Enterprise ferries a Vulcan ambassador home.
One of the struggles Enterprise has had this season is the Vulcan plots. There’s a great idea there – what was it like before the Vulcans were the firm allies of Earth – but the implementation so far has left something to be desired. There was a great moment in *The Andorian Incident*, but since then it’s mainly come across as a childish tantrum on the part of Earth – why couldn’t we have cool stuff sooner?
The problem is, I think, that Vulcans just aren’t that interesting on screen. They aren’t allowed to show emotion, and so we never get to see their reactions to things properly.
The situation in this episode is a case in point. We have the Vulcans keeping secrets (for absolutely no good reason it should be noted), Archer gets annoyed at it, and at the end of the day they’re able to save the day. And at no point do we get a better sense of the (low level) conflict between Earth and Vulcan, or how it can be resolved.
(Ah T’Pol. Efficiency down 3%? Must be lack of sex).
Callbacks: Risa as a vacation destination, and our very first “Live Long and Prosper”.
660 down, 77 to go.