In the eighteenth episode of the second season of Enterprise, the crew meets a noncorporeal race of explorers and EVERYTHING IS A NIGHTMARE. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Star Trek.Â
Trigger Warning: For discussion of consent and the threat of sexual assault.
THIS WAS PRACTICALLY UNBEARABLE TO WATCH, but for once, it was clearly intended to be that way. This is perhaps the most explicit that Enterprise has been about consent, and the horror of “The Crossing” is driven by the knowledge that these beings are violating those they force themselves upon on the ship. It’s made even creepier when you consider how these beings try to lure the humans in through deception and… UGH, THIS IS SO UNNERVING.
Look, for a moment, I believed that T’Pol could have been right about these beings. When they captured the Enterprise and then one of them briefly swapped consciousness with Tucker, my main concern was their inability to understand consent. The evidence did suggest that the “wisps” really were explorers, that they had never encountered humans before, and that they were merely exuberant in their interest in humans. Tucker seemed pleased with the experience, but is that enough? Did that excuse what they’d done? I worried that this is where the episode was headed, but I could not have been more wrong. I WAS VERY WRONG.
This is one of those stories where hindsight changes everything. There’s a brilliant scene after Tucker is “controlled” by one of these beings where the being speaks about their thrill over getting to eat food. At the time, I believed the deception. I was willing to offer the benefit of the doubt. Both parties seemed so happy! What if the crew was missing out on a genuinely incredible experience because of this? What if this was just two sets of explorers misunderstanding one another?
However, I very quickly began to suspect that this was not the truth. The fact that, after being told that what they were doing was harmful and unwelcome, another one of those beings took over Malcolm, and THIS EPISODE TURNED INTO AN UNRELENTING HORROR SHOW. From that moment on, I swear, y’all, this episode hurt. Again, now that I know the ending, it’s clear that these beings never had any good intentions for the crew. What was the purpose of using Malcolm’s body to make sexually aggressive threats towards that crew member in the turbolift or toward T’Pol? Cruelty. These beings figured that they’d be able to slowly take over the crew and save themselves from within corporeal bodies, so why not have fun with it? Why not taunt these humans with what their future was going to be?
That’s the only internal logic that I can come up with after watching this episode. Maybe these creatures were once kind or were once explorers. Here, however, their desperation pushes them towards increasingly monstrous acts. They slowly violate these crew members, taking over their bodies and sending their consciousnesses to some “realm” that’s so pleasant that it’s practically irresistible. (I’m guessing that’s how Tucker was “taken” a second time. What if he wanted to go back to that realm???)Â And since the crew is pretty much helpless (at least until Travis accidentally discovers a way to protect everyone), it’s awful to watch. For a moment, “The Crossing” is like a science fiction slasher film, you know? WHO WAS GONNA GET TAKEN NEXT?
Even though there’s not really any significant character development within this episode, there are two character moments that stood out to me. First, T’Pol’s decision to use herself as bait was made all the more electrifying by Blalock’s performance here. HER FACE WHEN THAT CREATURE WAS LEAVING HER BODY = NOT OKAY EVER AGAIN. It’s so amazing to me how Blalock is able to let these little moments shine through, you know?
But John Billingsley also deserves credit, alongside Connor Trinneer, for the masterful execution of the climax of “The Crossing.” Gods, what a SEQUENCE. Dr. Phlox is rarely, if ever, included in the physical action of Enterprise. He mostly prefers to stay uninvolved in such matters. Here, though, as the ONLY person entirely immune to the beings’ power, he must perform a delicate set of procedures, all while Possessed Tucker chases him down and then tries to kill him. IT IS VERY UPSETTING TO WATCH, but these two actors do a fine job with a physical and emotional portrayal.
So… are these beings dead? Or just without a ship? They can travel through space easily, but I don’t know if that explosion killed them. Regardless, Enterprise broke free, and it only required them to LITERALLY KILL about 20 crew members for a few minutes. NO BIG DEAL.
The video for “The Crossing” can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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