Star Trek: Enterprise
"The Expanse"
Air date: 5/21/2003
Written by Rick Berman and Brannon Braga
Directed by Allan Kroeker
Review by Jamahl Epsicokhan
"I can't wait to get in there, captain — find the people who did this. And tell me we won't be tiptoeing around — none of that non-interference crap T'Pol's always shoving down our throats. Maybe it's a good thing she's leaving." "We'll do what we have to, Trip. Whatever it takes."— Tucker and Archer
In brief: A rather extreme, out-of-left-field shake-up of the series, but effective nonetheless.
"Enterprise has potential," I said to TV Guide magazine a few months ago, "but it doesn't take risks." I said a lot more, but that's what got printed — which is fine, because it got to the crux of the matter. Enterprise was in the middle of a second season that was bland, boring, and safe.
Well, with "The Expanse," Enterprise has taken a risk. Whether it's the right risk remains to be seen, but at least the series is committing itself to something resembling a direction (and if the press quotes are true indicators, this will become an ongoing storyline rather than something that will be instantly resolved at the beginning of next season — which is good news).
The optimist in me sees this as an opportunity for the writers to do some unpredictable things and give this series a much-needed purpose and story arc. The pessimist sees this as a writer's sudden act of desperation to move a frequently anemic series in a hopefully exciting direction. (Reportedly, the studio regards Enterprise with much skepticism, so one wonders if they demanded changes.) The pessimist also wonders if the show isn't veering off in the direction of a war series with overlarge stakes — which seems to be an unlikely digression for what is allegedly the prequel to Star Trek. Enterprise doesn't seem like a series where such material would naturally fit, but maybe I should wait and see rather than speculate.
The stakes here are nothing short of apocalyptic, beginning with a weapons test of unknown alien origin that slices a 4,000-kilometer-long swath from central Florida down through to Venezuela, killing 7 million people in the process.
And this is a weapons test.
So, yes, you could say they have my attention.
Enterprise is immediately recalled to Earth. Before reaching Earth, however, the Enterprise is intercepted by the Suliban, who bring Archer aboard their ship to talk to the Shadow Man From The Future, who explains that the attack on Earth was carried out by a race called the Xindi — and, furthermore, that the Xindi intend to destroy Earth with a doomsday weapon in a subsequent attack. Allegedly, the Xindi motivation is that humanity will be responsible for their own destruction in 400 years; such information about the future was never supposed to fall into their hands, but was apparently conveyed to them by an unauthorized source.
The Shadow Man is giving Archer this information because the destruction of Earth would contaminate the timeline. Common sense suggests that 7 million deaths would also severely contaminate the timeline, but I guess the point here is that the temporal cold war doesn't make sense and never will. Common sense also suggests that the Xindi, if they intend to destroy Earth, could've waited until they were actually ready rather than tipping their hand with a surprise "test" attack that slaughters millions and demands reprisal. Couldn't they have tested their weapons anywhere?
The actual attack presents a chilling image, with a beam slicing right through Florida and Cuba, leaving a canyon of decimated earth in ashes, perhaps a mile or more wide. The spherical design of the Xindi spacecraft seems curiously clunky, like something out of a 1950s sci-fi pulp magazine, but infinitely more crucial to the impact of this is the shock and dismay we see in our characters. The scene where Archer informs the crew of the attack reveals confusion and disbelief, and the shot of the crew on the bridge when they see Earth's damage from orbit for the first time is a potent scene; they stand in silence, and no words are necessary.
For such reasons, "The Expanse" works as drama, and contains a lot of feelings and responses that are recognizable given the current national stage. The episode is obviously a futuristic metaphor for 9/11 and its aftermath: The way Earth is blindsided by this attack is not at all unlike the way most Americans felt blindsided on 9/11, and there are apt details that lend an air of realism, like the constant revision of the casualty figure. In a way, the sudden, forced change in direction of this series reflects the sudden change in the direction of American foreign policy after 9/11. The idea that these Xindi would want to destroy us may be conjured from thin air (and the contrived way it ties into the temporal cold war brings up more questions than answers), but what happens from there is not, because an attack like this demands action.
But what kind of action?
Perhaps the most unsettling aspect of "The Expanse" is that there is no clear idea of what Starfleet or the people of Earth expect will happen from here. There's no concrete conclusion of whether or not This Means War. (And really, we can't even be positive that the Xindi are responsible.) With 7 million dead and another attack allegedly on the way, presumably this does mean war or something close, and the Enterprise receives an immediate retrofit with upgraded weapons and defenses. The Xindi, Archer was told, reside somewhere within a strange area of space called the Delphic Expanse, and Starfleet gives the Enterprise a new mission — after some convincing and consideration — to venture into the expanse and investigate the Xindi threat.
There's of course some frustration along the way to this decision. First of all, the Vulcans are constant skeptics of information that supposedly comes from the future, since they do not believe in time travel. (With time travel being so obviously prevalent in this century, you'd think the Vulcan Science Directorate would wise up.) This leads to a scene where Archer "proves" something in the wreckage from the alien vessel is from the future by scanning it with a "quantum-dating" device that reads "minus 420." Uh-huh. (I guess this means that it's not 420 years old but rather 420 years young.) Why would a piece of metal traveling through time have any impact on the measurable age of the metal? To me, this is like saying that if I traveled back in time 10 years, I would no longer look 27 years old, but instead 17. (Or at least I'd be quantum dated as 17.) Not that time travel is plausible in the first place, but you see how this seems contrary to accepted sci-fi conventions. Maybe I need to go to quantum-dating school.
