Blah, blah, blah.

Oh, HELL.

I'm bereft of utterances. That there was some goooood shit. Just call me CRACK WHORE.

Ok...I've had time to breathe.

WHY'D they take Hoshi?? Damn. That was just wrong. The preview for next week just makes me scared for poor Hoshi.

Maywha? had the best line of the ep: "MOOVE!!!"

Degra's untimely demise took me by surprise--go figure!

I liked it. Started off a bit slow but finished off very good. Degra's death didn't suprise me, I called it the second the Reptillian entered his quarters. The space battle at the end was great and I like Malcom/T'pol's conversation in the shuttle.

What the hell do they want Hoshi for?

I don't know about all of you but I'm good and hyped up for the finale.

S'plosions!

Great ending. Apparantly the Reptilians are under the impression that poor Hoshi can supply the third passcode required to activate the weapon and turn Earth into confetti. [/wild guess] Didn't see next week's preview though...

All in all, the best ep of the season this far. Finally, the story appears to be gaining speed!

This was an extremely well done episode. Visually beautiful, impressive battle scene, great acting, and actual character development.

The scenes between Degra and Trip were wonderful, so were the scenes between Trip and Phlox. I think the good doctor might have come upon the perfect weight-loss solution.

Huge kudos to Mr. Oglesby for doing such a masterful job with Degra and to Manny Coto for writing one kick ass script.

I am sooooo Manny Coto's bitch right now.

Great episode. Good acting (everyone had valuable screen time!), good writing ("your skin will be on the bow of my ship"), a salute to WoK, and Most Excellent Production Values.

On a humorous note, upon seeing the Xindi "ensign" at the beginning of the show -- the one that was transmitting data on Degra's orders -- my significant other announced, "Ladies and gentleman, Will Farrell."

(OK, maybe that was just funny to me. Never mind.)

Man. Enterprise has been seriously kicking butt this year.

"You sure?"
"DAMN sure!"

Awesome.

Bwhahahaha!!! Yeah, that dude did look like Farrell.

I kinda figured that Degra destroying that Xindi ship would come back to bite him in the ass. I just didn't figure it to be this soon.

And I think Kingscross' assessment about the Reptilians and Incectoids thinking that Hoshi could provide the final code is probably right.

It was nice to see Trip let go of some of that anger. The scenes between him and Degra were well done. (And now looking back on it, that should have put up a warning signal that something bad was about to happen to Degra..) The scene between Trip and Phlox was funny.

Malcolm's angst was well played, and served to remind us that these crew members are living, breathing people, and their deaths are having a cumulating effect on the crew.

Very well written episode. It almost makes up for a lot of the crap we've had to put up with up to now. I'm now really looking forward to next week.

Maybe because I was in the middle of packing and baking bread, but I found it was slow in parts and disjointed. The Council scenes I thought dragged a bit, but I liked how Archer in mentioned it was like going to the principal's office and then continued it the next time. The scenes with Degra and Trip and Trip and Phlox were great. And the Malcolm and T'Pol scene was good too.

The sphere builders annoy the heck out of me. And I knew as soon as the doorbell rang that Degra was a goner. The anvil he dropped earlier left a mark.

Someone on the speculation thread guessed that Degra would die trying to prevent the weapon from being launched. They were pretty close. And how sad is it that I think I am more depressed that Degra is dead than if Archer were killed.

And that was a great battle scene. Best part of the episode. But overall, it kind of bored me.

I was on the edge of my seat for most of this episode - but I missed the ending!! (I had it taped and the tape had shut off just as Hoshi was getting transported - did anything happen after that?) Acting was great, so were the effects. I didn't find any part of it slow at all. As others have mentioned though, as soon as Degra's doorbell rang and it was the Reptilian, I knew he was a goner.... I'm anxiously looking forward to the finale, but with mixed feelings. It would be very disappointing if this was the last season just when the series was hitting its stride.

I really loved that episode. When the black screen came up after they took Hoshi I was confused because I didn't think it should be over yet. It went so fast! The space battle was cool.

Did Archer ever tell Hoshi why he was called to the principal's office? I hope that's the first thing she asks when she sees him next.

Yeah, he did. He was called in for "passing notes." There was this girl he liked, so he pulled a "check yes or no". Apparently, the answer was "no", UNTIL he got called into the principal's office. Hoshi pointed out that some girls just have a thing for bad boys.

