Stevil2001, you seem alarmed that "Hatchery" may have been forgotten. Are you perhaps feeling unusually protective towards it? I remind you that we have an essential mission here - to work our way chronologically through the entire novel 'verse continuity - and we cannot delay here to indulge your obsession with "Hatchery". I think it may be affecting your judgement biologically. "Hatchery" I like this one, but it does go for the easy solution, which is a bit of a shame. Archer wasn't wrong because he freely made a decision with legitimate ethical weight behind it, he was wrong because alien chemicals affected his brain. It might have been better if Archer had truly decided of his own will, uninfluenced, to prioritise the children over the mission. It might have been an interesting way to show the stress of his responsibilities finally getting the better of him as the crew head toward what might be the big (likely violent) showdown at Azati Prime. Perhaps he would latch onto the mercy mission as a means to make up for his previous bending or breaking of the rules, a means to atone, whether he acknowledged such a motive or not (it might well be hidden to him behind his legitimate ethical judgements). After all, the cause is a good one, and even ignoring any ethical angle his practical justification - that the action might prove to the Xindi that Humans aren't as ruthless as they've been told - is essentially reasonable and tracks with his prior concerns (e.g. in "The Shipment", where he expressed reluctance to reinforce Xindi assumptions by destroying their facilities). It would be sadly naïve, perhaps, but then Archer was indeed that sort of person until very recently, and must be missing the man he was, the man whose earnest desire to make peace caused him to question arming Enterprise at all. The crew's decision that his choice is the wrong one and that they need to move against him would still be equally valid. Watching Archer struggle against his peoples' hostility when he's taking the stance he's taking is in order to guard against his own, proven capacity for ruthlessness might be intriguing, with Archer presented as tragically in the wrong but for all the right reasons. Never mind. As it is, this is a good, watchable episode about the vulnerabilities of the command structure and the narrowing of authority (note that the Xindi-Insectoids implicitly have no such issues, being communal rather than hierarchal and apparently being united in their priorities) but the episode's not what it could have been. It does use the MACOs well; it's believable that they'd obey Archer in his new course of action, and although they're the opponents it doesn't demonise the MACOs or reverse the recent development Reed and Hayes have gotten. It just draws attention to their different training, priorities, experiences and relationship to the captain. On that note, I'm glad that while Reed and Hayes have resolved their dispute and are cordial to one another they're still not exactly what you'd call friends, nor will they ever be. Even though it's a bit of a copout, I do like the idea of an invasive biological agent causing a cross-species protective imprint. The episode gives us a useful sense of how the Xindi-Insectoid species works. Their asexual nature, short lifespans and communal breeding habits suggest a species with an explosive reproductive strategy, which probably explains their tendency toward aggression. In addition, the biochemical defence adaptation could also imply nest parasitism. I could see Xindi-Insectoids laying their eggs among other species' nests, with the eggs then usurping the alien parents' protective instincts, with the newly hatched infants maybe feeding on the original young. Infant Xindi-Insectoids are otherwise probably prey items for other species - maybe (pre)historically including the Reptilians, who are carnivores? We learn that the Insectoids are probably lacking in structured command hierarchies or centralized oversight, and that there's no distinction between a military settlement and a breeding ground - Insectoid habitats, it seems, are as generally non-specialized as the rooms on their ships (hatchery aside). They seem an opportunistic, adaptable people in every regard, with a collectivist approach to life and little regard for a given individual, but they're not hive insects. The evolutionary arms race on Xindus must have been intense to produce a species with such tenacity, this degree of reproductive trickery, and sapience to boot. I wonder how many proto-sapient races didn't make it, along with the six that did? The Eugenics Wars are mentioned. The true nature of the political instability in the late 20th Century is apparently now common knowledge among Earth's inhabitants. Next Time: Enterprise finally arrives at "Azati Prime".