Then there's the concern over the mysterious and ominous Delphic Expanse. The Vulcans once explored it but no longer do, because of its strange and unexplainable properties and even its sometime non-adherence to the laws of physics. Ambassador Soval tells ghost stories of ships that entered and never emerged. In one case, he says, a Klingon ship emerged with its crew's bodies all turned inside out — and yet STILL ALIVE. (Cue ominous music of doom.) I find myself wondering why Soval believes these stories when he's not willing to believe in time travel. As a final warning, he even shows Archer the last video footage of the last Vulcan crew to go into the expanse: They are all going insane and violently whaling on one other — the last thing recorded before the ship was destroyed, apparently by the crew's own hands. This creepy B-movie idea reminded me of a similar scene in the movie Event Horizon, where people who ventured into black holes went crazy and massacred themselves in bizarre and bloody video footage.
Once Starfleet decides to investigate the Delphic Expanse, the Vulcan High Command recalls T'Pol to Vulcan, since standing policy forbids Vulcans from entering the expanse. Among the show's better character scenes is the one where she expresses to Archer her desire to stay aboard the Enterprise and resign her High Command commission. "You need me," she tells the captain straightforwardly. The scene represents a breakthrough of sorts, where T'Pol has become one of Us. Whether that's desirable is a matter of perspective: One hopes she will still remain an alternative voice, but it's nice to see that T'Pol has become more comfortable with her role among humans.
The episode also gives the carnage on Earth a direct character connection by placing Trip's younger sister among the missing and presumed dead. There's a potent image of the destruction in Florida seen close up by Trip and Malcolm. We're naturally reminded of images of ground zero following the destruction of the World Trade Center. Some may wonder whether this is appropriate as entertainment, but I believe it works because the story takes its fictional concept seriously. The fact that something awful has happened is not simply a backdrop for an adventure (though it is that as well), but also given its due weight. The characters react believably, and handheld camera work in the early scenes sets the mood of emotional disarray. I could sense in these scenes the feeling of something genuinely wrong.
Archer, particularly early in the episode, is understandably emotional and aggressive. And there's obviously a character arc in the making for Trip that could change him dramatically. He's bitter and wants to "blow the hell out of these bastards when we find them." In a scene where Archer and Trip pour themselves glasses of hard liquor, Trip says: "Tell me we won't be tiptoeing around — none of that non-interference crap T'Pol's always shoving down our throats." There are some serious moral questions worth considering here (possibly including the non-interference issue, which made waves in "Cogenitor"), just as the Dominion War on DS9 brought new issues to the table. The question is whether they will be adequately addressed and whether they fit in the context of this series.
Shoehorned in here is a weirdly structured subplot involving the Klingons, who dispatch the dishonored Duras (Daniel Riordan) on a mission of potential redemption: to track down Archer, who by now is an infamous enemy who has twice escaped the Klingon Empire's clutches ("Judgment," "Bounty"). This subplot has little to do with anything else, except peripherally. The Klingons show up at the beginning and the end, and serve as stand-ins for the sake of demonstration. At the beginning they invade Earth's solar system to try to capture Archer, only to be chased off by Starfleet defense vessels (this raises the question of what kind of defenses were in place prior to the Xindi attack, and if security has been beefed up since then). The Klingons appear again at the end, to chase the Enterprise as it enters the expanse and provide the crew a chance to test the new torpedoes.
During the climactic battle with the Klingons, the bridge scenes are shot with the camera's shutter speed increased, resulting in a strobe effect — a method made fashionable by Saving Private Ryan's war footage, and imitated ad nauseam since. I don't know about its use here; watching sparks explode on the bridge is not exactly war footage.
The nature of the plot forces the episode to span months of time, with all the unimportant travel scenes left out. This allows the story to cover a lot of ground in one hour, perhaps too much. It doesn't feel like months of time are passing, and the Klingons apparently are staying with the Enterprise through this entire time, showing up on cue when it's time for action.
One touch I appreciated, which exists basically apart from the plot, is a scene where we see the construction on the next warp-5 starship, the NX-02, which Admiral Forrest says will be ready for launch in 14 months. It's nice to see this seed finally planted.
Still, I'm beginning to wonder now if Enterprise can ultimately emerge as a legitimate prequel series. Unlike season one, season two has granted itself fairly liberal latitude in playing fast-and-loose with the franchise history, and "The Expanse" is perhaps the most extreme example to date. The notion that 7 million people could be killed here and yet this attack, the Xindi, and the Delphic Expanse can all be unheard-of elements in the Trek canon is nothing short of ludicrous. (Of course, since there's a temporal cold war connection, timeline games can presumably write it off.) This is a strong season-ender with some promising elements and a notable dose of true feelings, but it also represents an extreme shift in the Trek universe that the writers will likely have to approach with a certain restraint and caution.
Irony of ironies — here I am recommending restraint and caution for Enterprise. That's a good thing, I suppose.
