To properly analyse this infamous final episode of Enterprise, with the benefit of an increasing amount of hindsight) a certain teasing out of issues is necessary. "Enterprise" ended after four seasons, and it was clear to most that the idea still had life in it. The same could not be said of "The Next Generation", and yet after 7 seasons "All Good Things..." could not be approached by any true fan without a heavy melanocholy and unsettled feeling that things were indeed "coming to an end".
So the truth is that any bringing an end to "Enterprise"after close-on 100 episodes would have had its dose of sadness, disappointment, dissatisfaction and so on, and it is with that truth in mind that the strategy the makers actually chose to achieve "a quick finish" and "go out in style" can be assessed.
While this episode was preceded by a double which had its point to make and was OK, this last-ever was a one-off, and indeed in every sense. As the whole series had sought to tell the story of the founding of the Federation, that (inevitably?) necessitated a jump of some years forward in time, and that was the first hiccup. The crew is in essence the same after all those years, there's not too much evidence of what they've been doing in the meantime, but what we do know is that the T'Pol-Tucker relationship has cooled, notwithstanding shared intimacy, the engendering of a child and the shared loss of that child.
But now suddenly T'Pol seems to be wanting to start things up again, conceivably though because she is prompted to do so by an interloper from 2 centuries ahead, in the somewhat fatter shape of Will Riker from TNG!
Collapse of stout party on that one, as how can we really accept that what we see on "Enterprise" in this episode is a holodeck recreation - admittedly a good one looking like the real thing, but nevertheless one that necessitates a final "Computer, End Program" on the Enterprise D!
The whole recreation thing by Riker has been prompted by a flimsy enough Enterprise D plot that also takes the edge off the Archer crew plot.
Now the justification here - not quite zero - is that this way we get to see the place in the history books that Archer and co. earn for themselves, which has a certain merit. Perhaps that's even why we watched the four series?
But why that excuse has to bring about the death of Tucker seems like one step too far, since it leaves Phlox with his wives, the Enterprise crew with each other (several suggest they would like to go on serving under Archer), and T'Pol heartbroken (to the extent that a Vulcan can be) and more alone than she has long been. Perhaps there is just a hint of hope for those who have "shipped" T'Pol and Archer all along, as clearly these characters have strong affection for each other. But did we need to bump off Trip to achieve that? Conceivably we did, but then why not make it clear that Archer and T'Pol lived happily every after?
Perhaps we are just kids if we need to know this, and yet somehow we do!
And, since even T'Pol is long dead by the time this episode really (really) takes place, it's all irrevocably sad and miserable anyway. "They did great things all those centuries ago" we murmur to ourselves, as the tears flow. But are they tears of sadness of anger? Now there's a question!
And we don't even have the comfort (cold as it might have been) of knowing what happened to our heroes later on. Since Riker and Troi (for she's in it too) know that history quite well, they might at least have offered a bit of closure by sharing that.
But they did not...
So even leaving aside the inevitable finale-induced misery for devout fans of "Enterprise" (a term I feel I can apply to myself), there is no way that the complex approach the makers take here can offer satisfaction, and sadly it really does not.
A whole Trek world - a whole 4 seasons - really cannot and should not be coloured by a single episode, most of all the final one. But here the makers seem to have done what they can to achieve this dismal effect, and it's sad...
So the truth is that any bringing an end to "Enterprise"after close-on 100 episodes would have had its dose of sadness, disappointment, dissatisfaction and so on, and it is with that truth in mind that the strategy the makers actually chose to achieve "a quick finish" and "go out in style" can be assessed.
While this episode was preceded by a double which had its point to make and was OK, this last-ever was a one-off, and indeed in every sense. As the whole series had sought to tell the story of the founding of the Federation, that (inevitably?) necessitated a jump of some years forward in time, and that was the first hiccup. The crew is in essence the same after all those years, there's not too much evidence of what they've been doing in the meantime, but what we do know is that the T'Pol-Tucker relationship has cooled, notwithstanding shared intimacy, the engendering of a child and the shared loss of that child.
But now suddenly T'Pol seems to be wanting to start things up again, conceivably though because she is prompted to do so by an interloper from 2 centuries ahead, in the somewhat fatter shape of Will Riker from TNG!
Collapse of stout party on that one, as how can we really accept that what we see on "Enterprise" in this episode is a holodeck recreation - admittedly a good one looking like the real thing, but nevertheless one that necessitates a final "Computer, End Program" on the Enterprise D!
The whole recreation thing by Riker has been prompted by a flimsy enough Enterprise D plot that also takes the edge off the Archer crew plot.
Now the justification here - not quite zero - is that this way we get to see the place in the history books that Archer and co. earn for themselves, which has a certain merit. Perhaps that's even why we watched the four series?
But why that excuse has to bring about the death of Tucker seems like one step too far, since it leaves Phlox with his wives, the Enterprise crew with each other (several suggest they would like to go on serving under Archer), and T'Pol heartbroken (to the extent that a Vulcan can be) and more alone than she has long been. Perhaps there is just a hint of hope for those who have "shipped" T'Pol and Archer all along, as clearly these characters have strong affection for each other. But did we need to bump off Trip to achieve that? Conceivably we did, but then why not make it clear that Archer and T'Pol lived happily every after?
Perhaps we are just kids if we need to know this, and yet somehow we do!
And, since even T'Pol is long dead by the time this episode really (really) takes place, it's all irrevocably sad and miserable anyway. "They did great things all those centuries ago" we murmur to ourselves, as the tears flow. But are they tears of sadness of anger? Now there's a question!
And we don't even have the comfort (cold as it might have been) of knowing what happened to our heroes later on. Since Riker and Troi (for she's in it too) know that history quite well, they might at least have offered a bit of closure by sharing that.
But they did not...
So even leaving aside the inevitable finale-induced misery for devout fans of "Enterprise" (a term I feel I can apply to myself), there is no way that the complex approach the makers take here can offer satisfaction, and sadly it really does not.
A whole Trek world - a whole 4 seasons - really cannot and should not be coloured by a single episode, most of all the final one. But here the makers seem to have done what they can to achieve this dismal effect, and it's sad...