monkee reviews 'The Council'
First Impressions: Wow! The hour was packed and I was on the edge of my seat! Good stuff!
The Council: Degra muscles his ships, and Enterprise, past Reptilian and Insectoid vessels, and Archer FINALLY appears before the council. He's taken Sato along to translate, which she does impressively well (she's a little too impressive, unfortunately for her - more on that later). Degra has briefed Archer on what approaches will work best with which council members, and I have to admit that Archer does a good job. The council remains split, however, between the two factions that have been obvious since we first saw them in the season premier.
Faction 1: Archer convinces the (other) Humanoids and the Arboreals that there is enough uncertainty for them to doubt the Sphere Builders. The Aquatics are a bit more reticent. As Degra tells Archer, they like to weigh all sides in 'excruciating detail,' but they are at least willing to listen. We learn a little bit more about the major players. The Arboreal leader, Janar, is a 'fair-minded scientist.' The Aquatic leaders are members of a royal family who are more likely to listen when they are addressed boldly.
Faction 2: The Reptilians and Insectoids, on the other hand, are as belligerent and contentious as ever. It's difficult to tell whether they actually believe the Sphere Builders have the Xindi's best interests at heart, or if they just don't care so long as they come out on top in the end and achieve Xindi dominance. We learn more about them, too. The Reptilian leader, Commander Dolan, is rumored to have had his own grandson poisoned when he was born with a genetic defect. The Insectoids names are too long and difficult to be pronounced, and they are quick to make decisions. They consider raised voices to be a threat - it's a challenge for Archer to be bold with the Aquatics, but non-threatening with the Insectoids.
The Sixth Species: The Council is located in caves high on the cliffs of a planet that used to be occupied by Xindi Avians, a species now extinct. If the remaining five species agree on anything, it's that this was a huge loss to them. It's an appropriate place for the Council to work. The small shrine that Degra has set up in his quarters - an Avian skull and some candles - is a poignant addition to several scenes. I'm kind of hoping that reports of their extinction have been exaggerated. I'd like to see some survivors appear before all of this is over, and perhaps play a pivotal role in the resolution. Or not. It would be interesting, though.
The Mysterious Sphere-Builders: They appear in the teaser, arguing with each other in some white mist. They remind me a little of DS9's wormhole aliens. They also remind me of changelings. And the Borg Queen. And Voyager's Krenim. They're still too two-dimensional for my tastes, and it's clear that they have their own agenda in all of this. They appear to be monitoring a number of different possible timelines, seeking 'favorable outcomes.' It will be interesting to see what place they have, if any, in the temporal cold war that set Archer and Enterprise off on their original mission three years ago.
In the episode, 'She,' the one who is in contact with the Xindi, tries without success to change Degra's mind about what he is doing. Later, she chastises Commander Dolan for allowing Archer to speak to the council. 'She' is easily able to manipulate him with vague promises of Reptilian dominance when all Xindi are 'unified.'
But then, manipulating the Reptilians shouldn't be too hard. After all, they, like the dinosaurs, could have brains the size of walnuts. That's very small.
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In the Beginning: We finally get an explanation for the initial association between the Xindi and the Sphere Builders. When the Xindi homeworld was destroyed, it was the Sphere Builders who came to their aid. They appeared to the survivors, leading them to habitable planets and valuable resources. All Xindi have been brought up to revere them. This makes it difficult for them to distrust them now.
The Power of the Visual: The Sphere Builders convinced the Xindi that Humans were a threat by showing them a visual image (one they claimed was from the future) of their new homeworld being destroyed by mankind. Apparently, the image was graphic and disturbing.
Fascinating. Could this particular bit of information be any more timely? With photographs from Abu Ghraib and the retaliatory beheading on the front page of the paper, we KNOW the power of the visual these days. These pictures make us heartsick.
Archer makes use of the power of the visual, too. With Degra's technical help and Phlox's records, he constructs a holographic image of the alien and space pod from 'Harbinger.' Once it's right in front of them, the Xindi can't deny that the alien is a Sphere Builder.
In my review of last season's cliffhanger, 'The Expanse,' I said, "I certainly understand the anger, and the desire for retribution, but I hope that once Enterprise finds the Xindi, they make some effort to find out what they were told by the temporal cold war informant. It may well be that the Xindi are being savagely used and misinformed, too. That's no excuse for killing seven million people, but we have no idea what they've been told, or shown." Well, now we know. And it isn't an excuse for killing seven million people, but at least we know what the Xindi were up against. They were being told by a species they trusted and revered almost as gods that Humans were going to destroy them, and their informers had a visual image to back it up! We can at least understand their response, even if we don't like it.
