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The Great Chronological Run-Through

In "Dead Stop", T'Pol says that the Romulans are rumored to be a fierce and territorial species and that the Vulcan High Command has never made direct contact with them. And Kobayashi Maru says that T'Pol is ex-V'Shar. Also according to Memory Beta (this part I can't verify), Kobayashi Maru established that V'Shar agent Sopek went undercover in the Romulan Star Empire and discovered that they were descendants of those who left Vulcan during the Sundering. How do we reconcile all these pieces of information?

It was "The Seventh" that established T'Pol's time with the Vulcan Security Directorate -- and it established that she left the agency after her very first mission. So she wouldn't be privy to all their secrets.
You realize that I mean that Sopek didn't go undercover until the Romulan Cold War, right? Just like Trip Tucker.
 
^In that case, there's no inconsistency among the three data points you listed, so why is there a problem?
I'm saying that no Vulcan, not even V'Shar, could have made contact with the Romulans before 2152 and therefore there's no room for the 100 year war that other people here say did happen unless you label the Sundering as that.
 
^In that case, there's no inconsistency among the three data points you listed, so why is there a problem?
I'm saying that no Vulcan, not even V'Shar, could have made contact with the Romulans before 2152 and therefore there's no room for the 100 year war that other people here say did happen unless you label the Sundering as that.

It's not that "people here say" it happened. It's that the show said it happened. "Death Wish" mentioned a hundred-year war between the Vulcans and Romulans. The question, then, is how to fit it in.

And I don't see how the third datapoint is relevant. Humans didn't discover the connection between Vulcans and Romulans until the 23rd century, but they still fought a war with them. The only thing that might be an issue is the lack of direct contact, and that can still be explained as Vulcans having just fought a war along the same lines as the Earth-Romulan War, never directly contacting any member of the race.
 
^Exactly. The war is canonical. It's just a matter of reconciling it. If the Romulans hid their identity from humans, they could've hid it from the Vulcans too.
 
"Affliction"

We've entered a mini-arc that's a sequel of sorts to an earlier mini-arc. Apparently there were consequences to the Augments incident, and the Klingons weren't left as satisfied by the resolution as might have seemed. They called off plans for an attack on Earth, but they were obviously rattled, and the matter isn't truly closed until they can feel themselves to be in a position of superiority again. Most things are provocative to a Klingon, and even if Earth isn't seen as an opponent in battle, the idea of the empire's sense of identity and security being threatened by the spectre of Humans or their infective weakness has been seeded. Klingons value outward competition and challenge over inner knowledge, excessively so in the "modern era". They're a vulnerable people as a result.

Phlox essentially tells the Klingons, "You could have just asked for our help". Except, of course, they couldn't. We've heard the Klingons talk of honour before, most notably in "Judgment", but here, for the first time, we get a sense of how all-encompassing and existential the matter of "honour" is to the Klingons, as well as how crippling it can be. They can't ask for help and admit to their weakness, in part because some of them truly believe the moral cost to be too steep, some because they pragmatically think it would be disastrous to announce weakness due to the potential for its provoking rebellion or civil conflict, and some, no doubt, demonstrate a blend of the two. Ironically, their need to save face is used to justify all sorts of under-handedness and furtive sneaking, so it's definitely honour-the-shield and pride, rather than defence of abstract principles.

Their need to square off and meet the universe head-on got the Klingons into this - a single incident with an up-and-coming power fielding units that easily bested them prompted all of their medical recklessness - but they haven't got any culturally acceptable means of easing their way out of it. Klingons cannot retreat once they've entered the campaign, and they throw themselves into campaigns all too quickly. This isn't just a matter of policy or philosophy - this pattern has become embedded in their society on a deeper level.

We're reminded of everything Kolos taught us about the way Klingon society has come to work: we have Antaak, a scientist who seems to regret the warrior caste's dominance but who also accepts it as fact, offering pragmatic military angles on the situation in order to buy more time for his healer's agenda. That's not to say he's "with" Phlox in any true sense - he may believe saving lives is more important than honour, but he still adheres to a fair number of those hang-ups regarding it.

As for the episode itself, it actually feels like an ensemble piece, for the most part. Besides meaty conflict and dilemmas for Reed and Phlox, it keep the Trip/T'Pol arc moving, gives Hoshi some scenes of relevance, brings back Erika Hernandez, and has Archer refer to his experience as the temporary host of Surak's katra, in a way that's relevant to the plot. It's true that Mayweather does little more than exist, but we can't have everything.

