monkee reviews 'Kir'Shara'
First Impression: The ending was rushed, and T'Pau lost too much of her nice edge. The arc as a whole, however, was an ambitious undertaking. I think it mostly succeeded.
I came away feeling disappointed after 'Kir'Shara,' but not nearly as disappointed as I felt after the Soong arc. The Vulcan arc was outstanding, and it's not so much that they ruined it at the end - they just glossed over too much. We had this intense, focused trilogy that ended with 'So then blah blah blah and Vulcan culture was forever changed and they all lived happily ever after...' I felt dazed, and a bit cheated. But that doesn't change the fact that the majority of the arc was a real Trek treat.
But let's begin...
The Quest: Archer, accompanied by T'Pau and T'Pol and still in possession of Surak's katra, begins a quest to bring the Kir'Shara to the High Command. T'Pau says that the Kir'Shara is the only surviving record of Surak's actual writings. She believes that it will have an enormous impact on both the Council and Vulcan society. T'Pol is still skeptical, and she is concerned about Archer's physical and mental condition. He is adamant, though. "I'm not possessed and I'm not delusional," he tells her. "There are forces at work on your world right now trying to undo everything Surak taught your people. If we fail, Vulcan will be consumed by them."
Tripping the Fine Line: Meanwhile, back on Enterprise, Trip gets a taste of the burden of command. Even his own right-hand man, Reed, thinks he should stay out of the Vulcan/Andorian conflict. Soval is certain that Trip is doing what Archer would do, and Trip agrees. They opt to contact the one Andorian they think will hear them out. Soval knows exactly what nebula to hail in order to reach him. It seems, though, that they may have been mistaken about the 'hearing them out' part. Shran refuses to believe that Vulcan is planning an invasion. Andorian intelligence hasn't indicated any such thing. He thinks Soval is setting them up. He's both skeptical and furious, for if Soval's claims ARE true, it means war. "Do you have any idea what will happen when the Imperial Guard retaliates?" he shouts at Soval. "It will be a disaster for both our people!" Trip is right in the middle of the conflict, but tells Shran, for what it's worth, that he wouldn't be risking his own ship and career if he didn't believe Soval.
T'Pol and T'Pau: T'Pau snaps at T'Pol, then apologizes for her lack of control. The death of her mother has affected her more than she thought. T'Pau offers to share T'Pel's thoughts with T'Pol through a mindmeld, but T'Pol says she cannot because she has Panar Syndrome. T'Pau says that the High Command has perpetuated a lie about Panar Syndrome. It's caused when someone who isn't properly trained performs a meld, but an experienced melder can correct the imbalance. T'Pol allows T'Pau to do this for her.
T'Pau. T'Pel. T'Pol. Say THAT nine times fast! I hope I got them all straight!
For the record, I really LOVED this scene. Two strong Vulcan women having a logical, intelligent conversation. Both actresses did a fabulous job with the meld, too. If you watch T'Pol's eyes at the moment of mind contact, you'll see them focus suddenly on T'Pau as they both say 'Our minds are one.' Cool.
Vulcan Agenda: V'Las convinces the Council that, despite the lack of hard evidence, the Andorians have Xindi technology and Vulcan should proceed with the planned invasion. The Council agrees, but warily, and when their intelligence reveals that Archer escaped the attack on the Sanctuary and has what is believed to be the Kir'Shara, Minister Kuvac balks. If Archer does have the Kir'Shara, it will need to be analyzed. V'Las dismisses the claims, saying that the Kir'Shara does not exist. He accuses Kuvac of listening to Syrannite propaganda. It is a clear warning - he thinks Kuvac is out of line. When Kuvac leaves the room, V'Las tells a faithful sub-commander to order the eradication of the remaining 'radical insurgents,' including Archer.
Shran's Plan: Shran secretly beams Soval off Enterprise. He has to know the truth. "You didn't expect the Imperial Guard to mobilize its entire fleet based on the word of one loyal Vulcan diplomat?" he spits at Soval. Soval isn't even all that surprised, and calmly points out that torture will be ineffective, as he can suppress pain. Ah, but the device Shran intends to use doesn't cause pain. It uses a neurosynaptic field to lower the emotional threshold. Vulcans have been broken by the device, and indeed, Soval is soon in anguish as Shran interrogates him. He wants to know where the Vulcan fleet REALLY is.
