Divergence

DVD, Enterprise S4 (Divergence)

I wouldn't say this second part was quite as accomplished in story terms as part one, but the pace was maintained sufficiently to continue the rip-roaring adventure feel. A few things are ironed out and made clear, perhaps that's one reason why it's not quite as fascinating: explanations can lessen the imaginative speculation. I do think it was wise to spell out just why the Klingons lost their ridges, and it's nice that they also made it clear how affected Klingons could be 'cured' later, or why there would be some with and some without ridges. And that it would be a long-lasting, generational problem. It still doesn't explain how all the Klingons were apparently cured by the late 24th Century, since no one then seemed to know of the flathead variety and the Klingons themselves had swept it under the carpet, presumably for shame. We can assume that all were eventually made well, even if it was just cosmetic. I imagine the 'Enterprise' writers could have had great fun with and used this as a well of new stories had the series continued, and I'd have loved to see political shenanigans of castes and foreheads battling it out for supremacy, as, though the Klingons seen here all seemed pretty accepting of what had happened, ordinary Klingons would no doubt have been up in arms - if Antaak's Father found it so dishonourable of him to become a healer when his family was of the warrior caste, just imagine what he'd make of his son losing the stately ridges that were his birthright!

Other things go mostly unsaid, with the Trip/T'Pol situation only hinted at now that Mr. Tucker's properly integrated into the Columbia's crew. We have a useful sequence of events to get him to stay aboard the NX-01 for a bit longer (Kelby must have been wondering whether this guy would ever leave and let him get on with his new job!), but hopefully this means we'll be seeing more of the NX-02 as Hernandez keeps badgering Archer for her Chief Engineer back - wonder how the ship works without one aboard… Something else unexpected for me was that General K'Vagh didn't show disgust at his son's feeble capture - I was half expecting him to blow him away as soon as he walked in the door, but I suppose there was some complexity there between a Father's pride in his son, and in his family honour, I just would have liked the quandary to have been verbalised as it seemed he was just pleased to see the son he'd thought was lost. But there wasn't a lot of time for such discussions with a Klingon force on the way to purge Qu'Vat colony. Dr. Phlox really took charge, and I liked the ethical dilemma he was put in, of executing three to save millions from the plague, though it could have been dealt with slightly better. It might have carried more weight if Antaak had died, or at the very least, Phlox couldn't save the other two participants, and had to confront the fact that he'd killed in order to save the greater number. Instead it all works out a little too neatly with everyone saved, and all jolly good mates.

Something else that was cleared up was Reed's involvement in Section 31, which began when he was an Ensign - he states he hadn't had contact with the organisation since before coming aboard Enterprise and thought his association had ended. They could always have twisted things around if they'd wanted to do a 'frame' story like they did with Bashir where we look back over the series and put together all these seemingly questionable decisions and choices he's made, and that this could actually have been another lie from Reed, and he had done a few things for 31. But we never got past this season, which makes the premature end even more hard to bear with all these promising seeds being planted for the future. You can say that it was partly the series' own fault for not planting enough good seeds in the first couple of seasons, and just coasting along assuming they had all the time in the world, but that's just one of the faults of the series and we have to accept it's one that will never be rectified, as sad as that is. I'm just grateful that we got to see the series return to strength and doing what it should do, playing in the sandbox instead of mostly ignoring it.

I didn't recognise the name of the Director, but I have to give him credit for a strong style that kept things moving nicely, with some inspired shots and a feeling of emotion in the way it was handled. I liked the low down shots in corridors looking up at people as they storm furiously around (mainly Archer), and the final shot of Reed reading on his bed, the camera panning out of the light of his lamp. But it was the magnificent view of the NX-01 and NX-02 racing toward camera, with our viewpoint travelling right into the Columbia's bridge and straight towards the Captain that really impressed. That's the kind of shot that's so much easier to do now that CGI rules the day, and if we had a new series I'm sure we'd get all kinds of inventive views in and out of the ship, but it somehow stands out even more when you consider this was done over a decade ago, and shows they weren't afraid to try new things.

Columbia and Enterprise's first joint mission may have been a little dodgy in the science department, as I'm not sure if it would even hold up theoretically for a tether to be lowered between ships at warp and a person slide along it - surely the cable would be whipped off as soon as it exited the ship? They were going with the theory of the warp bubble being far enough outside the ship's range that everything in it would be travelling at the same speed, I suppose, and it did look good, if a little hard to comprehend. Not that it really mattered, and it was certainly something that stuck in my mind from this season! Something I didn't remember was Archer going Klingon, perhaps because he doesn't go the whole Targ, just gets a little forehead magic (unlike Sisko in 'Apocalypse Rising' and Janeway in 'The Killing Game' who both went the whole Targ yards!), but as usual it's good to see the Captain ready and willing to risk all for the greater good (and having to be held down by a huge Klingon for his own protection!). It was almost 'Star Trek VI' all over again with Starfleet and Klingon forces secretly working together, though this time it was to maintain a peace rather than a cold war.

This was one story point that puzzled me as I couldn't work out why the Klingons would need the help of Harris in the first place? Maybe I missed something, but Harris looked a little weak when Krell double-crossed him. Or was that part of his expectations and plan? He didn't have the charisma or power of Sloan, and it didn't help that in this episode we only ever see him on monitors which adds to the impression of remoteness and lack of power, but I did feel Section 31 was pretty well worked in, and really set up a good conflict for the future now that Reed has resigned from something he can never leave behind. Wayne Grace was good as the haughty Klingon Krell in charge of the purification fleet of three ships. He was another name to add to the roster of returning folks, and like John Schuck, had previously played a Klingon and a Cardassian (in 'TNG' and 'DS9' respectively). According to Memory Alpha the Klingon he played was from a ship called the IKS Qu'Vat, too strong a coincidence not to have been done deliberately, especially as this was written by the Reeves-Stevens who knew their details to the say the least!

There were things in the story that felt a little ignored (I'm not going to start on about the usual members of the main cast, as both Reed and Phlox were integral to this two-parter), such as there being more interaction between Archer and Hernandez who previously made good sparring partners (I wonder if Ada Maris was told or thought if she played her cards right she might get her own spinoff?), or the dialogue in the brig between Reed and captured Klingon Marab never going anywhere. I'm not sure what I expected to happen, but perhaps a little more than did, but at least we got a reference to Kahless! One odd thing that stood out to me was when Reed was being transported by the two MACOs one of them was smiling at Reed's attitude and things he said, while the other looked deadly serious in line with the music, so the guy smiling didn't fit the mood of the scene. Not that it was jarring, but it was noticeable, as if they weren't quite sure how the scene was supposed to be perceived. At the same time it would make sense that some of the MACOs would like Reed as he would be the main liaison between them and the Captain as Chief of Security. I'd have liked a little more shown of what such conflict of interest might be like, perhaps a scene in the MACO barracks where they discuss what's going on. But the MACOs were just the expendable redshirts of the day and never got the development they would have had if this was 'DS9.' In spite of minor details like this these made for a cracking two-parter, a fitting final Klingon story.

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