Warp Five 268: Major Personality

ChrisWelcome, Boomers, to another episode of Warp 5, our dedicated Star Trek: Enterprise podcast. I'm Christopher Jones and with me, as he always is, is my esteemed co-host, Matthew Rushing. And Matthew, I finally figured it out. I know why you prefer to record in the evening. You get a better workout, your muscles are looser, reaction time's quicker.

MatthewOh, I thought that was because that's when my neuropressure sessions had just ended. And I'm very relaxed after that. And so, yeah, it's … oh, my gosh.

ChrisOh, so you're not getting yours from Trip.

MatthewIf you've not experienced Vulcan neuropressure done by a Vulcan master, you're really missing out, my friends. So, no. No, no.

ChrisAlright, good idea. So everyone, we're going to continue our 20th anniversary rewatch of Enterprise today with "Harbinger." It's the 15th episode of Season 3, and here is a quick rundown of the story. En route to the coordinates coaxed out of Degra, Enterprise investigates a massive convergence of spatial anomalies and rescues a humanoid alien. They soon learn that the alien is from another dimension, and is, in fact, of the species that is reshaping the Delphic expanse through the spheres. He's a guinea pig of sorts, a test subject being used to check the progress of the spatial transformation. As his condition deteriorates and he attempts to sabotage the ship, members of the crew grapple with more important things: twists and turns in their personal relationships.

ChrisSo, Matthew, finally, we are, among other things—including sexy neuropressure—we're getting a little bit of a reveal about what's happening with the actual plot of the season, what's going on in the Expanse. We've got this transdimensional guy that shows up.

MatthewYeah. I think the most interesting part about this episode, in many ways, is the way in which this begins to connect all the dots, which is funny, because you have all these spheres and it's almost been like one of those old kids fun pages, where it's like connect the dots, and you do it in the right sequence and it creates something interesting on the page. And that's exactly what this whole season has been about—connecting these dots, especially when it comes to the spheres.

And so with this transdimensional being that they pull on the ship, they realize that the spheres and the creation myth from "Chosen Realm" and all of these things are actually connected. And maybe they're connected in a way with the Xindi. In a way, of course, Archer and the crew had no idea to expect this when they've just been running into spheres and anomalies and different species with these strange thoughts about how things began, especially the Expanse itself.

And so I really do like the way in which part of this episode is going to be to focus on major personality issues throughout the crew and storylines for the crew.

ChrisI thought that was a guy on one of the MACOS: Major Personality.

MatthewOh, man, he's the worst. He will not shut up about his biceps. But no, not him, Chris. There's a whole part of the story that's really devoted just to the character growth for a lot of different characters and storylines that we have had bubbling to the surface on that front. But on the other front, the actual mystery front of what's going on with the Expanse and the Xindi and all that, that starts to come to a head in this episode. So I love the way in which this episode has two sides to it and both of those sides kind of come to the forefront and kind of bubble over.

You know, it's almost like that moment where the pot of water begins to boil over because you overfilled it, and now it's boiling and it's all over the place. That's kind of what happens with all of these storylines here. And it's just a really enjoyable watch, especially even in a rewatch, because it's where everything begins to make more sense. And you get that sense, too, as you're watching. You're like, oh, I'm realizing, yeah, I'm like almost two-thirds through the season now. So for these things to begin to come together like this is the right time for that to happen. It's the same way you would do it in a novel.

ChrisYeah, right. Yeah, that's an interesting analogy there to boiling over, because I do wonder if they have essentially three things going on in this episode. And I'm not sure if they can really allow them each to bubble up and boil over to the extent that maybe they should, just because they've got a lot of stuff going on in the same episode that they kind of balance out. We spend about equal time on all of these things.

