Star Trek: Enterprise: The Forgotten   Rewatch 
December 8, 2019 9:11 PM - Season 3, Episode 20 - Subscribe

Trip tries to write a letter.

Memory Alpha, special In Memoriam edition:

- The writing of this episode was a collaborative effort. Co-writer David A. Goodman said about the outing, "I know that I'm not given credit for writing one of the best [episodes of Star Trek ever] […] It was a real collaboration [with Chris Black]. We split up the script and we helped each other […] Writing that script with him elevated that episode for me […] That was a true one-on-one collaboration with a very gifted writer who was also very confident and understanding of what the rules were for writing for Star Trek: Enterprise."

- The photograph of Tucker's sister was a photo of the actress portraying her standing on a terrace on the Paramount Pictures lot.

- At the beginning, Archer holds a memorial speech for eighteen lost comrades, but in the previous battle, only seventeen are lost (fourteen counted dead and three unaccounted for), though one more could have died from injuries sustained. The eighteenth could also refer to Crewman Fuller, who was killed in "Anomaly".

"We're in bad shape – I can't deny that, but we're still in one piece. Enterprise is a tough ship. She took more than anyone could ask her to and then some. And so have all of you. I wanted to say thank you. I only wish I could thank the eighteen crewmen who were lost. Like you, they understood how important our mission is, and they accepted the risks. We came into the Expanse not knowing what we'd find, with no one to rely on but ourselves. We're going to succeed – to accomplish our mission – for everyone on Earth who's relying on us, and for the eighteen."

- Captain Archer, to the assembled crew of Enterprise

"I apologize for Mister Tucker."
"I never expected to meet anyone who'd suffered because of what I'd done. At the time, I thought the attack was necessary to save my people."
"I know. Believe it or not, we've had this conversation before."

- Captain Archer and Degra

Poster's Log:

Before discussing the episode itself: RIP René Auberjonois. The link is to the obit thread on the blue.

The timing is sadly fitting, as much of this episode is on grief and the often slow and painful process of dealing with it. There's also a bit of arc-moving-forward, as Degra joins Archer in trying to convince the Arboreal councilmember, Jannar, that the Sphere Builders are not to be trusted and that the Reptilians just want to blow some shit up, including Earth. But most of the real heft of the episode is on Trip, not just as he's trying to write the letter to Taylor's parents, but as he's lashing out at Degra (even though Degra is working to help them now) and struggling with his survivor's guilt. The scene in which Trip dreams about Taylor is great; Trek's usual go-to approach with dreams like this are to have the bloodied victims scream "Why couldn't you save me?" or something equally melodramatic, but instead Taylor quietly reminds Trip of the things that he knew about her during her time aboard the ship and asks him why he can't just write that. (Incidentally, crewman Rivers was played by Seth McFarlane.) Trip's grief and resulting insomnia has mostly been used as fodder for his developing relationship with T'Pol up until now, but here we're actually getting closer to the root of the problem. It's something that ties closely into the arc beyond merely moving the marker up a notch.

Poster's Log, supplemental: The title of the episode reminds me of two DS9 titles, "The Forsaken" and "The Begotten", both of which were--you may have seen this coming--big Odo episodes. The former gives him more emotional depth and also makes Lwaxana Troi more sympathetic IMO, and the latter has him dealing with his own grief while also restoring him to his full shapeshifting abilities, and, needless to say, they were also great showcases of Auberjonois' acting abilities, which were, of course, second to none.
posted by Halloween Jack (3 comments total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Second to none is damn right. I don't think I've been this melancholy over a celebrity death since Ronnie James Dio.

Trinneer does this brand of grief well, but I think I still prefer his comic acting. Good scenes with him and T'Pol here, though; it helps justify the direction their relationship is going IIRC. Really, in general, the writing here felt tighter than many other ENTs, possibly in part because it's more intimate subject matter, and of course the serialization aspect.

I also like this episode because it gave us the chance to watch somebody furiously yell at Seth MacFarlane.
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 10:26 AM on December 9, 2019 [2 favorites]


They handled Trip's sister and the letter about Taylor really well. Other than that, the plot sure continued.

I love the grubby semi-feral looks the crew has, except for T'Pol's uniform which stands out in a appropriate and funny way.

Archer's speech was staged in a pretty weird place. Militaristic and dictatorial with catwalks kind of coyly obscuring any shot of the entire crew but also just making it look like a really dumb place to gather. Why not the cafeteria, or the exercise room, or a cargo hold, or the movie night room.

I think it's funny that I don't trust Phlox anymore at all. Everything he says or does, I first apply the filter of, "Is this because you're a bad doctor?"
posted by fleacircus at 2:52 PM on December 9, 2019 [2 favorites]


I don't really have much to say about this episode. The Trip stuff was better than his usual character hits. The plot moved along, even if I sympathized mostly with Jannar because most of the "evidence" Archer shows them is pretty shaky. I guess it's good that T'Pol's addiction won't just go away just because that part of the plot is over, like you'd expect with one of these types of shows.
posted by General Malaise at 3:39 PM on December 15, 2019


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