episode4x03f

I wish we could have seen more of the debriefings with the crew being included. I think they could have given us a compelling story there but like most of what Enterprise has been, it is brief yet concise. The return to Earth is done in a compact fashion as was the Xindi and Temporal Cold War arc as compared to say the Dominion war arc on DS9. Nonetheless, this show is not supposed to be about a single war but rather the events that have transpired and that lead to the the growth and importance of Starfleet and the formation of the Federation. Hopefully, this will be where the show is headed.

Much of Archer’s guilt and self-deprecation is dealt with in the scenes with Erika Hernandez while mountain climbing. Ms. Maris does a nice, understated job here as the NX-02’s captain and Archer’s confidant. I like that Archer questions his role as captain. The Vulcans had been so adamant that humans weren’t ready to go into deep space that he questions himself and Starfleet and wonders if in the future it won’t be so much about exploring anymore but more about protecting Earth. Hernandez tells him: “That’s not the mission either one of us signed up for.” He replies: “Maybe you’ll feel differently after you’ve delivered a few dozen eulogies.” Still, we see at the end, when speaking to Soval, that Archer feels vindicated.

I could have done without the romance. I found it contrived and somewhat forced. It would have been much more interesting if she had followed Archer because she wanted to know more about the Expanse and his experiences there off the record. Her excuse for being there, that he shouldn’t climb without a partner, was a good one and as such would still have made sense without her caring so much for Archer. She would be interested in these experiences, as she is the captain of the NX-02 after all.

I don’t know what to think of T’Pol getting married to Koss. I kind of liked her relationship with Trip and was hoping it would get deeper. In season one’s “Breaking the Ice”, she had postponed the marriage to Koss so she could stay on the Enterprise. Now of course, Koss and his family are allowing her to remain on the ship even though they are married. The interesting thing is that the marriage wasn’t consummated. Does that mean that she can declare it null in the future, especially after her mother is reinstated at the academy? Moreover, do Vulcans get married for life or can they divorce? All questions that I hope get answered along the way as I hope she does get together with Trip since he loves her.

I also like the fact that the characters have retained the changes to their personalities as a result of the Xindi attack and their foray into the Expanse. Archer deals with his guilt but is not the naive, enthusiastic captain he was; Trip, although he has resolved his sister’s death and his anger, has no where to go on Earth and is somewhat resigned to it and T’Pol is still overly emotional due to her addiction to Trellium. Granted the rest of the main characters haven’t grown that much but they still have changed. Travis is no longer the wide-eyed, smiling young ensign; Hoshi is not the scared crewmember that she was and Reed seems much more open and interested in people than he was at first (see “E²”). The only crewmember that hasn’t