Day 335: Enterprise, Harbinger

Show: Star Trek; Enterprise

Episode Particulars: S3EP15, “Harbinger”

Summary: As the Enterprise makes its way to Azati Prime, the probable building site for the Xindi weapon, they come across a particularly ugly clump of anomalies, with an alien lifeform (Thomas Kopache) stuck inside it. Enterprise rescues him, but studies of his pod reveal it’s made of the same material as the spheres that are causing the anomalies in the first place, which may throw a new wrinkle into this whole mission. Meanwhile, Tucker is getting chummy with one of the MACOs, Amanda Cole (Noa Tishby), and T’Pol isn’t sure she likes it. In addition to that, Major Hayes has scheduled training drills for the senior staff, which Malcolm feels is undermining his authority. In short, tempers are running high all over the ship, and there’s no question that by the end of the episode, things are going to get messy.

Standalone Thoughts: First things first; while this episode doesn’t have anything directly to do with the Xindi arc, it was established in the previous episode that it would take three weeks to reach their destination. So we have a reason to focus on other things in this episode instead of just having them happen because the writers had a neat idea. Besides, it gives us a chance to explore some subplots that had been previously established, so it’s still advancing stories, just not the most obvious one.

To that end, I’d say there are three distinct plots going on in this episode, two of which seem to be following a similar trajectory. There’s the alien plot, which honestly gets the least amount of screentime but could potentially be leading to something bigger, and then there are the interpersonal dramas. Tucker and T’Pol’s is the classic “we’re both attracted to each other but don’t really want to admit it” trope, while Malcolm and Hayes’ boils down to “trying to prove which one is the better man”. In both cases, there’s feelings bubbling beneath the surface, with circumstances adding more and more fuel to the fire, until they finally explode. The parallels are such that it probably partially explains why some of Enterprise fandom started shipping Malcolm and Hayes after this episode; besides the general popularity of turning rivals into lovers, it was being compared to a blatantly romantic situation. Though given the way fandom operates, it probably would have happened regardless.

So how do I actually feel about these plots? Well, we’ll have to wait and see if the alien plot comes to anything, because while the climax of that plot is a bit abrupt, it’s also got some potential. The Tucker/T’Pol plot is also abrupt, but at least there was some setup for it that was scattered over the course of a few episodes, and Blalock and Trinneer do a decent job working with the familiar romance tropes, so that the payoff scene feels earned instead of coming out of nowhere. I do think T’Pol’s behavior can be a little out of character, but there’s going to be something in a later episode that I think goes a long way towards explaining it, so I’m not going to come down too hard on it. As for the third plot…

I already kind of ranted about this in “The Shipment”, but it’s even more relevant here. Other than a brief conversation and some significant glances in “The Xindi”, there’s been no indication of any trouble between Malcolm and Hayes. Malcolm seemed to work fairly well with the MACO’s when they showed up for fight scenes in prior episodes, and as mentioned in “The Shipment”, he and Hayes actually seemed to agree on a lot of points. Most first-time viewers may have even forgotten about those bits in “The Xindi” by the time they get to this episode, so Malcolm’s anger could come out of nowhere for them. To their credit, Keating and Culp make the material work, but they would have been better served if they’d had a chance to play this out over multiple episodes. Even if Culp wasn’t available for the seven episodes between “The Shipment” and now, Malcolm making disparaging comments about the MACOs /Hayes or treating the MACOs more coldly than his own men would have been enough to keep the conflict between them fresh in our minds. In short, what we get in this episode is good…but it deserved better.

It should also be acknowledged that I like what the writers did with Malcolm’s character here, even if it hurts to see as a Malcolm fan. SFDebris hasn’t reviewed this episode yet, but when he does, he’d be well within his rights to label Malcolm the annoying character. And the fact that I’m saying this should probably tell you just how obvious Malcolm’s bad behavior is. While it’s possible that Malcolm is right that Hayes thinks he’s got the superior training, it’s really obvious that Malcolm’s the one who’s doing most of the antagonizing. It paints him as petty and insecure, but even if it’s unpleasant, it feels realistic, and seems in keeping with his character. It also isn’t as grating a flaw as Bashir’s early characterization, nor does it serve to highlight negative aspects of the character that goes unacknowledged by the writers, like Hoshi or Dax. I don’t know what the writers did differently here, but they did it right, and I applaud that, no matter how much my inner fangirl winces.

In the end, I’d say this is a middle-tier Enterprise episode overall, and upper-middle tier for Season Three specifically. All the actors are doing fine jobs, but the rushed nature of the conflicts brings things down. Still, I’m more entertained than annoyed by it (and considering all the Malcolm stuff, that’s a big accomplishment), so that gives it a lot of points in its favor.

How it Relates to the Whole: Like I said, I’m not sure where the alien plot is going (though at least it’s justifying “Chosen Realm”, even if I didn’t much care for that episode), but the Trip/T’Pol aspect is definitely going to be important to the show going forward. The rivalry between Malcolm and Hayes, not so much, but I do know it’s going to be discussed at least once more, so it will at least be explored a bit more and might allow Malcolm a bit more character development. Which I am of course in favor of.

Other: *I only have one this time, but it’s a headshaker. At one point, T’Pol utters, deadly serious, the line “It wasn’t you, it was your clone.” If you wanted a line to take out of context to make Enterprise look bad (or like a parody sci-fi soap opera), this would be the one. The worst part is, it actually isn’t that much better in context when you step back and really think about things. It may be accurate, but it may have been in everyone’s best interest if it had been phrased better.

Badass Malcolm Moment: As discussed, Malcolm is kind of a jerk this episode, but when the chips are down, he gets his act together and saves the ship. Again. Even at his worst, he can still be competent and capable. And this is why I have this category.