4x08 Awakening (2)

[7.3/10] Let’s talk about Enterprise’s villain problem. From the Reptilian Xindi, to Malik, to now, the Vulcan Administrator, the Big Bads in the show’s major arcs have all been plainly, obviously, capital-E Evil. There’s nothing wrong with the occasional over-the-top bad guy, but when the antagonists are always mustache-twirling, irredeemable, bad for the sake of badness Snidely Whiplash wannabes, the story tends to lack depth and the conflict feels rote. Star Trek has had its share of villains, but the most memorable ones want something understandable, and have principles and motivations and self-justifications that make them comprehensible rather than just cackling baddies who have to be defeated.

Case-in-point, the fact that the Administrator of the Vulcan High Command is clearly super villainous takes a lot of the oomph out of this episode. It becomes obvious from the opening scene that he is not a moral actor and just wants to get rid of anything that stands in his way. That turns a potentially complex situation involving different Vulcan factions with different ideals and goals into a lame good vs. evil set up. Gone is the political intrigue and balance between stable government and idealistic reformers, and its place is a corrupt leader and his cronies against the good guys.

That in and of itself weakens the proceedings in this arc, but it also weakens things with T’Pol’s storyline. The show wants to explore the strife between T’Pol and her mother, much of which is centered on the backstory we saw in “Home”, but much of which also stems from the fact that T”Pol believes her mom is a part of a violent extremist cult. The disconnect here, their brief, deepening estrangement, is supposed to be exacerbated by T’Pol’s belief that her mother has gone off the deep end, is revolting against the duly chosen government, and has placed her faith in myths.

The problem is that the audience knows that (1.) the Syrrannites have been framed (2.) that the Vulcan leaders (or at least, leader) really have turned their backs on the ways of Surak, and (3.) thanks to Archer’s little dream sequences, that these aren’t fairytales, but rather a genuine connection to the founder of modern Vulcan thought. The lack of mystery of ambiguity or any gray area whatsoever in these setups makes T’Pol’s disappointment in her mother lack weight, because we know it’s ultimately ill-founded.

Putting the best face on that, maybe the show just wants to make T’Les’s death at the end of the episode that much more tragic, because the mother and daughter are on bad terms for no reason. I don’t want to take away the possibility that Enterprise is trying to use that dramatic irony for purposes of tragedy, and the scenes between T’Pol and her mother are definitely the best in the episode. It just feels like their disagreement is founded on something false, rather than differing interpretations of something real, which makes it the dramatic equivalent of a wacky sitcom misunderstanding, and inevitably weakens the force of an otherwise compelling family conflict.

I’m also not especially invested in the fact that Archer has Surak’s katra now. If you’ve read any of my prior write-ups, you probably know that I get tired of Archer being the specialest most bestest captain in the world. The fact that he is not merely the last resort for a dying Vulcan to transfer the consciousness of their central figure, but rather the one chosen by the paragon of Vulcanhood to lead or at least guide his people into a new age is just one big eye-roll for me.

Still, I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t something cool for me as a Trek fan about getting to see Surak (and not just a rock monster’s representation of him) at the dawn of the Vulcan awakening, giving vaguely-worded advice to help guide the present generation. The spiritual side of Vulcan culture has always been a cool feature of Star Trek, and while this episode indulges in some fan service, getting to see the wizened leader himself and mind melds, and other important cultural rituals take place is roundly enjoyable for a longtime fan like yours truly.

Were that the same could be said for the standoff between Trip and the Vulcan Administrator. The show tries to add stakes to all of this, both by having an abbreviated dogfight between the Enterprise and a Vulcan attack force, and by having the Vulcan High Command bomb the Syrriannite camp where Archer and T’Pol are holed up. But given that this is a plainly middle installment in the arc, both feels interstitial and like false jeopardy. Yes, we lose T’Pol’s mom in the blast, which is not nothing, but the death of a character we’ve only met once before doesn't do much to elevate this one beyond a sense of treading water until the conclusion.

Granted, the interjection of the Andorians does do something significant to boost my interest in the finale. We still don’t really know why the Administrator is so against the Syrrannites, or so interested in war against the Andorians. (Maybe he’s secretly a Romulan or something?) But either way, the prospect of Shran and his cohort getting involved in this already fraught interstellar incident can only increase my appetite for what comes next.

Still, when the ultimate bad guy just seems craven and cruel without purpose or motivation, it brings down everything else. “Awakening” delivers some solid material between T’Pol and her mother, has the excitement of the outer space equivalent of an international incident, and introduces an intriguing Vulcan rebel leader in the form of T’Pau. It even gives us a rare glimpse of Trip in the captain’s chair, and he’s far more compelling in that slot than Archer is. But when the man they’re all working against is the governmental equivalent of a snarling villain, it’s a drag on all the other good work that Enterprise tries to do here, weakening its critique of the Vulcan leadership and its real life analogues, and making the character stories weaker by association.