In the twenty-first episode of the second season of Enterprise, the Denobulan government asks Enterprise to help rescue some geologists, while Dr. Phlox deals with a much more personal conflict. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Star Trek.Â
Trigger Warning: For extended talk of claustrophobia, consent, racism, and genocide.
So, I’m splitting this up so I can best address these two plots, since they’re so utterly unlike one another.
The Descent
I thought “The Breach” was a decent episode, though it’s got such wildly different plots smashed into one script. It was a tad jarring at times, but both stories were entertaining. So, let’s start with the Denobulan “rescue,” which was less about any sort of character development or greater message than it was an experience. I am intentionally referencing The Descent because it was the first place my mind went as I watched this. Now, that horror film is massively better than this plot in a number of ways, and I cannot recommend it enough. It is INTENSE. It is surprising. It manages to combine genres in a method that truly shocked me. It’s also deeply upsetting, much like “The Breach” was.
Why? Well, part of that is personal. I can get claustrophobic in this specific context, and the first time I went on one of those cave tours (with handrails and a gift shop, much like Tucker described), it took a while to get past the sheer existential horror of realization that there was so much earth above me. Robert Duncan McNeil (!!!!!) does a fine job staging many of the climbing sequences so that we get the full scope of what these three men face. That shot of the ridiculously far cavern drop… YEAH, NO THANKS. HARD PASS FOREVER. Through the direction and cinematography, we can believe that a single mistake means certain death. The entire sequence where Reed falls is NOT OKAY. It’s made even worse when Travis clear fucks up his left leg in order to save the others.
And then the Denobulans REFUSE TO EVACUATE. It’s… well, “frustrating” isn’t the right word. It’s damn near illogical to know that these scientists didn’t seem to care that they’d be arrested or executed for staying in the cave system. Why? BECAUSE THEN THEY COULDN’T SHARE THE RESEARCH WITH ANYONE. If what you’re learning is so important to Denobulan society, then maybe you should guarantee that you can actually give it to someone else. Like??? Of course, then part of me thinks about how these scientists are just so immersed in the act of discovery and expanding their knowledge, and I’m like, “…that is exactly what all my science friends are like.” SO: RELATABLE CONTENT INDEED. They just wanted to learn more!!! It’s so unreasonable to ask them to think about their own well-being!!! AND THEY’RE NOT “JUST ROCKS,” TUCKER. Get it right!!!
Ethics
I know that I’m hyper-critical of Star Trek in general when it comes to their representations of oppressive frameworks and political movements and such. These sort of things matter to me a lot, and even though I can tell the writers for Trek often have good intentions, I also feel like they miss the mark far too much. The conflict that Phlox and Hudak experience here is better than I expected, yet still flawed.
My main issue with the writing for “The Breach” is… well, you’ve heard it before, sadly. I need specificity, and this episode starts to explain what the Denobulans did to the Antarans before veering away from it. It’s actually a bit infuriating because… shit, we need to know! We need to know what happened long ago between these two peoples so that it can inform us in the present. There’s a reference that Hudak makes about Denobulans knowing a lot about Antaran anatomy, and in general, it feels obvious that it was the Denobulans who oppressed/tormented the Antarans.
If that’s the case, then this conflict is more one-sided than we’re ultimately lead to believe. While I wouldn’t say that this script is outright giving us an example of a false equivalency, it damn sure gets close to it. Historically, the Antarans have a pretty good reason to distrust and dislike the Denobulans, who seemed to have committed genocide. Thus, most of the work done here should be on the side of those who used to be in power, right?
For the most part, we do see Dr. Phlox working through his prejudices, but Archer is SO AGGRAVATING. No, Hudak doesn’t need to set aside his preconceived notions; he appears to have every reason to believe a Denobulan would despise him. It’s Dr. Phlox’s job to build that trust, not the other way around. I got the sense that Phlox understood that, and thankfully, this episode avoids “solving” this conflict with a few pithy monologues. At the very least, all we get is a start. Phlox does the minimal work to distance himself from the “archaic” prejudices that he was raised in while admitting that he failed with one of his sons, who still despises Antarans. He also builds trust by doing Hudak right without exception and without conditions, which is also necessary. And perhaps this really will be the beginning of the end of the separation of these two cultures! That part I did appreciate, that this wasn’t resolved within a few minutes. There’s a ton of work to be done, you know?
So, not the greatest, but it was a decent effort.
The video for “The Breach” can be downloaded here for $0.99.
Mark Links Stuff
-Â Please visit my new site for all announcements. If you’d rather not have to rely on checking a website regularly, sign up for my newsletter instead! This will cover all news for Mark Reads, Mark Watches, and my fiction releases.Â