First Appearances of Things That Are Important

Section 31, though they won't be named until next episode.

Jelna Rigelians.

Kelby, AKA Not-Trip. I notice that he doesn't get invited to the bridge for the situation brief.

Continuity

As well as Archer's experience with Surak, there are several references to events of past episodes, including the bar incident during Phlox's last visit to Earth ("Home"), and of course Dr Soong and the Augments Crisis.

The planet Tiburon is mentioned for the first time. It participates in the Interspecies Medical Exchange, and a conference held there a few years back included Denobulans and Mazarites (and one disguised Klingon).

It's noted that "very few people have access" to transporter technology. How inclusive and far-reaching that statement is intended to be, coming as it does from an Earth-based security officer, is open to interpretation. We can understand, though, that your average criminal-on-the-street or small shipping company wouldn't have transporters available, at least on Earth, and probably that most of Earth's trading partners are equally limited in its application, if they have it at all.

Rigelians are now running trade to Human-controlled star systems, including Sol and Alpha Centauri (assuming that Proxima Colony orbits Proxima Centauri). The Rigelian freighter seen here is the same design as that used by the Axanar. It's entirely reasonable to assume that the two species genuinely do use the same design, though it raises the question of who originated it. The freighter shares a design lineage with the warship model the Axanar also used; whether Rigel uses Axanar freighter designs, whether Axanar purchases warships as well as freighters from Rigel, or both they and the Rigelians buy from a third party is unclear.

Antaak mentions the Hur'q Invasion.

Columbia launches at last. You see, you need a main character on board. That was the problem, not these nebulous "engine troubles". Although I do now realize that the reference to engine troubles keeping Columbia out of the action in "United" was a nice, subtle set-up for Trip's decision at the end of "The Aenar". Very nice.

Next Time: "Divergence".
 
Yeah, the writers were really lazy with Kelby. They could have at least made an effort to make him look like he was genuinely replacing Trip and that he was there to stay, even if the audience obviously knew he wasn't.
 
Yeah, the writers were really lazy with Kelby. They could have at least made an effort to make him look like he was genuinely replacing Trip and that he was there to stay, even if the audience obviously knew he wasn't.
Haha. Look at Star Trek: First Contact. Worf is no longer aboard and yet no one is at what would be his seat. And no flight controller either. I guess Daniels and Hawk are just chopped liver to Picard.
 
Heh, I like the image I'm getting now...

The SENIOR STAFF files out of the observation lounge. DANIELS is manning the Tactical station.
PICARD: So it's agreed-- we'll be defying Starfleet's orders and proceeding to the Briar Patch to rescue Mr. Data.
DANIELS: Uh... did you guys... uh... have a staff meeting?
RIKER: Sorry Mr. Daniels. We'll invite you next time. Our, uh, Outlook calendar must not be syncing correctly.
 
Heh, I like the image I'm getting now...

The SENIOR STAFF files out of the observation lounge. DANIELS is manning the Tactical station.
PICARD: So it's agreed-- we'll be defying Starfleet's orders and proceeding to the Briar Patch to rescue Mr. Data.
DANIELS: Uh... did you guys... uh... have a staff meeting?
RIKER: Sorry Mr. Daniels. We'll invite you next time. Our, uh, Outlook calendar must not be syncing correctly.
Don't forget Kell Perim.
 
"Divergence" :klingon:

The Klingons are truly sketched in here, and this episode completes their transformation into a (relatively, okay?) three-dimensional society. The themes that Klingon stories typically represent are made evident. Inflexible honour VS practicality VS individual moral integrity, an awkward three-way conflict in which ignoring or promoting one of the three has interesting and troubling impact on the others, or shows them in a new light. In this story, Antaak turns his back on honour by lying and deceiving for his own ends (undoubtedly noble ends, of course, but personal goals rather than those that Klingon warrior honour would demand), while claiming nonetheless to revere the concept of honour, and once again dropping references to the notion of existence being ruled or defined by matters of honour - "what more honourable death could there be for a healer?". Whether he's being hypocritical or engaging in entirely justified twisting of the rules by reclaiming the idea of honour from the warrior caste, as Kolos did for other non-warriors in “Judgement”, is open to debate. Either way it demonstrates the potential diversity in Klingon society.

