Finally, after several mentions in the last few episodes, the crew of the Enterprise makes it to shore leave on Risa. Before the featured crew members even make it to the surface, it’s fairly easy to recognize where the various plot threads are going to go. You know that Trip and Reed are going to wind up in Risa’s version of Mexico, that Hoshi is going to wind up finding some “indoor” recreation, and that the captain is going to run into unexpected adventure.
Of course, that’s what happens, and that makes the first couple acts of the episode more than a little familiar. While some of the dialogue between Trip and Reed was funny, the situation itself was something we’ve seen a million times before, and it just wasn’t very threatening or compelling. As nice as it was to see Hoshi in less and less clothing, especially at the end, her little romance with “big forehead man” was equally old hat.
Archer’s semi-romance with Kaela seemed to be going nowhere at first, until it became clear that there was something more to her appearance than it seemed. I suppose the sudden and odd appearance of her dog on Archer’s balcony, which was several floors above Kaela’s room, should have been some kind of hint that there was something odd about her.
What wasn’t immediately apparent was the fact that she was Tandaran, the same race as the people detaining innocent Suliban several episodes ago. It was a shock for me to see that kind of connection between episodes of a Star Trek series, but it was certainly welcome. Beyond the repercussions of Archer’s actions in “Detained” impacting his relationship to other worlds due to his reputation, he has managed to get himself in the middle of the tensions between the Tandarans and the Suliban. This cannot be a good thing. Kaela’s eventual victory over Archer, and her oath to see to it that the Suliban pay, sounds like a very ominous hint of what might come in the season finale.
In a surprisingly revealing subplot, Mayweather breaks his leg on Risa, and insists on returning to the ship after the Risan doctors treat him with medication that he is allergic to. That means that T’Pol and Ensign Cutler need to call in Dr. Phlox…who just happens to have taken this shore leave as an opportunity to indulge in a necessary hibernation. They bring him out of the hibernation early to treat Mayweather’s condition, and the ensuing mental instability from Phlox provides most of the laughs in this episode.
Still, for something that the series had been building up to, it was a remarkably uneven and almost bland episode. I can only assume that this episode was a sneaky way to show that the events of “Detained”, which would normally be more or less isolated on a past series, now has a much larger reach and consequence. Hopefully this give hope to the idea that many of the situations introduced in this season are intended as seeds for future plot exploration. Certainly the political landscape is becoming very, very detailed and foreboding.
Some other thoughts:
- T’Pol’s insistence that Archer take a vacation was hilarious!
- Hoshi looks good in vacation clothing…or out of it…doesn’t matter…drool, drool…
- Apparently Vulcans follow logic, but aren’t all that concerned with “concise”. Either that, or Surak didn’t know when to shut up…
- Kaela was looking a bit…um, “worn” in more than a few scenes. Taken with his fantasy woman in “Rogue Planet”, he’s got some interesting tastes.
- Disco Trip!
- “I don’t think ‘she’ is the right pronoun…”
- That was one incredibly fake background shot from Archer’s balcony…
- Oh, yeah, Porthos looks vicious!
- “Bearing 180…”
“Huh?”
“Behind you!”
- Risa is only 90 light-years from Earth? I’m hoping that it’s in the opposite direction from Q’onos, because apparently that’s only 80 LY from Earth…
- “We rotate…he’s captain next week…”
- Would it be bad of me to wish Mayweather’s fall had been fatal?
- “You were willing to follow two strange aliens into a dark basement!”
- Love Phlox’s morning routine! “Incredible…I’ve been standing up for nearly five minutes…”
- “As a matter of fact, I learned several new…conjugations…”
Overall, this episode was a little predictable, but the hilarity with Dr. Phlox and the continuing continuity regarding the Tandarans helped save it from complete blandness. It seems as though Berman and Braga are dedicated to making this series far more integrated than “Voyager”, and the planning shows. That ought to leave us with one heck of a season finale.
