{"id":6566,"date":"2017-10-06T13:00:55","date_gmt":"2017-10-06T20:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=6566"},"modified":"2017-10-06T16:40:04","modified_gmt":"2017-10-06T23:40:04","slug":"mark-watches-enterprise-s04e03-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2017\/10\/mark-watches-enterprise-s04e03-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Enterprise’: S04E03 – Home"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the third episode of the fourth season of Enterprise<\/i>, THE CREW ACTUALLY GETS A BREAK, OH MY GOD. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Star Trek<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For the discussion of PTSD\/trauma and xenophobia<\/b><\/p>\n

After I finished \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Home\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201c which I largely enjoyed and found to be an incredibly refreshing and rewarding experienced \u00e2\u20ac\u201c I realized how much this reminded me of another Star Trek<\/i> episode: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Family,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d from season 4 of The Next Generation.<\/i> They are not the same episode, but they share a sort of spiritual connection. Both address the emotional ramifications of a huge<\/i> chapter in the lives of the crew of the Enterprise<\/i>. I joke a lot about how badly these characters needed a real vacation, and THIS SEASON ACTUALLY GRANTED ME THAT STORYLINE. I just???? This was such a great decision, and I still have no idea what season four will be about.<\/i><\/p>\n

Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s talk.<\/p>\n

Prejudice<\/b><\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pretty rare for Trek<\/i> to openly acknowledge that the world that exists within its universe is actually<\/i> capable of bigotry. I know I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve complained a lot about that convenient line about how there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no more prejudice on Earth. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s such an easy<\/i> way to never have to deal with the legacy of hatred and evil on our planet, so I was quite surprised that IT HADN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T GONE AWAY. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not so sure I feel as great about what \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Home\u00e2\u20ac\u009d says about xenophobia, though. Phlox experiences an utterly horrifying instance of prejudice when he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s confronted by a man in a bar in San Francisco. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s great that Reed and Mayweather leapt to protect and defend Phlox, and I respect that they were willing to be allies in a very direct and physical way.<\/p>\n

But the more I think about Phlox\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s refusal to visit Earth during Enterprise<\/i>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s stay, the less I feel comfortable with what this episode tells us. It is absolutely within Phlox\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s right not<\/i> to expose himself to further hatred, and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a point I wish had been explored in greater detail. It sucks being the token, and it sucks being the person who breaks boundaries. I have experienced this more time than I can count, and it often happens in my recent life when I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m attending conventions. Sometimes, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m the first queer person of color they have ever<\/i> had as a guest or attendee, and that means this very act of changing the dynamic of the attendee make-up means I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m on the receiving end of a lot of shit. And frankly, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m tired of it! It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s nice to make strides in this industry, but when it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s at the expense of my body and my mental health, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not exactly a win, is it?<\/p>\n

So I get Phlox deciding to remain on the ship. I am less inclined to be as forgiving of the writers for having him say that he \u00e2\u20ac\u0153understands\u00e2\u20ac\u009d why people are BIGOTS and that they just need time! Because this is still a show that aired after 9\/11, and my mind goes straight to all the Islamophobia that people expressed in the wake of that attack. Yeah, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t understand anyone<\/i> being a bigot, and trauma does not excuse that sort of behavior! The person in the wrong is absolutely the xenophobe, not the victim!<\/p>\n

Booooooo.<\/p>\n

Reed, Mayweather, Hoshi<\/b><\/p>\n

You know, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m genuinely surprised that Reed is a part of this trio, and by \u00e2\u20ac\u0153trio,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m referring to the three characters who continually are ignored by the writers, or who get stories that are superficial and disposable. Travis and Hoshi I get, in the sense that Trek<\/i> writers generally have a problem developing non-white characters. But Reed\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s white! And he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s totally ignored all the time, too! Oh god… is it because he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s British<\/i>? WHO KNOWS. But I gotta call foul here, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. The other four castmembers get such incredible plots assigned to them. (Even if I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t like the execution of Phlox, I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t deny it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a significant part of the episode.) And we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t find out anything personal or meaningful for the trio. Why does this keep happening? Come on, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re such interesting people! Surely, you can tell some<\/i> sort of story, right?<\/p>\n