Challenging Your Preconceptions: Looking back over my review of 'The Expanse,' and the early episodes of this season, I am struck by what a good job they've done with certain aspects of this arc. If you'll indulge me for a minute, here's a quote from my review of 'The Anomaly.' "One of Enterprise's original themes was 'challenging your preconceptions.' I find it unsettling that no one is doing that at all right now. I would like to see someone - preferably Archer, but anyone will do - question the voracity with which they are pursuing the Xindi based on so little reliable information. Yes, obviously there's a danger to Earth, and yes, they need to find the Xindi fast. But I wish someone would ponder WHY the Xindi attacked in the first place. I think, eventually, that will happen, and that's the beauty of doing such a broad arc."
It did happen, and I'm so pleased about that. Archer challenged his preconceptions, and, perhaps even more importantly, Degra challenged his. And this week, even Trip Tucker manages to do it! He is finally able to move past his anger, acknowledge the efforts that Degra is making, and get down to the business at hand. It's damned refreshing after this past month on 21st century Earth, and this is Star Trek's biggest strength and appeal. I know it's fiction and that real life is more complicated, but I love a vision of the future where we are capable of swallowing our pride, challenging our preconceptions, and resolving difficult problems without annihilating each other.
But, of course, I'm getting a bit ahead of myself here. This situation is far from resolved, after all! And, naturally, there are complications...
Meanwhile, back on one of the spheres...T'Pol leads an away team to one of the spheres. They hope to take a memory core, which will give them information on the Sphere Builders which can then be used to convince the Xindi, once and for all, that Humans are not their enemy. She, Reed and Hawkins, a MACO, enter the sphere, and Mayweather pilots the shuttlepod. They get the core, but not before Hawkins is killed by the sphere's automatic defensive system. A giant metal claw grabs and vaporizes him. T'Pol and Reed are narrowly rescued from the same fate by Mayweather.
Alas, Hawkins...Hawkins was more than just a typical redshirt, by the way. He was the MACO who accompanied the away team when they boarded the Seleya in 'Impulse.' He helped fight off the Vombies, and had a couple of good conversations with T'Pol. Reed is deeply affected by his death, because it brings to mind all of the other people they've lost. They've gone beyond the 20% casualty mark, which is the military standard for acceptable loss on a mission. T'Pol tells him that 'the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few' and Hawkins understood that. She agrees that it doesn't make his death acceptable, but it does make it honorable. This is an outstanding scene, and a good indication that if T'Pol can find a way to make her unwanted emotions an asset, she'll be an excellent leader.
Surprising Turnabout? Degra happily informs Archer that the Xindi Reptilians have sided with the Humanoids and Arboreals. The weapon launch is to be delayed! Everyone's happy about this except the discerning viewer, who's seen indications that there's more going on than meets the eye. And sure enough, we're right about that!
Brutal Murder: Dolan shows up at Degra's quarters. At first, the conversation is innocuous enough, but then Dolan reveals that he now has evidence that it was Degra who destroyed the Reptilian ship in 'The Forgotten.' He pulls out a concealed dagger and plunges it into Degra. As Degra dies, Dolan shows him the bloody dagger and taunts him by telling him that he's going to do the same thing to his wife and children.
My God! I've seen this scene three times now, and it still makes me cringe. It's violent and awful even when you know it's coming. The tension builds from the first moment, when we see Degra's uneasiness when Dolan appears. And we've come to admire and respect Degra over the season, the weapon-builder with the heart of gold who listened to Archer and his own conscience and said 'Wait. Let's stop and think about this.' And the one thing we've been told over and over about Degra is that he is a family man. It broke my heart that in his dying moments, all he knew was that his grisly fate awaited his loved ones, too.
Out of the Mist: The Reptilian's duplicity soon becomes obvious to all. They, and the Insectoids, take control of the weapon and launch it. It emerges from an underground dock right there on the avian planet where the Council meets. Enterprise and the other Xindi frantically pursue it. They know that three command codes are required to detonate the weapon, and the Reptilians and Insectoids only have two, but they suspect the Reptilians have found a way around that.