And they immediately walked past the two reptilian guards. LOL.

Thanks Htown. How did I miss that? I think I'm going to have to rewatch.

While I still have problems with some things about Enterprise, tonight I was actually enjoying it. I think the past few weeks have been much improved and I can't wait to see how the finale plays out.

Word!!

Sweet Jeebus, those special effects were sweet! The acting? Sweet!!

The teaser was a completely ripoff of DS9, but it was still nicely done. Because of the way the scene was edited, I thought there were a lot of aliens, but there were only three. Walk the path the Guardians have laid out for you, child.

Something about the spherebuilders' voice annoys me. There's something in the timber of their voices that simply grates my nerves. I wonder if that's intentional?

Wow, three main characters plus a random redshirt going into the sphere. I wonder who's going to die? Speaking of which, what was up with Malcom's dialogue in the shuttle after random redshirt was killed? He said, "Maybe that's the problem?" What's the problem? I assume something was edited out.

I didn't much care for T'Pol's "needs of the many" homage. I thought it was a little forced, but if that's the worst thing I can say about an ep, I'm happy.

I can't believe there are two episodes left. It seems like this ep was the setup for the season finale. (I started to type series finale. GAH!!)

OT: The McDonald's step-o-meter? Please tell me they're kidding.

ETA: One of my posts from "The Forgotten" episode thread:

I've always assumed that Degra is going to die as the "evil monster come savior" always does.

I was right about something! Anyone else escited as I am? Anyone? Bueller?

Well,that was quite the little butt-clencher. I knew the Reptilian guy was going to off someone when he said they "delayed" the firing of the weapon. Yeah, right.
I'm thinking they took Hoshi either for the final code or to translate something.
I was hoping the shpod would get back before the fighting began. I was thinking the thing they took was the brain or the batteries of the sphere.

Wow, three main characters plus a random redshirt going into the sphere. I wonder who's going to die? Speaking of which, what was up with Malcom's dialogue in the shuttle after random redshirt was killed? He said, "Maybe that's the problem?" What's the problem? I assume something was edited out.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Mal hurt his hand on something, and T'Pol (I think) asked if he was alright. He said "I'm fine." And then went on to say, "Maybe that's the problem." That he's fine - that everyone's okay to just move on with all these people dying.

EDIT: Oh, and it wasn't a RANDOM redshirt, it was a redshirt we've seen before. The guy who actually made it out of the Zombie Vulcan ship finally bought it today.

I kind of thought that was supposed to be a little continuity from 'Impulse' when Hawkins and T'Pol had the conversation about Vulcan behavior. Although I don't remember the conversation well enough to know whether T'Pol would have gotten from it that Hawkins understood the Vulcan 'needs of the many' saying. I thought they just talked about Vulcans having emotions.

This was a good episode but I was still expecting Degra to turn out to be hiding something especially after he attacked the Xindi ship a few weeks ago after just getting done saying that he wouldn't turn on his people. I was disappointed that the reptilian just kills him.


Nope, I read about this in the NY Times. They've come out with an adult 'happy' meal that includes water, salad, and a pedometer. Those three things may make me healthier but they don't really make me happy. And they don't even include a toy.

You're right. Now I remember the dialogue, but I just didn't put 2 and 2 together. That entire scene just didn't work for me.


Right again. I never would have remembered that. Just catching all my mistakes tonight, aren't ya?

Poor Hoshi...when she had to go along with CQ to the Council, my first thought was "the hell? Degra can't translate the aquatics or insectoids for him?"

She NEVER did anything wrong to get sent to the principal's office in school? Nothing? Never cursed out a teacher in some long-forgotten dialect? Never set up an audio file so she and her friends could take a parent's Ferrari to catch a Cub game? I'm disappointed!!!

And, even tho the Evaporated Corporal had been seen before, I got a definite "redshirt" vibe as soon as I saw the SPod crew. "Joining me on the planet is Mister Spock, Doctor McCoy and...Geologist Smith. Smith, you go look behind that big rock over there whilst I try to get some from this green chick."

Is it just me, or was that Sphere a little too easy to crack?

Okay, I'm liking where this is headed and can't wait to see how it ends.

Geeze, Malconm should have just asked Cpl Dead!Hawkins, "So, tell me what's your favorite color?"