I largely agree. "Hatchery" is frustrating and disappointing, because it could've been a good episode with a genuine ethical dilemma at the core, but instead it copped out and dumbed it down by having Archer not in his right mind. And it's doubly frustrating because he was right, dammit. There's no excuse for abandoning children to die, no matter what side they're on; and a gesture of kindness could've done a lot to prove to the Xindi that we weren't the monsters they'd been told we were. So the direction they took this story in was infuriatingly wrongheaded.
The episode still largely works for me despite the disappointment of the copout, because I view it as being, in the end (and by default, really), about how the chain of command works or fails to work, and the problems that result from having what is essentially two crews on the same ship, Starfleet and MACO. So there's still some good stuff in there. But it's definitely frustrating that the really strong and believable conflict between Archer and the crew winds up being pulled back from, with the crew basically rescuing Archer rather than truly overruling him. I can only suppose that the writers were uncomfortable having the cast wind up truly on opposite sides, which is unfortunate since the set-up was completely legitimate. Especially since we're heading to the big confrontation at Azati - there's no better time for Archer to seize an opportunity to prioritise other concerns over the military objective; this could have been an effective character piece, a portrait of how Archer is struggling to reconcile his default self with his current responsibilities, as well as a strong ethical dilemma for the crew. Oh well.
"Azati Prime" This one can't help but be good, really, since this is where the details gathered over the course of the season start to pay off. The Xindi politics is particularly engaging. It's tragic that the Council is only just holding together and now Degra, Depac Mellora and Jannar are having to contemplate deceit and subterfuge, potentially doing further damage or de-legitimating what they mean to defend. Even if their actions are prompted by their suspicion of the Reptilians' own extra-Council activities, they're still potentially betraying the very thing Degra toasted hours before - the future of "all Xindi". It's neat how the notion of the Xindi being on ever more unstable ground has become as important as the danger faced by Enterprise, and how the fractures tearing the Council apart are as threatening as the prospect of the Xindi weapon. When the mission began, it would probably be thought that a potential breakdown of Xindi unity would be something to applaud. Degra is clearly distressed by the idea that he's been lied to - he really is quite like Archer, perhaps being eager to seize onto an opportunity for peace, an alternative to launching his weapon. Travis was useful both in the previous episode and in this one, flying or teaching others to fly the recovered Xindi-Insectoid shuttle, and being generally treated like a legitimate member of the team. He can therefore reclaim his position from the Pyrithian Bat. Continuity The bioweapon was finalized in secret, as it turns out; the Reptilians transferred the project to the past without Council authorization. T'Pol has "tempered her scepticism" regarding time travel in the wake of her visit to Detroit. Archer recalls Sim as an example of a life he's taken since beginning the Xindi mission. His conversations with Degra in "Stratagem" allow him to start earning some degree of trust, or at least interest. After Picard described the Federation in terms of its territory and member worlds, back in First Contact, Daniels gives a more intimate feel for it here: "Vulcans, Andorians, Ithenites, Klingons; dozens of races... including Humans". He also mentions that Xindi are serving on Federation starships. I might say that Daniels is taking a bit of a risk by revealing such information as Vulcan-Andorian or Human-Klingon alliance, but then given that he's all but begging Archer to make peace with the Xindi - somehow, in any way possible - rather than sacrifice himself, it does make sense that he'd stress the notion of faded animosity and successful reconciliation. Whether the Klingon Empire joins the Federation, or whether there is simply a sizable Klingon population within the UFP, is unclear. It may be that as the alliance deepens and the distinctions between Federation and Imperial space start to become less meaningful, some Klingon worlds are permitted to secede from the Empire and join the Federation. In one timeline (Daniels' original, presumably? - the one where there supposedly wasn't a Xindi Crisis but there was still a Federation) the Federation repels/repelled a Sphere Builder invasion attempt in the 26th Century, driving them back into their transdimensional realm after a climatic battle at Procyon V. We see representations of advanced Federation starships - Nova and Prometheus-class, whose appearance could be taken literally if we assume that new systems are installed in older hull designs. Vor'cha-class ships appear too, and may also be Federation if Daniels' mention of Klingons is taken to mean that the Klingon Empire became a member. The Dauntless model is used as well, which again might be taken literally - Dauntless was a fake of course, but it was still a successful merger of Starfleet design principles and quantum slipstream drive, so perhaps the Federation eventually built it for real? Next Time: "Damage".
