(written from a Production point of view)
Archer and T'Pol encounter the Syrrannites, the radical group supposedly responsible for a terrorist bombing on Vulcan.
Summary
Soval appears before the Vulcan High Command to answer for his use of a mind meld on Corporal Askwith in sickbay on Enterprise NX-01. Soval states that he needed to conceal his abilities for the best interests of Vulcan. He felt that the service he performed outweighed his crime. V'Las states that although Soval's record is impressive, there is no excuse for deception. Soval states that deception is no stranger to the High Command. V'Las dismisses Soval from service and orders him to return all confidential material. In addition, V'Las reminds Soval that his oath of loyalty is still in effect.
On Vulcan, the mysterious people who have captured Archer and T'Pol in the T'Karath Sanctuary are revealed to be Syrrannites under the de facto command of T'Pau. Archer, who still believes that T'Pau bombed the Embassy, angrily confronts her over the death of his friend, Admiral Forrest and 42 others. T'Pau denies involvement in the bombing and chides Archer for crossing the Forge with false information. Afterward, as T'Pol and Archer explain they befriended the late Arev while crossing the desert, they are welcomed with sorrow. As T'Pau explains, Arev was in fact Syrran, their leader.
Locked in a room at the sanctuary, Archer slumps over near a window. T'Pol goes to his side and asks if he is all right. Archer recalls that before Arev died, he put his hand on his forehead and now he feels something inside his head. Archer confides to T'Pol that since the incident, he has not felt like himself. Meanwhile, T'Pau confronts T'Les, T'Pol's mother, over her decision to lead her daughter and Archer to their hiding place with a modified IDIC pendant. She explains that she only wanted to assure her daughter that she was fine. T'Pau regretfully remarks that if Syrran is indeed dead, all they have worked for is lost.
In the captain's ready room, Commander Tucker expresses his disbelief on Soval's expulsion from the High Command. Soval notes that he can file a protest but V'Las is not one to change his mind. Soval remarks that his lost position and future career plans are the last thing they should be concerned with now and asks the commander if they have been able to contact Archer or T'Pol. "We can't reach them and they can't reach us." Soval reveals that V'Las is planning on bombarding the Syrrannite's sanctuary in the Forge – which is where Archer and T'Pol were headed. Soval remarks that they are in grave danger.
After some time, T'Pol is brought to her mother. Their discussion goes nowhere as the daughter can't understand her mother's choice to join people she considers as extremists. Even after she hears T'Les' explanation, the High Council's propaganda still holds.
Surak appears to Archer
In his cell, Captain Archer has a vision. He sees explosions in the far distance. "The war is taking its toll. Vulcan is tearing itself apart", an elderly appearing Vulcan man says. The man stands at a distance from Archer. "Who are you?", Archer asks. "You know who I am, captain". Archer quickly deduces that the Vulcan man is Surak himself, the father of Vulcan philosophy. Archer tells Surak that this does not feel like a dream. Surak tells Archer that he is viewing the past through his eyes. From what he tells Archer, Syrran transferred Surak's katra to Archer's mind before he died. Surak tells Archer that he must return his people to the right path and that, to use a Earth expression, they are stuck with each other now. Later, this is confirmed when T'Pau mind melds with the captain. Even with the new facts, T'Pol is still skeptical.
A dangerous ritual to pass the katra from Archer to T'Pau is planned. T'Pau tells Archer that he has no choice but to agree to the ritual, despite T'Pol's objections. Archer agrees as he is eager to get Surak's katra out of his mind. However, during the ritual, Surak decides to stay with Archer for the time being. Surak, who is suffering from radiation poisoning from the fallout of Vulcan's war, says to Archer during the vision that the captain must find the long lost Kir'Shara, so the Vulcan people can find a new path of enlightenment.
In the meantime, V'Las has been unsuccessful in getting Enterprise to break orbit and postpones his extermination plan against the Syrrannites.
Deciding not to leave Archer and T'Pol behind, Commander Tucker sends Malcolm Reed and Travis Mayweather in a modified shuttlepod to attempt to recover Archer and T'Pol from Vulcan's Forge. Despite Soval's assistance in disabling a surveillance satellite, Vulcan patrol craft fire on them, and the shuttlepod is forced to return to Enterprise.