Here the discarding of Klingon honour in everything other than lip-service paid to it is a good thing, and Antaak is presented as admirable for choosing to disregard it, whereas Kolos in "Judgment" bemoaned the corruption that had lessened the integrity of Klingon honour, and was seeking to reinforce its original, inflexible power. It was he who stood for honour while the warriors were hypocrites. Here, arguably, Antaak is the hypocrite. Antaak's role in the establishment of the Klingon social character in terms of this chronological run-through, then, is essentially to further complicate a society that was fleshed out in “Judgment”, establishing a new facet to it. He’s a subversive Klingon who in one sense reinforces what Kolos had to say about honour, and in another sense gives us an alternate means of dissention from the warrior's flawed dominance that might actually conflict with Kolos’ cause. That is, from a Kolos point of view, is Antaak part of the problem or the solution?

As I said in the post for the last episode, Antaak is a Klingon who accepts the reality of warrior caste social and philosophical dominance and even seems to share much of their outlook, in a Christmas-Christian, coffee-shop sort of way, while also ducking out of its more problematic strictures and taking pride in his alternate path to their version of honour. Yet his subversive behaviours might represent a true stain on his honour after all, by a fundamentalist, radical standard that the audience might hold in equal regard. Kolos was a revolutionary and yet a traditionalist; Antaak simply keeps his head down and tries to do his best, while being a pragmatist.

This all ties in to what will become the essential theme of the Klingons going forward, in large part due to the QuchHa/Hem’Quch division that begins with the Augment plague - the matter of how one defines their identity as a Klingon. General K’Vagh, while in many ways representing the short-sightedness and amorality of the warrior caste, has an admirable side wherein he appears to be a true believer in what we’ll come to know as the philosophy of Kahless. He defends and reassures his soldiers that their appearance, and the prejudicial social barriers to their acceptance, shouldn’t matter as, “(their) hearts are Klingon”. They must be judged by this inner quality, not political expediency or the shell that is the body. The fact of their Human appearance (and Human DNA) is itself of great importance to the question of Klingon identity; in contrast to K’Vagh’s reassurances, the Lieutenant is convinced that she and her fellows have been altered in something more fundamental than appearance (which I’m guessing they have, if their genome has been altered extensively), that they’ve been - in her interpretation - infected with Human weakness. This builds on something that was hinted at in the previous episode, the contradictory way in which Humans will come to be viewed by Klingons. They’re perceived as a threat in the military sense – the Klingons were led to pursue this project by the fearful need to restore a sense of parity (at the least) in the face of supposed Human military advantage – yet Humans also represent, supposedly, weakness, an insidious assault on Klingon values, their incomprehensible morals an affront and a menace. Humans will by the ruin of the Klingons from within, as well as, or instead of, from without. There's a schizophrenic attitude on display here.

This idea that Humans are an insidious threat that weaken and attack Klingon cultural identity will become powerful enough that acknowledged “dishonourable” tactics will eventually be embraced to combat Humans, with the justification that Humans cannot be faced in an honourable manner, such is their inherent treachery. Like a pacifist reluctantly taking up arms in a truly desperate situation, so the Klingons must supposedly engage in occasional dishonourable conduct in order to defend against the bigger threat posed to honour itself. The ridgeless Klingons – the QuchHa - so often placed on the front lines against Humans in the following century, supposedly carry the traits associated with Humans – treachery, underhandedness, selfish ambition valued over service – that we know are actually part of the Klingon mainstream, and are being in part projected onto outsiders. In the QuchHa, the Klingons have an excuse to exhibit all of their worst traits openly while wiping their hands of the implications for Klingon-ness by declaring the QuchHa less than Klingon, corrupted by their partial Humanity. The QuchHa serve as an insulating barrier between the Klingon sense of self-esteem and their behaviour toward their neighbours, and this will, if anything, escalate the societal decline that Kolos was bemoaning. The QuchHa themselves will indeed come to act as what they’re viewed to be - treacherous, underhanded, etc. – but not because they’re Human-esque, but because they have an excuse to demonstrate the worst Klingon cultural traits to excess. Yet the depths to which the Klingons as a culture will sink in the century to come will also provoke re-examination of Klingonhood and kick-start the rediscovery of Kahless that gains ground over the course of the 23rd century. This episode lays the groundwork for all of the Klingon identity issues that will follow, and Humans are inescapably relevant to Klingon identity from this day onward.

