While - as other reviewers note - we have seen this kind of thing before; we have not seen writers and makers join forces with Jolene Blalock to go the extra mile in dreaming up a story with some kind of Greek mythology undertones. A tender and ultra-kissable T'Pol here has the utterly thankless task of re-briefing a now-civilian Jonathan Archer with the same information basic and less basic with each new day for year after year, given his memory loss incurred at a moment when he sacrificed himself for her sake. While the makers of "Enterprise" quite often flirted with the chemistry between Archer and T'Pol in a sexual(-ish) way, here all is tenderness and mercy and devotion, and it's truly beautiful to behold. Since this is a passage-of-time episode, the emotions are piled on further in all directions, and since hugely dramatic consequences ensue for Enterprise's main mission, the story telling is surreal, enigmatic, warm and meaningful. Cleverly then, the return-to-the-meant-to-be-timeline that does prove possible leaves us actually slightly regretting that this beautiful thing we've seen no longer exists in the re-established reality. An enigmatic effect, and a tribute to the power of fine, understated performances from Bakula and Blalock, and also from John Billingsley as Phlox - yet another character here (along with Reed and Tucker), who is prepared to devote DECADES of life and unstinting work against the odds in the name of loyalty and friendship. This is the true meaning of the Trek world, and only rarely did "Enterprise" reach these heights.
But here it certainly did...
But here it certainly did...