monkee reviews 'The Hatchery'
First Impression: Well done and interesting, although I might have preferred the story it turned out not to be.
A Single Act of Compassion: On Voyager, Janeway told Seven that a single act of compassion could 'humanize' your enemy and alter both your perceptions and his. I was hoping that was to be the main point of this episode as well - I think the Xindi arc has been lacking in this respect. I want to see more of Archer and his crew trying to find out WHY the Xindi did what they did, and trying to reason with them instead of blasting in with full phase canons. Anyway, for a while it looked like the story was going to be about compassion. Enterprise discovers an insectoid Xindi ship that crashed on a planet. The only survivors are the eggs in the ship's hatchery, but they won't survive long enough for Xindi help to arrive because the ship's systems are failing. Instead of continuing to Azati Prime, Archer orders his surprised people to assist. "The Xindi are trying to destroy Earth because they heard we were ruthless. This is a chance to prove them wrong." Great message, right? Indeed yes, and very Trekian, however...
Bonkers: However, it quickly became clear that it was, instead, yet another 'the Captain falls under alien influence and goes nuts' story. At first, Archer is able to convince his crew that compassion makes sense, especially since they also have a Xindi assault shuttle to analyze. Even Trip, who initially tells Archer that he's half tempted destroy the hatchery with a plasma torch, is willing to challenge his preconceptions, and defends Archer's decision to other crewmembers. Archer becomes increasingly obsessed and paranoid though, and before long, he's relieved both T'Pol and Reed of duty, stationed MACOs all over the ship, and ordered that a third of Enterprise's reserve anti-matter be used to repair the hatchery. He also orders Sato to broadcast a distress call, which, of course, will reveal Enterprise's position to the Xindi. He refuses to submit to a physical exam, and the crew is forced to mutiny. Yawn and Ho Hum, it's all been done before, right? Indeed yes, however...
Questioning Authority: However, there's another very interesting angle to the story, which is the whole MACO vs. Starfleet thing. Archer's crew quickly senses that he is being belligerent and unreasonable, even more so than usual (<g> sorry, but you know it's true!), whereas Hayes, the MACO commander, has been trained to obey orders without question. Archer seems to know exactly which buttons to push with West Point graduate Hayes, too, telling him "I need officers who respect the chain of command." There are times when authority not only should be questioned, it must be questioned. Sometimes, common sense and conscience have to prevail. Hayes has some flickers of doubt when he's ordered to confine T'Pol to quarters, and again when Archer implies that Reed has a hidden agenda - something Hayes knows isn't true even if they have had their differences - but he still obeys the orders. In his defense, the Starfleet crew doesn't fully trust him, either, so they don't share any of their suspicions and misgivings about Archer's behavior with him.
It was all quite interesting, especially in a U.S. election year when not everyone agrees with U.S. military actions in other parts of the world. Not that I'm suggesting that an authority figure has been sprayed in the face with alien mind-altering venom, although maybe it wouldn't hurt to check...
Stop it! BAD monkee! Keep the knee-jerk liberal politics out of the review! Sorry, I'm digressing, and I'm just joking, honest! Mostly.
Ahem. Moving on...
MACO Repercussions: In the end, there's plenty for everyone involved to chew on. The MACOs get to second guess their actions, and perhaps the Starfleeters will be more willing to keep the MACOs in the loop from now on. Good stuff. At first, I was NOT pleased to see the Reed/Hayes bickering crop up again, but it makes sense that it wouldn't disappear completely. I'll give Reed credit for apologizing when he was being a jerk, and Hayes credit for admitting that perhaps West Point didn't prepare him for everything he might encounter on this mission. My biggest regret about this episode is that we didn't get to see Amanda again, because it would have been useful to have another MACOs point of view in this scenario. The only other MACO we see regularly is the one stationed outside T'Pol's quarters. He is played by Trek regular Daniel Dae Kim, and actually seems to have a personality, but he, too, is just following orders. Amanda knows both Trip and T'Pol, and could have acted as a MACO/Starfleet go-between.
All's Well that Ends Well: Watching the episode, I was excited at the prospect of far-reaching repercussions. Archer went bonkers! The crew mutinied! The MACOs and the Starfleeters were at each other's throats, and had a tense standoff on the bridge! Surely, I thought, there would be far-reaching repercussions. But no. In the end, there's a simple explanation for Archer's behavior. One of the alien fetuses sprayed him with something when they first boarded the Xindi ship. Phlox thought it was a defense mechanism, but instead it was a substance that caused Archer to become fiercely protective of the eggs - a sort of imprinting in reverse. Archer gets his brain chemistry re-balanced, some bed rest, and some smooches from Porthos (awwww...), and all's well that ends well. The situation is resolved before the antimatter is transferred or the distress call is broadcast.
