"The Shipment"

Written by Chris Black and Brent Friedman
Directed by David Straiton


In which Archer confronts a Xindi-Sloth foreman at a chemical plant that synthesizes the materials being used in the next-generation super-weapon being developed to destroy Earth...

Analysis - Memorable Quotes - Observations


<----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->






Analysis

Perhaps aware that the last episode was largely overlooked by baseball fans, this episode begins with a quick recap of how Archer and the crew gained the information about the Xindi colony featured in this episode. But that quick recap also highlights another important change to the series: strong overall continuity.

That continuity is driven into the limelight in this episode, with the entire plot being devoted to the Xindi arc. At the heart of the episode is Archer’s struggle with his own preconceptions about the Xindi. Archer’s anger, threaded through the season, comes into clear focus, and in the process, Archer finally begins to demonstrate a sense of character.

The parallels between current events and the Xindi arc have been fairly obvious from the beginning: a region of space that one cannot seem to get out of, a search for an elusive weapon of mass destruction, and struggles against conditions and battle tactics that are vastly different than expected. Just like the modern Middle East, where it is difficult at best to know which nations and populations count the United States as friend or foe, the Xindi are now revealed to be a fractured people, with a history of terrible internecine warfare and very different perspectives on “outside threats”.

There is a tendency within the Western world to stereotype anyone from the Middle East as terrorists and religious fanatics. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, many Americans felt that everyone from the Middle East was to blame, and that a blanket response was not only justified but necessary. To this day, such considerations are averred at the highest levels of government, making it very clear that a multitude of opinions and reactions remain in play.

Archer’s rage through the course of the season has reflected a similar mindset, a willingness and desire to destroy the Xindi before they can strike again. Trip expresses the same single-minded hatred, while other like T’Pol or Phlox see the dangers present in assuming that an attack on Earth implies clear consensus by the entire Xindi people.

However, to this point, Archer has had no reason to see the Xindi as anything more than five species working in unison. The divisions and internal conflicts within the Xindi not only represent a realistic conception of such a people, but also amount to a statement on the endless conflict within the Middle East. In essence, the writers point out that the fate of the Xindi is not unlike the possible future for the Middle East and possibly the rest of the world.

Faced with the knowledge that the Xindi are not all of one voice, Archer becomes clearly conflicted. It’s not as simple to maintain a burning hatred when the enemy is no longer a faceless nightmare. Moreover, Archer comes face to face with the possibility that destroying the Xindi may not be the answer. Again, there is the parallel of using faction against faction within Iraq, with the inherent dangers of becoming allies with a people that cannot be completely trusted or understood.

At the same time, there is a fascinating exploration into the weapons technology of the Reptilians, which is practically screaming for future development. Trek has always been tentative at best regarding the use of organic technology, despite the introduction of organic components on “Voyager”. That tendency actually has the potential to become a major plot point, since genetically engineering biomechanical components of weapons is not very far removed from the genetic enhancements of the Suliban.

In keeping with the plot elements being explored, Archer is the central character studied. There’s little time spent with any of the other characters, but what little time is spent actually takes away from the episode. Archer takes Reed and Major Hayes to the colony, and given the hints in “The Xindi”, one might have expected some differences of opinion between the two men. Oddly, the writers give Hayes little or nothing to do, resulting in a wasted opportunity.

Considering all of the strong points for the episode, the incredibly slow pacing is hard to reconcile. This is an episode that should have left the audience breathless, struck by the importance of the events at hand. As well as the drama between Archer and Gralik was rendered, the slow progression of every scene stole vitality from even the best of Archer’s lines.

With the right direction and kinetic pacing, the writing was more than strong enough to make this one of the best episodes of the series. As it stands, purely from the standpoint of the writing and Bakula’s performance, this ranks with “Anomaly” as one of the strongest episodes yet. Thanks to the strong setup over the past few episodes, this arc-focused episode displays the strength of the new direction.


Memorable Quotes

Sigh...still nothing overly memorable...


Observations

- Nice special effects in the teaser!

- Of course, it could have lasted longer than 30 seconds...

- If the Xindi weapon could be ready in a matter of weeks, then it sounds like the Xindi arc is coming to a critical juncture. Berman and Braga better have something more up their sleeves!

- Cool trick with the meteor camouflage, though it shouldn’t have worked...

- So the Xindi have a colony on Endor?

- I can’t say I hated the set design for the foreman’s office, even if that cheesy CGI shot was used from its window...

- Isn’t it a little premature for Reed to be congratulating Archer?

- Steven Culp really deserves a much better role than Mr. Guard Dog...

- Archer should have produced better proof than that fragment of the probe, if he really wanted to be convincing!

- Why would Phlox just let an unknown organism sit in the middle of his bare hand?

- Just the fact that the writers would think to describe an extinct species, just to add more detail to the Xindi culture, is a huge step forward from the poorly rendered Suliban...

- It’s obvious by now that the Xindi situation was created for the purposes of the Temporal Cold War, making that plot thread far more interesting in the long run!

- So...now Enterprise has the basis for a weapon that can disarm the Xindi, as long as no humans happen to be in the radiation zone...

- Now that I’ve seen the Xindi-Reptilians a little more, it looks like they received their uniforms from Shinzon’s tailor!

- Apparently the Xindi-Reptilian weapons have “smart gun” technology...

- What exactly was T’Pol reading from that Vulcan palm pilot, anyway? Nothing on the “screen” was changing!

- Sorry, but the destruction of the seeker should have been enough to implicate Gralik in some kind of suspicious activity...

- And I would think that the leading question regarding the super-weapon would have been even more suspicious!

- Why didn’t Archer think to discuss the obviously highly advanced technology being used by the Xindi-Reptilians?

Overall, this episode contained some of the strongest characterization for Archer since the early episodes of the series, and did a great job of drawing distinctions among the Xindi. If the pacing had been better, this could have been the best episode of the series. Instead, it is merely one of the best of the season.

I give it an 8/10.


< -------------------------------------------------------------------------->

Next Episode

Back to Season 3

Back to Starfleet Command

Email: entil2001@yahoo.com