Previous episode: Bounty
Next episode: The Xindi
End-of-season article: Second Season Recap
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81 comments on this post
Tue, Sep 25, 2007, 6:25pm (UTC -5)
Even today we have theories which allow for particles to travel back and forth in time. Iirc, something like a positron moving forward is like the same as an electron moving backward. They could perhaps just be reading an electron back to its source or something. Ir maybe not...any writters that put T'Pol in heat like last week aren't exactly thinking too much in depth :p
Sun, Mar 22, 2009, 11:33pm (UTC -5)
Just lost all hope in the revival of the Franchise at this point :(
Sun, Sep 6, 2009, 10:55am (UTC -5)
Seriously, what marred the emotional impact of the episode for me was the fact that the Xindi arrive to attack Earth and of course they attack the former United States! Because presumably US-American viewers wouldn't give a damn if the Xindi laser had cut through India or Japan or Turkey instead of Florida? I can see the Xindi attacking the northern hemisphere because there's more landmasses there than in the southern one, but the question remains: Why did they aim so badly? Seriously, if I had crossed half the galaxy to test out my prototype(!) weapon on another species' planet without warning and start a war with them, I would make damn sure I aimed at the most populated areas, instead of slicing through water half of the time and then flying away again. Alright, so they got Florida. Apparently the Xindi came to Earth to wage war on manatees.
You might say the Xindi got their pre-emptive war in a bit early. But if you want to wipe out a species (including all their offplanet colonies) you better try a biological agent instead of slicing and dicing the planetary crust. So this was a stupid move, obviously designed to make the Xindi into targets.
Let me go on a little rant here: As a German viewer i'm somewhat miffed that every time you see Earth from space in an American series or movie (Battlestar Galactica, Enterprise, you name it) you *always* see the North American continent displayed instead of any other part of Earth.
Just as the Mercator maps of Earth hanging in American schools are different from the one hanging in European schools, as far as I know (I may be wrong, but I've seen such maps on TV). In the US, the Americas are placed in the centre of the map, meaning that Asia is cut in two and stuck at the left and right edge, while in European atlases the Greenwich zero meridian running through Europe and Africa is in the middle of the map, with the whole of Asia, India, Australia etc to the East and the Americas to the West, and the Pacific dateline bisecting the Pacific ocean on both edges of the map, like this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Primemeridian.jpg
Tue, Oct 13, 2009, 9:47am (UTC -5)
@christina, I live in Japan, and you'd be surprised how many maps here put Eurasia on the left and the Americas on the right. Guess who's in the center? :D
Mon, Nov 16, 2009, 1:13am (UTC -5)
Oh, and almost no Mercator maps in the US have us in the center. It makes no sense. This type of map is designed around the concept of longitude and latitude. Of course the equator and prime meridian are going to be in the middle. The Japan-central map seems to defeat the purpose, too. But, then again, Japan is even more xenophobic that Americans.
And, anyways, of course they're going to attack the former US. For one thing, the characters are all American (check out their accents). And for another, the primary audience is American. To help us feel what they feel (that their home has just been attacked), they have to give use the same feeling. In fact, I suspect the reason christina is upset is because it didn't attack her part of the world.
Sun, Jul 4, 2010, 10:31pm (UTC -5)
Tue, Jul 6, 2010, 8:23am (UTC -5)
And Malcolm and Hoshi would disagree with the assertion that all of the characters are American. Malcolm even has a local accent!
Wed, Aug 18, 2010, 10:31am (UTC -5)
Also, wasn't Travis born and conceived in space, by space parents, who may or may not have been born of space itself?
Thu, Dec 2, 2010, 10:29pm (UTC -5)
Those thermobaric clouds would have been nice background detail for the rest of the season, maybe a bit too much like the nekrit expanse, but i think would've given a much more otherworldly feel. Using the Xindi as antagonists is smart since it leaves it open to what happens to the aliens.
I think some viewers forget that this is an American show made for American viewers, so there would be an obvious american focus. But that beamed looked it sliced through cuba and venezuela. not to mention the character they wanted to be most affected by it was from the U.S. so it makes all kinds of sense. And BSG you might remember had Africa quite prominently, but whatever.
I sorta wish the timetravel had been toned down to a communicating through time thing rather than the physical time travel, otherwise why not just build the entire weapon in the future and transport it back. But that's just a small criticism for a pretty good episode!
Mon, Mar 28, 2011, 2:39am (UTC -5)
A much-needed rattling of the cage for ST Enterprise, although knowing Berman & Braga this re-injection of something called "plot" in the series will probably lead to another disappointment. Yet at least I'm intrigued and curious to see where things will go.
I do have to comment on some of the previous notes by readers here, writing "this is what killed it for me", "after this I'm not watching Enteprise again", etc. etc.
Really? REALLY???
After all the sh*t we've been watching in the first two seasons, the continuous rewriting of canon to suit the writers' needs, the crappy storytelling, and the ineptitude of almost every character on screen, THIS is what kills it for you? An actual storyline?
I am speechless.
Tue, Sep 6, 2011, 1:44am (UTC -5)
I have lived in America all my life and have never, ever seen a map of the world with the United States in the center and Asia cut in half on the edges. The standard map you always see has the US on the left and Europe and Asia on the right, and the cut-off point is somewhere between Alaska and Russia.
I think you are the unfortunate victim of some sort of anti-American propaganda.