Soval wonders why Shran doesn't trust him after the difficult but successful negotiations from two years earlier (in 'Cease Fire'). Shran says that those negotiations are the very reason he doesn't trust Soval. "You would never betray your people!" Shran says. "I'm trying to SAVE them!" Soval shouts back. Soval doesn't waver from his position, and even taunts Shran from time to time. "Have you imagined having me in this chair many times?" he asks. "You're afraid to injure me. If I were you, I'd leave that out of my report to the General."
Shran = Fool? At one point, Soval tells Shran a story about a Vulcan officer, long ago, who ignored a threat, and whose name, Nurak, meant 'fool' in Vulcan from then on. Soval says that the word 'Shran' will come to mean 'fool' in Andorian. Eventually, when Enterprise discovers Soval is missing and comes looking for him, Shran decides Soval is telling the truth after all and releases him. "A lesser man would have told me what I wanted to hear, even if it wasn't true," Shran tells Trip.
The Andorian Way: These scenes between Shran and Soval were extremely disturbing - both actors are top-notch, and not only could I feel Soval's mental anguish, I could feel Shran's pain, too. He really didn't want to be doing what he was doing. I hated watching it, and even though I could understand his skepticism, it went on a bit too long for my tastes. Still, if you look at it from a strictly practical and Andorian point of view, there was an awful lot at stake. I suppose human sensibilities shouldn't guide alien behavior on Star Trek. Andorians are supposed to be violent and mercurial. Certainly, Soval didn't seem surprised by any of it. Interesting.
Lirpa Action! The holidays are approaching, and what says 'love and joy' better than a good butt-kicking lirpa battle? The High Command has sent soldiers, led by Major Tomak, to intercept Archer, T'Pau and T'Pol. When the trio refuses to come quietly, the soldiers attack with lirpa. Butt kicking ensues, with Archer, T'Pau and T'Pol holding their own for a while. It was nice to see T'Pol, supposedly a Vulcan martial arts expert, get in a few solid kicks. They are badly outnumbered, though, and T'Pol goes down. Archer and T'Pau are separated from her when T'Pau shoves Archer down a tunnel leading into more caves. Archer is angry with her for leaving T'Pol behind, but her priority is to save the Kir'Shara.
T'Pol's Bluff: When T'Pol regains consciousness, Tomak demands to know where the other two are taking the Kir'Shara. Without batting an eye, T'Pol says they're taking it to Mt. Seleya to be translated. Tomak is skeptical, but T'Pol says, "I am a Syrannite. We don't lie." The beauty of that statement is that Syrannite's don't lie, but she isn't really a Syrannite, now, is she? Hehe. Tomak believes the company line that Syrannites were responsible for the bombing of the embassy. Tomak lost two men in the bombing, and claims that he is only sparing T'Pol's life because he used to serve under her. "You have been misled," she tells him. "Syrannites are peaceful."
T'Pau and Archer find tracks indicating that the soldiers and T'Pol are moving away from the city. Archer insists on following them, and doesn't care how illogical T'Pau thinks it is. With no choice but to humor the illogical human holding the katra and the Kir'Shara, T'Pau helps him by luring the other soldiers away from Tomak. Archer holds a lirpa to his throat, and Tomak reveals that T'Pol has been brought before the High Command. Archer administers the ol' Vulcan nerve pinch for the second time in the episode, and T'Pau admits that his technique is improving.
Something to Ponder: How come Archer can do the neck pinch when McCoy, a physician, could not? In 'The Search for Spock,' when McCoy was carrying Spock's katra, he tried to neck pinch a security guard and was vexed when he couldn't, remember? It was an amusing moment. Poor Bones - I'll bet he wished he could have done it just once!
But I digress. T'Pau and Archer are left with their original problem. How can they get the Kir'Shara to the High Command (and rescue T'Pol in the process)? Archer says he knows someone who might be able to provide transporter codes...
Showdown in Space: Half a dozen Andorian vessels race to intercept the Vulcan fleet. Per Shran's request, Enterprise joins them. They're hoping that the unexpected resistance will force the High Command to stop supporting V'Las. They are outnumbered, however, and Andorian reinforcements won't arrive before the Vulcan fleet does. Trip puts the Enterprise directly between the two fleets. "If the Vulcans want to start a war," he says, "they're going to have to go through us first." When the shooting begins, Enterprise is caught in the crossfire, and damaged. Shran gets them out of one fix, but then things get crazy and it's every ship for itself.
