monkee reviews 'E2'
First Impression: A good story with a lot of heart that still manages to fit right into the arc. Nicely done, once again. This series doesn't just deserve one more season; it deserves four more seasons!
Quick Summary: The plot was complicated, so I'm going to recap it quickly before I begin. Archer is about to take the ship into the 'corridor,' a shortcut to the coordinates of the Council. As Degra had warned, there are hostile ships (the Kovalans) standing in his way, but Enterprise has taken steps to get past them. En route, however, they are intercepted by a duplicate Enterprise, whose male Vulcan captain, Lorian, insists that they must turn back. Archer complies, and meets with the Vulcan and his first officer, Karyn Archer. This Enterprise, E2, was thrown back in time 117 years when they attempted to enter the corridor, because their impulse wake destabilized it. They couldn't return to Earth for fear of decontaminating the time line, so they made it their mission to stop the Xindi by preventing this Archer from making the same mistakes. E2, out of necessity, became a generational ship. Lorian is the son of T'Pol (who is elderly, but still alive on E2) and the late Trip Tucker. Karyn Archer is Jonathan Archer's great-granddaughter. Lorian has a plan to alter Enterprise's engines so they can travel at better than warp six, go around the corridor, and still make the rendezvous with Degra. There's something he's not telling Archer, though, which is that there is a significant chance the modifications will destroy Enterprise - the obsessed, driven Tobais thinks it's worth the risk. The elderly T'Pol, who doesn't agree, goes behind her son's back and tells Archer. Plan B is devised, in which Enterprise will enter the corridor, but take steps, with E2's help, to prevent the accident. Lorian thinks the plan will fail, though, and steals a critical component from Enterprise so that he can install it on E2 and resolve the situation with the Xindi himself. He even fires on Enterprise when they attempt to pursue him. Archer convinces him that they need to work together. Plan C goes into action. The hostile ships attack, but E2 - flying just below Enterprise, pretending to be a sensor ghost - breaks off and engages the Kovalans while Archer gets Enterprise safely through the corridor. E2, who was supposed to follow them through, doesn't show up. Were they destroyed by the Kovalans, or did they cease to exist when Archer was successful? And if they did cease to exist, why do Archer and his crew remember them? No one knows. Degra is waiting, though, as promised, and the arc continues...
Well, I'll be Damned...It pains me to admit this, but I seem to have underestimated this group of writers and producers! They actually had a PLAN! I think I can be forgiven for this oversight, though - after all, this particular group of writers and producers never had much of a plan with their previous series, Voyager. But in this case...WOW! The presence of Lorian's E2 actually explains a lot! When the Xindi kept asking Archer about other earth ships in the expanse, I accused them of being stupid! But they've been detecting E2 sporadically all this time. In fact, if you think about it, E2 might be part of the reason the Xindi attacked Earth in the first place! The sphere-builder, who seems to have done some dabbling in time travel herself, probably knew all about this alternate timeline. Maybe she used it to stir anti-human sentiment and paranoia among the Xindi. 'Look,' she probably said, 'you see these readings? The humans are everywhere, cloaked, watching you, biding their time...'
Intriguing!
In a Different Reality: I love these alternate reality/timeline stories because they're so rich. We get little glimpses of our characters, or their offspring, in extraordinary circumstances - see other steps they might have taken, other relationships they might have forged. In this scenario, T'Pol and Trip get married and have a child. Phlox and Amanda (Trip's one-time possible love interest), have nine children! Hoshi has two, but opts not to find out who their father was. Mayweather marries a MACO, Corporal Mackenzie, too. And Archer's impulsive gallantry actually serves him well for a change - he marries a woman that he rescues several years after the accident. Only poor Reed ends up alone - but his counterpart seems to take that as an incentive to be a bit more sociable! We also get to see the emotional core of some of these alternate characters - the elderly T'Pol clearly had a very close bond with her own Archer until his death, and is pleased to see the other one. She evens hugs him!
If you've the time and inclination, though, it's fun to take the speculations farther. What was this crew's life like, wandering for over a century through the expanse? Would they have gone back to visit the schoolteacher and the sheriff on the western planet? Did they ever run into the aliens whose warp core they had stolen, and were they even still alive in their crippled ship? Now THERE'S a story! These are the sorts of things that keep you thinking about an episode long after it airs. I love it!