This is where the season really comes together for me, from Prime all the way to the end, with E2 being an outlier.
"Damage" It's great that we get an entire episode dedicated to the aftermath of the Xindi attack. There are some effective emotional moments between various characters, and a very good call back when T'Pol recalls Archer's words in "Impulse" and throws them back at him. However, it's not without its unfortunate flaws. I can't help but think that it commits in part the same error as "Hatchery" - when T'Pol confronts Archer, demonstrating how his priorities and perspectives have changed by reminding him of those previous sentiments, she's likewise not in her right mind, which dilutes the impact of a valid opposition to his choice. I really like what the writers are doing this season to craft difficult ethical dilemmas and hard choices but they seem to be holding back on having the crew really clash over them, which is very regrettable. As for T'Pol as a trellium addict, I'm just not sure what to think. She has been more emotional and fragile lately, but then the entire crew are under incredible stress and her heritage makes her emotions more intense and self-destructive. Did we need drugs to explain it? I don't think we did; again, it might actually prevent any emotional breakdown from being as thematically effective as it could be. I actually think the addiction is portrayed with a fair amount of sensitivity, but given the way T'Pol has been occasionally used in the past I'm always half wondering if it's meant to be simply sensational. I don't think it is, but that's the problem with playing characters for cheap sensational appeal - it lessens the impact of developments like this. Drug addict T'Pol is considerably less shocking or saddening than it should be, because we've already seem unreasonably emotional vulnerable T'Pol a fair few times (Pon Farr, scenes on Loque'eque planet and with Rajiin, initial trellium exposure). The "Illyrians" (quite a coincidence there, unless the translator chose that Earthican label for some reason) are another example of newly created ridge-headed aliens who could easily have been members of an established race. Their ship is a reuse of the Mazarite craft, so why not simply make them Mazarites? They're explicitly new to the region, so why not? Memory Alpha also points out that their ridges resemble the Tanugans from an episode of TNG, so why not call them Tanugans? Ah well, maybe Tanugans are from a collection of related Humanoid colonies of similar stock known collectively as "Illyrians". I seem to have highlighted a fair few negatives here, so I'll repeat that I like this one (I think the whole final third of season three is fantastic), but it could have been better still. Next Time: "The Forgotten".
I really wished that there was a later at least offhand mention that the Enterprise crew had asked the Xindi to utilize subspace vortices to get the victimized Illyrians home.
I'm having trouble thinking of things to say about these episodes, since they were kind of running together for me by this point, due to the more serialized approach.
"Damage" is the real highlight of the Xindi arc for me-- this is the one that pushes Star Trek into uncomfortable territory where I don't think it should always go, but really works in this case.