Special effects are not my thing, but I did notice that the space battle was impressive. And I've always liked the Vulcan ships with the rings around them. This episode almost made me want to buy one of those new Hallmark ornaments, but I have too many Trek ornaments on my tree already.
But I don't think I could resist if they came out with a lirpa ornament. Perhaps one with candy cane stripes - after all; nothing says 'love and joy' like a lirpa!
Oops. I'm digressing again.
High Noon at the High Command: Minister Kuvac is becoming increasingly disillusioned with V'Las, who had promised that the strike would be a surprise, with minimal losses on both sides. In addition, now that Andorian ships are within sensor range, they can see that they are armed with standard weaponry - there is no evidence of any Xindi technology. Kuvac takes a stand against V'Las, but V'Las orders his sub-commander to guard him, threatening to arrest him if he interferes in any way. When Archer and T'Pau enter the room, Kuvac uses the distraction to disarm the sub-commander and turn the tables on V'Las. V'Las argues with Archer and T'Pau, and tries to convince everyone that the Syrannites are using holographic trickery to spread their 'deviant beliefs,' but when Archer activates the Kir'Shara, it begins projecting writings all over the walls of the circular room. Stunned, everyone looks at them with reverence.
This was an impressive, dramatic moment - the sort you might find in a good movie. As nice as it was, though, it didn't justify the rapid story resolutions that followed. They made my head spin!
First: Kuvac orders the Vulcan fleet to stand down, saving Enterprise from imminent destruction. This is a fairly common dramatic device - the ship's shields are down and one more hit will finish them, yada, yada, and suddenly the attack halts - but it does get old sometimes.
Second: T'Pol's marriage vanishes - POOF - just like that! It turns out that Koss is the one Archer got the transporter codes from. "The Captain told me you were in danger," he tells T'Pol. "I wouldn't have been a very good husband if I didn't try to help." He releases her from their bond, because he knows she only agreed to it for her mother's sake, and her mother is gone now.
I'll admit that I didn't see THIS coming. And what a pity - just when we learn that Koss is a really great guy, he's gone! I think even T'Pol was a little sorry to see him walk away. I like Trip and T'Pol together, but...gosh! I would actually like to see Koss return!
Third: Poof! Surak's katra is removed from Archer's head. Poof! T'Pau turns warm, fuzzy and friendly. Poof! Vulcan society is back on the right path. Poof! The High Command is dissolved and will no longer interfere in human development. My goodness! That's a whole lot of resolution for a scene that lasted only a minute or two! But that's what it amounts to. T'Pau says that word of the discovery of the Kir'Shara is spreading. It will take years to translate the writings, but she is confident that everything will turn out as she hoped. Kuvac has taken over the Council, and V'Las' role in events is under investigation. "The people of Vulcan are in your debt," Kuvac tells Archer. "Peace and long life."
Aww. That's nice. But that's not all.
Fourth: And this is the best one. Ready? Here it comes...
ALIEN NAZIS!!!!!!!
Yippee! Soon we'll have Carmine back, spouting lines like "Whadda we goin' afta next, the Loch Ness MONSTA?" Wheeeeee!
Okay, not really. But it was this arc's version of alien Nazis. Somewhere on Vulcan, in the shadows, V'Las meets with someone. They blame each other for the failure of the mission. It's...a ROMULAN! The Romulan is going to leave Vulcan now, but he tells V'Las that this is only a delay. The reunification of their people is only a matter of time.
And so the Vulcan arc comes to an end. Despite the rushed ending, I have to say that I liked it a whole lot. It explains the snotty behavior of the Vulcans in this series - it was an aberration caused by poor leadership, and factions with their own agendas. It could happen to any one, really. With the guidance of the Kir'Shara, the Vulcans are on their way to finding their TOS destiny. I enjoyed the scenery in all of the Vulcan episodes - it certainly is a beautiful planet. And I liked the back-story on Surak and Vulcan history. And I loved the lirpas!
A Moment of Pause: The end of the temporal arc, A return to the Eugenics Wars, Vulcan history, and now the Romulans - I love it! The show is finally taking advantage of its prequel status to do some truly cool things! So why do I feel uneasy and vaguely sad? To me, it feels like they're tying up loose ends and taking care of business, just in case this season is Enterprise's last. And I don't WANT it to be the last season. Not now! Not when they've finally figured it all out! Let's hope I'm just being uncharacteristically pessimistic.