On the other hand, yeah, when Earth is viewed from space in American movies, almost always North America is clearly visible. One exception that stands out because it was such an exception was the view of Earth from space in the final episode of Battlestar Galactica. Africa was front and center.
Tue, Sep 6, 2011, 1:56am (UTC -5)
But I think the obvious question here is: if you can travel back in time, why not test your new planet-slicing weapon on a certain day, say August 4, 2150, and then when you're ready to hit them with the real thing, hit them on August 3, 2150?
Sat, Dec 3, 2011, 10:23am (UTC -5)
Sun, Feb 26, 2012, 1:42am (UTC -5)
Sun, Feb 26, 2012, 1:46am (UTC -5)
Obviously it's an American show and that's the reason...but from a Trek POV it's a bit of an immersion breaker.
Fri, Jul 6, 2012, 6:40pm (UTC -5)
But yeah, kind of standard for America isn't it? Other countries, what are those? ;)
Interesting that a huge thing is carved through Earth and it's not visible in the TNG era. Or maybe it is and we're just not told about it. Or maybe it's a time thing that will be reset buttoned later.
I liked the last line - "Let's see what's in there"
Nice little optimistic nod (or coincidence) to the last line in TNG's first episode...
Sat, Aug 4, 2012, 10:06am (UTC -5)
But serious Why would you test out that sort of thing? Just f**king Nuke the planet, and kill everything on the surface, don't freaking beta test it and give the good guys a chance to find you. Ugh....bad guys are so bad at being bad.
haha....okay I was just being cynical, I actually enjoyed this episode quite a bit.
And to answer Cloudlane's question...umm it's just a large ditch easily fixed and rebuilt within 200+ years. And did you not just watch the Borg plot hole crapfest? The writers obviously don't care about any continuity at all.
Tue, Aug 7, 2012, 6:26pm (UTC -5)
Fri, Sep 7, 2012, 9:02pm (UTC -5)
Thu, Dec 27, 2012, 8:00pm (UTC -5)
I dunno, I guess this is a problem with other Treks too. Especially where you have aliens with cloaking technology.
Anyway, good review Jammer, I mostly agree with you here.
Sun, Mar 3, 2013, 6:31pm (UTC -5)
Like she did in Dear Doctor. Oh, no, she didn't, that was Archer.
Like she did in Cogenitor. Oh, no, she didn't, that was Archer.
Like she always did. Oh, no, she didn't "always", she only advised against open contact in Civilization.
It seems Trip Tucker still is the redneck racist from Strange New World. Good to see characters develop. And writers doing their job.
Sun, Sep 15, 2013, 7:47pm (UTC -5)
"Apparently the Xindi came to Earth to wage war on manatees."
The didn't come to Earth to wage war on all of them, just the one named Hugh Manatee.
Fri, Sep 27, 2013, 9:58am (UTC -5)
Tucker in The Expanse, growling to Archer before he claims they'll do "whatever it takes": "...find the people who did this. And tell me we won't be tiptoeing around."
Do you know where endless and bloody wars come from, Mr. "how about us, humans" Tucker?
Mon, Nov 25, 2013, 10:26pm (UTC -5)
Sat, Apr 19, 2014, 9:16pm (UTC -5)
I thought it was an apt storyline given ENT's broadcast existence in the post 9-11 era.
Oh, and people, stop complaining about canon! No one but hardcore trekkers cared about that, and it's why the producers of the new movies just said F*** canon.
It makes sense that events from more than 100 years before TOS might have lost their intensity, like the Spanish-American War or World War I for us today, that people don't talk about that much anymore unless studying history.
What I didn't get, though - 1) where the hell were the Vulcans? They didn't seem to give a crap or assist at all, so I can't believe that humans would put up with them at all, especially after this. 2) Earth vessels seemed to make short work of a Klingon battle cruiser, why was there no warning about this Xindi weapon?
Thu, May 22, 2014, 10:06am (UTC -5)
However, in this episode the “Enterprise” for once does in fact think more in three dimensions when fighting the Klingons, and we see a little more tactical thinking. I enjoy the space battles far more when this sort of thing comes to the fore, rather than just duking it out.
As an aside, I remember an old “Star Trek” game on the Mac — I forget the name (Starfleet Command?) — where you could play space combat with Trek ships against others over a LAN. The funny thing was that any battle with Klingon vs. Klingon got pretty damn boring, because…well, both sides would just stay cloaked. Which meant that not only could you not be seen, neither could your opponent, and there was little reason to change that, so…you fly around aimlessly under cloak for a while until you finally say screw this, let’s get a pizza. Whee.
Mon, Jun 15, 2015, 2:00pm (UTC -5)
Trip was annoyingly over-the-top as usual. I don't care how good a warp engineer he may be, he's too much of a hothead to have been selected for such an important position.
If the Xindi can send a weapon through space, it beggars belief that they cannot just wipe out the planet with a toxic gas or disease.
The 9/11 parallel does not ring true at all. The Xindi are aliens we know nothing about and are far away, while the 9/11 terrorists we knew plenty about and were only a plane ride away.
This new direction for the series screamed desperation and illustrated why a prequel was such a bad idea in the first place. It's unbelievable to do these kinds of universe-shaking stories without us never having heard of it before. This is a huge region of space close enough for a warp 5 starship to reach, and we've never heard of it. Just makes no sense.