Hawkins: "Red, sir".

Malconm: "Good, you're coming with us."

"Oh my God, they killed Degra! You bastards!" I'm gonna miss Randy Oglesby. :(

Man- I can't remember being this excited for a Star Trek season finale since DS9; they've really masterfully amped up the tension.

There was much scenery chewing in the first half ( I hope they had a spittoon handy), but I went for it because I've become rather fond of Tucker Smallwood ( Human Guy), and especially Scott McDonald (Dolem). Especially because Dolem reminds me of the villain from GalaxyQuest , which I think is a good thing.

Aww, poor Hawkins. Although actually, I haven't seen Impulse, so it means as about as much as Taylor's death did; which is a compliment, because DK sold that scene as well as CT did in The Forgotten. It's especially meaningful coming from Malcolm, since he's StiffUpperLip MilitaryGuy;when even he's balking, you know it's serious.( On a different note, I burst out laughing at the look he gave T'Pol after going through the cloak field.)

Oh, no, Hoshi :( she finally gets something to do, and gets kidnapped for it.

I liked the shoutout to WOK- and especially the cut from T'Pol calling Hawkin's death honourable , to Dolem's pride in his completely dishonourable murder of Degra.

Trip and Phlox- I'm getting some very interesting fanfic thoughts...nah, but I really did like their pedeconference in the hall. 'Specially the " nah, nah, never mind, I don't want to know." I knew the "getting back to normal part" couldn't last, but it was still nice.

Y'all know my feelings on Mr. C. Tucker, so I won't elaborate, but yet again, stellar.

Watching the space battle, did it remind anyone else of the final battle in Return of the Jedi ( or closer to home, Sacrifice of Angels?)

Cannot wait for next week, especially since it's Mr. Robbie Duncan "Twilight" McNeill directing. Yahooo!

Damn good episode...and I'm just thinking about this now, but why have they gone with the aliens-most-resembling-humans-are-more-rational/insect-and-reptilians-baaaddd angle? The Humanoid and Arboreal Xindi are on Enterprise's side...Sure there're the wishy-washy Aquatics to consider (fitting if we're going by looks. They don't look human, but aren't what I'd call as "alien" or maybe "ugly" as the Insectoids and Reptilians), but...I dunno, doesn't the way the lines have been drawn seem a little bit too sci-fi cliche?

I wonder if we'll figure out what's driving the sphere builders to do all this. Are they trying to make the Expanse habitable for their species 'cause they wanna take over more of the universe earlier and before most of the other races are technologically advanced enough to oppose them? I hope this ends up making some sort of sense. And I hope the Temporal Cold War relating to Shower Guy and the Suliban gets tied in, since Daniels is obviously aware of both and is a part of both storylines at this point. Please tie up your loose ends, writers, in case the series doesn't get a pick-up.

Kudos to the makeup people (who probably don't get enough of that). The extreme facial close-up on the reptilian's face at the beginning of the episode was excellent. None-the-less, the reptillians still seem to look like grasshoppers to me, not so much snakes or iguanas.

Also, do you think reptillians shed their skin? Maybe it would not be so threatening to have you skin attached to the bow of the ship. LOL

And while we are making our wish list, could the writers please kill off the Archer character just in case they do get picked up again? I just can't take another season of this jerk. Captain Trip would be just fine with me.

Yeah, this has been mentioned before and right up until last night's episode I kept thinking that the writers were just making it look that way and that Degra was going to turn out to be the real bad guy. Having the reptilian just walk in and kill Degra was predictable and kind of boring in my opinion.

I was really hoping the insectoids would side with Degra. It would have been a nice twist.

The voice trigged a long lost (thank God) memory from a reaaaaly bad sci-fi movie...can't recall the name of the film, but it featured Cheryl Ladd as a time-trippin' flight attendant who went into the past to steal people from doomed airlines. In the film, there was a character who looked and talked EXACTLY like the spherebuilders.

Maybe you saw the same movie. :-)

The most entertaining thing about this ep for me was my two children wrestling in front of the TV screen.

Seriously, while I didn't dislike it that much, it wasn't my favorite. I thought it moved the plot along nicely. It definitely made me look forward to next week and the finale.

