his reptiles with a smile on his face. That’s a stellar use of continuity there.
Trip, dirty and sweaty. Oh my.
Worst moment – Of course it is Mayweather who is the first to be put out of action. Heaven forbid he got the spot light for long.
A reason to watch this episode again – Voyager did it better with Jetrel (two bitter enemies forced together and trying to find common ground) but this is still an above average Enterprise episode, primarily because it gives the focus to Phlox, who is always worth watching. Trek likes throwing in these ethical dilemmas and forcing its characters to face difficult choices (DS9 was especially adept at it but TNG and Voyager both had their fair share of successes too) and a man refusing treatment because of a conflict 300 years in the past is a juicy example. What shines from this story is what a rich character Phlox is, and what an incredible actor John Billingsley is and how the show is lucky to have both of them. He would be featured in stronger episodes (the subplot is desperately average) but the better scenes here shine bright because such a rich, marbled character is in the spotlight.
***1/2 out of *****
Clue for the next review:
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