An Andorian Archer has encountered before requests the captain's assistance in creating a peaceful resolution to a planetary dispute between his people and the Vulcans.

There's one major flaw in this story, although to be fair, that does put it ahead of several other recent episodes of Enterprise. The flaw is that there doesn't seem to be enough plot to go round. Generally speaking, this is actually a fair effort. While it's rather lucky that Archer has got on the good side of what seems to be the only reasonable Andorian, it still makes for an interesting story, as Archer is no diplomat and goes along to try to do his best on behalf of Earth.

Jeffrey Combs is getting into his Andorian character a little more now, and the return of Suzie Plakson to Trek is a welcome one, even if she isn't given a great deal of material to stretch her acting abilities. It's also good to see Gary Graham back as the Vulcan ambassador, who is also allowed to gain a little more depth by being away from his own people for a while. His conversation with T'Pol when he asks why she continues to stay out and about in space on Enterprise is surprisingly enlightening about where both characters are coming from.

The only problem, as I've already mentioned, is a lack of plot. Things are going along pretty well at the start, with some good inter-character dialogue and a fair amount going on. Unfortunately, somewhere round the middle it just becomes a firefight with Archer and company caught in the crossfire, stopping the story dead and seemingly trying to bolster the story, presumably because writer Chris Black wasn't quite sure where to take it next. The only thing that makes the middle section worthwhile is Trip's efforts to create a stand-off between the Vulcans and Andorians. It's a very Scotty kind of move, and I like it.

That aside, it all ends in a fairly simplistic way, where an Andorian traitor is uncovered amid cries of 'there are others like me' (TM) and everyone settles down for a nice little chat. I like the fact that this isn't entirely productive, and both parties are unhappy with the result, but at least this is a more realistic look at how deals are struck between warring parties, and Archer's ability to get his own way is quite fun. Overall then, another passable effort, but I'm still waiting to see an episode that's really very good indeed this season. So far way too much of it has been mediocre at best.

***

Would you like to go to the Enterprise Season Two guide, head back to the main TV reviews page, read older reviews in the Reviews Archive or return to the front page?