"The Forgotten" I'm glad that T'Pol is facing long-term consequences from her trellium abuse. While I'm still not sure what I feel about her drug problem, I'm thankful that there will be personal repercussions. The scene where Trip finally gives in and admits that he can't see Elizabeth as just one of many victims and nothing special, despite having tried to, is very good, especially with the subsequent exchange between he and T'Pol, where each believes that the other's race has it easier when it comes to handling intense emotions. Mirroring and contrasting the pair's emotional collapse makes for intriguing viewing, and again I'm not quite sure if drug addiction was needed to bring T'Pol to this point. Still, I think the T'Pol-Trip relationship has evolved in a believable way over the course of the season, and it's very watchable. In a rather heart-warming moment, Degra again reaffirms the Xindi's sense of unity; while he clearly isn't fond of the Reptilians, he immediately insists that they're his own people, making no distinction between the races. For all that they retain separate vessels and technologies, they're a single civilization - even when they're unravelling politically. This is the first appearance of a plasma fire, in its distinctive green. Continuity 18 crewmembers were lost in the attack, or as a consequence of it. Crewman Rostov is mentioned several times; I'm glad to see that he's still aboard - and that he survived the battle. Damron the time-travelling Reptilian and his two soldiers become relevant again, with their corpses among the evidence Archer shows to Degra and Jannar. They also view Damron's equipment, footage of the Sphere Builder test subject from "Harbinger" and the scans the crew took inside the Sphere they encountered in "Anomaly". Next Time: "E Squared"
Something worth mentioning-- "Damage" contains the first use of the term "stardate" in Star Trek, chronologically speaking (unless you've noted an earlier one in the fiction). I like that it seems to be some kind of inter-species universal time, recognized within and without the Expanse, but not the work of humanity for once.
You know what, I have to admit to totally missing that. So, the Xindi and presumably the Vulcans have an understanding of the stardate system, meaning - as Stevil says - that similar means of measuring/calculating the passage of time while travelling at varying interstellar speeds and at warp exist both within and without the Delphic Expanse, and are developed independently by different cultures. Quite possibly stardate measurement is based on something concrete and so any culture can convert to another's measurement system with relative ease (though in the Expanse I imagine you can't quite trust that physics is working the way it does elsewhere). Earth doesn't use the system yet.
"E Squared" The casualty list for the mission grows longer, since we’ve possibly lost a whole second Enterprise and everyone aboard, from Cool Old Lady T'Pol down to cute little Phloxlets. It’s odd that the crew of the other ship were willing to change history by trying to stop the original probe (which itself seems ill-advised, as then Earth has no warning of what the Xindi are planning, or at least no reason to believe Archer when he tells them that he needs to take Enterprise into a deadly region of space as a warship because, according to the ever-trustworthy Silik, there’s trouble brewing) but that they haven’t made contact prior to now in order to direct original Enterprise to the weapon, or tell them about trellium, or warn them about Triannons sending distress calls, etc. They obviously know where to find them because they were in the same places at the same times. Even if the mission had started unfolding differently without the time-travellers' involvement, Shran was able to hunt Enterprise down easily enough, and he had no idea where to start looking. It’s interesting to see Archer and crew on the receiving end of the same type of thievery they inflicted on the Illyrians. There’s even the exact same justification used. Elderly T'Pol is quite delightful, I must say. It's great to see T'Pol truly at peace. However troubled she is now, it's reassuring to see that she has the capacity to rediscover her equilibrium and become comfortable with herself again. Who are the Kovaalans, and why do they protect the nebula? Is it because of the subspace corridors? Do they know that this corridor can potentially be used for time travel and so fear attacks on their history? It would make them rather sympathetic if that were the case - would you allow alien access to a phenomenon that could send their starships into your past? Do we even know when the Kovaalans are from? Degra’s description last episode ties them specifically to this nebula, with no mention of a home base in nearby systems; furthermore they seem a mystery to the Xindi. Do the Kovaalans actually come from subspace? Their ships are a reuse of the "Shroomie" (Vertian) ships. Perhaps an offshoot of the Vertians is somehow involved (we might point to the subspace-dwelling Elachi from Star Trek Online, if we wanted to reconcile the idea of them with this continuity’s Gamma Vertians. Perhaps some faction of the Vertians penetrates deeper subspace realms or itself develops time travel, and defends vulnerable areas from those who might change history? Elachi could be a rogue offshoot of these people?). Alternatively, we can just ignore the similarity, of course, as we sometimes must – though I like to try and justify such things literally if at all possible. We see Depac Mallora's ship when it arrives to rendezvous with Degra's after Degra and Jannar return from their meeting with Enterprise. This is the first Xindi-Primate ship we've seen, since Degra's vessel is clearly in fact of Insectoid origin (or strongly influenced by that design lineage). Continuity The Xindi inquiry into how many Earth ships were in the Expanse is retconned neatly enough as being a reference to their sporadic detection of the other Enterprise. Amanda Cole, who previously shared a mutual attraction with Trip, ended up marrying Phlox and having nine children with him. Lorian, in some form, will come to actually exist in the decades to come, although he'll be the second child.
