Jammersreviews

Note: This review contains significant spoilers.


In brief: Some rough edges and a rushed ending, but a solid ride for most of 
the way.

Plot description: As the Enterprise travels to Andoria to warn Shran of a 
possible surprise attack, Archer and T'Pol must bring a historic obelisk to 
the Vulcan High Command as proof of the Syrrannites' true intentions.

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Star Trek: Enterprise - "Kir'Shara"

Airdate: 12/3/2004 (USA)
Written by Mike Sussman
Directed by David Livingston

Review by Jamahl Epsicokhan
Rating out of 4: ***

"His name now means 'fool' in our language, just as yours will in 
Andorian!" -- Soval to Shran, the tale of Nirak
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The reason Deep Space Nine often worked so well was because of its expansive 
canvas of governments, societies, and characters with their own agendas. You 
got the sense that the characters were people populating a whole universe, 
and the overarching storylines had the will to throw that universe into 
chaos. And because the characters weren't all playing for the same team, 
there were plenty of possibilities for some characters to take unpredictable 
actions that were in partial or direct conflict with other characters.

I think that was ultimately the key to DS9: It wasn't just about Starfleet 
officers. It was also about everyone else. As a result, a lot more could 
happen, and we could empathize with more people and situations, even the bad 
guys and the neutral people caught in between.

That's sort of why this three-part Enterprise saga, which wraps up with this 
week's "Kir'Shara," makes for such interesting fare. The starship Enterprise 
feels like a part of a bigger universe rather than simply all of it. This 
three-parter reminds me of DS9's "Circle" trilogy from the beginning of its 
second season. Lots of characters, history, and political maneuvering. 
(Also, lots of names and objects that are spelled with apostrophes.)

That's not to say this Enterprise trilogy is perfect. "Awakening" had some 
notable logical gaffes (among them is one I didn't mention in my review for 
that episode, which is the lack of a reason for why Syrran didn't know the 
location of the Kir'Shara even though he carried Surak's Katra). Now 
"Kir'Shara" wraps things up with an ending of whiplash-like haste and overt 
tidiness -- although it features a last-second revelation that's intriguing.

So -- not perfect, but good.

One big thing in the episode's favor is that it's a mess for everyone 
involved, and there's disagreement in virtually every camp along the way. 
"Kir'Shara" has its obvious goals and solutions, but it also demonstrates 
that there may be various ways of working a problem, rather than just being 
about one problem and one solution.

For example, we have Trip making the decision to go to Andoria to warn 
Commander Shran (Jeffrey Combs) about the Vulcan surprise attack. There's a 
scene where Reed unhappily points out to Trip that warning the Andorians is 
a flat-out betrayal of the Vulcans -- which Reed doesn't think is right. 
Trip has his own uncertainties, but in order to play the part of would-be 
peacekeeper, he must contact Shran so the Andorians can set up a blockade to 
intercept the Vulcan fleet. The thinking is that maybe the Vulcans will be 
forced to turn back if the stealth assault is revealed. If not, "I'll save 
you a seat at my court-martial," Trip mutters.

The Enterprise arrives at a nebula where Soval knows (from Vulcan 
intelligence reports) that Shran and an Andorian fleet are hiding. Shran 
reluctantly beams aboard the Enterprise and Soval lays out the details of 
V'Las' sneak attack. This initial meeting shows no signs of trust on Shran's 
part. Indeed, it could be said that the definition of Shran's character is 
that he's so paranoid that he trusts no one. He thinks perhaps Soval and the 
Enterprise are trying to lure his fleet into a trap.

Such distrust makes for scenes of charged drama, and it's in these scenes 
where the show's best visceral strengths lie. With Combs' performance, Shran 
is a guy always interesting to watch. Perhaps not as interesting as the very 
different Weyoun -- who was more fun as a slickster politician, equal parts 
villain and sycophant -- but engaging as this angry, distrustful man who 
needs proof and not just your word.

To get that proof, Shran is willing to take extreme and distasteful 
measures. He carefully kidnaps Soval from the Enterprise with an undetected 
transporter beam and puts him in a torture device designed specifically to 
lower the emotional inhibitions of Vulcans. This is a rather unique form of 
torture that makes for a series of potent scenes.

Gary Graham gets a chance to step outside the usual boundaries of Soval's 
character and deliver a memorable performance that shows his fear and anger 
in this appalling situation. He also reveals a bitter regret for having 
thought he could put faith in Shran's abilities to trust him in the first 
place. I especially liked Soval's tale about the Vulcan lookout guard named 
Nirak, whose incompetent inaction allowed an attacking army to destroy a 
city. Nirak now means "fool" in Vulcan; Soval predicts that Shran's legacy 
will be similar. Soval's tale is one of those welcome details that elevates 
plotting into storytelling.

What's also interesting about these scenes is that the role of the torturer, 
as angry as he may be, is not to be sadistic but merely pragmatic -- to 
gather the information. Shran simply needs to know that he isn't walking 
into a trap. I found myself somewhat reminded of the great sequence in "The 
Die Is Cast" where Garak tortures Odo, although Shran here shows himself as 
more ruthless, putting his people's agenda first, far ahead of surrender. 
Combs' and Graham's performances carefully walk the line of being intense 
and in-your-face without straining to the point that it feels like 
overacting.

These kinds of situations would be impossible if we didn't have multiple 
conflicting forces in play, and if these forces and personalities didn't 
already have established backstories allowing us to identify with all points 
of view. It's interesting how Shran's character retains a certain 
self-serving integrity in arriving, via his brutal methods, at a truth that 
satisfies him. We disapprove of his methods and yet respect (if grudgingly) 
his eventual level of reasonableness, as he quietly laments, "There's been 
too much suspicion, too many lies, on both sides."

