You know, it’s as if the writers are writing these episodes just to give me material.
By now, the series has established itself, intentionally or not, as a showcase of just how stupid and/or ignorant humanity was when it took its first steps into the unknown. Granted, the Star Trek universe has always made it clear that humans were just getting used to the idea by Kirk’s time, and we see how arrogant humans are in that time. But this series is doing a great job of showing how ill prepared humans were to go out on their own.
The premise of this episode is simple. There are two plot threads addressed here, neither of which is all that inspiring. On the one hand, we have the exploration of the comet, and on the other, we have the secret message sent to T’Pol.
Let’s look at the exploration of the comet first. It begins in a way that is more than a little embarrassing. Basically, the humans saw a big shiny object and decided that it would be neat to chase it for a while. If there were any doubts that I was being accurate in this description, Archer comes right out and says, with a big grin, how it would be neat to chase the comet for a while…completely unabashed over the fact that he sounds like he’s never seen one before.
By this point, they get the news that there is a Vulcan ship looking over their shoulder. This is an interesting plot twist, and one that I really like. The Vulcans, unable to convince us that it would be a really bad idea to go running around the galaxy with absolutely no common sense, let us go on our merry way…and make sure that someone is around to keep tabs on us. Which adds another layer to T’Pol’s presence on the ship, since we now have to wonder if she is giving the Vulcans regular reports on how many situations we get ourselves in.
Taking all that into account, Archer decides to land some people on the comet in order to drill for a rare mineral. Knowing full well that the Vulcans are there and watching closely, the crew members proceed to build a snowman.
Score one for humanity!
Not one to be outdone, Archer then decides that it would be a really good idea to invite the Vulcan captain over for dinner. Apparently Archer and Trip rarely remember a thing about Vulcan customs or traditions, because they immediately begin asking the captain about his personal life. And, of course, offering to show the Vulcans around their ship, which ought to really impress them. Oh, and Trip constantly tries to get the Vulcans to let him look at their advanced technology, which if it never worked in the past, is certainly not going to work now.
Of course, the crew members on the comet wind up getting stuck there, and Archer tries to use that impressive magnetic grapple to get them out…after using the glorified joystick to maneuver the ship into position. I’m sure those two items would have really impressed the Vulcans on that tour, had they taken the offer! It doesn’t work, oddly enough, but Archer wants to keep trying again and again until T’Pol mentions that the Vulcans offered to help. Archer refuses at first, until T’Pol respectfully reminds him that he is not exactly making a good impression by risking the lives of crew members over a pissing contest.
Of course, by this point, it doesn’t really matter if Archer looks foolishly stubborn. The Enterprise is not going to win points with the Vulcans no matter what they do, and by now, they have to know this. If they let the Vulcans get them out of every little situation, then they prove that they are unable to handle the pressures of space exploration. But by doing things alone and in their own way, they appear just as rash and impulsive as the Vulcans believe them to be.
And building snowmen on the surfaces of comets is not going to change that opinion very much!
As for the other plot thread, it appears that T’Pol gets a coded transmission from the Vulcan ship, which is an ultimatum from her betrothed. Either she has to return to Vulcan to enter into their arranged marriage, or that marriage will not take place. The crew intercepts this message and Trip has it decoded, therefore learning about T’Pol’s personal situation. When T’Pol begins stressing over her decision, especially after Trip tells her that he knows what is going on, she turns to him for advice.
I know that this is supposed to be a big deal involving T’Pol’s conflict between her feelings of duty to Enterprise and her duty to Vulcan tradition. But is it really so difficult a choice? T’Pol says right off the top that she requested a postponement so she could remain on Enterprise during its mission. If she was so compelled to follow Vulcan tradition, why even go that far? It all becomes a big production when it is really just a case of T’Pol wanting someone to tell her that it is all right to stay on Enterprise and dissolve the marriage.
It is interesting that they pick Trip to be the one to talk her into staying. After all, he has been the most outspoken critic of the Vulcans thus far. I suppose they are trying to form a bond between the characters, some basis for friendship. But this particular episode doesn’t really do that very well. For one, Trip’s entire argument is little more than a criticism of Vulcan tradition, and even when he claims that it is not, he doesn’t say why. And given the fact that his only argument is that humans are allowed to make choices, it makes no sense why T’Pol would let that influence her.
Maybe they want us to see that she is beginning to respect humanity, but it’s a little early for that. A better conflict might have been her duty to keep tabs on Enterprise for Vulcan intelligence versus her arranged marriage, because in the end, she never explained why she felt a duty to stay on the ship. In fact, she never has.
Some other thoughts:
- Humans have dealt with Vulcans for 100 years by the time this series comes along. So wouldn’t Trip know that making small talk with a Vulcan is a waste of time?
- I still get a chuckle at the idea of Archer sitting in his captain’s chair going, “Ooooh…a comet! Chase it! Chase it!”
- The food processors on this ship are a nice step below what they had on the original series.
- Mayweather continues to be the character most worthy of wearing a red shirt in some future episode.
- So are they going to get into trouble for leaving the plasma torch on the comet, since they used it as the snowman’s nose?
- It was nice of them to introduce the idea of the Vulcans spying on them, but if they were going to refer to previous encounters, wouldn’t it have been nice to actually have shown us that?
- Neat design on that Vulcan ship, though…definitely something we have not seen before, and very reminiscent of the Romulan vessels of Picard’s time.
- What exactly was the point of that excruciatingly long scene where the bridge crew was answering questions posed by children on Earth? It was nice and accurate in its own way, but it took up an enormous amount of time.
- Oh, and those “funny” scenes with Trip and the doctor were not even remotely funny.
- This is the second time in less than ten episodes that they have tried to create tension by having someone consider leaving the ship. Is anyone actually expecting this to happen? So why bother?
- I would love to get my hands on the Vulcan reports regarding the exploits of the Enterprise. Something tells me they would be oddly familiar in tone…
- It was nice of the ice to wait to collapse until after the two crewmen were safely inside the shuttle pod!
- I think someone needs to tell Trip that you generally avoid blurting out references to personal decisions on the crowded bridge, especially when you are dealing with a race that abhors personal discussions.
- Where has Porthos been lately? What happened? Did the dog get lost on some alien planet or something?
- I’m still trying to figure out the significance of the slice of pie at the end of the episode. Are we supposed to believe that T’Pol was beginning to appreciate humans already?
Overall, this was a rather mediocre episode, with the revelation that the Vulcans were keeping an eye on Enterprise being the only real high point. The rest was more than a little muddled, and the humans were depicted as even more childish than usual.
