Show: Star Trek; Enterprise
Episode
Particulars: S2EP23, “Regeneration”
Standalone
Thoughts: This episode is a well-balanced mix of slow and fast paced tension.
The minute we see a frozen Borg body in the ice during the teaser, we all know
where things are going, but it takes about nine and a half minutes for things
to kick off. In fact, it takes eleven and a half minutes before we see any of
the main characters, and because they also don’t know what they’re in for, we
get another eight or so minutes of buildup. After that, though, the crew starts
to actively combat the problem, so while there’s still tension, it’s of the
“will they succeed?” variety than the “when is the inevitable going to happen?”
variety. It all culminates in a six minute setpiece that’s both creepy and
exciting, and while there is a pretty major intervention by Admiral Plot Device
when it comes to the use of phase pistols, it’s mostly satisfying to watch. Indeed,
this is one of those episodes where if you glance at the time, you’ll be
surprised at how quickly the episode is flying by, which is a pretty good sign
of the episode’s quality. I wouldn’t say this episode is essential viewing, but
it’s one I think is worth watching. Like most of the back half of Season Two,
it shows what Enterprise can be
capable of. In fact, I think we’ve almost reached the point where the show
jumps to this level of quality permanently. Assuming my memory hasn’t failed
me, I’m looking forward to it.
How it Relates to
the Whole: There will be no more appearances by the Borg in Enterprise, but there are plenty of
continuity references to later/earlier events. There’s First Contact, obviously, but also some nods to TNG and to a lesser extent Voyager. The episode may wind up raising
some questions (even if the Starfleet of the 22nd century didn’t
know the Borg by name, surely an examination of the database in the TNG era would have brought this incident
up, with someone drawing a connection and trying to prepare accordingly), but
still, I like the attempt to play with the lore. Though as I’ve established, I
love that sort of thing in general, so perhaps I’m a touch biased.
Other: *Once
again, I only have one today. It figures that Hoshi, after all those episodes
showing her timidity, would be unphased by the one instance where I would
consider it totally justified if you felt nervous. I guess we can read into
that that she really is improving, but it feels like a bad time to show it.
Then again, I may be projecting, because if I was in her shoes, I’d have locked
myself in my quarters and refused to come out.
Badass Malcolm
Moment: While the obvious choice would be Malcolm’s involvement in the
climax, ultimately I think his far braver action is the fact that he constantly
takes point whenever he’s dealing with the Borg. Yes, that’s his job, being
head of security, but he’s been warned not to let them touch him and he
probably has a vague inkling of what will happen to him if he does. But he goes
first anyway, with at least one instance where he would have been basically
helpless if a Borg had been close enough to jab him, and doesn’t seem scared.
Even if he was scared, though, he
doesn’t let that stop him from doing his job, which is a different but no less
impressive form of bravery. Given that being assimilated would be one of my
worst nightmares, I find this particularly admirable.
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