Well, I'm done with S3 of Enterprise. I enjoyed it a lot. Definitely can see, why so many people think it's better than the first two seasons, with a lot of really good episodes, that ask hard questions and have harder answers.
I liked that the overarching story was mainly used as a framework, while having still many episodes that felt episodic. It's by now my favourite kind of setup for continuous storytelling within a single season.
also went to really dark places. Archer has a hard job here, and the stress makes him do pretty horrible things. Even at the start, when he torments the guy by nearly killing him in the airlock. Wouldn't have thought he had it in him to do stuff like that. And stuff like creating a clone, just to sacrifice him or stealing the warp thingie is pretty hard to take.
One of the most fascinating moments was, when Archer had one of the council and his crew as prisoners, and gaslighted him. This is normally something that our main characters have to deal with from the other side, as prisoners. Seeing it being done BY them was just weird and off, but also very interesting.
I liked Malcolms storyline with the soldiers, the few episodes it came up. That was a nice, little mini-arc for him, and I found it pretty funny, when he and the soldier guy had a fight, and Archer chewed them out.
The Xindi are a cool race, and I would love to see more of them. I don't think I ever will, but the idea of having five different species get to high intelligence is a cool idea, and would offer more opportunities for interesting stories. I think my favourite are the aquatic ones.
The way the conflict was solved was nice. With all the things Archer has done here, the show still remembered that it was Trek, and provided enemies that aren't just evil, but could be swayed to stop the aggression. I mean, I'm not sure that I think Archer didn't step over the line, but it is also very hard to say. He had a very hard and stressful job, and in the end, the Federation doesn't exist yet. Maybe that means it is built on slightly shaky grounds, but he just is the first one, who is out there.
Something I really liked was seeing old T'Pol. She seemed calmer, more relaxed, and just plain satisfied and maybe a bit happy. Something we never see T'Pol normally be, because she controls her emotions. It was just nice, seeing her having emotions and dealing with them in a healthy way. I mean, maybe I'm reading her older self wrong, but it just seemed to me like she was in a better place on the whole..
All that said, I still think I prefer the first two seasons. This one was well done, but it isn't really what I want to see when I watch Star Trek. Which is fair, and I won't critizice Enterprise not for going that route. But watching Star Trek, when the captains are there to actually explore, makes me happy. I always fall back on comparing it with DS9, because that, too, went into very dark places. But I think the crew there helps a lot with this. And while the characters really came into their own, they just aren't as well done as DS9s crew. Which is ok, ENTs crew is fine, and I enjoy seeing them by now. It's just not enough to get me over the darkness, we go through here. At one point, Archer says something like "Remember, when we were explorers?", which is pretty similar to what Sisko says, at some point (I think. Or was it Picard, in the new show?).
Also, before I forget to mention, I do realize that I'm unfair against Trip. I know that he is a very good guy, and does his best to help his colleagues. It's a purely personal thing, I think the actor just reminds me too much of a dudebro guy. Which is unfair of me, but sometimes, there are just antipathies, for no good reason. I know that he is a fine guy.
I want to end this by saying that I think I have a crush on Phlox. I'm just always happy to see him, and I would love to sit down and eating something with him, while he tells me about stuff from his homeplanet or some discovery of his, and just cheer me up by being so positively upbeat.
And, considering how much joy I get out of seeing the Andorian captain, I guess I have a crush on him too, or something. It makes me absurdly happy to see him on screen. No idea why, I just love him. I mean, I do think he is a pretty well realized character, and even if he is not to be trusted completely, he does help when he is needed. Dunno, it seems like he takes joy in being kind of a jerk.
I'm looking forward to season 4, and I am sure the Gorn will disappoint me. Because, for whatever reason, since I read that a (the?) Gorn appear in S4, I wanted to see it, and I don't even know why. But I'm here for setting up the Federation (which is always nice to hear, when the guy from the future mentions it) and also learning about that weird Klingon nonsense.
That said, I hope the first mini-arc doesn't take too long. I just don't care for a storyline that plays during WW2. Just don't care at all about that setting, and I'm getting a bit tired of time travel shenanigans. But I'm sure it will still be fun, so whatever.