[When Porthos died, for example, did they shoot his little body into space in a torpedo tube? Hey - it's important to know these things! And the Fearless Space Pup surely deserved a top-notch send-off!]
Lorian: He may have, as Trip says, his grandfather's eyes and his mother's ears, but his personality is uniquely his. He's exactly as you'd expect a Vulcan-Human hybrid to be, under his circumstances, with the emotional T'Pol as his only Vulcan role model. Understandably, he seems to identify more with his human side, having been raised on a ship of humans. He even bristles at his mother at one point, accusing her of not caring about Earth enough to pursue his course of action. He tells Trip that he rejected those aspects of his Vulcan heritage that didn't serve his best interests - a logical approach. Apparently, he considered his Captain Archer to be a mentor, and upon his death took Archer's mission as his own.
Parallels: And therein lies the problem. He's a little TOO much like Archer. It's good to be determined, but sometimes an obsession can lead to tunnel vision. Archer has begun to lose sight of some of his core values in his single-minded pursuit of the mission - he admits this. This has happened to Lorian, too. He's even lost some of his logic - if the execution of his plan destroys Enterprise, there will be no stopping the Xindi. I compared Archer's behavior in 'Damage' to Captain Ransom's in Voyager's 'Equinox,' and the same goes for Lorian. The scene in which he fires at Archer's Enterprise is strongly reminiscent of the scene in which Equinox fired on Voyager and left them defenseless to those screeching aliens.
Guilt: Lorian has the added motivation of guilt. He and his crew made an effort to stop the original probe that attacked Florida in 'The Expanse.' There was one moment when he could have used E2 to ram and destroy the probe. He hesitated, reluctant to condemn his own crew - by then a close-knit family - to death, and then the moment was lost forever. He's determined to harden his heart and do whatever it takes to complete his mission, even if it means killing his crew, or Archer's, but sometimes that determination defies common sense.
Lorian was played by David Andrews, who did an outstanding job. Sometimes, he sounded a little bit like Trip (although, thank goodness, he didn't try to imitate the accent). Other times, he sounded a little bit like T'Pol. More often than not, though, he sounded a lot like Archer, which makes sense! He knew Archer for a long time, after all, and considered him a role model.
Meanwhile, Back in the Council Chambers: There's just one short scene with the Xindi, but it's not out-of-place. It keeps the episode tied in with the arc. Some of the other Xindi Arboreals and Humanoids, remain skeptical, and we see Degra still working to convince them to hear Archer out. They are willing to listen, which I'm sure is more than we can say for the Reptilians and Insectoids.
The true heart of this episode, though, was the more personal interactions. We've discussed Archer and Lorian; let's look at some of the others.
Father and Son: Despite the bizarre situation, Trip has no trouble talking to Lorian. The two formed a believable bond in just a scene or two. The Trip in the other timeline died when Lorian was only fourteen, but it's clear that Lorian loved and respected him a great deal. He's grateful to get the opportunity to tell this Trip that he is (was, will be) a good father. Now how sweet is that? *sniff* Trip, too, welcomes the opportunity to get to know Lorian. He even seems to be sneakily trying to hit him up for some information on his counterpart's relationship with T'Pol. Hee.
T'Pol and T'Pol2: The two T'Pol's had one scene together. It was interesting to see the older, wiser T'Pol counseling her younger self. It brought back fond memories of Voyager's 'Endgame' for me. Blalock isn't, in my opinion, as strong an actress as Mulgrew, but she still did a nice job with this. T'Pol's worst fear is confirmed by her counterpart - she will indeed have to learn to live with the new emotions she 'accessed.' With the dreaded news, though, comes hope, because now she knows it's possible. "Follow your heart," the older one tells the younger one. Awww...
Other Character Interactions: I loved the conversation Sato, Mayweather and Reed had in the mess hall about their alternate relationships, or lack thereof. It's scenes like this that make you feel like you're watching real people who live on a starship. I wish we'd seen more of Phlox, on either ship, and I wish we'd gotten to know Karyn Archer better, but they only have limited time. That always frustrates me in episodes like this, because I want so much more!