ChrisGoing back to the Sphere Builders—which I guess we don't officially use that name yet, do we in this episode?—but we do find out that, okay, so there are these people the Triannons called "the Makers," there is something going on here. And I thought, I think when you look back at "Chosen Realm," and I also believe we mentioned it when we talked about it, that maybe they're on to something. And when you watch this the first time, you don't know yet. So this transdimensional being who, the original title, the working title for this episode was "Untitled Test Subject," which was him, which makes me think that maybe the original concept for the story was going to focus a lot more on him and what's going on with the Sphere Builders and how they're trying to transform the Expanse and all. But then we end up with this episode where we've got that going on. But we've also got T'Pol's thing going on. And then we've got Reed's thing going on. And do you think it would have made sense to have this episode really focus a whole lot more on what the Sphere Builders are doing to the Expanse and how they're using this being as a test subject, and they don't care if he dies or whatever? They're just trying to gather information. Or is it best that they kind of tease us with what's going on rather than going too overboard with the reveal all of a sudden?

MatthewI mean, you know, this is episode 15 of the season. There are 22 episodes in the season, if I remember correctly.

ChrisI think there's 24 in this season aren't there?

MatthewOr 24, okay. So, I mean, you really are, I guess, two-thirds of the way through the season. So you still have a whole third left. And with the amount of episodes then that you have, I think that this is really well balanced, honestly, I believe with the storytelling, because I think even in the original watch, you could probably pick up, if you're really paying attention, the connections that they're making, right? Okay, the Sphere Builders and this person are related. They're the ones who are creating these anomalies. They're the ones who are transforming this area of space, the Expanse, into a realm for themselves alone.

And I think what's interesting about that is that even though that's only hinted at, it also creates an interesting conundrum because it begins to let you know that the mission here with the Xindi is way more complicated than we first thought. It's not just about a species coming to annihilate us on Earth who thinks we're going to annihilate them. There's something else happening here. There's something else behind all this, and it's way worse than we actually thought. We thought that the worst of the matter was that you had this group who wanted to destroy us, that we even talk about it, right? The destruction and the loss in Florida. And through the story with Trip and Amanda and T'Pol kind of coming back to what we've lost there on Earth, we're brought back to what could happen if we don't complete this mission, right?

But this episode begins to set up a further complication that if we don't stop the people truly behind this, it could be way worse than not just for Earth, but possibly for more people. And so I think, again, by teasing that just enough, it's really well done. But I also think that this is one of those places where it's the right time in the season to deal with these personality conflicts, because if they don't put these personality conflicts to bed now, what's going to come will mean they won't be able to overcome the actual problem that we've kind of hinted at here.

And again, that's—it's kind of like in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. In that book, you have Harry incredibly angry, and he's basically working through almost emotionally, and very much emotionally, everything that he's been through from the loss of his parents as a baby all the way to losing Cedric to knowing that Voldemort will not let him go. And therefore, there is this anger in him and this frustration in him that has to be dealt with emotionally so that he can be ready to be who he needs to be for those last two books of the series. I think that that's kind of what they're doing here in this episode. They're readying everybody for what's about to come. Those characters need to take those steps forward, whether it's Trip and T'Pol or whether it's Reed and Hayes—and maybe even we'll talk about Archer later—but all of these characters need to take some steps forward to be able to be ready for the crucible that's about to come.

ChrisYeah, it makes sense. And it supports the idea of teasing what's happening with the Sphere Builders and not dwelling on that as the centerpiece of the episode. I think, yeah, they're setting the stage for the final stretch of the storyline, right? Because now we're going to get into a lot more of what's really going on. And we'll come to understand why it's even more important to succeed in the mission. So yeah, I think it makes sense.

ChrisThe part that I feel like we can go ahead and talk about this one in reverse of what we outlined, but the conflict between Reed and Hayes and Reed's feelings about the MACOs and all. On the one hand, I get it, but it also seems like, I feel like Reed being part of the command structure and the MACOs just being there to support the mission—and also the importance of the mission, which they've known from the very beginning—and then the fact, like you described now, it's becoming even more clear how dire things are and how important it's going to be. I feel like Reed should be someone who maybe isn't acting as much like, it's almost like you've got two jocks in high school that don't like each other and they're harassing each other all the time. And then finally they throw down and have a rumble in the gym, which is basically what we get here. Which happens in the great Star Wars-inspired scene, right? Where everyone gets to shoot the little flying balls instead of striking them with a lightsaber.