However, there were a few things that I didn't like. I thought the T'Pol/Malcolm conversation was awkward. Even as a crackhead, I can't see T'Pol being so quick to comfort someone (well, besides Trip). The scene with Trip asking Degra for help with the power thingies seemed forced and melodramatic. I thought the Quantum and Hoshi scenes were cute, though. Although, Bakula's delivery of "Hoshi!" after she got kidnapped rubbed me the wrong way for some reason.

I didn't pay close enough attention to "Impulse" because I don't remember Hawkins being that cute. Too bad.

ETA that T'Pol is the crackhead, not me. And, if anyone cares, my 18-month old won the wrestling match.

Well, there's still two more episodes. When Degra mentioned that Insectoids make quick, almost snap decisions, it occurred to me they might have a sudden turnaround later. I hope so, or something, because right now they come off as little more than the Reptilians' flunkies.

That said, I really liked this episode. And Hoshi and Travis both got to do stuff! Separately!

Dear Quantum, thank you for taking your shirt off--it's been too long.

Love,
Happy Trekkiegirl

Big fan of last night's episode. I was thinking that Lizard King was going to try to frame the humans for Degra's murder, which would have been annoying, so I was happy to see him just step up and admit it. Great effects. Archer only annoyed me like 5 times last night, which is "under" on the Archer Annoyance Over/Under line in Vegas.

I was glad they finally explained the Xindi's love for the NotFounders. I couldn't understand their devotion, so their whole basis for blowing up earth seemed hollow. So thanks for the late, but satisfying rationale.

I should have seen Hoshi's disappearance coming, since they actually gave her something to do this episode.

Did the S'Pod qrew ever get what they were looking for in the sphere or did the grappling hooks o' death prevent them?

I knew there was something else I wanted to comment on. I was a bit distracted during Archer's conversation about Degra's death.

I did notice Archer didn't say thank you, he just ordered the guy to keep him informed and hung up.

The sh'pod did get what they were looking for, Hercules. On the trip back, Maywhatever asked T'Pol if there was anything useful and she said 'yes' in an somewhat excited tone of voice.

I, too, think Hoshi's capture must have something to do with the Reptilians needing a third code to fire the weapon. They never followed up on their cryptic "Don't you think we considered that?" question to the humanoid Xindi council member.

Whereas the Reptilians are acting out of a desire for power, I think the Insectoids are merely doing what they think is right. As Degra said, they do make snap decisions and from what they've been shown, they're probably doing what they think (at the time) is right. I wouldn't be surprised if they turned on the Reptilians if more evidence could be presented.

And, even among the Reptilians, I don't think they're all so one-dimensional as Commander Dolim. Dolim's sidekick did question the Sphere Builder about whether or not they were responsible for the spheres.

Edited because I found out some Xindi names.

Thanks, akg. A crazy dog made me miss some lines. BTW, that was the part I was most pissed at Archer. Degra II loses someone close to him and it's Aaaaall about Archer.

Millenium also starring Kris Kristofferson

Skategrrl, I'm so sorry that you were forced to think of that movie. I, thankfully, have not seen it.


Members of the Council were given names during the flashback sequence while Degra was talking to Archer as Archer prepared to meet the Council for the first time. Be damned if I remember any of them though.

Skye, I bow in your direction--you were right about the vaporizing. I didn't think they'd do it. Of course, I didn't think they'd kill Degra until they telegraphed it at the opening of his death scene.

Who'd have thought? For once Mayweather stays behind and does nothing and it works in his favor. On my Enterprise, Mayweather will be dealing with his survivor's guilt over the course of the next few episodes.

Love that the whole fat = bad thing crosses cultural barriers between species. If they had to bring it up at all, why couldn't Phlox have said "Oh yes, unfortunately even I'm not immune to the stress of our situation. I hope when things are calm again, I'll be able to get my weight back up to normal." I'm just asking.

OTOH, Hoshi's debriefing on the way to the council meeting on how different sub-species of Xindi view different mannerisms was an interesting way to acknowledge the separate cultures.

I thought Degra's story about Dolem killing his "defective" grandchild made Dolem seem awfully cold-blooded.


Oh, my, yes.

I wish I was wrong.


Yeah that was a nice touch. "So when the Aquatics use past tense, they switch to sonar." I loved that line.

