In the twenty-fourth episode of the second season of Enterprise, Archer tells T’Pol a story. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Star Trek.
I’d like to think of this as an unofficial companion to “Carbon Creek,” since this involves Archer sharing an untold story of human history with T’Pol. Indeed, the two stories mirror one another in terms of their importance and how the other person knew nothing of this event. “Carbon Creek” is a much more challenging episode, though, despite that I did enjoy this glimpse into Archer’s past. “First Flight” is largely a flashback to the NX program that tested warp speed and eventually led to Enterprise‘s existence. There’s a cute subplot involving a dark matter nebula that provides the framing device within the narrative so that Archer can tell T’Pol this story.
But the one strong suit of this episode, which helped make it such an engaging episode, was the emotional current of Archer. This episode opens with tragedy because apparently, no one on Enterprise is allowed to be happy ever. The death of Archer’s and Tucker’s colleague, A.G. Robinson, casts a dim pall over “First Flight,” one that never really leaves our perception. Which is okay; I think this episode has to be bittersweet, given what transpires. Archer, who looked forward to a solo outing into the nebula to deal with his grief, process his sadness through T’Pol, and it’s endearing. It’s a fantastic way for the show to demonstrate just how much they care about one another!
However, what we see of Archer in this flashbacks is subtly different from the character we’ve come to know over these two seasons. It’s weird to think that Archer used to care so deeply about following the rules and reducing risks because HE IS NOT THAT CAPTAIN ANYMORE. Thus, “First Flight” provides us with a chance to see an important part in this character’s development. After losing the chance to fly the NX Alpha (and test his father’s engine), Archer is both dejected and determined. He wants the best for his program, despite that he’s not the one fulfilling his father’s legacy directly. But that’s how protocol works, and Archer cares only for doing things the right way and being consistent about it. Which is probably why Starfleet chose Robinson over him! (Robinson didn’t waste much time sharing that with Archer. WHOMP WHOMP.)
Now, I did get a little fatigue watching this because for a moment, Trek was even whiter than usual. Like, 90% of this episode is white dudes yelling at each other or space or science and then lots of punching. It’s like that whole promise that the world of Trek was diverse was suddenly non-existent! Still, I found myself amused by watching Robinson and Archer deal with their disappointments and then decide to take an enormous risk to keep the NX program afloat. Because seriously, both these men were upset. Both blamed one another for the temporary failure of the program! They each made good points about the possible reason why Archer’s father’s engine failed, and then they both kicked the everliving shit out of one another. Lord, that fight was brutal, and it was a strange way for these two men to eventually become friends with one another.
Anyway, I’m glad we got this chapter in Archer’s life, though this made me want a deeper history of Starfleet, especially if we could get time earlier than this in Starfleet’s history. It’s not a super memorable episode, but I had fun watching it!
The video for “First Flight” can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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