[color=#000000
ost_uid0]A few thoughts...
First, anyone else getting a major Star Wars vibe (again) from the weapon? Yeah, I thought so.
Shran? WTF? Can we say "deus ex machina"? No? How about "plot contrivance"?
Riiiiight, Archer's dead with 15 minutes left in the episode. My first thought when they revealed he didn't get off the cube was "Shee-yeah,
dead like a fox." I thought for sure Daniels had yoinked him out of the timeline, and I think that's still a definite possibility.
People kept saying Enterprise had hit its stride. I was inclined to agree. Then came the last few minutes of the episode. CoughFuture's End ripoffcough. I have a feeling the discussion went something like this:
[b
ost_uid0]Enterprise Exec 1:[/b
ost_uid0] So, the Guardians are screwed, the Xindi are our buddies now, and Earth is safe. What are we gonna do for next season?
[b
ost_uid0]Enterprise Exec 2:[/b
ost_uid0] Well, we could so some neat arcs looking at the formation of the Federation. Personally, I think it would be fascinating looking at some of the politics and early conflicts. Very DS9-ish.
[b
ost_uid0]Enterprise Exec 3:[/b
ost_uid0] Hey, does the Romulan War fit into this time period?
[b
ost_uid0]Enterprise Exec 4:[/b
ost_uid0] I've got it! Time travel! With alien Nazis!
[b
ost_uid0]Other Execs:[/b
ost_uid0] Sweeeeeet.
Of course, it's possible that they skipped right from step 1 to step 4 there.... I mean, come on. The whole idea of a prequel series is that it lays the foundation for the world we've already been exposed to in a lot of detail. I'm not interested in seeing the crew in alternate timelines or in the past, or other such stupid complications. (Hey, something else they have in common with Star Wars...) If this time travel thing is another gimmick, then obviously they haven't smartened up like I thought they had and this next season could easily be Enterprise's last.
So, a bum end to an improving season. Let's hope this isn't as stupid an excuse for a cliffhanger as it looks.[/color
ost_uid0]