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Enterprise
"Fight or Flight"
Episode 1.03
Directed by Allan Kroeker
Written by Rick Berman & Brannon Braga
After it's largely promising premiere episode(s), Enterprise now has the challenging task of actually being good over the long run. And while the jury may be out for awhile, the latest offering is again good, but not great entertainment.
It's been two weeks since the events of "Broken Bow," and the crew is becoming restless. During that time, the only lifeform they've come across is basically a slug. Turns out exploring the alpha quadrant can be pretty dull after all.
Things get more interesting, however, when the crew happens upon an alien ship floating dead in space. Naturally, T'Pol suggests that there's nothing to see here, but Archer jumps at the chance to actually do some exploring. After entering the alien vessel (via shuttlecraft, and with spacesuits -- gotta love that) they discover 15 humanoid corpses hanging from the ceiling, being drained of some bodily fluid...pretty grisly. Archer wants to find out who's responsible, or at least try to contact more of the aliens to let them know what happened, but in a very uncharacteristic move for a Star Trek captain, he lets T'Pol convince him that it is unwise to stay, as whoever did this to the aliens could well be coming back. So, regrettably, the Enterprise leaves. End of episode.
Yeah, right. Predictably, Archer decides later on that he made the wrong decision, and they head back, hoping to do some good. And it's hardly a surprise that the nasties who hung up the dead aliens do swing by at about the same time...
Predictable plot points aside, it was a pretty decent episode. It's still just different enough from the other Treks to make me interested. The little things really amuse me, like Archer going nuts trying to locate the source of a squeak under the floorboards, or having to figure out alien languages, in like...oh, 5 minutes, to stay alive. Not to mention Porthos, the dog. Gotta love that.
Beneath the alien storyline, however, the thrust of the episode is really Ensign Sato -- the reluctant astronaut. After freaking out on the alien vessel, she contemplates leaving the Enterprise, but in the end, saves them all by using her remarkable linguistic and diplomatic skills. Right now she's a cool character, because she's so damn unsure of herself, but remains an integral part of the crew. And of course, the not-so-subtle parallel of her and the slug, who must adapt to a new environment if it wants to survive.
My bud (we'll call him...Thundercracker) and I pretty much shared the same opinion. Good overall, but a couple of problems. No way could they have translated that language so quickly, and that slug/Hoshi thing was just way too obvious. Also, the ending was a bit too easy in my mind. Oh well.
Episode Rating: 6 out of 10
-- Ultra Magnus
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