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Written by: Mike Sussman

Directed by: Alan Kroeker

In the opening scene we are invited to join the hundreds of Earth inhabitants who are anxiously waiting for Captain Archer and his officers to reach center stage. You can hear the crowd's voices rise in grateful appreciation for the successful mission of Enterprise and its crew. Admiral Forrest is the first to extend his congratulations to Archer as the applause steadily increases. Archer looks out over the crowd and exhales a quick puff of air as he launches into his speech. "I've been told that people have been calling us heroes." He says, as he pauses and looks reverently back at his officers standing behind him. Then turning his attention back to the audience, he resumes talking. "When it comes to my crew, you won't get any argument from me. But I think it's important that we remember the heroes who aren't with us. The 27 crewmen who didn't make it back. Without their sacrifice I wouldn't be standing here right now." I was impressed with Scott's delivery of this line. It was spoken with the right amount of inflection, causing his voice to quiver just enough that you could detect that this statement was an emotional one for Archer to make.

The other thing I liked about this scene was that immediately after completing his speech he ended it with a nod of his head as he gazed out over the arena. The safety of these people had been his responsibility. These people were part of the "weight of the world" that Archer had carried with him into battle. As he gazed over the crowd, he was finally putting faces to this generic concept. To me, this nod was very significant because it was Archer's way of acknowledging to himself that his responsibility had been fulfilled and Earth no longer needed his protection. The threat had been dealt with and Archer was free to pick up where he left off.

But as Archer was discovering, many things had changed in him. He had experienced too much to be the same Captain he was just a year ago. But what is going to take some time for him to adjust to (and fun for us to observe as Archer works through this and deals with various inner struggles) is the fact that he can still be that Captain to some degree, but now he realizes that he also has to be concerned with facing other intergalactic societies that have their own agendas. The "old" Archer would not have been able to deal as effectively with these factions. Archer is being forced to be a more universalized Captain. He is in a unique position that no one else has experienced as of yet. Others who will following in his footsteps will be learning from his mistakes and successes.

I certainly appreciate that Scott voiced his ideas (and stuck by them) about the fact that we need to see the repercussions of how this war has affected Archer and his crew. The "trickledown effect" is generally overlooked. But Scott seems to be very interested in developing that idea and I think it will be interesting to watch how he and the rest of the crew portray the changes in pesonality.

The next time we see Archer, he is walking into a bar. Erika approaches him and tries to strike up a conversation. But Archer isn't in a social or talkative mood. Without the intensity of war to occupy his thoughts, the actions he took while fulfilling his mission began to haunt him. He now has had time to consider what he has done. Scott played the anger and frustrated war hero very well. His whole facial demeanor changed. His eyes became distant and hollow. The realization of some of his actions was hitting hard.

Then came the inquiry. You see Archer getting increasingly more agitated with each comment from Soval. His eyes kept glancing over in the Admiral's direction in the anticipation that some sort of support would be applied to this situation. But the words he expected to hear never came. Archer was already feeling guilt and sorrow over his actions. Having Soval challenge him on what he did and did not do in the effort to save the crew of the Seleya was the last straw. Archer's normally calm and thoughtful demeanor transformed into a rage that represented a side of his character that no one had seen before. I think Scott did a wonderful job demonstrating an array of emotions that seemed to explode out of a body that could no longer contain or control them. Scott portrayed anger and frustration throughout the episode, as well as an air of indignance of being questioned by a Vulcan who he had many past issues with. I loved the inflection and articulation of Archer's tone and pitch as Scott demonstrates his use of his voice to express the flood of emotions brought on by the Vulcan, the questioning, and the inner struggle he was carrying with him. Scott's variety of intonation, body language as well as his facial expressions all work together impeccably to demonstrate his acting ability which is second to none.

I love the line, "I got more help from the Andorians than I ever got from the Vulcans." I also loved the line, "Maybe if you had been more helpful, your crew wouldn't have died." I liked this line in particular because it demonstrated that not all of Archer's resentment towards the Vulcans has been eradicated. Archer certainly has respect and trust for T'Pol, and he's learned to accept the Vulcans on her behalf, but he is still harboring ill will towards the Officials of Vulcan. He still has some underlying issues with them, specifically in their dealings with his father.

