In the eighth episode of the second season of Enterprise, a tiny mistake has disastrous consequences. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Star Trek.Â
You know, this is pretty much what I asked for from Enterprise. I kinda just wanted to see the crew mess up over and over again, and HERE WE ARE. “The Communicator” is less concerned with worldbuilding of this civilization (at least in terms of what it offers to the audience) and more focused on the logistical nightmare that comes from Reed leaving his communicator behind during an observation trip. We never learn what the Alliance stands for other than some “ancestral claim” to the land that the other side occupies. The military men we met could have a moral right to be in power, or perhaps they’re the underdogs. We don’t actually get any real context for the war that’s brewing on this planet.
I suppose, though, that this isn’t the point. Regardless of the moral stance or the political compatibility of either side of this conflict, Reed’s mistake has a cascading affect on this world. It’s easy to imagine that if we met a single member of the Alliance and they had been the ones to find Reed’s communicator, this would have unfolded similarly. This was a climate that bred paranoia easily, and that communicator was just the first domino to fall.
So what the hell do you do in a situation like this? Despite training on cultural contamination, this was new ground for these characters. And even though they tried real hard to get that communicator and head back to the ship, this ends up being the most visceral and extreme example of how cultural contamination can spiral out of control. I mean, it’s out of control like FIVE MINUTES IN. Yet it’s at the beginning of this that Archer makes a decision and urges Reed to stick to it: they will refuse to tell the truth of who they are and where they come from, no matter the cost.
Admittedly, I did not expect them to commit to that decision. That was especially the case as this escalated beyond comprehension and Reed and Archer were nearly hung for being spies. I figured that they’d make a calculated risk and take their chances with the truth rather than continue to spin an elaborate lie. Yet this episode demonstrates just how dedicated Archer and Reed were to their ideals as members of Starfleet. These two were willing to die to prevent this society from being irrevocably changed by the knowledge of what was out there in the world!
This is also precisely the point where “The Communicator” kind of falls apart for me in hindsight. At the time, I thought this was a noble thing for them to do, if a bit frustrating. Like… neither Archer nor Reed seemed all that bothered that they were going to be hung. Wouldn’t they be emotional about that??? They mostly looked resigned to their punishment instead of upset about the sheer unfairness of it all. Yet why did they do it? To protect these people from contamination. Except then the final scene of the episode features a conversation between the crew about how these people were contaminated anyway, how Enterprise‘s presence most likely pushed General Gosis and his men in a more violent direction in order to counter what they’d observed. They’ll forever believe the Alliance had better weapons and defense than them, and you know that’s going to inspire them to aggressively pursue the same thing. Soooo…. why not just tell them the truth and prevent an arms race based on a lie?
I don’t know. That seems like a better option than letting yourself be hung.
The video for “The Communicator” can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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