Sun, Apr 24, 2016, 5:57am (UTC -5)
What's less effective is the Klingon storyline, which seems shoe-horned in from another episode and kind of gets in the way a bit. 3 stars.
Sun, Jun 19, 2016, 6:49pm (UTC -5)
Sun, Jul 10, 2016, 3:34pm (UTC -5)
Sun, Jul 10, 2016, 3:37pm (UTC -5)
Mon, Jun 15, 2015, 2:00pm (UTC -5)
I grew up in the US with a large map on my bedroom wall that had the US right in the center with Asia cut in half on both sides. This was the standard map I saw in schools as well. Just sayin'. "
Then you're either lying or grew up in a strange part of America because all of the maps I have seen have America on the left side I've never seen one with America in the middle. Saying it was the standard map in school is a flat out lie and something you made up in your head. Just sayin'.
Sun, Jul 10, 2016, 3:42pm (UTC -5)
www.mapsofworld.com
Notice America is on the left and Asia isn't split? Just sayin'.
Thu, Oct 20, 2016, 12:46pm (UTC -5)
Ah, yeah.... eeeesh.... the relative intelligence of our foe has just regressed to the level of a 5 year old. The test itself #1 removes any element of surprise for the real attack and #2 risks revealing your identity to your enemy.
This is just one of the writing gaffs that I just wipe from existence while watching season 3, the other is how an event of this magnitude couldn't ever be mentioned in trek lore. There ARE other ways to set the stage without killing 7 million humans in the first ever attack on Earth by an Alien civilization. Come on.
All that said. Most of what I just mentioned entered my brain after I watched this. This episode is fun to watch and does have emotional impact. The Delphic Expanse is portrayed by the Vulcan's as being very dangerous, the addition of the MACO's to the Enterprise crew speaks to conflict ahead. I was eager to start season 3. Just glad I didn't have to wait as I watched all this on DVD.
The best part of this one for me again involved Archer & T'Pol. She resigns her commission to remain with Archer & crew. Glad to see it.
Duras... blah, blah... only interjected so Reed can test his new weapons.
While this episode gets the blood pumping and I'm more that ready for more, I can't really give it above a 3 star rating because the test strike was just that stupid.
Sun, Feb 26, 2017, 10:20am (UTC -5)
2 Points so far
1. The Delphic expanse is "2000 light years across", and it'll take 3 months to reach at warp 5. I make that approx 50 light years away from Earth. Yet Archer has never heard of it!
2. The photonic torpedoes have a range 50x greater than their previous ones. That seems an awful lot more!
Sat, Apr 15, 2017, 12:22pm (UTC -5)
Actually (pretending for the moment that you're still 27), I think there's a good argument that if you travelled back in time 10 years, you WOULD be 17. Stanislaw Lem wrote an excellent time-travel short story, in which a guy invents a time machine, sends himself into the future, and instantly dies of old age.
The idea being that if you're travelling IN time, not OUTSIDE of it, then travelling in that dimension is going to affect you. Otherwise it'd be like travelling down the road a hundred miles and still being where you started.
But enough of that. This episode, though a little more than a prelude to the next season, finally promises to set ENT up with a strong story arc, ala later DS9, and frankly I don't care anymore if it damages the canon or makes no sense compared with series x; after season two - notwithstanding a strong finish with 4 of the final 5 eps being good - ENT needs SOMETHING to drag it out of the mire it had settled into. If this is what it takes, bring it on.
And, are we at war with the Klingons YET?
Sat, Apr 15, 2017, 12:46pm (UTC -5)
ARCHER: There's been an attack on Earth.... A probe. They don't know where it came from. It fired a weapon that cut a swath four thousand kilometres long from Florida to Venezuela. There may have been a million casualties.... We've been recalled.
TUCKER: Did they say why?
Mon, May 29, 2017, 5:41pm (UTC -5)
I agree with many commenters that it does kind of mess up the timeline when the prequel show decides to go off on a completely new story arc - let's see if it ties into anything from TNG or maybe even TOS.
The analogy with 9/11 is clear - maybe it makes the show more relatable.
Again some Temporal Cold War stuff gives the writers the freedom to do whatever without answering questions -- but so far it works again.
A couple of things were dumb - as others mentioned the Xindi test being on Earth and not some other place and I didn't think the Klingon attacks contributed anything to the story. So they flew alongside the Enterprise for several weeks and decided to attack them at the edge of the Expanse? Doesn't make much sense to me.
But still, some good character moments between Trip/Malcolm in Fla., T'Pol/Archer about her staying/going, Trip/Archer downing the hard stuff. Also liked seeing Phlox's angry side with that Vulcan imposter doctor - Archer was good in that scene too.
It's a good hour and it's good that the writers feel forced to go in a new direction for S3. For me, it's worth 3 stars out of 4. Genuinely look forward to S3.
Sat, Jun 17, 2017, 6:19pm (UTC -5)
Tue, Sep 12, 2017, 5:18am (UTC -5)
Of course since the Enterprise crew is American and Tucker's sister was from Florida, they are going to focus more on America.
Good episode. 3 stars from me.