Character Interactions: Soval and Shran's scenes, as painful as they were to watch, stood out in a big way this week. It was a privilege to see these two strong and skilled actors work together. And they tied it back to scenes the two had done before. Nicely done! Archer had some very nice moments with both T'Pau and T'Pol. It was interesting to watch Archer and T'Pau learn to respect, or at least tolerate, each other. I was a little sorry to see T'Pau lose her edge at the end of the episode. I'm having a difficult time now picturing her as the gruff T'Pau in 'Amok Time.'
I also liked Archer's suggestion to T'Pol that she learn more about the Syrannites simply because it was important to her mother. I really wish we could have seen one scene between Archer and T'Pol in which they discussed the 'emotional' aftermath of T'Pel's death. They skirted around it, but I wanted something more definitive. The two of them are close friends at this point. It would have made sense for Archer to reach out to her at this time. I'm going to have to assume that he did it off screen.
Archer Watch: Hosting Surak's katra did Archer some good. Now, as I had hoped, he understands Vulcans on a deeper level. He was outstanding this week - doing all the right things. It doesn't even matter if it was his mind or Surak's making the decisions. They were all sound ones.
Trip Watch: Once again, Trip was in command of the ship and did an exceptional job. Even over the objections of his colleagues, he did all the right things, and he walked the thin line between the Andorians and the Vulcans with caution. He kept his eye on the big picture. You go, Trip Tucker! 'Captain Tucker' has kind of a nice ring to it.
Mayweather Watch: He didn't do much more than pilot the ship this week. But he did that well!
'shipper Watch: Is it too late for me to become a T'Pol/Koss fan? Darn it all, just when I started to really like him...ah, well. The dissolution of their marriage paves the way for Trip and T'Pol to pick up where they left off, but I suspect they won't right away. If they get involved again, I think they'll be doing it more thoughtfully and deliberately. Could be interesting.
Best Lines:
"With all due respect, sir. I don't think we should get involved." "We're already involved." (Reed and Trip, regarding the Andorian-Vulcan conflict)
"You think I've lost my mind?" "I'm not certain your mind is the one making these decisions." (Archer and T'Pol)
"Your people are so used to lying, you don't even tell the truth to each other!" (Shran, to Soval)
"I've seen Vulcans who were broken by this device. They were never the same again. I have no desire to see that happen to you. WHERE IS YOUR FLEET?" (Shran, to Soval)
"The atmosphere is thinner than you're used to. If you don't stop soon, you'll collapse." "If you need a break, T'Pol, you should say so." (T'Pol and Archer. Hee.)
"Something's amusing?" "Of all the people who could have carried this katra..." (T'Pol and Archer)
"My whole life, I've never really understood Vulcans - why they work so hard to suppress their emotions. Now it all seems to make sense. Next thing you know, I'll be taking up meditation." (Archer, to T'Pol)
"I was a fool to think you'd listen. Perhaps the High Command is right. We'll be better off when Andoria falls." (Soval, to Shran)
"I'm going to find my science officer, and I don't want to hear any lectures about the needs of the many. I get enough of that crap from...from T'Pol." (Archer, to T'Pau)
"How is he?" "You've got a lot of nerve pretending to give a damn!" (Shran and Trip, regarding Soval)
"There's been too much suspicion. Too many lies - on both sides." (Shran, to Trip)
"Tell Archer that's TWO he owes me!" (Shran, after getting Trip and Enterprise out of a jam)
"The Kir'Shara will show us our true path." "They'd kill us all if they had the chance! It must be destroyed!" (T'Pau and V'Las, to the Council)
"You don't have to do this." "I know." "Koss..." "Goodbye, T'Pol." (T'Pol and Koss. Sniff.)
"You'll no longer have us standing over your shoulder. It's time for Earth to stand on its own." "We're ready." (T'Pau and Archer)
Rating: 9/10. The ending was too rushed, but I loved the arc as a whole.
Next Week: No more new episodes until mid-January. I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday season. See you in 2006!(Editor's note. 2005. I meant 2005. I'm getting a little ahead of myself, here. Of course, I hope to see you in 2006, too, though.)
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