MatthewYeah, this is an interesting thing. In some ways, I think there is a part of this episode that portrays these people who have kind of put their lives on hold—and part of that is for their careers—and therefore sometimes I think there's this tight-wound maturity that they all have to have to do their jobs. And yet, at the same time, they've kind of been denied other parts of their existence that allows them to be fully fledged human beings in a lot of ways, because they're just not really dealing with those things because they don't have time for it. And of course the pressure cooker that this mission has been has, I think, exasperated that issue.

And so some of the immaturities in Reed and Hayes is about being two guys who basically just need to have a fight so that then they can get along. They just need to let out that aggression and that frustration of being forced together. I mean, I think there's a reality to this, right? You know, I, look, my wife was in the Army, and I've known other people who have been in the Marines or the Navy, and there is ridiculous amounts of rivalry between those different branches. Sometimes it's fun-natured, and sometimes, I think, it can not necessarily be as fun-natured, right? And so I get this aspect of the storyline. And I think what's interesting about this episode is the way in which it utilizes humor. I think it very much allows us to have some fun character moments again before we hit reality.

The next episode is also going to allow some of that, but we kind of need that catharsis almost because we're about to hit a part of the season where, once we hit the ground running, we don't stop, and things are just going to get ramped up. Is it the strongest part of this episode? Probably not. Is it fun, though, to just watch these two guys kind of beat the crap out of each other because, you know, they're being basically big babies about this? And that's the funny thing about it. They're both pretending to be these big macho dudes. And really, they're just being children about this on the playground.

ChrisYeah.

MatthewAnd I think that's in some ways the funny part about it. And, you know, it is also very much a cliché, that the two guys that don't like each other, what they really need to do is just beat the crap out of one another and then they'll respect one another. And then we can move on. And that's what we're going to do in this part of the story. Should they be above this? Yes. Are they? No. And so they got to have it out.

ChrisYeah, yeah. I guess if it were a real-life scenario, it might go down that way. I feel like Reed should be above it because he's kind of the one that's egging it on in the first place, right? I mean, Hayes, I think, would just step back. You know, I'm here to support you guys, whatever. But Reed feels threatened by Hayes being there with an overlapping role, I suppose. So there's that.

ChrisTalking about the next thing, which is T'Pol, you know, that's a key part of the story for me. I mean, the Reed thing is there, but the key parts of the story for me really are the Sphere Builder reveal and what's happening with T'Pol. And the T'Pol part is interesting because there are a lot of things going on. I mean, there's the most obvious thing of her being jealous of Cole and Trip, which makes sense based on, you know, they've been slowly building.

MatthewRight.

ChrisAnd I guess that's where the Reed–Hayes thing doesn't pay off so much for me, because I don't think they've built it over time enough for the conflicts when they happen to really pay off. But what's going on with T'Pol and how she feels about Trip is something that's been gradually evolving. And so what happens here in the story for me works well.

MatthewYes.

ChrisAnd I love the little moments when she is doing the neuropressure on Cole, and Cole says, What's not to like about the guy? He's got great arms. And then she squeezes too hard.

MatthewYes. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

ChrisAnd then Cole's expression is kind of like, Did I say something wrong?

MatthewRight. Yeah.

ChrisSo, so that that works. We also get the tie-in to Sim. So we go back to "Similitude" and the reveal and see how that finally plays out.

MatthewYes.

ChrisBut then the other thing is we're slowly seeing how the trellium-D is impacting her. And it's changing her and making her behave in ways that Vulcans typically wouldn't, and that she wouldn't have prior to that encounter with this substance and then becoming addicted to it.

MatthewRight.

ChrisSo I think they're doing a lot of good stuff on the T'Pol front here.

