Star Trek: Enterprise Episode Review
Season 1, Episode 7
A well-meaning sightseeing trip to a Vulcan monastery is interrupted when Andorian soldiers attack.
"The Andorian Incident" is memorable more for the promise it makes than the strength of its content. It serves as something of a mission statement for where Enterprise wants to go. Far more compelling than the teased Temporal Cold War story is the promise of this series depicting the formation of the Federation itself. The most obvious signpost is the presence of the Andorians, an iconic Star Trek alien relegated almost entirely to background appearances after The Original Series due to Berman's arbitrary insistence on "no antennae" for alien designs. Ironically, the mobile antennae are the best part of their design here, a brilliant piece of practical effects work with motions that accentuate Jeffrey Combs' intense performance as the Andorian leader Shran at key moments.
Star Trek fandom enshrined Andorians as founders of the Federation, along with humans, Vulcans, and the as-yet unseen Tellarites. "The Andorian Incident" shrewdly creates a conflict between the Andorians and Vulcans and drops humanity in the middle of it. It may seem like typical alien bickering on the surface, but to series fans, this sows the seeds of a story about how these three species learn to see past their enmity and mature to create that diverse future. This is the perfect direction to take a Star Trek prequel, and seeing Archer help these aliens overcome their emnity is an exciting prospect.
I appreciate Archer's lighter attitude towards the Vulcans in the beginning of this episode -- the steps he takes to create some cultural understanding with the Vulcans and the genuine interest he has in the P'Jem monastery are endearing and a welcome change from his racist tendencies in other early Enterprise episodes. I also like the conversation between our outsider characters T'Pol and Phlox, where the latter praises the Vulcan ideology of diversity. In light of the episode's ending, their conversation smartly points out the hypocrisy in Enterprise's Vulcans: their distrust and xenophobic pride are at odds with their core principles. This is not a mistake or sloppy characterization. Rather, it provides another signpost, a nod to the audience that the Vulcans will need to mature just as much as the humans do.
The episode's twist ending is a jaw-dropper that makes one reconsider the entire political backdrop of Enterprise's setting. After many episodes of being told the Vulcans aren't trustworthy, we finally see it here. This excellent show-don't-tell example is a defining moment for the Vulcans in Enterprise. Unfortunately, the rest of the plot isn't as interesting. There are some tense sequences -- I particularly like the quiet "something's not right here" ambush in the first act -- but overall this is a very straightforward hostage plot that is stretched thin with repetitive scenes of Archer being beaten up, Trip goofing around in the cave set, and an Andorian soldier being a pervert to T'Pol. For a hostage story, it fails to generate much tension, only really coming alive when Combs' dynamic Shran is onscreen. The episode has a strong in-universe hook and a whopper of a twist ending, but not quite enough meat on its bones.
Rating: 3