V'Las orders Enterprise to leave orbit, so there are no witnesses to his plan to destroy the Syrrannites. Tucker refuses to leave orbit, even after ordered to do so by Admiral Gardner. As a result, V'Las sends three Vulcan ships to intercept Enterprise. After Enterprise is damaged, Soval suggests retreat and Enterprise withdraws.
As soon as the Humans are away, bombardment of the sanctuary begins, forcing the Syrrannites to evacuate their sanctuary. Archer, T'Pau, and T'Pol remain behind to attempt to locate the Kir'Shara. Archer leads them down a corridor. He finds the mummified corpse of T'Klaas, one of Surak's students and one of the first kolinahr masters. T'Pol expresses surprise at Archer's identification of the master, as there is no inscription or nothing to indicate his bloodline to be found. They continue on. Archer opens a door to the room where the Kir'Shara is kept. The Vulcans then begin to fire on the sanctuary. Archer then leads them out of the sanctuary, which has been reduced to rubble.
In the remains of the sanctuary, T'Pol finds her mother T'Les gravely injured and holds her in her arms. T'Les remained behind as she was afraid T'Pol was still inside. T'Les admits she came to the sanctuary for her, as T'Pol has always struggled with her emotions. While Archer and T'Pau look on, T'Les apparently dies just after she tells T'Pol she has always been so proud of her. T'Pol cradles her mother's lifeless body in her arms and sheds a tear.
Commander Tucker is in command of the Enterprise. Privately, Soval (who is still on board) informs Tucker in Archer's ready room that Vulcan is planning to attack Andoria, believing they are developing a weapon based on the Xindi weapon. Tucker and Soval return to the bridge and Tucker orders that Ensign Mayweather set a course to Andoria at maximum warp, to the surprise of the bridge crew.
Memorable quotes
"Your accomplishments have been noteworthy."
"They don't justify deception..."
"Deception has never been a stranger to this room."
- - Minister Kuvak, Administrator V'Las, and Ambassador Soval
"There's a great deal that needs to be said, Excellency, but no one's willing to listen."
"I'm here to find the person who bombed the Earth embassy. Her name is T'Pau, and she looks a hell of a lot like you!"
- - Jonathan Archer, to T'Pau, on their first meeting
"You have a lot to learn about Syrrannites."
"You have a lot to learn about Humans! We don't sit back and do nothing while our people are attacked."
"No, you traverse vast wastelands based on false information."
- -T'Pau and Archer
"Right before Arev died, he grabbed me, he put his hand on my forehead. I felt something inside... my head."
"Do you think he was trying to meld with you?"
"I don't know... but ever since I haven't been myself."
- - Archer and T'Pol
"You don't trust Vulcans, Captain, and given your experiences with them, I can't say I blame you. The culture you've come to know isn't the one I helped to create. My people have strayed, and someone must restore them to the path."
"You've got the wrong man."
"Sorry Captain, there's an Earth expression: 'We're stuck with each other.' Don't fight what's been given to you. Open your mind and your heart and the way will become clear."
- - Surak and Captain Archer
"You know, I'm the one with the Vulcan ghost in his head - depending on who you believe - but, I don't feel half as bad as you look."
"I'm considering our options."
"At least we know your mother's okay."
"She's joined a violent cult - she's not okay."
"I don't think these people had anything to do with the Embassy."
"You sound convinced."
"Let's just say its more than a gut feeling."
- - Archer and T'Pol
"I've had my fill of mind melds."
"The prospect doesn't appeal to me, either. I've never melded with a Human before. Your... unchecked emotions will, no doubt, prove distasteful."
- - Archer and T'Pau, before she attempts to confirm that he is carrying the katra of Surak
"Mind if I ask you something? Why are you doing this? I never got the impression that you cared that much about Humans. Seems like... you were always finding something new to complain about."
"I lived on Earth for more than 30 years, Commander. In that time I developed an affinity for your world and its people."
"You did a pretty good job of hiding it."
"Thank you."
- - Commander Tucker and Ambassador Soval
"They found nothing to indicate the presence of a katra."
"The Vulcan Science Academy was just as skeptical about time travel"
"Do you really believe you possess the living spirit of Surak, inside you, a man who died eighteen hundred years ago?"
"Not when you put it like that."
- -T'Pol and Archer
"So I'm suffering from... a mindmeld hangover?"
"I wouldn't characterize it quite that way... but essentially."
- -Archer and T'Pol
"Why did you launch a shuttlepod?"