MatthewYeah, I think one of the beauties of this, too, is that, chronologically, this is the first time that a Vulcan has spent this much uninterrupted time in the company of human beings, right? And so the impact of that is being felt for her. And so therefore, because she's not surrounded by a culture that is very reserved and keeping itself in check with its emotions and all, I think there is a real beauty of the way in which this whole storyline is allowing us to play with the character of a Vulcan and get into what it's like to be the first person to experience all of this stuff.

And I think there is an aspect of T'Pol having been influenced by human beings and the way in which human beings interact with one another, the way in which they deal with one another, the way in which they deal with their feelings towards one another. And in some ways … I know T'Pol is an older character, but we don't ever get the sense from the storytelling. And since we're doing the rewatch, we can look to the future. There's never been an aspect of T'Pol in her lifetime where she has had the intense Vulcan feelings for somebody else in this manner. And so this is her first experience, really, with love in this way, and so therefore we get to be along on this ride with her.

We also know that she's a character who has struggled with her emotions, and then trellium-D, that she was addicted to, and all those things, right? And so I do like the way in which they've been progressing this story. And I think there is kind of that real emotional punch of, and there's the push that happens. Somebody is about to take away the person that I realized that I have real feelings for. And if I don't act now, I could lose them forever.

And so, I just appreciate that there's a real reality to that. So it might not be the most fortuitous of timing to make this move now, because of the situation you're in, but that doesn't really matter, right? And maybe this is the right time to make this move anyway, because who knows how much longer you have. I mean—and I do think that's a beauty of this storytelling—she's already thought she lost Trip once. And so the fact that he's back, why waste the time? And I think that that's a really well-written story because all of the story points allow you to make that leap as an audience member and the characters to make that leap. And it's one of those places where we lament, of course, that we won't actually get the opportunity to continue this relationship full to its conclusion because we're not going to get seven years.

And that's too bad because it becomes, I would say, one of the hallmarks of the Enterprise series, the Trip and T'Pol relationship and the way in which it plays itself out. Especially since the only shows that had relationships were Deep Space Nine and Voyager, really, that actually played with relationships. I mean, Tom Paris and B'Elanna, one of the best relationships in Star Trek. You had Worf and Jadzia, great relationship. Sisko and Kasidy is a good relationship. You had the whole other side where you had Keiko and Miles, you even think of like Dax and Bashir. And so all of these places, Star Trek, after The Next Generation, stopped being afraid in a lot of ways of allowing characters to have feelings for each other and be with each other—especially when you're going to be on these ships for this amount of time.

So, yeah, I mean, all this rambling to say, I just, I do … I really love it. I'm glad that we had started this romance and that we're actually continuing it.

ChrisYeah, yeah. You know, there's a funny thing about this episode and the intimacy with T'Pol and all in here. Do you remember the Super Bowl when Janet Jackson had the wardrobe malfunction and exposed her …

MatthewUh oh. Yeah I do remember. Yeah, yeah.

ChrisI still remember, I had friends over. I was living in Reno at the time, and we had friends over at the house to watch the Super Bowl. And that happened. And we're all … Was that her …? So, yeah, that was so funny. But the reason I bring that up is this episode was just after that happened. And because of that happening and the controversy around it, the studio got kind of cold feet about what they were doing with the scene. Because, up to this point, Enterprise has plenty of sexy moments. I remember an early review that says it has more underwear than a Fruit of the Loom commercial or a Hanes commercial or whatever it was.

ChrisWell, see, this is the problem. If that were happening today, I guarantee you those would be on Star Trek dot com for sale.

MatthewYes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Although, Fruit of the Loom never sold those blue boxers like that, which, you know, they could have made a lot of money with Star Trek fans if they had done so.