"E^2" isn't a bad episode, but it's the second episode this season that's essentially a remake of an episode from a previous series, in this case DS9's "Children of Time." That makes it less satisfying, although it's a damn sight better than "Doctor's Orders." This episode gave me pause when I developed the Rise of the Federation plot thread about the cumulative damage caused by early transporter technology through extended use. If these alternate-future folks had continued using the same transporter technology for a century or more longer, wouldn't they have discovered the same problem, and warned Archer about it? But maybe they lost their transporter before the effect manifested, since they weren't able to retaliate against Archer's offensive use of his ship's transporter. And if there were any cumulative molecular damage to the crew, they might've attributed it to the effects of the Expanse.
"The Council" The Xindi weapon is launched, but more importantly this is where Degra is killed. I love the Degra character, and his loss comes as a genuine shock despite the inevitability of it. Even though I'm sure everyone knew he was a gonner as soon as he and Dolim were alone in a room together - after he and Archer had shared hope for the future, no less - it was still a shocking moment. I wonder how he'll be remembered. Earth might not be pleased at the prospect of a USS Degra - I doubt it would be considered appropriate to name a starship after a mass murderer. Perhaps when the Xindi join the Federation? Who can say? What's clear is that Degra was one of the reasons why the second half of season three is so strong, and I'll miss him. What's really pleasing is that Dolim is also in some ways sympathetic, at least to a moderate degree - he's a thoroughly nasty and unreasonable man, but his motives are on the whole understandable, for all that he's letting his inflexibility and chauvinism blind him. The whole affair feels tragic, and it's great that the Xindi have made an impact that isn't simply dependent on their being enemies. A fair number of people have expressed disappointment that the reptiles followed by the insects were the hostile factions while the mammalian or quasi-mammalian species proved to be the more reasonable. I certainly sympathise with that perspective, though I might suggest that it's somewhat justified if we assume that the Humans' mammalian nature is noted by the Xindi themselves - and we know from the novels that it had an effect on Degra, at least. Dolim might well be thinking, "Typical. It has soft skin and fur, and so the Primates and Arboreals are convinced it couldn't possibly be evil. The fools". One thing I loved in this episode was how the Sphere Builder representative spoke to Degra. Everything she says is essentially true from our perspective - there is a race observed by the Sphere Builders to have a future as a great civilization, a future that Degra has placed in jeopardy due to the manipulative lure of someone leading him down the wrong path. All she's done is switch the parts and identities around. We get further detail on the various Xindi species. The Aquatics, in keeping with their role in the season's earlier Council scenes, are bold and confident, uncompromisingly blunt when they voice their decisions, yet typically contemplative and thoughtful, shunning hasty or hostile responses. They distrust the spoken word, perhaps explaining why they keep their pronouncements as short and to the point as they are rare. They also have dynasties, and families of varying social influence. The Insectoids, meanwhile, are easily moved to hostility as a kneejerk reaction and are provoked by raised voices, apparently being highly sensitive to external stimuli. They're described as almost the opposite of the Aquatics, and that seems to be so. Not only are they hasty, they're previously suggested to be highly decentralized and mob-like, whereas the Aquatics have the equivalent of a nobility, and a stratified social order. Back in the novelization for "The Xindi" (part of the novelization of "The Expanse") there was a short summary of exasperated Primate opinions on the other species, laced with the racism that underlies many of the Council's interactions: The Reptilians thought with their brainstems, the Insectoids didn't think at all, and the Arboreals - they thought, all right, they thought about napping upside down in trees. The fact that the Council makes an effort to keep