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Enterprise
"The Expanse" (2.26)
Season Finale

Review by John Howard
5.22.2003

The show opens this week with a probe arriving over Earth. As we find out later, this is a Xindi probe, and this probe proceeds to cut a 4000 kilometer-long swath of death into the planet from Florida to Venezuela. It then crashes itself into someplace in Asia. What nice people, those Xindi.

On Enterprise, the entire main cast is assembled in what looks to be the conference room. Even Phlox. The captain marches in and breaks the news to them. Roughly a million people were killed in this attack.

Admiral Forrest calls again, marking yet another episode that he's been in lately. His grim news? The death toll is estimated at 3 million now. He also tells Archer to turn that ship around and make best speed for Earth. Dun dunnnnn! This is serious, folks.

While speeding along to Earth, they're ambushed by the Suliban! Seems Future Guy wants to chat with Archer. And they chat. Future Guy explains why the Earth was attacked, then sends him on his way.

After a long time travelling at warp 5, Enterprise finally reaches the home system, where they're attacked by again-Captain Duras and his new ship, the Unnamed. When things are looking grim with Enterprise on the ropes, three Starfleet ships appear and blast the snot out of the Klingons, who run like scared, pink-blooded cowards.

On Earth, Archer presents proof to Forrest and Ambassador Soval, proof that technology from the future is indeed used in the Xindi probe. The Future Guy, it turns out, had given Archer co-ordinates to find the Xindi and stop them from destroying the Earth. To do this, they must fly into the Delphic Expanse, a region few have ever visited, fewer have ever returned from. Soval points out that a Vulcan ship that went in never made it back, because the crew went completely insane.

And so, because this is such a dangerous place, Enterprise is retrofit with better weapons and shielding. Gone are the torpedoes, now replaced with photonic torpedoes. Variable yield, more range... Reed is in heaven.

After three months' travel, they reach the Expanse. Embarassed Captain Duras shows up, with two extra ships, and they chase Enterprise through the odd Barrier Mists around the Expanse. Eventually, Enterprise ditches the Klingons, and soars into the Delphic Expanse.

See you in the fall.

Pros:

• Very solid... everything.
• A good season ender. Cliffhanger-y, but not.
• The promise that next season will kick our collective behinds.
• Future Guy!
• Duras! He's... kinda dead, but it's still Duras!

• Nada.
• Zip.
• Zilch.
• Zero.

Overall: Like a season finale should be, it had a big cast, it had action, it had plot furthering, it had turmoil, it had hopes, it had promises of cool stuff yet to come. It had the return of old friends, old enemies, and a good plot twist to ensure the show does not stagnate. Well written, well acted, well directed. I very, very much enjoyed this episode. When Berman and Braga put their minds to it, this is what they can do, not more cheesecakey nonsense. If the series can keep up to this level of awesome from now on, it'll become one of the greats, surpassing maybe The Next Generation in coolness. Highly recommended. You miss this one, and you deserve any confusion you might have next season.