Hey guys the way this season is going who thinks that when Archer and crew Save the Earth and defeat the "Guardians" who thinks that because the Aliens live outside of time like that virus Archer had in his head, The Aliens will simply dissapear and the next thing you know ENTERPRIZE will be leaving SpaceDock at the beginning of it's historic mission. Apparently the Temporal Cold War slant didn't go over too well and they want to start over.
Just another though did anyone notice that the ALIENS look suspiciously like the FOUNDERs of the DOMINION. Perhap they are the EVOLVED result of ODO's people. JMO

Actually, the aliens don't live outside time, they just are able to scan the timeline for alternate futures. Hence why as Archer gets closer to stopping the weapon, the number of timelines where the Sphere Builders are victorious is collapsing.

Which is an interesting ability, since it can give them a sense of what they need to do to get the outcomes they want, but it doesn't guarantee anything. And also gives a good sense of how they installed themselves as the Xindi gods. It's easy to gain worship when you can show up to someone and go, "OK, do this and this, and then you'll be the leader."

I am finally de-lurking because "The Council" demonstrates perfectly why Enterprise deserves to stay on the air. The entire cast turned in sterling performances (compare Mr. Keating and Ms. Blalock's discussion in the shuttlepod to the standard TV silliness). The political machinations on the Xindi Council continue to impress and the final scene carries more dramatic punch then one can usually hope for from a cliff-hanger.

The Insectoid/Reptilian v. Arboreal/Primate differential did not bother me. In an interesting way, the more human-looking Xindi becoming earlier supporters of the humans makes sense. Because humans resemble Primates and Arboreals the most, we look less alien to them. The Insectoids and Reptilians have been making very human mistakes in their rush to pre-emptively destroy a society that does not threaten them because they might do so in the future (sounds depressingly familar). One could argue that it is the Insectoids/Reptilians who are the most human and it is the open-mindedness of the other species that is unusual. The Insectoids and the Reptilians will come around though, since the only way to secure Earth's future in two episodes is for the Xindi to drop the plan and, as other posters have said, the groundwork is already laid.

Ooh heck yeah! But I'm afraid we're going to loose little Hoshi. Too bad. She was my first favorite. I was so glad to see she had work finally!


I thought the opposite about it. Since T'Pol is busy trying to not admit her emotions for Trip to herself, she'd be quicker to be nice to someone else.

Like so many others, I loved this episode and am genuinely excited for more.

I was also impressed with this explanation. It's an interesting spin on knowing the future and takes care of a lot of nitpicks on what they should or shouldn't know.

Hmm...true. Your point is actually underscored by her hurried escape from sickbay at the beginning.

Good episode, I thought. I was genuinely sad when they killed Degra.

I noticed the low-hanging beam was prominent in CQ's quarters again. Every time I see him duck under that I think of Tim Taylor from Home Improvement hitting his head on the low pipe every single time he went down into his basement. I always wait for CQ to get bonked right in the furrows. I'll continue to hope.

And, Millenium? God, I tried to forget that movie. Really, really bad two hours I'll never have back.

Exactly! Because the Sphere Builders can see, say, 30 different futures where they win, but 100 futures where Earth wins, based on the current situation. They tell the Reptilians to do X, which shifts the timeline towards a future favorable to them, then Archer does Y, which shifts the timeline back towards a negative outcome for them. They then have to scan the future again to find out what moves lead toward a favorable outcome based on current events. Its like a game of chess, really, always thinking 10 steps ahead.

But the Reptilians/Insectiods are Xindi so the Primates/Arboreals should be more comfortable when them, even if the we look more like them (Primates/Arboreals). Very interesting point about the Reptilians/Insectiods making human mistakes, especially with the Reptilians' "If you're not with us, you're against us" attidue.

I'm still not crazy over the fact that the Reptilians are actually called "reptilians" and so on, but I'll assume that's the translator talking. Especially since the Xindi probably don't have actual reptiles, insects, birds, apes and humans in their natural universe to make analogies to.

Fantastic battle scene, with actual three-dimensional chaos (this is space after all, not an ocean) and ENT heroically firing on the NotDeathStar while everyone else aimed at them. If only they had been told to target the exhaust port at the end of the trench instead of the generators...

The shot looking behind the weapon as Enterprise fired forwards at it was great.

I keep waiting for them to acknowledge that Maj. Hayes was killed off, as it is getting harder to feasibly bring his character back after all these major incidents which he just doesn't happen to be around for.