Wow, that was
WAY better than the first two installments of the season and easily one of my favorite Enterprise episodes to date... let's hope this is par for the course.
High points:
- Everything with the Trip/T'Pol storyline. Connor Trinneer and Jolene Blalock once again stole the show with their performances, and the storyline felt very true to their characters. I was actually glad they didn't resolve the issue by the end of the episode -- it's much more interesting this way than if they had taken the easy way out.
- I like that we saw consequences from Archer's time in the Expanse, and the contrast with Captain Nookie-of-the-Week was interesting, as well as their differing philosophies about exploration and first contact. I liked her, so I hope she'll develop enough of a role that I might actually retain her name.
- Phlox's reaction (emotional, not the blowfish-like reaction) to the recent Xenophobia on Earth. John Billingsley has great range and he pulled this off amidst a largely unnecessary subplot.
Low points:
- Archer blowing up at Soval. I've never liked it when he goes off like that; it always feels forced and over the top. The sequence on the mountain with his nightmare was much, much more effective at getting the point across. (The point being "Xindi and the Expanse make Archer something something.")
- The bar incident with Malcolm, Phlox, and Travis (who?). Mmmm... anvillicious. (What? Prejudice is bad?) Not a bad character moment, but I would have rather seen more of Trip and T'Pol exploring Vulcan.
All in all, however, the high points way, way outdid the lows. My only complaint would be that the 40-some minutes weren't enough to do justice to the range of storylines that could have been explored, and hopefully will be. Definitely the best Enterprise I've seen in a long while... may this caliber of writing live long and prosper.