Mon, Oct 2, 2017, 11:40pm (UTC -5)
Mon, Oct 1, 2018, 5:45pm (UTC -5)
Thu, Dec 5, 2019, 11:08pm (UTC -5)
After two seasons that I mostly enjoyed but generally found sleepy, listless, and rudderless, “The Expanse” delivers a real sense of urgency, drive, and stakes for the first time. I appreciate the 9/11 allegory too. It feels very truthful to how America and much of pop culture reacted at the time: a sudden, jarring shift into darkness. All of Star Trek up until Discovery was made in America, after all. It led to a myopic perspective at times, but it’s inevitable that every movie / TV show bears the imprint of the time and place that it was made.
I’d give it ***1/2 stars. Knock off half a star for the silliness of the Klingons hanging around for months just to get their asses kicked at the last second.
Sun, May 24, 2020, 10:05pm (UTC -5)
Sun, May 24, 2020, 10:28pm (UTC -5)
Sun, May 24, 2020, 10:41pm (UTC -5)
Wed, Aug 12, 2020, 11:01am (UTC -5)
Fri, Dec 4, 2020, 8:37am (UTC -5)
The only thing about this episode is that it would seem that if the Klingons had this much hate for Enterprise, they would have destroyed it by now. I mean, Starfleet is really in its infancy, and it seems the Klingon empire already has a fleet. All of that time, Enterprise was exploring, they could have hunted it down easily. I would think that maybe the Vulcans would respond, but considering how the Klingons dogged Archer from Earth to the expanse this episode, I guess they had a free hand.
I know that the Xindi arc was used to try to boost ratings, and I actually do remember warming to it later, but it is kind of a shame to see the show going from the exploration theme of the first 2 seasons to more of a serialised shoot-em-up now
The photonic torpedo seem a bit premature in the timeline. I mean I thought the Earth-Romulan war wasn't fought with this weapon yet (from Spock's dialogue in a TOS episode), but whatever.
Fri, Dec 4, 2020, 9:00am (UTC -5)
But. again, this is not just a bust on Americans. I still remember a friend visiting from England for a week. (This was before internet, so things couldn't be looked up as easily) He thought he could rent a car in New York City, and visit Chicago, Los Angeles, and Toronto during the time he was staying! Europeans (especially pre-internet) for the most part don't realise that the entire UK fits into Ontario quite easily! It's all what you are familiar with
Sun, Dec 27, 2020, 4:01am (UTC -5)
Everytime I rewatch this, I remember my eyes rolling when I first saw it and they talked about the scanner reading in negative numbers. Why would the app designer (I now just assume that all functions on a tricorder are separate apps) even include the ability to read in negative numbers? Anything that could possibly generate a negative number should generate an error if the actually scanning head could even read it in the first place.
Sun, Dec 27, 2020, 9:31pm (UTC -5)
Perhaps mechanical odometers were before your time. They DID count backwards when you went in reverse. In fact, that's a plot point in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off."
It was also a standard tactic in "road ralleys" in which part of the score was based on coming as close as possible to the mileage of the planned route.
Mon, Mar 8, 2021, 4:39pm (UTC -5)
There's been a massive terrorist attack on Earth that killed 7 million people, including Trip's sister. It hits home in the sense that it's Earth and also one of our own is directly affected. The 9/11 parallels work well here probably even more so at the time this episode came out.
Archer is informed by the Shadow man of the future that a race called the Xindi are responsible, that they must travel to a place called the Delphic Expanse to prevent further attacks from them. He instantly believes it and the fact that the High Command doesn't think he should go only makes him want to do it more. Archer would pretty much do anything if a Vulcan told him he couldnt.
Since the High Command doesn't agree with Archer's decision T'Pol is now torn between obeying her people and her new found loyalty to Enterprise. She's come along way from the arrogant Vulcan she was in the beginning who couldn't stand the smell of humans and Porthos. T'Pol actually cares for the crew now and have grown accustomed to being around them (I think it was the movie nights that did it lol). They aren't too pleased to see her go either. It's nice to watch her open up in her own little Vulcan way.
Archer and Trip's conversation when they are alone drinking in their regular clothes holds much weight and basically sets the tone for what's ahead. You get the sense that they are gonna have to temporarily put their explorer hats to the side to go on a mission to literally save the world. Things will take a dark turn and lines will have to be crossed. "Whatever it takes." It actually makes you feel anxious for what's to come!
3 and a half stars from me. Now on to season 3 let's see if it held up as good as it did the first watch.
Sun, Apr 4, 2021, 4:20pm (UTC -5)
Sat, Apr 24, 2021, 6:25pm (UTC -5)
Fri, May 7, 2021, 8:45am (UTC -5)
Speaking as someone watching through this series for the first time, I do hope this Xindi arc helps galvanise Enterprise a bit. I can practically see the producers' logic now: "A seasons-long war arc worked great over on DS9, fans loved it!". And of course there's the 9/11 parallel: I'd imagine that this had been in the back of the producers' minds for the last two seasons. To put it into context, Enterprise made its debut only two weeks after the attacks in New York.
As an episode, though - this one is a bit too heavy on the table-setting and throws a ton of exposition at us too, having the Suliban and Future Guy set up to hand out plot-relevant information and then bookending it with the Klingons, still pissed off that Archer's escaped them (twice!). It ends up feeling very disjointed, but it just about gets by on the strength of its characterisation, particularly Trip. I thought the scenes between him and Malcolm were very strong, especially when Malcolm tries to console his clearly grief-stricken friend and Trip's having none of it. Sounds like the kind of thing that a ship's counselor would be useful for....