'shipper Watch: Trip and T'Pol, of course, was the big story on the 'shipper front this week. The verbal sparring that they do here, and have done in the past, is cute and amusing - there's nothing wrong with a little flirtation. It's the scenes like the one in 'The Forgotten' and the one in her quarters this week, though, that show us that a meaningful bond is forming between the characters. Trip goes to T'Pol claiming that he can't sleep, but eventually admits that he came because he's concerned about her. Although he doesn't know about her Trellium addiction, he can see that she is troubled and distressed. The fact that a) he noticed, b) he reached out to her, and c) he doesn't pull away when she isn't ready to talk about it, says a lot about him and his feelings for her. Scenes like this make their potential future relationship believable. Nice.
A fake palm tree and sand in the cargo bay, though? For a honeymoon? Sorry, but that's just silly!
Mayweather Watch: He got that one nice scene in the mess hall with Sato and Reed, as I mentioned. More importantly, the poor man gets a future! It's a refreshing change that he doesn't die, or at least he doesn't die right away! All right, Travis! (High fives all around!)
Archer Watch: Archer did an excellent job this week rolling with the punches. First, he went with his gut and decided to believe what Lorian was telling him about the other timeline. No stranger to time travel is he! And when Lorian, in misguided desperation, turned on him, he efficiently neutralized the threat, then, instead of condemning Lorian outright, came to an understanding with him. He was a good Captain.
I was more intrigued by the other Archer, though - the one who, defeated and helpless in the past, formulated a whole new mission for himself and his crew: the one who was a mentor to the son of his XO and his best friend. I find myself wondering about him - when his mission was taken from him by fate, how did he go on with his life? I wish we could have seen more of him!
Odds and Ends:
Identical Dialog: There was identical dialog when Enterprise emerged from the corridor, in both timelines. I always enjoy that in these time travel episodes. In this case, it added to the suspense, because until Mayweather revealed that the stars were where they were supposed to be, we couldn't be sure that Enterprise hadn't met the same fate as E2. Phew!
Best Lines:
"Everything is happening as it did before." "Then you have no choice. You must find Jonathan Archer." (Lorian and T'Pol2)
"They have to listen. His allegations are too important to simply dismiss." (Degra, to his Xindi colleagues)
"We're here to make certain that history doesn't repeat itself." (Lorian, to Archer)
"It couldn't have been easy, growing up without the old man. I'm sorry I wasn't there." (Trip, to Lorian)
"You were a good father. It's strange - being able to tell you that." (Lorian, to Trip)
"They didn't tell me you were still on board." "You mean still alive." (Archer and T'Pol2)
"I've got two T'Pol's who disagree with you!" (Archer, to Lorian)
"You know nothing about being human." "I know that, for them, guilt is a powerful motivator. Don't let it cloud your judgment." (Lorian and T'Pol2)
"Maybe you'd be a little more concerned if Vulcan were in danger instead of Earth." (Lorian, to T'Pol2)
"All the other women on board must have been taken, because I can't imagine any other reason why I would ever have married someone as stubborn as you!" (Trip, to T'Pol)
"If you fire that torpedo, you're going to hurt a lot of people over here." (Archer, to Lorian)
These people are family. I'm not going to let you kill them." (Karyn Archer, to Lorian)
"Years ago, I made my Captain a promise on his deathbed, that I would save those seven million lives. You were the man I made that promise to." (Lorian, to Archer)
"All that matters is what we do next. I'll stand a much better chance of completing this mission - our mission - if we work together." (Archer, to Lorian)
"You'll never fully recover. The emotions you have accessed will be with you for the rest of your life." (T'Pol2, to T'Pol)
"The emotions he stirred in me were powerful, and frightening. I tried to push him away. If Enterprise hadn't been stranded in the past, it's possible I never would have married Trip, but I can't imagine what my life would have been like without him." (T'Pol2, to T'Pol)
"What do you suggest I do?" "There is a human expression...follow your heart." (T'Pol and T'Pol2)
"What if my heart doesn't know what it wants?" "It will, in time. It will." (T'Pol and T'Pol2)(*sniff*)
"We'll follow as soon as we can. Tell my parents that I'll see them soon." (Lorian's last words to Archer)
Rating: When we're looking back at Enterprise five years from now, this one's going to stand out. 9.5/10.
Next Week: Archer finally appears before the Xindi Council. Will the Reptilians and Insectoid kill him where he stands, or will they listen? We'll find out! Meanwhile, an enormous mechanical claw grabs someone in an environmental suit. Yikes!
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