"The Council"

Written by Manny Coto
Directed by David Livingston


In which Archer presents his case to the Xindi Council while T’Pol leads a mission to uncover the secrets of the Spheres, unaware that the Sphere-Builders are manipulating events behind the scenes...

Captain's Log - Final Analysis







Captain's Log

After a slight diversion with the previous episode, the multi-layered plotting of the Xindi arc returns as the main focus. Even more than in “Damage”, there is an emphasis on fleshing out the Xindi as a multi-cultural people, exposing more of the rich history involved and how the Sphere-Builders have been manipulating them over the centuries.

The motivations behind nearly all of the characters have been explored in previous episodes, so little time is spent on that aspect of the various conflicts. Alliances are tested and deception employed with equal amounts of tension and angst. While it was revealed that the Sphere-Builders helped to create the Xindi Council, the level of rancor between the member species has never been fully depicted. To say that this minor quibble is rectified is an understatement.

In particular, the Reptilians demonstrate that their tendency towards aggression is only held in check by their species’ version of enlightened self-interest. So long as the other species were considered necessary for the overall elimination of the Human threat, the Reptilians were willing to play along. The seeds of the betrayal in this episode, as seen from both the Reptilian and Primate perspectives, were nicely strung out earlier in the season.

As usual, Degra stands out as the most complex and, in the grand Trek tradition, human of the Xindi. As the Xindi responsible for the development of the super-weapons, Degra carries the enormous weight of responsibility suffered by men like Oppenheimer. As long as there was a sense of justification and necessity, Degra was able to hold that guilt in relative check; Archer’s revelations undermine Degra’s defense mechanisms.

Though it’s ultimately a bit too predictable, there is a rationale for the manner in which the Xindi Council split over Archer’s evidence. As a Human, Archer relates far better on a basic level to the Primates and Arboreals. Equally, there is a lack of shared traits between Archer and the Reptilians and Insectoids. Thus the Aquatics become the swing vote, as logic would dictate.

The basic plot structure is simple. Archer arrives and the Council’s vote hangs on his ability to present enough proof to sway the Aquatics. Without a third species to choose with them, the Reptilians and Insectoids cannot activate the super-weapon and launch it against Earth. Sensing defeat, the Sphere-Builders intentionally push the anti-Human species to break from the Council and launch the weapon. Having already seen Hoshi in action, the Reptilians abduct her, presumably to use her language skills to generate the third command code necessary to activate the weapon against Earth.

Perhaps sensing that this is only part of the equation, Manny Coto adds a second plot element: a mission to retrieve a memory core from one of the Spheres, in the hopes of finding information with which to combat the plans of the Sphere-Builders. That plot thread gives Reed some time to react to the loss of so many crewmen of late, which as weapons officer, he must feel responsible for.

It’s not hard to speculate where all of this is going. The next episode is likely to involve three things: the attempt by Archer and his Xindi allies to stop the super-weapon, the attempt by the Reptilians to get Hoshi to activate it, and the attempt to download critical information and proof regarding the Sphere-Builders from the memory core.

The likely outcome would be Hoshi and Archer holding the line, followed by something from the memory core indicating a specific target in the effort to stop the Sphere-Builders (perhaps a central node within the Sphere system?). With the support of the Xindi, Archer uses the super-weapon to end the threat of the Sphere-Builders, freeing the Expanse and scoring a major victory on the road to Federation.

This may be the obvious direction for the plot arc to take in coming to a relative resolution at the end of the season, but there’s one catch. Manny Coto is clearly at the helm, taking more and more writing and plotting responsibility from Berman and Braga. With ratings stabilizing, even in the face of massive competition, Coto could be the heir apparent should there be a fourth season.

It’s the Coto factor that introduces a wild card, the possibility that the expected direction could completely far apart just when everything looks like it’s happening as predicted. Even if that’s not the case, there’s more than enough reason to believe that Coto would make it damned interesting. This episode would have suffered tremendously without the subtle characterization touches throughout, especially in the depiction of Xindi intrigue.

Sure, it’s all standard melodrama, but even in that genre, there’s a huge difference between good and bad execution. Degra’s death was handled extremely well, easily predictable but tapped for all the tension possible. The small details regarding the preferences of each species within the Council, Archer’s attempts to lighten the mood for Hoshi’s sake, the clever use of previous plot points...all of these are the hallmarks of Coto’s writing style.

If there is one aspect of the episode that was disappointing, it was the quality of some of the visual effects. The spacecraft shots were brilliant, especially during the battle at the end of the episode. But many of the shots within the Sphere were primitive in comparison. Perhaps this was simply a question of time and money; deadlines are often hard to meet at the demanding pace of television production. As weaknesses go, this is a minor problem at worst. “Babylon 5” has already demonstrated that strong writing can easily trump budgetary issues.

Indeed, since “Azati Prime”, comparisons to “Babylon 5” might not be so far-fetched. Considering the direction of the Xindi arc, it’s apparent when Coto came aboard, he was given more than a little room to “fix” the existing plans. One can trace the steady increase in quality back to “Twilight”, which was the time of Coto’s first real overt involvement. Effort has been made to make “Enterprise” far better in terms of consistency and internal continuity between episodes. Many characters have begun or experienced significant arcs of their own, changing them forever. And the stakes have steadily risen, to a point where one might even believe that some characters could be sacrificed.

Rick Berman has already mentioned that a potential fourth season, still in doubt, would abandon the season-long arc structure for three or four shorter arcs. One cannot help but wonder if this is a compromise position with the network. The series has gained critical acclaim due to the stronger writing, which is clearly the result of placing a great deal of attention on a central set of plot and character threads.

Yet one can also note the annoying fact that plot arcs typically increase writing quality at the expense of ratings growth. It’s hard to generate a new audience in the middle of a season-long serial, even when efforts are made to make each episode accessible. The compromise position of shorter arcs, perhaps all designed towards an ultimate purpose, allows for consistent writing as well as easily promoted points for new viewers to jump on.

The problem, of course, is that this idea of short plot arcs has been heard before. The same thing was promised on “Voyager” when that series was criticized in comparison to “DS9” and “Babylon 5”, both of which were at the top of their games and hitting the best parts of their story arcs. Berman, long a detractor of “serialization”, promised that “Voyager” would adopt mini-arcs to strengthen the series. This proved to be a complete lie.

And so Berman might want to look at the exceptional nature of this episode, and note that much of its power comes from the simple fact that most of the conflicts were staged in previous episodes. In other words, without the arc structure, this episode never would have existed, and neither would the acclaim from critics and fans. Berman should give Coto the center seat if the series gets a fourth season. Such a decision, based on this episode, would be the only real option.


Final Analysis

Overall, this was another excellent episode at the hands of Manny Coto, demonstrating that a little effort is all that “Enterprise” needed to reach a state of strength. While the fate of the series is still in doubt, there’s no question that this season will be ending on a high note. Should that fourth season come along, then Berman should accept reality and give Coto the reins.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 3/4

Final Rating: 9/10




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