hen a mysterious probe unleashes a devastating attack on Earth, burning a fiery swath from Florida to Venezuela, the Enterprise is recalled. Fearing that more than a million people have been killed, the crew begin their journey home. As the staggering numbers of those killed grow, Trip (Trinneer) worries that his sister may have been lost in the attack.
Before they can reach Earth, Suliban ships approach the Enterprise, and Capt. Archer (Bakula) is kidnapped. Believing that the Suliban may have had something to do with the attack, Archer is angry when he discovers Silik (John Fleck) is behind his capture. However, Silik says he doesn't want to harm Archer. Instead, he wants the captain to talk to someone.
The shadowy Humanoid Figure, also known as Future Guy (James Horan), tells Archer that the attack on Earth came from an alien race known as the Xindi. Worse yet, the probe was just a test. They are building a much more powerful weapon that will destroy the Earth.
The words of Future Guy set about a series of events that will take the Enterprise on a journey toward an uncharted region in space from which few space travelers have returned. With the fate of the Earth in their hands, Archer and his crew are determined to do whatever's necessary to stop the Xindi. However, before they can complete their trip, they will have to deal with one mighty angry Klingon who has some unfinished business with Archer.
Loss of focus leads to a lost opportunity
So far in its two years on the air, Enterprise hasn't quite come together in the way it needs to in order to be a contender in the Star Trek arena. This second-season finale, "The Expanse," is a good example of what works and what doesn't work about the series. It has a compelling beginning and some good conflict, but the finish just isn't strong enough to bring the story to a satisfying conclusion.
"The Expanse" opens with a powerful scene that shows the Earth being attacked by an alien probe. When the crew learns about the attack, the reaction is realistic. At first, they don't quite understand the impact of what's happened, and it isn't until they see the devastation for themselves that they begin to understand. It's reminscent of 9/11, and the episode does a very good job at first of bringing home the emotions of the situation.
However, the power of this story is quickly lost, first by throwing helpful Sulibans, angry Klingons and skeptical Vulcans into the mix, and finally because it just doesn't seem as if the humans are angry or devastated enough by what's happened. And perhaps because so much time passes for the characters as they travel home and then on a three-month trip to find the Xindi, the danger doesn't seem immediate enough. In the end, if executive producers/writers Berman and Braga are going to travel into an attack-at-home type of scenario, the focus should stay on the human characters and the story should offer something we can't get always get in real life, a clear-cut villain.
By the end of the cliffhanger in "The Expanse," the story has been diluted enough that it's not going to drive viewers back in the fall to find out what happens. That's a shame, because this had the potential to be a great episode, much as Enterprise has the potential to be a great Star Trekseries. Unfortunately, that potential hasn't been realized so far. According to the producers, that may change as Enterprise takes a "startling new direction" next season. We'll see.