Because of Archer's outburst, the committee was put on indefinite hold and he was ordered to take a time out. Archer reluctantly obeys Admiral Forrest's orders. He heads to the mountains in order to escape the well-meaning people who had inundated him with their enthusiasm and gratitude. I will take this opportunity to comment on the fact that the scenery in the mountains was wonderful.

Archer was in the grieving mindset and this was something that he had never had to deal with before, at least not on this level. He wanted to be alone as he wrestled with his conscience and with his overwhelming grief, but Erika had other plans for him. She was not going to allow Archer to be alone with his remorse. This was a good match for Archer's character. Erika and Archer are two peas in a pod. I find it interesting that Archer was tying to push her away, but not, perhaps, for the reasons you might expect. I think it was more to *test* her. Archer knew what he had done and he was repulsed by it. He was afraid, perhaps, that if someone else knew the truth about what he had done they would hate him. Archer was, in a sense, trying to run away from what he had done, and he was afraid that when others found out they would run away too. That would make the guilt all the worse. But even when Erika found out what he had done, she didn't seem rattled. She let Archer know that she was there for him and she would stick by him and help him through his personal trials. After a while, Archer puts down his guard for the moment and allows the more tender side of his personality to emerge. Archer begins to enjoy her company as well as the beauty of the nature unfolding before them. I believe it was good for Archer's character to be reminded that there was some gentleness and love still left in the universe. I think it's interesting that the writers put another Captain into the mix who has not had any experience in space. Erika is exactly where Archer was three years ago. I think Archer was concerned for her because she had the same naiveté and optimistic attitude he once had. But with that said, I don't think Archer has lost his optimistic and hopeful attitude. I think it has simply been given a dose of reality to go along with it. It will be interesting to see how Scott continues to manifest these attitudes through Archer's character as he continues his personal struggles throughout this new season.

The incident at the restaurant with Mayweather, Malcolm and Phlox was interesting. Who knew the good doctor was part pufferfish? I like Phlox's character. In fact I've liked him from the very first episode. He is by far my favorite ship's physician of all the Star Trek series. The two things I like the most about his character are his dedication to the Captain and crew, and his resourcefulness. His character is dedicated to his craft, very intelligent, humorous and even brave when necessary.

The big surprise in this episode for me was the scene where Archer returns to Star Fleet's inquiry panel. You see a much calmer and more in control Archer sitting in front of the board as they are wrapping things up. Archer stands up and allows everyone to file out in front of him. He gives Erika a look of gratitude for her support. Then he turns his attention to Ambassador Soval. The surprise came when Soval announced to Archer that though his actions were morally questionable, his actions were necessary. He goes on to tell Archer that he did a great service to both their worlds. Then he actually thanks Archer and offers him his hand.

The wedding at the end left me scratching my head. I'm thinking, okay, where's the logic in this action? Of course, I'm not convinced at this point that the wedding will actually be completed. Since I've never seen a Vulcan wedding before, I don't know if what they showed us was the wedding in its entirety or if it was just the beginnings of it. I felt that things were cut off before we knew for sure if the wedding will be competed or not. I looked at it as a mini cliffhanger. There is still time for someone to object. Whether it be T'Les, Trip, or T'Pol herself. But I won't believe it until I see the ring on the finger. If she did marry, I wonder what type of reaction she will get from Archer when he finds out. Not that there was ever anything between them, but she is certainly dedicated to and cares about Archer, and he matches that dedication to her. When Archer finds out the circumstances behind her marriage, I don't think that will set too well with him. It may be interesting to see how that plays out. I think it would be amusing for Archer to beam in before the marriage has been completed and make an objection. Or perhaps, just his appearance would cause T'Pol to rethink what she was about to do. As far as her and Trip, I still don't see that as a match. Good friends, absolutely! Lovers? NO!

I think the whole crew of Enterprise is very endearing, each in their own right. Everyone does a good job of bringing us a quality show that is very enjoyable, thanks in part to Scott's leadership. I know this isn't rocket science [editor chuckles], but a tremendous amount of work goes into bringing this weekly show to us and I think everyone involved in it deserves a standing ovation.

Sarah's Two Cents