Enterprise 3x23 "Countdown"

rating: ****

the story: The Xindi-Reptilians become increasingly isolated, but it may already be too late to stop them.

what it's all about: It was always going to be inevitable to compare the heavily serialized Xindi arc with the most famous previous Star Trek serialized storytelling, the Dominion War in Deep Space Nine.  "Countdown" is where the comparisons really begin to find parallels.  The Sphere Builders are much like the Founders, the Xindi like the Dominion.  But where the Founders never quite pulled the trigger in active participation and the Dominion never quite splintered apart, the Xindi have and splinter still further during the course of the episode.

By the final episode of Deep Space Nine, "What You Leave Behind," the Cardassians have come to regret joining the Dominion.  Damar has led a full-scale revolt, which leads to the Dominion devastating the Cardassian homeworld in retaliation.  But the Jem'Hadar, the shock troops of the Dominion, never seriously consider leaving, or do the Vorta, the bureaucrats of the Dominion, or the Breen, like the Cardassians allies from the Alpha Quadrant.  But The Xindi have already splintered: the Primates (I have referred to them as Humanoids; Degra and the councilman played by Tucker Smallwood came from this species) and the Arboreals (the councilman played by Rick Worthy, for instance) were the first to believe Archer.  The Aquatics join the good guys in "Countdown."  The Insectoids (who like the Aquatics are fully CGI) rebel against the Reptilians (represented by Dolim) by the end of the episode.  There's a whole species who became extinct before we ever met the Xindi: the Avians. 

The Founders, meanwhile, as shapeshifters sowed distrust within the Federation and Klingon Empire, but they played no active part in the war aside from the Female Founder acting as a kind of general.  The Prophets, however, intervened on the behalf of the Federation.  That's what the Sphere Builders do in "Countdown," suddenly aware that their plans have reached a precarious state.

These are fascinating contrasts.  The momentum "Countdown" represents in the arc, meanwhile, is itself an interesting counterpoint.  Deep Space Nine limited even its serialized storytelling at the beginning of the sixth and end of seventh season to the conventional restraints of episodic and two-part installments.  Story elements keep the situation heightened to a crisis state, but each individual installment tends to stand for itself.  You have to go all the way back to the start of the second season, in an entirely unrelated story, to find material in this series comparable to the three-episode momentum that concludes the Xindi arc: "The Homecoming," "The Circle," and "The Siege," which encompass a Bajoran crisis that eventually sees a military seizure of the station.  Yet it's fair to say that Enterprise has more breathtaking momentum.

criteria analysis:

• franchise - High stakes keep the action going in unprecedented serialized storytelling.
• series - The Xindi have finally splintered completely apart.
• character - Dolim attempts to exploit Hoshi's linguistic skills.  Also, Hayes proves to be the ultimate red shirt.
• essential - This ends up as the template for Enterprise's fourth season storytelling.

notable guest-stars:
Steven Culp (Hayes)
Scott MacDonald (Dolim)
Tucker Smallwood
Rick Worthy

Enterprise 3x17 "Hatchery"

rating: **

the story: Archer becomes overly protective of Xindi-Insectoid eggs.

what it's all about: "Hatchery" is the same kind of episode as "Similitude" before it, but there's a big difference.  Where "Similitude" shown a bright light on characters and character dynamics, "Hatchery" loses itself in its episodic material.  But both are symbolic of the kind of frayed nerves the crew experience during the Xindi conflict.

Once more I must remind viewers that Star Trek for the bulk of its history was episodic rather than serialized in nature, in that episodes were conceived to be self-contained, often with metaphorical value that served the story rather than characters or the overall fictional landscape.  Where Next Generation introduced serialized storytelling, it still favored episodic storytelling even in its efforts to serialize, and even Deep Space Nine spent the bulk of its time in episodic storytelling.  Enterprise chose to do a completely serialized season, but still sought after episodic material for much of it; "Hatchery" is one of the more arc-flavored episodic stories, in that it features the Xindi, when much of the other such material didn't.  It even depicts the Insectoids as ultimately sympathetic, even though just a little later they will be depicted as one of the more aggressive Xindi species.

The bulk of the story rests on the crew mutinying against Archer, who has been chemically induced to obsess over the Insectoid eggs.  However, the character who benefits most from the experience is Hayes, the lead MACO whose primary motivation is following orders.  Despite "Harbinger" showing his progress in integrating with the regular crew, Hayes actually seems to revert here.  Still, it's interesting use of the character, about what you'd expect from a military guy, and it does emphasize the differences continue to exist.

criteria analysis:

• franchise - The increasingly impatient casual viewer ironically has no time for traditional Star Trek storytelling.
• series - The episode's usage of the Xindi-Insectoids is relatively inspired.
• character - Hayes, and the MACOs at large, receives a subtle nod.
• essential - Taking away the episodic gimmick would have improved the story in this instance.

notable guest-stars:
Steven Culp (Hayes)
Daniel Dae Kim

Enterprise 3x15 "Harbinger"

rating: ***

the story: Reed and Hayes butt heads, a mysterious alien appears.

what it's all about: "Harbinger" is very much an episode packed with subplots, connective tissue that moves the season arc along.  Its title implies that there is a major development, and indeed there is: the "mysterious alien" in my brief summary is the first time we see a Sphere-Builder, which means the arc has gotten that much closer to reconciling the spheres with the greater Xindi threat.

