monkee reviews 'Breaking the Ice'
First Impression: Not much of a plot, but LOTS of nice character development!
Vulcan Marriage Traditions: Okay, I'm confused. I had the impression that most Vulcan marriages, although arranged in childhood, are made official when the male goes into pon farr. That is, after all, the way it happened with both Spock and Tuvok. "The ancient drives are too strong," Spock told Kirk. "Eventually, they catch up with us, and we are driven by forces we can't control to return home and take a wife...or die." But now we learn that pon farr is, in fact, not necessary – that the marriage can take place at a pre-arranged time, and be postponed, or broken off (?) at will. We also learn that it's traditional for the couple to live together for one Vulcan year at the outset. Was Koss, T'Pol's fiancé, in pon farr? If so, then clearly T'Pol couldn't simply postpone the wedding. If not, are they still betrothed?
For now, I'll reserve judgement on this aspect of the episode, because it doesn't necessarily contradict what we've learned before. Maybe marriage ceremonies usually take place before pon farr, and Spock and Tuvok just waited until the last minute. I hope so, because although I'm not going to be a complete stickler for continuity, there are certain episodes I don't want messed with, and 'Amok Time' is one of them! I do look forward to hearing more about this, because although we know a lot about the sexuality of Vulcan males, we still know very little about the women.
The Dinner Party from Hell: Ooooo-kay, THAT went well! Archer, who has a bordering-on-irrational resentment of Vulcans to begin with, invites Captain Vanik over to Enterprise for dinner. Unfortunately, Vanik turns out to be the most condescending Vulcan we've seen yet. Heck, he makes T'Pol look warm and cuddly! There's nothing more awkward than having to sit and watch two people push every single one of each other's buttons. I felt sorry for both Tucker and T'Pol!
There's got to be something bigger going on with the Vulcans of this era than meets the eye, because otherwise I can't see why humans warrant so much of their attention. I smell something interesting here, and it's not a dusty Vulcan, or an odiferous Klingon, or even a space pup. It's a story arc – it just has to be! Yippee!
Friendship and Pecan Pie: The T'Pol and Tucker interactions, nicely framed by the two pecan pie scenes, were my favorite part of this episode. This could turn out to be the show's best human - Vulcan friendship, because I think Archer just has too much baggage to ever truly befriend T'Pol. I appreciate Tucker's efforts to understand her, and to make her understand humans. I liked his sincere guilt when he realized that the message he intercepted and decoded was not a fiendish plot, but something painfully personal. Their conversation in her quarters was especially interesting because their traditional roles were reversed. He was offering her perfectly logical suggestions (Typical guy...Vulcans are from Mars, humans are from Venus. No, wait...), while she had to defend her culture's most illogical traditions. "Our commitment to tradition outweighs personal choice," she tells him. This, at least, is consistent with the Vulcans we know from the other series.
Message to Worley Elementary: How am I ever going to give this show a bad review when they keep throwing stuff like this in? I grinned like a fourth-grader myself through this entire scene! Archer and his senior staff do a serviceable job of answering the kid's questions, even the inevitable 'poop' question (poor Trip...) The best thing is that these are all things we've sort of wondered about ourselves! Let's face it – what's important here? Food, dating, poop, talking to aliens and germs, right? I like to think that this scene was a tribute, of sorts, to Challenger's Christa McAuliffe. Nicely done.
Kid Art: Phew. Close call for T'Pol in this episode. If she had dissed the fourth-grader's art, I'd have hated her forever. Children's artwork is near and dear to my heart – my kitchen walls are covered with it! But she didn't. "This rendering is crude, but surprisingly accurate." High praise, from a Vulcan!
Archer's Comet: There wasn't much to this story line, but I enjoyed it anyway. The special effects were impressive, and it was just fun to see human beings tromping around on a comet. Mayweather and Reed's enthusiasm as they stepped out of the shuttle onto the ice reminded me of the glory days of the Apollo program. I also felt their frustration. The Apollo moon-walkers have often mentioned, in their writings, that they barely had time to look around on the moon, because they had to stick to a rigid timeline. Of course, they weren't building SNOWMEN up there, either, but I'll go easy on Mayweather. After all, the snow was as much of a novelty to him as the comet was.
And I'm with Reed. The Vulcan ears were a nice touch.
Archer Watch: Archer's got a serious problem. The Vulcans are his big blind spot. He is SO hostile towards them that it's affecting his judgement. Mayweather and Reed could have died because of his stubborn attempt to prove to the Vulcans that he didn't need their help, when, in fact, he did. Only T'Pol's adept handling of her Captain ("Vanik expects you to refuse his offer. Why not prove him wrong?") salvages the situation, especially when even Tucker concurs. It's okay for him to have a serious problem, though – all the great Captains have a blind spot or two – as long as he works through it. I think he will.
I just want to mention that there was also some nice, subtle acting with the bridge crew in the rescue scene. Sato, Tucker, and the incidental players all followed Archer's orders, but you could see, in their little glances, that they knew he was wrong. Well done.
'Shipper Watch: Yowza! Tucker and T'Pol were just dripping chemistry this week! See how much more meaningful a heartfelt bonding scene is than that out-of-place, shallow decon chamber nonsense? I like the potential friendship between these two, but I have to admit that I'd pay close attention to anything more that might develop. Sigh. And I swore I wouldn't do this...I made a solemn vow not to get interesting in another Trek pairing ever again, as long as I lived. What's to become of me? I'm hopeless!
Oh, and in the interest of IDIC, I should also point out that Reed/Mayweather is a possibility. I think they're being set up to be this series' male-bonding buddies, but it would sure be a daring decision to go the other way with them. Probably won't happen, though. I do wish Trek would just bite the bullet and give us a homosexual character. It's past time.
Best Lines:
"Somebody told me that chef made a pecan pie, and suddenly my life brightened." (Tucker, to T'Pol)
"A poop question, Sir?" (Tucker, plaintively, to Archer)
"So tell me, who's the sculptor?" (Archer, to Reed and Mayweather)
"Just help me make him go away." (Archer, to T'Pol, regarding Vanik)
"Humans have never held much interest to me." (Vanik, the rudest Vulcan in the known universe, to Archer)
"Well, where did the time go?" (Archer, rhetorically, to Vanik)
"Are you going to give me advice, or insult my people's tradition?" (T'Pol, to Tucker)
"I hope I never see snow again." (Mayweather, to Reed)
"You can save them, or you can let your pride stand in the way. You are human. You are free to chose." (T'Pol, to Archer)
And last, but not least, "Shanshot tulara komosh." (Vanik, to T'Pol) What does it MEAN? Keep up the good work? You're starting to smell like them? T'Pol, you ignorant slut? Come on – inquiring minds want to know!
Rating: I've got to go with a 9/10 again! We got a nice, in-depth look at the big three, and there were other nice little touches throughout the episode. More, please!
Next Week: Ah, it's time for Archer's first alien-babe-of-the-week episode. Let's see if Bakula can do romance as well as he does angst and humor.
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