all five species cooperating in spite of their vastly different psychologies and preferences speaks to the strength of their communal bond. I wonder what the role of the second councillor is. Degra and Mallora seem equally important, yet the other councillors' companions seem more like aides and never say anything. Indeed, Degra doesn't even mention them, only sketching in the primary councillors when briefing Archer. Degra's scientific role might explain this. Perhaps Mallora is the Primate councillor, and Degra was raised to the status of chief aide when he was commissioned to build the weapon, and because of the project's importance he holds greater prominence than usual? The Avians apparently colonized the planet which became New Xindus centuries ago, but none survive there. Why this should be isn't explained, though a possible answer is offered in Federation: The First 150 Years, which isn't compatible with this continuity but has some interesting ideas in places. Its proposal is that the Xindi-Avians never trusted the "Guardians", and so presumably any survivors at best didn't receive Guardian aid and at worse met with unfortunate accidents, breaking their necks as they stepped out of the bird-bath. The Xindi continue to transition from dangerous enemies to a sympathetic and victimized people, with the revelation that they trust the Sphere Builders as benevolent sages (an idea reinforced, perhaps, by the latter's smoothly feminine appearance, a "motherly" guise). As Degra and Archer note, no wonder the latter's accusations are so hard for the Xindi to accept. As for the Sphere Builders themselves, they're just as diverse in opinion as anyone else - we see a disagreement between multiple members of the species. We don't know why they want to conquer our realm, but then we're only getting the briefest look at them. The "Janus Loop" is mentioned, previously discussed in Last Full Measure. That novel suggested it was a region of space, perhaps implying a link to the Janus System that we'll visit a century from now, but here it might be more accurately interpreted as a reference to the Saturnian moon, since MACO training is previously confirmed as Sol-based, and other moons like Titan are used for similar purposes by Starfleet (Trip and Archer have mentioned their training adventure there more than once). Next Time: "Countdown". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2dhD9zR6hk
I've always assumed that Tucker Smallwood's character ("Mellora?") was the Primate councilor and Degra was the person the Council had appointed to head the war effort. Actually I find there are only a few key areas where F150Y conflicts with the novelverse: The Eugenics Wars, WWIII, the Romulan War, the early Federation years, the 2267 Klingon war, and the events surrounding the Khitomer Conference. Most of the rest is reconcilable or covers areas that the novels haven't addressed.
That should be "Mallora", sorry. I'll go back and edit. That was his name in the novelization of "The Xindi" and Last Full Measure. The actor seems to like Depac, so I call him Depac Mallora until novels tell me otherwise. As a brief aside, it occurs to me that Xindi-Primates are one of the very few species, perhaps even the only one, where the writers have resisted the idea that ending a name in "a" equals a feminine. (There's a Ferengi named Gaila, of course, but I imagine the Ferengi assume everything is a masculine). Degra's children are Piral and Jaina; usually I imagine we'd assume that Piral is intended to be a boy and Jaina a girl, but it seems that we can't draw that conclusion here. Naming conventions mean Jaina could easily be a boy. And Trenia, the unborn third child, could have been of either sex or sex unknown. His wife is Naara, so the "a" ending isn't a masculine, but it's not a feminine either. It's a little amusing that the novelization of "The Xindi" gave both the Aquatics and Insectoids short names when the TV episodes later gave them much lengthier ones - Qoh ended up being Kiaphet Amman'sor (a name I love, by the way, I don't know why. It brings to mind an Egyptian queen), and Shresht the Insectoid ended up having an unpronounceable name that grows longer as he ages. Okay, he's only about a decade old, but still. Shresht must be the short version. As for the Aquatic, Last Full Measure confirms her full name as Qoh Kiaphet Amman'sor. Her aide Qam doesn't get a full name. Maybe his family line doesn't have one?