ChrisA hundred percent. But anyway, they got nervous about all the FCC scrutiny of broadcast TV after the Super Bowl. So they prepared two versions of that scene of T'Pol disrobing, and one of them was cropped for US television. And then the original version, which exposes more, which is the one we see now when we watch on the Blu-rays and all, was used elsewhere. And I just think it's so interesting, just the timing of that Super Bowl, what happened, and then the scene here, and then the reaction to it, and then the ebbs and flows of what's acceptable on TV in the decades since.

MatthewThat is very funny that that's the case.

For you, did you feel like at this point of the season that this leap in their relationship had been earned?

ChrisI think so for me, because I do feel like they built this bit by bit. It didn't just come out of the blue. And, and even here at the end, she's still kind of pushing him back off a little bit. Like, yeah, I don't want to talk about it. I was just exploring human sexuality. Thank you for making that happen for me. You know, it's like a science experiment or something, even though, you know she's lying, which is another thing Vulcans are not known to do so much. I think the timing works, especially, like you were saying earlier, if you're going to do these things with the relationships, we're at a point where you've got to kind of clear the deck on this stuff, because there's going to be a lot of stuff coming up from here to the end connected to the actual threat and the actual mission and saving Earth and all this. So yeah, I think that timing worked for me originally and rewatching it when I know where all the pieces fall. I think it's still feels, like I said a few episodes back, when you watch this whole season straight through you, you feel like the pacing is a lot better than you felt when it first aired all those years ago on UPN.

MatthewYeah, yeah. One of the things that I think really works about this episode as well is we have seen the progression of Archer being kind of willing to push the boundaries morally on what needs to be done. And I think this is definitely one of those places where he bends that right with this transdimensional being of, I have to figure out what this connection is between these spheres, between these anomalies, between what's happening with this person, because his Spidey-sense is tingling and letting him know, yeah, something's connecting all this together and I need to know what it is.

And I think they do a really great job of that with building him as a character. And I love the way in which we have been seeing Archer's transformation to a character who might do whatever it takes and the cost that it is putting upon him.

There's that great quote at the beginning of The Patriot, and the character Benjamin Martin says, "I've long feared my sins would come back to visit me, and the price would be more than I could bear." And Archer is that character, right? Those things are beginning to mount, and will the price be more than he can bear in the end? I think that's a beautiful thing that this season is doing, because it gives us so much fodder for the next season.

And I think, too, it is an incredibly important thing because it's actually the reality that men and women in the military, when they have to go to war, have to deal with, right? And I think I appreciate that this season is not backing away from those things because that's real. That's just what it's like, right? And so I think they're doing a really good job of it in this season so far.

ChrisYeah, yeah. I think the interaction between Phlox and Archer, where this transdimensional being is concerned, where Archer wants to keep him alive to get information or keep him conscious, I should say, and Phlox doesn't want to do that because he's obviously in pain, I think it's a classic Doctor–Captain interaction that we see in Star Trek.

MatthewYes, yes.

ChrisYou know, this is what all of our doctors would say. And they would go ahead and do what the captain orders them to do, but they would object to it. And captains would, in this situation, would do what they need to do to get the information that they need. I can certainly see Sisko doing this. I can see Janeway doing this. I can see Picard doing this. Kirk. So it's not unusual for Archer, but the difference is that, unlike those other captains who are further down the timeline and come into service into their careers knowing what the threats are out there in space and having to deal a lot more with the—I don't know, is geopolitics the right word for galactic politics?—they know what they're having to deal with, whereas he didn't know that coming in. So we're watching him gradually evolve to be like those captains that we know later.

MatthewYeah.

ChrisSo, yeah, I mean, I think I can completely see why he's continuing to move in this direction more and more, especially here. Because when he finally gets a clue to what's really going on, and also when it seems like this being may not survive, so your time is very limited to go ahead and get the information, and obviously part of the threat that you have been sent to neutralize. So yeah, that makes sense for sure.

ChrisAll right, well, any final thoughts on this episode, and what's your rating going to be?

