Day 291: Enterprise, Fallen Hero

Show: Star Trek; Enterprise

Episode Particulars: S1EP22, “Fallen Hero”

 Summary: Just as the Enterprise is heading off for the first shoreleave it’s had since leaving Earth, Archer gets a call from Starfleet. It seems the Vulcan High Command wants them to detour to a planet called Mazar to pick up a Vulcan ambassador, V’Lar (Fionnula Flanagan), who has been accused of misconduct, and rendezvous with a Vulcan ship that will carry her back to Vulcan. V’Lar is fairly personable, though unwilling to discuss the details of her misconduct, and T’Pol is somewhat disapproving, especially since V’Lar was an inspiration to her. Personal problems fall by the wayside, however, when a Mazarite ship shows up, demands V’Lar be turned over to them, and then starts firing on the Enterprise. Which means Archer has to decide what to do with her…while V’Lar has to decide how much of her silence she’s willing to break.

Standalone Thoughts: For the most part, I’d call this a blah episode. It mostly kind of meanders along, going through the motions, with the only big deviation being the interactions between V’Lar and T’Pol, which give off a vibe that makes you wonder if there’s going to be a big reveal where it turns out V’Lar is T’Pol’s mother, which is a cliché in and of itself. None of it is exactly bad, but it’s nothing overly exciting either. It probably says a lot that I didn’t remember anything from this episode, except for one exchange between Malcolm and Tucker that could have come from any episode (and in fact came as a surprise to me that it was in this particular episode). That being said, the last act does have some tension and excitement, and does a good job of giving all the main characters and the guest star something to contribute, so it does have that going for it. Even so, if you wanted to skip this episode, I could completely understand why.

How it Relates to the Whole: I’m not positive if V’Lar or her mission ever comes back into play, but I do know that the material that opens the episode, with T’Pol suggesting shoreleave on Risa, is followed through on, with another mention in the next episode and an entire episode dedicated to it shortly thereafter. Unfortunately, that episode is (at least in my opinion) one of the weaker ones of the whole show. I don’t blame this episode for kicking it off, though; it just has an unfortunate association.

Other: *Speaking of the Risa thing, though, I do like the little touch at the start of the episode where our first glimpse of Archer is of him bent over the table in his dining room, looking like he may have just finished coughing after inadvertently swallowing the wrong way (or, if you prefer, doing a spittake) because of what T’Pol said. His slightly hoarse voice only makes that interpretation stronger, and I think it’s a pretty amusing beat.

*Looks like my interpretation in “Breaking the Ice” (that fraternization is a concept over the heads of fourth graders) was correct, because the “no dating subordinates” rule is brought up today, with the implication that it’s being enforced. Sorry for getting your hopes up, fanfiction writers. Though given that most of us wind up ignoring aspects of canon that we don’t like, this is more of a stumbling block than an actual obstacle.

*I’m not sure what to make of Tucker’s snarky comment when T’Pol mentions that Vulcans only mate once every seven years. He first learned about it in “Fusion”, but somehow, his comment made it sound like he was just learning about this for the first time. Though those with low opinions of him might just take this as proof that he’s got the memory of a goldfish…

*I notice that V’Lar’s way of talking sometimes sounds a bit stilted. It’s tempting to blame this on wooden acting, but I’m very forgiving this time, for a variety of reasons. First, V’Lar has traces of a British accent, which can often make one sound clipped. Second, the nature of the Vulcans does mean that their cadences sound a little different from what we’re used to. And third, V’Lar states almost immediately that she welcomes the opportunity to practice her English, which can explain why she sometimes doesn’t sound quite right. Maybe I’m being charitable, but I like the fact that we can draw our own conclusions about this.

*The episode has two separate occasions where it cuts away from Archer making a pointed comment to someone on the viewscreen just to show us Malcolm smirking in response. I am not complaining about this in the slightest on a personal level, but on an objective level, I’m not sure if it adds anything to the plot. Like I said, though, I’m more than happy to live with it.

Badass Malcolm Moment: This one took a little thinking about, because Malcolm’s appearances in this episode are few, but important. Ultimately, I’ll pick the move he comes up with to help buy the Enterprise a little more time during the climax, especially since it’s coupled by Archer telling Malcolm “I’m counting on you.” When you get words like that from the Captain himself, the situation’s probably worth giving the nod to.