661. The SeventhFORMULA: Things Past + Vortex + The Pegasus + Carbon Creek
WHY WE LIKE IT: The action scenes.
WHY WE DON'T: Vulcans not being Vulcans.
REVIEW: T'Pol is tight-lipped about a top secret mission to retrieve "Menos", a undercover Vulcan defector, in a story that promises to give Travis some time to shine. Unfortunately for him, T'Pol realizes she needs a wing man on this thing and she brings Archer along as well. It's a trust that's rewarded by the end. As usual, the story has some nice action, plenty of guns blazing, and even a cool-looking flashback foot race.
What it doesn't have is Vulcans acting like they should. There is no indication that master criminal Menos is of that stock. At all. He's very good at manipulating people, it seems, and maybe his emotions are all for show, but there really isn't then a tangible motivation for his defection. Either he cares for his family (no genetic traits passed on?) or he doesn't. Either he's greedy for power and money, or he isn't. But if he isn't, there's just no point.
T'Pol at least has an excuse for her obvious bouts of anxiety. She's sustained psychic damage as a result of killing a man years ago that she wasn't sure was guilty. Vulcan guilt no doubt being debilitating, she underwent a ritual that repressed it and the memories that went with it. They've resurfaced, in a classic case of revealing a dark secret from a character's past. Unlike its many DS9 cousins, the point here is to alleviate that guilt by proving the man guilty.
The drama is balanced by Trip's first extended stint as acting captain, in which he finds out he likes the perks a lot more than the responsibilities. I'm not too sure the chief engineer should be portrayed as a man incapable of decisions, but that seems to be his role since the beginning: comedy relief. Some amusing moments as he impersonates Archer to get some polo scores, but it's essentially fluff.
LESSON: Logic can't buy you stuff.
REWATCHABILITY - Medium: Nice action, and bringing further vulnerability to the character of T'Pol, but I don't buy "Menos" or Trip's antics.
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