All the while, V'Las is moving forward with his planned invasion. It's worth 
noting that most -- if not all -- of the rest of the Vulcan High Command is 
initially in the dark about V'Las' plan, which leads me to question the 
wisdom (and indeed the possibility) of giving so much military control to 
one man, who then conducts large-scale operations in secret, unbeknownst to 
the other council members. The council's voice of dissent is Minister Kuvak 
(John Rubinstein), who is opposed to the invasion and later learns that the 
Syrrannites are looking for the Kir'Shara. V'Las dismisses the Kir'Shara as 
a myth.

The plot's other major strand involves Archer, T'Pol, and T'Pau trying to 
get the Kir'Shara to the High Command. The Kir'Shara, you see, contains 
Surak's original writings and will lead the Vulcans back to the proper Path. 
This could defuse the escalating tensions between the Vulcans and the 
Andorians, but only if the Kir'Shara reaches the capital before V'Las' 
attack unleashes an interstellar mess. Archer is aware of the Ticking Clock 
because of memories transferred by Syrran when he received the Katra. I for 
one would like to know: How would Syrran know anything about V'Las' war 
plans? (I'm calling it a plot hole.)

Along the way, we get a few insightful dialog scenes. I like how carrying 
the Katra gives Archer an understanding of Vulcans that he'd never had 
before.

In another scene between T'Pau and T'Pol, T'Pau explains that T'Pol's Pa'nar 
Syndrome (see "Stigma") is actually a side effect caused by having melded 
with an inexperienced mind-melder. It can be easily corrected by an 
experienced mind-melder (which T'Pau performs). The notion that Pa'nar 
Syndrome is a permanent affliction is merely a lie spread by the High 
Command to discourage mind-melds. That's a rather sublime -- if 
simplistically tidy -- invocation of the Undo feature on the part of the 
writers. They easily solve what was purported to be a major character 
problem while keeping true to the parameters of the story at hand. 
(Follow-up question: What about the emotional imbalances caused by T'Pol's 
Trellium addiction? Wouldn't T'Pau have noticed those as well?)

That T'Pol still voices her doubts about the motives of the Syrrannites is 
good for the sake of discussion, but somewhat dubious in execution: Wouldn't 
she better understand them after having melded with T'Pau? And doesn't the 
180 T'Pol pulls a few scenes later, after she is captured, seem a little 
confusing? For that matter, it might've been a good idea for the writers to 
better explore the Syrrannites' belief system. Were they really just another 
of many sects that claimed to have the true answers? What makes them special 
and a target for destruction by V'Las?

There are also, of course, the requisite fight scenes after the High Command 
sends soldiers into the Forge to capture the escapees. I enjoyed the touches 
in these scenes, especially the gag where Archer discovers his sudden 
ability to use the Vulcan nerve pinch, as well as the Vulcan soldiers 
carrying those staffs with the semicircle blades on the end, ported straight 
in from TOS.

The ending, as I mentioned, is hasty. The crises all climax simultaneously, 
as they must. V'Las refuses to back down when his surprise attack is foiled, 
and the Vulcan fleet opens fire on the Andorian fleet, with the Enterprise 
caught in the middle. Meanwhile, Archer and T'Pau gain access to the High 
Command with security codes they get from T'Pol's husband, Koss. (The 
business with Koss' security codes is probably one plot piece too many, 
especially considering by this point T'Pol is in custody and unavailable to 
make the plea to him herself.) They open the Kir'Shara and reveal Surak's 
writings in a light show that impresses everyone except V'Las, who loses his 
temper in a decidedly un-Vulcan display of frustration as all his plans fall 
apart. Kuvak finally shows some backbone and stuns V'Las and calls off the 
fleet.

What feels like only minutes later, V'Las is put under investigation for the 
embassy bombing, the Vulcans are talking about the dissolution of the High 
Command, Soval is instantly reinstated, Koss releases T'Pol from her 
marriage obligation, Vulcan has returned to the Correct Path, and the 
Vulcans promise to give Earth more leeway in its exploration missions. What 
a difference a day can make.

I'm not sure what the ideal ending would've been, but it might've involved 
more extended dialog and just a tad more ambivalence about all this change. 
This ending is so tidy it's as if the Vulcans had been waiting around for 
someone to hand-deliver the Kir'Shara so they could usher in an era of 
change. Perhaps it was that they were all obliviously following V'Las down 
the wrong path.

That's actually a possibility the very end of the show puts forward, when 
V'Las is revealed to be conspiring (for decades, it turns out) with a 
Romulan operative hiding in the shadows. The Romulan speaks of 
"reunification," a term fans will be familiar with. I must say, this is a 
cleverly appropriate way to insert the Romulans into this series, since we 
all know that no human will see a Romulan until TOS's "Balance of Terror." 
This twist sheds some light on V'Las' motives, actions, and emotionalism --  
although I'm still not sure how a war between the Vulcans and Andorians 
would help pave the way for Vulcan/Romulan reunification.

All in all, "Kir'Shara" makes for a reasonable cap to a good trilogy -- far 
more successful and interesting than the "Augments" trilogy. As storytelling 
it has holes, but as Star Trek it shows the ambition of tying pieces 
together and providing prequel-worthy substance.

Intriguing.

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Copyright 2004 Jamahl Epsicokhan. All rights reserved.
Unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this article is prohibited.

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