They have. Right before they disappear into a vortex, they beam poor Hoshi off Enterprise's bridge. They think 'the female' will be able to break the third code. As the episode ends, the weapon has disappeared out of Archer's reach, and he's standing there looking at Hoshi's empty chair.
Moving on to the regular review features and some miscellaneous comments:
FX: Enterprise continues to be stunning, visually. The weapon rising up out of the ground like that and spinning and shifting around as it flies through space...very cool! I also loved the shots of the Avian Xindi cliffs, and the inside of the sphere, with its defensive claws grabbing intruders. Yikes!
Character Interactions: Archer and Degra's scenes were always enjoyable - too bad we won't be seeing any more of them! Trip and Degra's scenes were the ones that stood out this week, though. Their interactions were full of passionate argument and begrudging understanding. I also loved the scene between T'Pol and Reed on the shuttlepod. There were also some nice, light moments between Archer and Sato, in which he tells her, en route to the council chamber, about the time he was sent to the principal's office. I could have lived without the whole 'worm in Phlox's intestine' conversation between the good doctor and Trip - it seemed out of place, but I'll let it go in the spirit of appreciating the rest of a fine episode.
Mayweather Watch: He got lines and some action. Important action, too, in which he saved lives. What more could an underused helmsman/actor want?
'shipper Watch: There's a brief scene in which Trip expresses concern for T'Pol to Phlox. Phlox, the soul of discretion (at least sometimes), tells him nothing. The continuing concern is sweet, though.
Archer Watch: He did well this week. He addressed the council with diplomatic skill, balanced with firmness and anger the Xindi can relate to. He responded appropriately to each new threat that revealed itself over the course of the hour. And he didn't steal anyone else's warp core, or torture anyone. Way to go! Unfortunately, he's still left looking at the empty chair of his communications officer, with no way of getting at the weapon that's about to annihilate his planet. Sometimes, it sucks being Captain.
Porthos! We even get a brief glimpse of the fearless space pup. He's resting in Archer's quarters when the call comes in about Degra's murder. It's too bad that dog can't talk - he'd have some interesting stories to tell.
The dog's appearance is otherwise apropos of nothing. I don't care, though. I just love it when they show the fearless space pup!
Best Lines:
"What have we done to lose your faith?" "You never deserved my faith." ('She' and Degra)
"I was brought up to revere them. I taught my children to give thanks to them at the end of each day. That's what we're facing." (Degra, to Archer)
"It's kind of like being called to the principal's office." "I was NEVER called to the principal's office." (Archer and Hoshi)
"You don't want to know." (Hoshi, to Archer, after translating an especially vehement comment from an Insectoid)
"I can't change what happened to your sister, or any of the seven million, but I'm risking my life...I'm risking the lives of my family...I've killed member of my own species...all because I'm trying to save both our worlds!" (Degra, to Trip)
"When I was on the future Enterprise, four hundred years from now, there were Xindi aboard. Humans and Xindi were serving together in the Federation. That's a future worth fighting for." (Archer, to Degra)
"This is a significant step. That future we spoke of...perhaps this is where it begins." (Degra, to Archer)
"When the Humans have been eliminated, when the Council has been replaced by Reptilian rule, I am going to find your wife and children and do the same to them. Your traitorous bloodline will end at the tip of my blade." (Dolan, to the dying Degra)
"Ever since the attack on Earth, all I've thought about is getting back at whoever was responsible. I've gotten used to the anger. It's going to be like...losing an old friend." "You have other friends." (Trip and Phlox)
"How are you going to get it out?" "I insert a standard V probe into my..." "No, no, no, no, no, no. Never mind." (Trip, Phlox, Trip, and yes, he said 'no' six times. As would I!)
"There's a Vulcan axiom - the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." (T'Pol, to Reed)
"I can't believe I actually feel bad about Degra. Twenty-four hours ago, I would have been celebrating." "A lot can happen in a day." (Trip and Archer)
"Hoshi!" (Archer, to Sato's empty chair)
"We've lost them, Sir." (Ominous words from the officer at helm after the weapon and its escorts disappear into a vortex.)
Rating: Like I said, the hour was riveting. And packed, too. So much happened in the first three-quarters of the episode, I was convinced the show was over after Degra's murder. This was a solid hour of action, nicely balanced with character moments. 9.5/10.
Next Week: Oh no! Poor Hoshi! What are they going to DO to her? Yikes! Also next week, UPN announces their fall line-up and we learn Enterprise's fate. Fingers crossed!
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