[5.4/10] Sometimes you have to find your Star Trek-related joys around the margins. Having Scott Bakula portray the steely, determined commander has never been Enterprise’s strong suit. Having him become romantically entangled with the latest love interest of the week, or any romance at all for him, has not been its strong suit. This episode is full of both, which means that the good parts come in those blessed few scenes when neither Archer, nor the titular Rajiin, are on screen.
This episode is basically a watered down version of “Dear Mrs. Reynolds” from Firefly. Archer and company go down to a local market to buy the formula for Trillium-B, and in the process, come across a bewitching sex worker. Archer goes all Pretty Woman, taking her on the ship as a refugee when she wants to get away so that he can save her. She wanders around, using her super-seduction powers to subdue everyone she runs into, until the crew catches on that she’s a double agent for the Xindi, albeit one who may be coerced.
The upshot of all of this is that much of the episode focuses on Archer’s interactions with Rajiin. That’s most annoying when she plays coy, because Archer is clearly enamored of her, but trying to maintain the dignity of his station, leading to lots of awkward looks and indicating from Bakula. At the same time, actress Nikita Ager does a pretty pitiful Betty Boop/Marilyn Monroe routine through most of this, playing shy and coquettish in a broad, cheesy way.
But then the charms come on, and we’re subjected to scene after scene of Rajiin plying her wiles on anyone and everyone she comes across. Naturally, this is an excuse for the show to put her in any number of barely-there costumes and up the steam factor wherever possible. I’m no prude, and can enjoy a bit of televised passion as much as anyone, but this feels like a transparently exploitative stunt. It’s particularly galling when it leads to what amounts to another unfortunate bit of sexual assault being visited upon T’Pol. (Seriously, why is this show so interested in going back to that well over and over again?)
Contrast that with the opening scene between T’Pol and Trip. The show goes nowhere near as gratuitous with it, but there’s a familiarity and intimacy between the two of them that makes the simple act of a neck massage sexier than all the candle-lit rooms and cavorting astro babes that Enterprise can muster. I also love the fact that Trip is a little anxious about people gossiping and getting the wrong idea about their sessions, but T’Pol basically saying that it’s none of the crew’s business and the two of them shouldn’t care. There’s a maturity to T’Pol that’s always been admirable, and it’s endearing seeing Trip be reassured by it.
I also like the continuing subplot of the Enterprise, chiefly Trip and T’Pol, aiming to make Trillium-B so that they can insulate the ship from the various anomalies in the Delphic Expanse. I have to admit, the Delphic Expanse has been surprisingly tame so far given how it was hyped up, but I appreciate that our heroes still have to at least take steps to protect themselves within it. And again, as good romantic chemistry as Trip and T’Pol have, they also just have good on-screen chemistry generally, making their working out a problem together engaging independent of the other business going on.
The other strong points that “Rajiin” can boast are its little bit of worldbuilding before we lurch into the plot, and an actual confrontation with the Xindi. As to the former, it’s neat to see Archer, Trip, and Reed rumbling around an alien marketplace. There’s a bit of exoticism going on that’s mildly uncomfortable, but for the most part, it’s just interesting to see them roaming around somewhere they’re clearly out of place and having to adjust and barter and deal with aliens who aren’t sporting the usual familiar forehead prosthesis. It adds little to the plot, but the alien chemist going gaga for black pepper helps add a sense of place to this region of space, and is, frankly, just plain fun.
The same is true for the Xindi assault on Enterprise. As I mentioned in my write-up in the last episode, while this show still doesn't feel equipped to do “dark post-9/11 allegory”, it is pretty good at action sequences this season. While Archer’s fight with the alien pimp in the first act is laughable, the final act’s skirmishes with the Xindi boarding party is much more exciting. There’s a borg-like quality to the Reptilian Xinidi, with the way they make an essentially unstoppable march through the ship to retrieve Rajiin giving them some legitimate menace and proving that humans aren’t the only species with space marines. Some of their schtick is cheesy -- like the animated dark throwing goop -- but on the whole, they’re scary enough to pass muster.
Unfortunately, before their arrival we just get more tedious Archer/Rajiin banter, and after we get more of the council of ridiculous looking aliens discussing their evil plan. Archer’s attempts at hard-nosed interrogation always come off more comic than dramatic, and the show’s efforts to cast Rajiin as a victim of circumstance in her own right are equally floundering given the similar limitations of the performer.
Eventually, however, we learn that Rajiin’s purpose was to scan the humans, so that the alliance of Reptilian/Bug-like Xindi can work on a biological weapon, which the primate/human Xindi oppose and want to stick with their original plan to use some other crazy sort of weapon. And the porpoise Xindi are, halfway in between, I guess? The show is trying to go for a continuing threat, and mostly comes off as ridiculous with the usual villain sneers and declarations, but it at least adds some information and complexity to their plot, which is something.