Despite the easy way out in the ending, one would still expect some serious repercussions from the events. I don't think we'll see any, though. Too bad.
Tainted Bugs: When the insect Xindi find the ship and the babies (they hatched, and will be all right until help arrives), will they understand that the humans were trying to help? Will Archer get credit for an act of compassion? I hope so, but it occurred to me that the Xindi might actually consider the hatchery and the babies tainted now! Some bird mothers will have nothing to do with their babies after they've been handled by humans. Wouldn't it be ironic if, after all that, the Xindi take a plasma torch to the little buggers?
Fun in the Details: Reed's father collects bugs! That's an interesting little tidbit; he didn't really strike me as the sort to have a hobby like that. We also get what I think was the first canon mention of the Eugenics Wars since 'The Wrath of Khan.' Archer's 'single act of compassion' story is about his great-grandfather, who served in North Africa at that time. Cool. My only complaint? Why didn't they make it his great-grandmother?
FX: I think it's time for me to mention this again. Enterprise is a technically superior show. It looks sleek. The camera angles are interesting. The shots of the ship's exterior are appealing. I don't remember any of the other series having shots from above as a starship passed over a planet's surface, although maybe the technology back then made them difficult. Several times during this episode, I saw something like this that made me nod my head and say 'Yeah!' And I loved the little buggies. They were creepy, yet cute, even when they were crawling all over their adoptive caretaker, and scuttling about the hatchery. Nice job!
Archer Watch: He was a horrible captain this week, although it wasn't his fault. What's funny is that he's normally so cranky and hostile, it probably took his crew a little bit longer than it should have to figure out that something was wrong! In general, he could get his points across more effectively if he'd calm down and explain them without sounding so belligerent. Once his brain chemistry was restored, though, he was fine. I liked the way he reassured a shaken Trip, who'd actually had to shoot him.
Mayweather Watch: Wow! He had lines! That actually furthered the plot! He was one of the first to openly question Archer's behavior, and it was nice to see an indication of personality in him for a change. And he got to be the one to take Hayes down on the bridge. I guess Hayes was watching his hands when he should have been watching his eyes...
Maybe I should start a Hoshi Watch, too. She was mentioned, but not seen until the third act. At least she got a good, tense moment, though. She was the one caught in the middle when the Starfleeters took over the bridge. She had to defy Hayes, but she did it respectfully.
'shipper Watch: Not much going for the Archer/T'Pol fans out there, at least not anything very nice. In his twisted state, Archer considered her a generic enemy, and I didn't care for the way he manhandled her, grabbing her arm when she refused to obey his order. I kind of wanted to see her fling him to the ground, there, using her Vulcan martial arts prowess, but I suppose Hayes would have shot her. I did enjoy the intensity of the Trip/T'Pol conversations. "You're asking me to betray him," Trip tells her. The A/T'P ers would say that you already have, pal!
Best Lines:
"The egg probably considered you a threat." "Humans seem to have that effect on Xindi." (Phlox and Archer)
"What if we found a nursery with thirty-one infant primates - would you want to torch them?" (Archer, to Trip)
"I never imagined Captain Archer would put the welfare of a few Xindi before his own people." (Reed, to Trip)
"There are lives at risk here." "There are billions of lives at risk on Earth if our mission fails." (Archer and T'Pol)
"I don't know much about Vulcan ethics, but humans don't just throw morality out the window when things get a little rough." (Archer, to T'Pol)
"She's questioned your orders lots of times, but you've never locked her up before." (Trip, to Archer)
"There are rules, Trip. Even in war. We have to help these children." (Archer, to Trip)
"You can't allow your personal feelings for the Captain to affect your decision. We both know he's endangering this ship and our mission." (T'Pol, to Trip)
"If he finds out what we're doing, we'll both end up in the brig." (Trip, to T'Pol)
"In the past, I've encouraged them to ask questions, but we don't have time for that now. I need officers who can respect the chain of command and can follow orders." (Archer, to Hayes)
"T'Pol's manipulating you, isn't she? If I'm declared unfit for duty, she takes over." (Archer, to Trip)
"I expected something like this from HER, but not from you." (Archer, to Trip and Phlox)
"Time to throw the rulebook out the window." (Trip, to Phlox)
"I never thought I'd find myself pointing a weapon at you. No matter what the circumstances." (Trip, to Archer)
Rating: 9/10. I'd have preferred a straight story about compassion, but the MACO vs. Starfleet angle made it interesting, and more than just another 'the captain goes bonkers' episode. Solid.
Next Week: I didn't catch the preview, but the episode is entitled 'Azati Prime,' and should be the culmination of the month-long sub-arc. I'm looking forward to it. My review may be delayed yet again, unfortunately. The monkee has a martial arts tournament next weekend. Wish me luck!
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