monkee reviews 'Fortunate Son'
First Impressions: Not an episode for the ages, but I liked it more than I expected to, despite yet another horribly misleading promo.
Boomers: The best thing about this episode was that it introduced what is essentially a whole new species, and I don't mean the Nausicaans. To me, these space boomers and freight haulers represent a kind of missing link between the post-apocalyptic Cochrane and Archer, the first starship captain. I like the idea that humans have been slowly making their way 'out there' during that century in-between, even at the lowly speed of warp 1.8. Through Mayweather's reminiscences and the scenes on the Fortunate, we're given an interesting peek into the lives of these people. Children playing hide and go seek among the crew, low-gravity football, fathers passing ships and freight lines on to their children – you can see how a crew like that could become closer than a family. The Nausicaan plot compliments this, because we have to decide if this is simply a renegade crew out for revenge, or a people feeling threatened because their whole way of life is disappearing. I hope we see more of the boomers from time to time – I find them fascinating.
Another Character Heard From: Finally! Some real background on Mayweather! We learn that his parents are still hauling freight on the Horizon, along with his sister and her husband. And now we also know that Starfleet wasn't something Mayweather just stumbled into – it was a conscious decision to seek more out of life than the Dralax-Vega run, and that even though his father wanted him to take over the business, he respected his son's decision to go. This gives the character of Mayweather an interesting torn-between-two-cultures edge, although he's clearly leaning towards the new, wide-open world of Starfleet.
Not the Brightest Bulb on the String: Matthew Ryan, First Officer of the Fortunate, is in command because the ship's captain is temporarily (of course) out of commission. A freight hauler who's had a tough life, he take the boomer's code of self-reliance to an extreme. He's reluctant to accept help from Archer and the Enterprise, and he takes a Nausicaan prisoner. He wants to handle the situation himself, and 'start inflicting some casualties of his own.' Unfortunately, he's really not up to the task, and in his desperation makes huge errors of judgement. First he ambushes Archer and the away team when they ask to see the prisoner, then he refuses to back off when it's clear that a) he's stumbled into a small Nausicaan base and b) the codes he beat out of his prisoner aren't legitimate after all. Finally, he gets his ship boarded and embroiled in a tense hostage standoff, nearly killing the entire crew. He wasn't a completely unsympathetic character, but you do have to wonder how he could be so dumb. In the end, he's reduced in rank to able crewman by his Captain, and it seems a suitable punishment. As his captain points out, boomers take care of their own, and besides, if he were removed from the ship, they'd be short a man. Nice acting from the guest star, Lawrence Monoson, too. He did a good job of portraying a man gradually losing all control over a situation.
Philosophical Debates: Outstanding philosophical debating going on this week, and none of it involved T'Pol, for a change. I enjoyed the boomer bonding going on between Ryan and Mayweather initially, but it turned into a great discussion about the differences between the two lifestyles, with Ryan trying to make Mayweather feel guilty for abandoning his boomer family. There was also a very enlightening conversation between Archer and Ryan regarding what, exactly, Starfleet has jurisdiction over, anyway. Remember, there is no United Federation of Planets yet. I'm sure these freight haulers feel absolutely no allegiance to Starfleet. Why should they? Finally, there's another good conversation, this time between Archer and Mayweather, about what the human code of behavior should be.
The Nausicaans: They were a plot device and nothing more. They're still as two-dimensional as they were on TNG, but hey, the make-up's great, so who's complaining? I hope we haven't seen the last of them, because they play the role of 'space pirate' so well. I was a little surprised to see them running away like a bunch of girlie-men at the end, but I suppose they had just come up against something more than an old, under-armed freighter.