Sometimes, that’s all you get with Enterprise. When the main course is nothing to write home about, you have to sate yourself on the side dishes, and at least those, or their T.V. equivalents in “Raijin”, are worth digging into.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2019-07-20T21:37:27Z
[5.4/10] Sometimes you have to find your Star Trek-related joys around the margins. Having Scott Bakula portray the steely, determined commander has never been Enterprise’s strong suit. Having him become romantically entangled with the latest love interest of the week, or any romance at all for him, has not been its strong suit. This episode is full of both, which means that the good parts come in those blessed few scenes when neither Archer, nor the titular Rajiin, are on screen.
This episode is basically a watered down version of “Dear Mrs. Reynolds” from Firefly. Archer and company go down to a local market to buy the formula for Trillium-B, and in the process, come across a bewitching sex worker. Archer goes all Pretty Woman, taking her on the ship as a refugee when she wants to get away so that he can save her. She wanders around, using her super-seduction powers to subdue everyone she runs into, until the crew catches on that she’s a double agent for the Xindi, albeit one who may be coerced.
The upshot of all of this is that much of the episode focuses on Archer’s interactions with Rajiin. That’s most annoying when she plays coy, because Archer is clearly enamored of her, but trying to maintain the dignity of his station, leading to lots of awkward looks and indicating from Bakula. At the same time, actress Nikita Ager does a pretty pitiful Betty Boop/Marilyn Monroe routine through most of this, playing shy and coquettish in a broad, cheesy way.
But then the charms come on, and we’re subjected to scene after scene of Rajiin plying her wiles on anyone and everyone she comes across. Naturally, this is an excuse for the show to put her in any number of barely-there costumes and up the steam factor wherever possible. I’m no prude, and can enjoy a bit of televised passion as much as anyone, but this feels like a transparently exploitative stunt. It’s particularly galling when it leads to what amounts to another unfortunate bit of sexual assault being visited upon T’Pol. (Seriously, why is this show so interested in going back to that well over and over again?)
Contrast that with the opening scene between T’Pol and Trip. The show goes nowhere near as gratuitous with it, but there’s a familiarity and intimacy between the two of them that makes the simple act of a neck massage sexier than all the candle-lit rooms and cavorting astro babes that Enterprise can muster. I also love the fact that Trip is a little anxious about people gossiping and getting the wrong idea about their sessions, but T’Pol basically saying that it’s none of the crew’s business and the two of them shouldn’t care. There’s a maturity to T’Pol that’s always been admirable, and it’s endearing seeing Trip be reassured by it.
I also like the continuing subplot of the Enterprise, chiefly Trip and T’Pol, aiming to make Trillium-B so that they can insulate the ship from the various anomalies in the Delphic Expanse. I have to admit, the Delphic Expanse has been surprisingly tame so far given how it was hyped up, but I appreciate that our heroes still have to at least take steps to protect themselves within it. And again, as good romantic chemistry as Trip and T’Pol have, they also just have good on-screen chemistry generally, making their working out a problem together engaging independent of the other business going on.
The other strong points that “Rajiin” can boast are its little bit of worldbuilding before we lurch into the plot, and an actual confrontation with the Xindi. As to the former, it’s neat to see Archer, Trip, and Reed rumbling around an alien marketplace. There’s a bit of exoticism going on that’s mildly uncomfortable, but for the most part, it’s just interesting to see them roaming around somewhere they’re clearly out of place and having to adjust and barter and deal with aliens who aren’t sporting the usual familiar forehead prosthesis. It adds little to the plot, but the alien chemist going gaga for black pepper helps add a sense of place to this region of space, and is, frankly, just plain fun.
The same is true for the Xindi assault on Enterprise. As I mentioned in my write-up in the last episode, while this show still doesn't feel equipped to do “dark post-9/11 allegory”, it is pretty good at action sequences this season. While Archer’s fight with the alien pimp in the first act is laughable, the final act’s skirmishes with the Xindi boarding party is much more exciting. There’s a borg-like quality to the Reptilian Xinidi, with the way they make an essentially unstoppable march through the ship to retrieve Rajiin giving them some legitimate menace and proving that humans aren’t the only species with space marines. Some of their schtick is cheesy -- like the animated dark throwing goop -- but on the whole, they’re scary enough to pass muster.
Unfortunately, before their arrival we just get more tedious Archer/Rajiin banter, and after we get more of the council of ridiculous looking aliens discussing their evil plan. Archer’s attempts at hard-nosed interrogation always come off more comic than dramatic, and the show’s efforts to cast Rajiin as a victim of circumstance in her own right are equally floundering given the similar limitations of the performer.
Eventually, however, we learn that Rajiin’s purpose was to scan the humans, so that the alliance of Reptilian/Bug-like Xindi can work on a biological weapon, which the primate/human Xindi oppose and want to stick with their original plan to use some other crazy sort of weapon. And the porpoise Xindi are, halfway in between, I guess? The show is trying to go for a continuing threat, and mostly comes off as ridiculous with the usual villain sneers and declarations, but it at least adds some information and complexity to their plot, which is something.
Sometimes, that’s all you get with Enterprise. When the main course is nothing to write home about, you have to sate yourself on the side dishes, and at least those, or their T.V. equivalents in “Raijin”, are worth digging into.