Sat, Jun 19, 2021, 11:28pm (UTC -5)
It's not a credulity problem that the Xindi tested their weapon on Earth, or that they didn't target San Francisco. They tested the weapon on Earth because the transport system to get it to Earth is part of the weapon. Whatever makes it work clearly needs special calibration to get it from the Delphic Expanse to Earth, and if they test it on another planet, they wouldn't know if that calibration works. And they didn't target San Francisco because they don't know much about Earth. They don't know where Starfleet headquarters is--they weren't told everything.
It's not a problem Enterprise now has photonic torpedoes when a few episodes ago Reed had never heard of them, meaning Starfleet didn't have a program for developing them. Starfleet didn't develop the technology. They traded for it. Other races in contact with humans have them, so it's only a matter of time before someone would sell the technology or it would be discovered by espionage. That's how it is with technology. It proliferates. In fact, it's amazing Enterprise doesn't have forcefields and shields yet (or even holodecks), considering they immediately met tons of races that have them (great job, writers).
Of course all this may be contradicted by episodes in the next season, I don't know. I half-watched it when it first aired, but not closely enough to have any memories of it. It wasn't the Star Trek I wanted to be seeing, all anger and phaser battles and soldiers. Nothing thoughtful. When DS9 did the war, there was tons of thoughtful storytelling and reflection by the characters amongst everything that was happening. Maybe this time through, twenty years (or close enough) removed from 9/11 and the Bush presidency, I'll find there's more there that doesn't come off hamfisted. We'll see.
Oh, and it's obvious why the writers went with "Xindi" instead of Romulans, who are the race that should have been used. They can't show any Romulan faces. That's a nightmare for writers, it closes off so many avenues for storytelling and for developing the human stakes of the conflict. It can't ever really get personal. It doesn't make for great television, or at least not twenty-six hours of it. In this case, it was the right choice.
Sat, Jun 19, 2021, 11:54pm (UTC -5)
Thu, Oct 14, 2021, 4:14am (UTC -5)
Anyway, I feel like the Xindi arc was a very good idea but they clearly didn't know what they were trying to say there and it was perhaps too raw at the time to objectively analyze it.
Thu, Oct 14, 2021, 5:42am (UTC -5)
Thu, Oct 14, 2021, 8:26am (UTC -5)
No but they were harboring them and refused to turn them over.
Thu, Oct 14, 2021, 8:49am (UTC -5)
"No but they were harboring them and refused to turn them over."
They were willing to turn Bin Laden over to Pakistan but Pakistan refused. Under Islamic Law they could only turn him over to an Islamic country. You know how it is with religious fundamentalists. They really like their rules.
Thu, Oct 14, 2021, 8:52am (UTC -5)
Wed, Oct 20, 2021, 1:23am (UTC -5)
The Expanse is an okay episode and provides the show with a clear direction it lasted but it probably should have been the Romulans, timeline be damned. Swear everyone to secrecy if you have to. I also think the Vulcans being obstinate reached its last straw here where they say, "You can't go to the Delphic Expanse!" I mean, "Where SHOULD we go then?"
It's just there to be obstructive.
Wed, Oct 20, 2021, 2:47am (UTC -5)
"I mean, they had been sheltering Al-Qaeda for previous attacks against the United States if anyone remembers those. Which is, last I checked, an act of war."
I would like to see where you checked that because if that were actually true then why were the Americans not at war with Afghanistan in 1998? A terrorist organization can by definition not commit an act of war. Only a state can do that.
For a very brief summary why what Al-Qaeda did was not an act of war by Afghanistan.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_invasion_of_Afghanistan#Legal_basis_for_war
When the USA invaded they broke international law which they did again when they invaded Iraq.
The USA just decided they wanted to invade, proving again Schmitt's famous quote:"Sovereign is he who decides on the exception."
Wed, Oct 20, 2021, 3:07am (UTC -5)
https://www.e-ir.info/2013/11/06/was-the-nato-invasion-of-afghanistan-legal/
one quote:"However, it should be noted that no terrorist organisation claimed responsibility for the 9/11 attacks, even if some may have sympathised with the act itself. ... . In reality, the chief spokesperson of the Taliban at the time of the attacks, Wakeel Ahmed Mutawakel[7], and the Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef[8], both condemned the attacks and did not claim responsibly for them on the part of the Taliban or Al Qaeda."
Wed, Oct 20, 2021, 8:46am (UTC -5)
For a very brief summary why what Al-Qaeda did was not an act of war by Afghanistan.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_invas"
I hope I am not putting words in CT Phipps' mouth but I believe he/she intended to suggest that the Taliban sheltering the terrorist group that committed the 911 attacks was the act of war, not the 911 attacks themselves.
Wed, Oct 20, 2021, 9:28am (UTC -5)
I realize that but "sheltering" in other words having a terrorist organization within ones borders who then commits a terrorist attack without any support from that country is not in any way an act of war according to international law. Even with the support it would have been a very shaky argument.