Mayweather's Stirring Speech: Okay, this is a quibble, but it amused me. Now, I thought his speech at the end was awesome, I really did. He was logical, he was convincing, and he wisely appealed to Ryan's desire to preserve his way of life, which was really what the whole thing was about, anyway. The man can certainly think on his feet. Unfortunately, he's supposed to be MANNING THE HELM, and instead he gets up, and rambles all over the bridge, talking, while the ship is involved in a space battle! Sorry, I'm sure it's all about camera angles, and keeping the visuals interesting, but shouldn't the helmsman of a Starship stay where he's supposed to be? Sheesh!
Dralaxian Whiskey: For once, the episode doesn't end abruptly in the last two minutes! Instead, we're given a scene between Archer and Captain Keene, which nicely ties up the whole thing. Captain Keene wistfully observes that he's going to need a warp 3 engine just to stay in business, then summarizes the boomer mentality for us, "Going it alone is all we've ever done. For some of us, that's the reason we're out here. A chance to prove ourselves." Archer respectfully acknowledges that they've already done that. I wish the two of them could have shared that Dralaxian whiskey. They're a lot alike. And something in me is still thrilled just by the sight of a shuttle going between two earth vessels in deep space.
PORTHOS RETURNS! For the first time since the opening episodes, we get to see the fearless space pup! Have I mentioned that I love that there's a dog?
Skin Watch: No blue underwear this week, but we do get to see a half-naked Archer in bed. That's never a bad thing.
Character Interactions: I've already mentioned the best interactions: Archer and Mayweather, Mayweather and Ryan, Archer and Ryan, Archer and Keene. The other characters had only minor roles this week, which is all right. Mayweather's turn was long overdue!
'Shipper Watch: Sorry. No major fanfic fodder this week.
Archer Watch: Well, he was terrific, wasn't he? He showed that he's willing to listen to opposing viewpoints from crewmembers, he was firm and logical in his dealings with the Nausicaans, and he wisely let Mayweather talk his fellow boomer out of doing something stupid in the end. He's everything you would want in a starship Captain. So why am I so disappointed? Judging from the promo, I thought we were going to see a little bit of tension this week between the Captain and his crew. I was looking forward to it! He's the first Captain – I think it would make sense for him to screw up occasionally. Right now, he's just a little too perfect. A sanctimonious, never-wrong Archer is going to get old fast, at least for me. I want flaws! Humans shouldn't be this good yet!
Or maybe I'm just ticked off because they were SO willing to let Janeway be flawed. If they felt it was so necessary to mess with the character of Janeway, then the boy Captains had better darned well have some rough edges, too!
Best Lines:
"They say that for a split second, you can actually feel yourself in both places at once." (Ryan, to Mayweather, regarding the transporter)
"Why do you think I want to try it?" (Mayweather, to Ryan)
"I had to figure out where I wanted to spend the rest of my life. And I was pretty sure it wasn't on the Dralax-Vega run." (Mayweather, to Ryan)
"Starfleet doesn't have any jurisdiction over what happens on my ship." (Ryan, to Archer)
"We've taken enough casualties. It's time we started inflicting some of our own." (Ryan, to Shaw)
"Human beings have a code of behavior that applies whether they're Starfleet officers or space boomers, and it isn't driven by revenge." (Archer, to Mayweather)
"Any other orders of mine you'd like to question?" (Archer, to Mayweather)
"We're happy with our 'relations' the way they are." (Nausicaan, to Archer)
"You're not sneaking up on some old freighter this time. This is an NX class starship. Take a good look, because you'll be seeing more of them." (Archer, to Nausicaan)
"What's going to happen to the next freighter that runs into the Nausicaans. What if it's the Horizon, and they have to pay the price for your stubborn stupidity?" (Mayweather, to Ryan)
"I'm going to need a warp 3 engine just to stay in business." (Keene, to Archer)
"Going it alone is all we've ever done. For some of us, that's the reason we're out here. A chance to prove ourselves." (Keene, to Archer)
Rating: 8/10. A solid, likable episode.
Next Week: The plot thickens, and the Suliban time travel arc returns.
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