Now
this could just be a fluke, but it looks like the writers
of Enterprise have actually watched a couple of
episode of Star Trek. Like static electricity,
this comes as a pleasant shock.
Last
season Enterprise went boldly down a time line
never recorded before. It would seem as if the authors of
the prequel Trek have had intentions to rewrite all of Star
Trek history. But this season we’re experiencing a
real return to solid Star Trek story lines. First with the
three part post Eugenics War (episodes; “Borderland”
“Cold Station 12,” and “The Augments”)
and now with the second three parter dealing with the restoration
of Vulcan (“The Forge” and this week’s
“Awakening”).
Last
week, Archer and T’Pol landed in the hostile Vulcan
terrain searching for the religious radical and accused
terrorist, T’Pau. Sound familiar? About 110 years
after this episode T’Pau stands over Spock's arranged
marriage. She’s known for being the only Vulcan (at
the time) to turn down a seat on the High Council.
As if T’Pau’s
presence wasn’t enough to make hard core Trekies shriek
with glee… Archer is carrying Surak’s Katra!
Get
your nerd on.
Katra:
n. origin – Vulcan. Believed to be the soul of a Vulcan.
Able to be passed from one person to another incase of accidental
death. McCoy carried Spock’s Katra in Star Trek II
and III.
Surak:
n. Vulcan philosopher, revered as the founder of Vulcan
logic. Died over 1,800 years prior to episode "Awakening."
Trekkie:
n. A Fanboy (or girl) who has memorized the definitions
of Katra and Surak and is therefore really annoyed by these
tedios definitions for the rest of the world. Most likely
owns one or more Star Trek costume piece. See also Trekker
and virgin.
Archer
spends a great deal of this episode battling Surak’s
Katra. He sees it as a blessing and a curse. Sort of like
a Vulcan’s One Ring. At the end of “The Forge”
Surak’s memories seem to lock into Archer. He remembers,
with odd Vulcan-like confidence, how to find T’Pau’s
hiding place. But at the top of “Awakening”
he reverts back to being unsure about the Katra. T’Pol
is even able to convince him that having bizarre visions
is more likely than him playing host to a 1,800 year old
ghost.
T’Pol
also struggles against her mother T’Les’ association
with the radical Syrannites. Their fights are pretty brutal,
by human standards, and downright horrific by Vulcan. Of
course everything is resolved in the end when T’Les
explains how much she cares for her daughter – and
then dies.
T’Pol
tears aren’t a surprise to viewers. She’s always
had problems with her emotions. Which, interestingly enough,
are T’Les’s final words. Knowing T’Pol
has struggled with repressing her emotions since childhood
sheds a flood-lamp of light on her character. Suddenly her
visible anger, sexual attraction and addition to Trillium
D all become more believable.
T’Pol’s
mother has been a thin thread strung through every episode
this season since “Home,” when T'Pol married
to keep her mother employed. Enterprise should
win an award for tricks like these. To regular fans the
continual plots are meat to chew on. But casual viewers
aren’t left out of the loop.
However,
this episode's ability to transform casual viewers into
regular fans receives the LAME award. All the real action
happens in the B-story line, above Vulcan. Ambassador Soval,
who was kicked off the Vulcan High Command for mind melding
with a dead man last week, helps Trip retrieve Archer and
T’Pol from the surface. But Vulcan High Command Leader
V’Las stops them at every turn.
It’s
REALLY hard to ignore the political commentary in this episode.
Try as you might. V’Las works for his own agenda –
wiping out the Syrannites. Then he turns his eyes to Vulcan’s
long standing reveal, the Andorians. He claims they have
Xindi technology, AKA Weapons of Mass Destruction. He wills
the High Command to validate an unprovoked assault on Andorian
space. The only parallel missing is V’Las’s
father starting a war with Andoria over dilithium crystals.
The
Xindi story line of season three was accused of being a
political commentary on 911. But Star Trek has
always excelled at exposing the human condition. It’s
really the secret to its success. This isn’t JUST
about time traveling aliens and cool looking ships. There
is something deeper going on. So, if Enterprise
reflects America’s political climate, then it’s
doing its job.
That being said,
this is still fiction. And V’Las makes an excellent
villain. Members of the High Command ask him direct questions,
and he answers them by rewording the question to prove his
point. He never denies accusations, merely reinforces his
position.
V’Las
will return next week for the wrap up of the Vulcan trilogy.
Trip and Soval zoom to Andorian space to warn the blue skins
of the Vulcan surprise attack. And Archer will attempt to
save the Vulcan homeworld by sharing Surka’s true
teaching. And I will now go put on my Star Fleet Uniform.