Wed, Oct 20, 2021, 9:32am (UTC -5)
Wed, Oct 20, 2021, 9:40am (UTC -5)
it might have escaped your laser focus but I posted two sources. One for the less interested (wiki) and one (an actual scientific work that can still be understood without a law degree) for the more interested people.
Wed, Oct 20, 2021, 10:12am (UTC -5)
@Jason
I realize that but "sheltering" in other words having a terrorist organization within ones borders who then commits a terrorist attack without any support from that country is not in any way an act of war according to international law. Even with the support it would have been a very shaky argument."
It is not the fact that the Taliban had Al Qaeda and OSB in their borders when 911 went down that was the "sheltering"; it was refusing to hand them over after the attack.
You can't seriously be suggesting that when terrorists operate with impunity in your borders launching attacks on other nations, you can simply throw up your hands and say you are not "supporting" them while simultaneously 1) Refusing to expel them yourself or 2) Refusing to let anyone else deal with them directly.
Wed, Oct 20, 2021, 10:15am (UTC -5)
Wed, Oct 20, 2021, 10:18am (UTC -5)
I'm just saying that it is not an act of war. In other words it does not justify war under international law. The USA demanded that they hand Bin Laden over in two weeks without providing any proof or willingness to negotiate. That breaks international law.
I recommend that you read the scientific paper. It will answer all your questions.
Wed, Oct 20, 2021, 11:58am (UTC -5)
But setting that issue of terminology aside, I come away from reading the article with no great certainty that Operation Enduring Freedom was illegal under international law. The article certainly makes that assertion, but it does so on the basis of some rather equivocal claims. For example:
"It seems that insufficient effort was made to pursue peaceful negotiations or to press for further dialogue,"
It "seems" does it? The article continues in this manner, criticizing the two week deadline, suggesting that Saudi Arabia should have been the real target for invasion, suggesting that the US could have negotiated more etc... Many of these claims strike me as 1) Equivocal and 2) Subjective.
What I get from this article is that there is a good argument that the US invasion wasn't legal, but the point is plainly debatable and far from certain. The article itself does not even bother to cited the actual language of the law in question nor does it cited any legal precedent. It's at best a highly equivocal opinion piece suggesting the likelihood that in some hypothetical court of international law, the USA failed to cross its Ts and dot its Is.
Wed, Oct 20, 2021, 1:49pm (UTC -5)
This was a term paper written at the department of law at the university of London under the supervision of the head of the law department.
Law is often about interpretation.
Maybe talk to them.
Without a security council resolution any war is illegal. The only exception would have been an immediate threat which Afghanistan did not pose. That breaks international law. They threatened another country with war to get what they want. That breaks international law. They did not negotiate to find a peaceful solution. That breaks international law.
They followed the famous quote from Pompey:" Stop quoting laws, we carry swords."
Wed, Oct 20, 2021, 5:58pm (UTC -5)
This was a term paper written at the department of law at the university of London under the supervision of the head of the law department.
Law is often about interpretation.
Maybe talk to them."
Yes it reads like something a law student might write. The analysis is weak and unpersuasive. There isn't even a reference to legal precedent and he doesn't even bother to quote the statutory authority he is relying on, instead just burying everything in footnotes. Not impressed.
Thu, Oct 21, 2021, 12:39am (UTC -5)
She.
How could there be legal precedent?? International law has no court behind it that could set a binding legal precedent or have statutory authority. Furthermore the International Court of Justice ruling can always be blocked by the permanent members which includes the USA. I thought you were a physicist? What do you know about international law or the ICJ?
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-political-science-review/article/abs/politics-of-precedent-in-international-law-a-social-network-application/BAB3E5D202BE2A4BB28AD0C89392D162
Here, this is the most often cited work on the matter
Terrorism, war and international law: The legality of the use of force against Afghanistan in 2001
That is really all I can say about this. I have some expertise about international politics and relations (including war) but from a political science perspective which also looks at law but does not focus on it.
Thu, Oct 21, 2021, 1:19am (UTC -5)
https://www.law.virginia.edu/news/international-court-justice-represents-unique-blend-legal-systems-says-judge-joan-donoghue
Thu, Oct 21, 2021, 4:58am (UTC -5)
Thu, Oct 21, 2021, 8:54am (UTC -5)
No, she isn't. :)
No legal opinion by anybody could give a definitive ruling or provide scientific proof. Only the ICJ could and I doubt that the Taliban will take the case to the court. Even if they did, the USA withdrew from the binding agreement with the court when they got a ruling they didn't like about Nicaragua. So in a sense the war is technically neither legal nor illegal but if it would be decided by the ICJ the USA would very likely lose.
There is a 500+ report by the us naval war college overseen by an admiral, issued during the Bush administration which came to the conclusion that it was all legal. Well, the argument about the legality of the invasion itself is only 5 pages long and jumps around while ignoring many things. If you think that the student paper was bad then read this. :D
https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/citations/ADA605283
Thu, Oct 21, 2021, 9:27am (UTC -5)
I do not say the same thing re Iraq, Lybia or Syria, by the way.
Thu, Oct 21, 2021, 10:00am (UTC -5)
The whole thing set a terrible precedent. If you have terrorists in your country and are either unwilling, in this case afghanistan, or unable (pakistan) to expel them, then any other country can invade or bombard. Which brings us to the drone war...
Wed, May 11, 2022, 11:36pm (UTC -5)
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