Archer<\/b><\/p>\n

Now, this<\/i> is rich and complicated and detailed, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. I mean, Archer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the main character, so I expected that. But I admit to being surprised that this episode continued the examination of Archer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s guilt over what he did in the expanse. This was accomplished with the introduction of Captain Erika Hernandez, an old flame of Archer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s, whose dogged pursuit of Archer helps him come to terms with his own guilt, shame, and trauma. Again, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not so certain that the execution of this plot is quite up to par as the premise itself, but for the most part, this was what this character needed<\/i>. Framing it all with the inquiry hanging over him allowed Archer to get upset at both Ambassador Soval and<\/i> himself, so thematically, it fit in extremely well with the other stories in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Home.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d How does Archer go back to being a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153normal\u00e2\u20ac\u009d captain after such a hellish year? How does he begin to face the fact that he did immoral things to survive?<\/p>\n

I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t expect Enterprise<\/i> to ask these questions, and ultimately, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m glad that they did. I feel weird about the resolution of this problem, given that it seemed as if it was all waved away with the justification that Archer did what he had to in order to save Earth. Like… he knows that? He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s known that for a while. But what does he do now<\/i> to deal with the residual fears and trauma he has?<\/p>\n

Well, he climbs rocks, says mean things to Captain Hernandez, then makes out with her, ostensibly has hot, sweaty outdoor sex with her, and then feels better? Well… okay? I guess? I would have suggested therapy and a re-commitment to not<\/i> being immoral and terrible in the future, but you do you, Archer!<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m being (sorta) facetious, but I still appreciated that the show didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just jump into a new mission for Archer right after the last year of awful. This was truly necessary.<\/p>\n

T\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Pol and Tucker<\/b><\/p>\n

WHY MUST YOU RUIN MY HEART LIKE THIS. Again, the show manages to ask a very<\/i> important question about these two after T\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Pol decides to invite Tucker along on a visit home. What exactly happened to the responsibilities that T\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Pol left behind? Were their any ramifications of her leaving her position within Vulcan High Command?<\/p>\n

OH MY GOD, THERE WERE SO MANY. T\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Pol\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mother, T\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Les, was forced into an early retirement as retaliation for T\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Pol. And once T\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Pol comes back home, she has to deal with Koss, the utterly boring<\/i> man that she had been promised to. I guess I completely forgot how strict the traditional marriages were on Vulcan, because I definitely didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t realize that T\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Pol couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just reject Koss and move on. So, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Home\u00e2\u20ac\u009d becomes about duty: should T\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Pol follow her heart and her emotions and pursue a life with Tucker? Or do the obligations she has pressed upon her outweigh her personal interest?<\/p>\n

I expected there to be a last-minute save. I expected that T\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Pol\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s continued experience with her emotions meant that she would choose Tucker. I did not go into this episode expecting her to choose duty<\/i>. To say it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all heartbreaking is an understatement, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. This was hard to watch, partially because it was so sad to see these two characters get the opposite<\/i> of what they wanted, but mostly because I KEPT EXPECTING A HAPPY ENDING.<\/p>\n

What does this mean?<\/i> Will T\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Pol only be on Enterprise<\/i> in a limited capacity? Will she cease to be intimate in any way with Tucker? How will they both deal with their respective heartbreak WHILE WORKING TOGETHER? I genuinely do not have a prediction here, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m already so, so, so wrong about season four of this goddamn show. Where do they go from here???<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Home\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded here for $0.99<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n

– My YA contemporary debut, ANGER IS A GIFT<\/a>, is now available for pre-order!\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong>If you’d like to stay up-to-date on all announcements regarding my books, sign up for my newsletter<\/a>! DO IT.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"