"Why the hell did you fire on it?"
- - Administrator V'Las and Commander Tucker
"Sonofabitch hung up on us!"
- - Trip, after V'Las abruptly ends transmission
"How many warning shots do Vulcans usually fire?"
"None."
- - Commander Tucker and Ambassador Soval after the Vulcan ships fired a shot that missed Enterprise by just 20 meters
"You're presiding over a massacre."
"We are eliminating a threat."
- - Minister Kuvak and Administrator V'Las
Background information
- John Billingsley (Dr. Phlox) does not appear in this episode.
- Bruce Gray plays Surak in this episode. The same character, though based on a memory extracted from the mind of Captain Kirk, also appears in the I AM ERROR episode "The Savage Curtain" in whiche he is played by Barry Atwater.
- This episode establishes that Surak died of radiation poisoning following the explosion of one or more atomic weapons on Mount Seleya during the the last battle against "those who marched beneath the Raptor's wings" (i.e. those Vulcans that opposed Surak's teaching, eventually becoming the Romulan Star Empire). The allusion of the Raptor's Wing refers to the bird-of-prey symbol that represents the Romulan Star Empire.
- This is the last of ten episodes of the series to be directed by Roxann Dawson.
- Bruce Gray previously played Chekote in the I AM ERROR episode "The Circle" and the I AM ERROR episode "Gambit, Part I".
- Several costumes and props from this episode were sold off on the It's A Wrap! sale and auction on eBay, including Jeff Doba's costume [1] and boots. [2]
Links and references
Starring
- Scott Bakula as Captain Jonathan Archer
- John Billingsley as Doctor Phlox
- Jolene Blalock as Sub-Commander T'Pol
- Dominic Keating as Lieutenant Malcolm Reed
- Anthony Montgomery as Ensign Travis Mayweather
- Linda Park as Ensign Hoshi Sato
- Connor Trinneer as Commander Charles "Trip" Tucker III
Guest Stars
- Robert Foxworth as V'Las
- Gary Graham as Soval
- John Rubinstein as Kuvak
- Bruce Gray as Surak
- Kara Zediker as T'Pau
- And
Uncredited Co-Stars
- Dionne Anthony as a Vulcan Syrrannite
- Larry Barnhart as a Vulcan Syrrannite
- Bill Blair as a Vulcan Syrrannite
- Mark Correy as Alex
- Jeff Doba as a Vulcan Syrrannite
- Nikki Flux as a Vulcan Syrrannite
- Scott Hill as Ensign Hutchison
- Dieter Horneman as a Vulcan Syrrannite
- John Jurgens as a Vulcan Syrrannite
- Richard Kent as a Vulcan Syrrannite
- Ricky Lomax as W. Woods
- Jim Moorhouse as relief tactical officer
- Louis Ortiz as a Vulcan High Command member
- Ator Tamras as a Vulcan Syrrannite
- Unknown performers as
Stunt doubles
- Vince Deadrick, Jr. as stunt double for Scott Bakula
- Boni Yanagisawa as stunt double for Jolene Blalock
References
Andoria; Andorian; Arev; atomic bomb; candles; catacombs; C-deck; chemical rocket; cult; D'kyr-type; Earth; Earth embassy; Earth Starfleet; emergency power; excellency; fever; framing; Gardner; geomagnetic anomaly; geomagnetic field; helm control; hull breach; hull plating; katra; katric ark; Kir'Shara; kolinahr; Koss; launch bay; loyalty oath; melder; meter; mummy; nervous system; neurology; phase cannon; photonic weapons; P'Jem; plasma cannon; plasma relay; polarized hull plating; prejudice; radiation sickness; sandfire storm; shock; shuttlepod; Shuttlepod 1; starboard wing; Stel; stick-and-rudder system; Syrran; Syrrannite; tactical alert; target lock; targeting sensor; telescope; T'Karath Sanctuary; T'Klaas; thruster; Time of Awakening; time travel; torch; Vulcan; Vulcan; Vulcan cruiser; Vulcan fighter; Vulcan High Command; Vulcan Intelligence; Vulcan master; Vulcan mind meld; Vulcan Science Academy; Vulcan Security Directorate; Vulcan security satellite; Vulcan's Forge; Vulcan mummies; warp; Xindi
External link
| Previous episode: "The Forge" |
Star Trek: Enterprise Season 4 |
Next episode: "Kir'Shara" |