Day 312: Enterprise, The Crossing

Show: Star Trek; Enterprise

Episode Particulars: S2EP18, “The Crossing”

 Summary: The Enterprise is literally swallowed up by a larger alien ship, one that has no lifesigns but is full of little wisps. When an away team goes to investigate, one of the wisps enters and then exits Tucker, which is cause for concern but produces no ill effects. A little later, the wisp comes back, and takes over Tucker to explain; they’re a group of non-corporeal explorers who would like to have a sense of what it’s like to have physical bodies. In return, the consciousness of the crew will get to experience non-linear incorporeality. It seems like a good deal, but Archer has his doubts. Based on how this sort of thing usually goes in sci-fi, he’s probably right.

Standalone Thoughts: Here we have yet another episode that I can’t be wholly objective on. For once, though, it’s less to do with Malcolm and more to do with the general situation. However, although I hinted at what’s going on in the summary, I still feel like I should make this a SPOILER review just in case. Head on down to “How it Relates to the Whole” if you’d rather not know what’s coming.

*Draw a line in the review*

Remember how I didn’t like the episode “Babel” on DS9 because it was an epidemic plot, and those plots make me uncomfortable? I’m not too fond of this episode for similar reasons. The situation is possession instead of disease, but there’s still that aspect of “anyone could be affected at any time” and “(practically) no one is safe” that kind of creeps me out. It may help to make the situations feel more tense, but it does make rewatching the episode before things go bad feel just as icky as the rest of it, and effective doesn’t always mean enjoyable. This is of course very much a matter of opinion, but this is an episode I’d rather avoid if at all possible.

Even with my discomfort, I do try to judge these episodes fairly, and my conclusion is that it’s not a bad idea (if you like this sort of thing), but there are way too many unanswered questions. Why don’t the wisps take over everyone at once, to prevent the crew from fighting back (this is even kind of brought up in the episode and never addressed)? Why did Tucker get re-possessed during the climax, even though he was in an area where he should have been safe? Why would the “souls” or whatever of the possessed crew go back into their bodies after they were asphyxiated—wouldn’t it be easier to just leave a lifeless husk behind? Or is this some weird variation of “every reaction must have an equal and opposite reaction”? The episode may get you invested, but the flaws become apparent while you’re watching it, which is never a good thing.

Despite my biases, I’d say this episode is on par with the general second wind of this recent set of episodes. I might not like the concept, but it’s well shot, paced, and acted, with just the logistical details of the aliens dragging the episode down. So if this is a trope you enjoy, you’ll probably like it just as much as the episodes that preceded it. I, on the other hand, shall try to put it out of my mind as best I can.

How it Relates to the Whole: In addition to reusing the catwalk set, the episode has a surprising callback to “Shuttlepod One”. Other than that, though, this episode doesn’t have any connection to the rest of the show.

Other: *We get another good teaser today, with a tense situation, a good ending hook, and a genuinely alien looking ship. Granted, it looks like the production team stole some ideas from the alien ship designs in Independence Day, but at least they did their best to make it work.

*It turns out that the camera that connects to the viewscreen can be rotated in addition to being zoomed in. Why does this feature not exist on all future Starfleet ships again? Or does it exist and the various crews have never had any cause to use it for some reason?

*I give immense credit to the away team this time around. When they arrive inside the alien ship, the atmosphere changes to one that’s breathable for humans. However, instead of taking their helmets off, they keep using their suits. There’s no explanation for this, but the unspoken implication is that they don’t entirely trust the situation. It’s smart thinking and shows good judgment, and I appreciate having that little detail.

Badass Malcolm Moment: I don’t have much to go on in this episode, but I guess I’ll choose the moment when he realizes there’s a problem and immediately jumps into action. It wasn’t entirely successful, but I’ll give him points for effort.