That's all well and good, but the more important developments in the short term are character-based.  T'Pol and Trip reach a hiccup in their relationship, as T'Pol realizes she's developing feelings for Trip.  The therapy sessions they've been sharing throughout the season have created a kind of intimacy, but T'Pol was never interested in anything more than that until the events of "Similitude," in which she learns from Trip's short-lived clone that he has feelings for her.  Unaware of this, in the meantime Trip has pursued a romantic relationship with a MACO, which...Okay, this sounds like soap opera material. 

And the Reed/Hayes material seems equally on the nose.  They essentially have developed a professional rivalry, neither quite knowing where their responsibilities end and the other's begins.  This actually leads to a fight!  But franchise fans won't find this quite so cartoonish when they remember Odo always held a grudge anytime Starfleet suggested one of its officers work alongside him to administer station security in Deep Space Nine.  Hayes may never have gotten a chance to expand beyond this moment or his role as a MACO, but this is his biggest spotlight.

Essentially, "Harbinger" is serialized Star Trek in the manner serialized television would come to be known later, even in Discovery.  So it's a harbinger of that, too.

criteria analysis:

• franchise - The importance of events in this episode may elude casual viewers.
• series - But they're important for many elements of the season, and even series.
• character - Trip and T'Pol's evolving relationship breaches the top of romance for the first time.
• essential - The first look at a Sphere-Builder is crucial to the outcome of the whole season.

notable guest-stars:
Steven Culp (Hayes)
Thomas Kopache

Enterprise 3x7 "The Shipment"

rating: ***

the story: Archer finally talks with a Xindi involved in the construction of their doomsday weapon.

what it's all about: "The Shipment" marks a definite shift in the season, between episodes where the crew probed the Expanse looking for answers and finally where they chased after the Xindi themselves.  As such, it's always been a favorite of mine, especially in how it features Archer in the unlikely predicament of having friendly relations with the first significant Xindi he meets. 

But it's actually more significant, in hindsight, as the first real spotlight for Degra, the Xindi scientist tasked with designing the weapon that will obliterate Earth, the follow-up to the attack that set off the arc at the end of the second season ("The Expanse").  Degra would become crucial to the arc; although he made his debut in the season premiere ("The Xindi"), he remained a fairly anonymous figure along with the rest of the Xindi Council in their few appearances before "Shipment."  He would eventually become Archer's most important ally.  As such, "Shipment" amounts to a dry run of his whole arc.

Archer definitely took an emotional rollercoaster ride throughout the season, and sometimes he appeared to go off the rails.  So this is an important moment for him, too, where he passes the Starfleet ideal with flying colors, which given everything else is an important moment to commemorate, to have at all, especially as it is the first time he's confronted with concrete experience with the Xindi.

criteria analysis:

• franchise - Even in Deep Space Nine I always wonder if arc-specific moments translate well with casual viewers, regardless of how well they're executed.
• series - No such compunctions for Enterprise fans.
• character - Our first real look at Degra, who becomes crucial to the whole arc.
• essential - If you ever wanted a single moment in the arc where the good guys looked unabashedly like good guys, here's your chance.

notable guest-stars:
Randy Oglesby (Degra)
Steven Culp (Hayes)

Enterprise 3x1 "The Xindi"

rating: ***

the story: The crew begins its search for the Xindi in a processing plant.

what it's all about: After the big setup at the end of the second season ("The Expanse"), "The Xindi" kicks off the ambitious season-long serialized arc...in a manner that seems like a fairly slow start.  But it's got a ton of stuff it does accomplish, and its unique handling of this kickoff is itself pretty clever.

The biggest thing the episode accomplishes is introducing a host of recurring characters.  One of the things fans loved most about Deep Space Nine was its humungous assortment of recurring characters, who helped make the series feel lived-in.  Voyager never quite attempted to duplicate that, and even Enterprise in its first two seasons used recurring characters somewhat sparingly.  But the third season, at least in the third season, changes that.  Technically the only recurring character introduced in the episode to receive a proper introduction is MACO Major Hayes.  But the Xindi Council, including members who will become much more important as the season progresses (Degra and Dolim), also debuts, and it's this early peak at it that's the episode's best selling point.

Otherwise our crew attempts to make do with scratching for clues.  Some reviews upon its original broadcast remarked that it was downright disappointing to see Archer scramble through a sewer system rather than, y'know, engage the Xindi.  And it is a little disappointing that a season premiere, especially one that kicks off a major arc, has a relatively soft approach.  But it also eventually leads to a killer ending, one of the many mysteries the season will solve: why are the Xindi trying to protect a home planet that was...apparently obliterated years ago?

So in that sense, it's a really clever way to go about the premiere.  The majority of the episode is spent acclimating to new circumstances.  The MACOs are a major addition.  If none of them ultimately spends a lot of time in the spotlight, their presence alone is a key element of the season.  They even end up being featured in the later film Star Trek Beyond!  The concept itself is a fascinating addition to franchise lore, and entirely in keeping with a rougher early Starfleet still operating with spare parts from entities outside of itself (Mayweather and Reed, you'll recall, came from such origins, too).

criteria analysis:

• franchise - Casual viewers will probably end up baffled and underwhelmed.
• series - But Enterprise fans will eat it up.
• character - The incredible wealth of introductions is almost itself worth it.
• essential - Especially in hindsight, as some characters fleetingly seen here become much more important later.

notable guest-stars:
Steven Culp (Hayes)
Randy Oglesby (Degra)
Scott MacDonald (Dolim)
Tucker Smallwood
Rick Worthy
Daniel Dae Kim