Day 357: Enterprise, United

Show: Star Trek; Enterprise

Episode Particulars: S4EP13, “United”

 Summary: The ship that’s been attacking various Andorian and Tellarite vessels in order to keep tensions high has finally been identified; a drone ship with holographic technology to make it look like any ship it wants. We also discovered at the end of “Babel One” that it’s remotely automated, though it’s being closely observed. On the drone ship, Tucker and Malcolm do what they can to sabotage it, though not without risk to themselves. And on Enterprise, a plan is hatched to find and stop the drone, but it will require a lot of ships working together, and the only way to do that is if the Tellarites and the Andorians put aside their differences. Given that Shran has just suffered a personal loss, that may not be the easiest thing to do, but if anyone can figure out a way to make it work, it’s Archer and company.

Standalone Thoughts: I’ve been avoiding outright mentioning it until now, but this episode makes it impossible to dance around any longer; the adversaries are the Romulans. This was presumably so that the show could start preparing for something involving the Earth-Romulan war, though based on what little we know about the war from previous Trek shows, they’d already messed up continuity a little. Still, leaving continuity issues aside and just focusing on the Romulans as enemies for this specific arc, I’d say they’re generally used pretty well. Their evil plan is good (though their motivations are currently implied but never outright confirmed), and they have the right amounts of both intelligence and menace. If this is the sort of thing we could have expected from them on a regular basis, I think a Romulan war arc would have been very entertaining to watch.

Focusing on the specifics of this episode…I’d say it’s a good one. Even though there’s a lot going on, it’s very well-paced, to the point where I checked the time and was surprised I was only about halfway through the episode, given everything that had happened. The scenes with Malcolm and Tucker on the drone ship are tense and exciting by turns, and the scenes on the Enterprise have a little bit of everything. Jeffrey Combs’ performance is better than ever, especially since he gets more to do than just be snarky and/or angry. Archer’s dedication to the cause is played very well, so that I completely support his actions despite the risks he’s taking. And while the gathering together of the alliance is a bit rushed, it’s still a really good idea, and leads to at least one great visual as well as driving the conflict on Enterprise in the second half. Overall, this is shaping up to be the best arc of the season so far. Let’s see if the third and final episode can seal the deal tomorrow.

How it Relates to the Whole: As has been said by Memory Alpha and other sites, this episode is not only a foreshadowing of the TOS episode “Journey to Babel”, but it also foreshadows the founding of the Federation and, as I’ve hinted at before, the Earth-Romulan War. On a slightly less grand scale, we also see the appearance of Remans, who were established in the movie Star Trek: Nemesis. I’m not sure that was the best piece of continuity to include, but I’ll give them points for trying.

Other: *Another single observation today, and once again, it has very little to do with the actual episode. Despite the fact that this episode is clearly trying to plant the seeds for the Federation, the “Previously on” at the start seems much more interested in the drone ship than in the conflict between the Andorians and the Tellarites; it gets one scene at the end as opposed to constant clips featuring the drone, the Romulans, or discussions of both. Since both of them get about equal screentime, I find this an odd choice.

Badass Malcolm Moment: After struggling yesterday, today’s choice was easy; Malcolm makes a bluff that kills two birds with one stone. It also allows him to blow something up, which is always a positive as far as he’s concerned. As for me, I just like that he showed both intelligence and bravery.