On that note, this episode also continues the exploration of Earth's new status as a truly independent power. Since the Vulcan High Command was dissolved, Earth has been working peacefully and visibly to assert itself as one of the major nations in local space, a true player in interstellar politics. We've previously seen some positive effects, with the mediation between Tellar and Andor and the new alliance forged from that situation, and now we see a less successful effort, with Section 31 making the mistake of believing that the Klingons can be trusted as partners. Without the Vulcans as intermediaries as was the case in every previous encounter with Klingons, Earth is out of its depth, its efforts to engage with an older, larger power simply revealing Humans to be still rather naïve. We’ll see more of this soon enough, when we get to Thelasian space in Rosetta.

Speaking of Earth, Columbia is put to good use now that it’s finally out here and Enterprise isn’t alone; the opening action sequence was engaging and quite inventive.

Continuity

Reinforcing the sense that this is the series’ most important Klingon episode, building on everything revealed about them so far, we have multiple Klingon ship designs making a reappearance – Raptor scouts, Birds-of-Prey and a D-5.

There’s no mention here of the bounty placed on Archer by the Klingon Empire. Naturally, the Klingons have rather more important things to worry about at the moment, and are probably feeling gracious enough to let the Earth ships fly off when the plague is cured. In Rosetta – we’ll be there soon, we’ll have an actual book again – the bounty will still be in place and indeed important to the plot; by the time of the relaunch it’s been lifted, apparently due to this incident. Fair enough that it took them a while to decide to lift it - and maybe the upcoming Rosetta incident helps with that decision, because there's clearly something interesting going on in the Empire. Of course, this is the Klingons – they can never keep their policies or laws straight, because they’re constantly rewriting their history, enforcing old laws that have been ignored for ages because it’s suddenly convenient, etc. See also: What are the laws and attitudes governing homosexuality? or, Can females hold seats on the High Council, and have they ever done so?

Next Time: "Bound".
 
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That's a really interesting in-depth analysis of the Klingons. I'm not sure I agree entirely about the reasons the Klingons lose track of honor (which most of them didn't really do more than pay lip service to anyway), but it's well worth thinking about.

One thing, though -- it's QuchHa', with the glottal stop at the end. It's important to remember that the apostrophe is actually a letter in Klingonese, no more optional than the Q or the H. And there's no apostrophe in HemQuch.

The opening sequence of "Divergence" is probably my favorite action sequence in the entire Trek franchise. For one thing, I love action sequences that are not about violence -- that are about saving people or preventing disasters rather than trying to punch or shoot people or blow up ships. This is a classic example of a sequence that manages to be fast-paced and tense and exciting while being solely about preventing harm rather than causing it. For another thing, it's really clever. My favorite action sequences are problem-solving sequences, and there's a lot of creative problem-solving here. The Reeves-Stevenses were always great with the creative merger of real and Trek science in their books, and they brought their A game to the show here.
 
Continuity

Reinforcing the sense that this is the series’ most important Klingon episode, building on everything revealed about them so far, we have multiple Klingon ship designs making a reappearance – Raptor scouts, Birds-of-Prey and a D-5.
Laneth wasn't commanding a Raptor class starship. It was an ship of an unspecified class that only appeared in "Affliction" and "Divergence". Now that you mention it though, I do admit that the two ships have a fairly similar design.

http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Raptor_class

http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Laneth%27s_starship
 
^ I can't remember about Geordi, actually, but I am thinking of all the other pilots in between. The strange strange hierarchy of all these Trek ships!

PS: I don't think double posting really matters unless it's recurrent. In truth to me it reminds me of FB and messaging services - it just is a widespread part of online communication these days.
 
I can only remember 3 "permanent" pilots on Ent-D:

Geordi
Ro
Wesley

I am pretty sure Geordi was included.

I cant remember if Ro was regularly in staff briefings but Wesley surly cant have been.

The rest of the time they seemed to go with "pilot of the week" and they never were seen in the staff meetings.

So maybe the pilot was not considered "senior" position normally but "senior" officers sometimes held the conn position?
 
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