Day 352: Enterprise, Awakening

Show: Star Trek; Enterprise

Episode Particulars: S4EP8, “Awakening”

 Summary: Things have taken a very weird turn in the investigation of the bombing of the Earth embassy. On Enterprise, Soval (who has been fired from his position as ambassador) is trying to help the crew recover Archer and T’Pol so they can fight against the Vulcan High Command. It was the High Command that framed the Syrannites for the bombing, and now the leader, V’Las (Robert Foxworth) is using that to justify attacking the Forge and wiping them all out; he just doesn’t want Enterprise around to witness it. Meanwhile, in the Forge itself, Archer and T’Pol have found the Syrannites, who are as suspicious of them as they are of the Syrannites. The suspicion fades away somewhat when they realize that Archer is carrying the katra (or soul) of Surak inside him, having been gifted it by Arev in the previous episode. This isn’t exactly a welcome development for Archer, but as long as he’s stuck with it, he’ll do his best to see it through, especially since Surak seems to have a mission for him…

Standalone Thoughts: I hate to say it, but this episode is kind of a mess. Half the episode is dedicated to material that probably could have been done more succinctly in ten minutes. It just feels like we spend way too much time waiting for the characters to realize and confirm that Archer is carrying Surak’s katra. It combines the worst traits of padding and waiting for the show to catch up with the audience, who probably figured out what was happening back in the previous episode. Sure, the time passes quickly, but when you actually stop and think about it, you realize practically nothing has happened.

Then, when things finally start happening, they happen abruptly and with very little explanation. The reveal of why the Vulcan High Command is so opposed to the Syrannites comes in the final few minutes of the episode, and while it makes sense on one level (though I have no idea why V’Las is the Big Bad), I feel like this should probably have come up much, much earlier. Either that, or have the characters realize it at the same time the audience does, instead of the implication that Soval knew all the time what was going on but chose not to reveal it for some reason. Similarly, Archer has a grand revelation about what he needs to do, and not only does he just happen to be three feet away from where he needs to go, he finds what he’s looking for a few minutes later (in screen time, at least; perhaps it took an hour or so for him in ‘real life’). This is the sort of thing that should have its own episode, not just shoehorned into the last act. It would also help keep the Syrannites from looking stupid. Regardless of if we’re supposed to see them as good, bad, or morally grey, I think we can all agree that’s a good idea.

I have no idea what went wrong with this episode, but it’s definitely weaker than “The Forge”. It’s not actively bad, but I think it’s an episode that’s best watched in quick succession with the other two episodes of the arc, because it definitely doesn’t stand up on its own. It does, however, suggest at the very end of the episode that there’s going to be at least one thing I’ll enjoy about tomorrow’s episode, so I’m looking forward to it more than I’m worried about a lackluster conclusion.

How it Relates to the Whole: Besides being the setup for the payoff that will presumably happen tomorrow, there’s not a lot of connection to either Trek lore or Enterprise’s past or future, except that the writers have become obsessed with making P’Jem the site where nearly every important spiritual thing happens, apparently. This is a trap a lot of writers fall into, though, so I’m not going to be too put out. That being said, there are a few references to previous events that may come more into play tomorrow…

Other: *Only one real miscellaneous observation today, and it’s entirely a matter of opinion. We haven’t really seen a lot of Vulcan designs on this show, and now that we have…

…I conclude that it’s mostly really nice. There’s a certain Art Deco/Art Nouveau quality to it that makes it aesthetically pleasing. Whether or not those designs are actually logical is another thing all together.

Badass Malcolm Moment: Malcolm really only gets one scene this episode, but it’s not a bad one. He and Mayweather attempt to fly into the Forge to rescue Archer and T’Pol, only to be accosted by Vulcan ships. The Forge messes with electrical equipment, so Malcolm has to target and fire on the Vulcan ships manually. While the shuttlepod is shaking violently. And while suffering from nausea (as implied by a line a few minutes before the Vulcan ships show up). And he still manages to hit them. It’s not quite enough to get the job done, but considering the conditions he was under, that’s still pretty impressive.

After the Fact Update: Memory Alpha explains a line from the previous episode that’s actually really clever if picked up by Trek fans (as you can guess by the fact that I’m writing this, I didn't pick up on it). It also suggests to me that the show would have done more with this if it hadn’t been cancelled. Though maybe that’s just wishful thinking on my part.