Mark Watches ‘Enterprise’: S02E20 – Horizon

In the twentieth episode of the second season of Enterprise, Travis heads home and EVERYTHING HURTS. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Star Trek.

Oh god, I really, really loved this episode, and I’m glad that out of all the characters here, he got a story that’s so emotionally rich and complicated. It is an unfortunate thing that he’s been used so sparingly over the course of season two, and I really need the show not to do this going forward. (Same with Hoshi!) (Wow, surprise, the two non-white characters on this show appear to get the least amount of centric episodes.) (Insert an angry face and eye roll emoji here.)

I could do without the fridging of a black man, too, though I understand how that framing device provides the story that follows, and I did enjoy it despite this trope. Travis’s time on the Horizon is a part of his characterization on Enterprise, so it was a welcome thing to actually get to explore that. Of course, it’s marred by tragedy. Because of his travels with Starfleet, Travis never got the message that his father had passed away. I was shocked at how quickly this became a sad episode, though credit must go to Anthony Montgomery for making me feel for a character I not only hadn’t met, but wouldn’t ever meet. HE IS SO TALENTED, GIVE HIM MORE TO DO, OKAY. And that sadness was complicated by the relationship Travis had with a man who seemed to disprove of his son’s decision to leave the Horizon for a job with Starfleet. While it’s addressed in other ways later in the episode, it’s still so remarkable to see the script for “Horizon” talk about Travis’s grief as it does. He’s allowed to feel sad for losing his father, and yet, when Archer reveals what Travis’s dad wrote in his recommendation for his son, Travis is still given space to express a different kind of sadness.

He wished his father had told him that he was proud of him.

So when Travis arrives on the Horizon, it’s only a matter of time before these feelings creep up to the surface. In that sense, there are elements of “Horizon” that were familiar and predictable. It was inevitable that Paul and Travis would almost reach a point of no return because of Paul’s sense of betrayal and abandonment. It also felt inevitable that they’d work out their differences. Still, I found the journey compelling, partially due to the fantastic performances, and partly because Travis deserved a story so wholly focused on himself, his family, and how he would find the courage to deal with his guilt. And the episode is so open about that! Travis wanted to impress his family with his work in Starfleet, but he never felt like he could get through to his father. Why would he maintain a steady, consistent relationship with someone who kept up the appearance that he disliked his son?

Still, that doesn’t ameliorate his guilt over missing out on his father’s last few months of life, or not being there when he died, or only returning to Horizon when it’s convenient for him and his Starfleet schedule. It’s why Paul’s rejection of him stings so hard: even if his brother is being mean or cruel, deep down, Travis knows that he has hit on something true and uncomfortable about himself. He hasn’t been around the ship; he’s not in charge; and he certainly didn’t have to deal with the emotional turmoil of their father dying. It’s Paul who has had command thrust upon him amidst dealing with the grief of losing his father, and so I felt sympathy toward Paul more than anything else. Was he given enough time to heal after his dad died? Probably not, given that the ship needed a captain. And what of their mother, who had to continue on as Head Engineer amidst losing her husband? Here, she has to support both her sons, too, as they bicker with one another, and no one really stops to ask her if she is okay. (HMMM I WONDER WHY THAT IS.)

Things are suitably wrapped up for this family at the end of “Horizon,” as Paul learns compromise and cooperation, while Travis accepts that he shouldn’t run away from Starfleet, nor should he presume to be a better captain than his brother. I do hope we see these characters again, as I’d love for Travis’s mother and for Paul to see Enterprise.

However, there’s one other bright spot in this episode: FEMINIST FILM CRITICISM WITH T’POL. PLEASE. PLEASE TELL ME SOMEONE WROTE FANFIC OF HER WATCHING A BUNCH OF SEMINAL FILMS AND GIVING THEM ALL HER TREATMENT AND ENRAGING TUCKER/ARCHER BECAUSE SHE KEEPS GETTING THEM “WRONG” EXCEPT SHE’S ACTUALLY GOT THE BEST AND MOST INTERESTING INTERPRETATIONS EVER.

I may have been a little thrilled by this subplot. May.

The video for “Horizon” can be downloaded here for $0.99.

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About Mark Oshiro

Perpetually unprepared since '09.
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