MatthewYeah, I think this episode is just incredibly rewatchable. It's a really good episode. I love the all the character work. I think it's a fun episode even when it's a little bit too silly in some ways, I guess, with the fight club aspect and all of that. And, you know, I think people could ding this episode thinking that, oh, there's just such a juvenile nature to, especially maybe the relational aspects with T'Pol and Cole and Trip and all that. And then maybe even with Reed and Hayes. And I think that we forget that many times we are kind of reduced to our more juvenile natures when it comes to these things, especially when many of them are aspects of our personalities or whatnot that we just don't explore very often or we don't let that side out. And I don't have a problem with it in this episode. I think it creates a lot of fun, it creates a lot of great character moments. And then, of course, we mentioned the darker character moments we get with Archer. So all in all, I really like this episode. I'm going to give this four-and-a-half out of five transdimensional slices through the neck. So you've got to be real careful with those, though, Chris.

ChrisYeah, those are the worst kinds of slices through the neck.

MatthewThey're awful.

ChrisYeah, because the person doing it is even surprised about what happened.

So, alright, yeah my final thoughts are just recapping. I think the timing of the elements of the story are good within the season. I think this is a good time to start letting us know what's really going on, but it's also good not to give away too much yet, so I think that was good. The timing of the relationship with T'Pol makes sense. I do think the Cole aspect of the T'Pol–Cole interaction might come off as a little bit juvenile, but I don't think that T'Pol's jealousy of her comes off as juvenile. I think it's natural for her to feel that way based on everything that's been happening leading up to here. So that worked fine for me. The Reed part is just, yeah, you know, I mean, I get it, but I think the episode could have probably been served better by focusing a little bit more on the other two parts of the story. And we didn't necessarily need the whole MACO thing. But anyway, I'm going to give this one seven pinched nerves.

MatthewWow.

ChrisAll right, everyone, we would love to hear your thoughts on "Harbinger." There are many ways for you to share those with us. Perhaps the easiest way is to go to Facebook and join the Babel Conference. That is our listeners group. It's there to extend the conversations beyond the podcasts. So if you're joining for the first time, please do answer the questions and agree to the rules of the forum so that I can let you in. You'll find a post there on the timeline for this episode, and you can share your thoughts with Matthew and me and fellow listeners right there.

You can also send us email, go to our website, trek.fm/contact, use the form you find there, choose to send to a show and choose Warp 5, and that will come our way. And you can find us everywhere in social media. Our username is trekfm. And if your podcast app of choice allows you to leave a rating and a review, we'd love to get that from you as well.

Now, Matthew, when you're not being jealous of yourself, where can people find you?

MatthewMy goodness, Chris, that is just exhausting. But you can find me all over the place on social media under the name mattrushing02, of course here on the network you can find me in The 602 Club as we talk about all those franchises outside of Star Trek that we love, and then over on The Nerd Party network got a couple shows. One's called Owl Post, we discuss every single chapter of the Harry Potter series one chapter at a time, and then over on Aggressive Negotiations, John Mills and I talk about Star Wars each and every week.

But Chris, when you're not trying to figure out just which robe to wear when you get your Vulcan neuro-pressure, where can people find you?

ChrisYeah, I got to choose the one that's FCC approved. But after I've picked it, you can find me elsewhere on the network doing all those shows with you, of course. You can catch Larry Nemecek and me on The Ready Room. You can find me in episodes from across the back catalog from many, many shows over the past 15 years and hear my thoughts on a wide range of Star Trek topics. And you can find me in social media. My username everywhere is cbryanjones, the letter C and Bryan with a Y. Bluesky is where I'm most active, but you can find me everywhere and I'd love to hear from you, so do drop me a line.

And if you'd like to help us keep this rewatch and everything we're doing on the network going, we could definitely use your help. To find out how to support the network, how to get involved, please visit patreon.com/trekfm. We would not be here without your help. So thank you to everyone who is supporting the network now.

Well, Matthew, I feel some hallucinations coming on and we'll find out just what they are next time when we talk about "Doctor's Orders."

MatthewWell, Chris, that sounds slightly ominous. So let's go.