4x08 Awakening

[Dimitris]

Production: 084
Season: 4 Episode: 8
Air Date: 11.26.2004

Archer and T'Pol encounter the Syrrannites, a radical group hiding in the Vulcan desert, while the NX-01 crew contends with Vulcan power ploys.


Synopsis

On a quest to learn the truth behind the bombing of the Earth embassy on Vulcan, Archer and T'Pol track down the Syrrannites, a revolutionary faction hiding in a desert sanctuary which includes T'Pau — the prime suspect in the bombing — and T'Pol's mother T'Les. The rebels are on the verge of being crushed by Vulcan High Command leader V'Las, but they are stunned to learn that Archer might hold the key to their survival.

While Vulcan's state of unrest grows more violent, former Ambassador Soval reveals to Trip that the High Command also plans to launch a massive sneak attack against rival planet Andoria, an act that could pull Earth into interplanetary war.

[Dimitris]

Cast & Creative Staff

Cast:
Scott Bakula as Jonathan Archer
John Billingsley as Dr. Phlox
Jolene Blalock as T'Pol
Dominic Keating as Malcolm Reed
Anthony Montgomery as Travis Mayweather
Linda Park as Hoshi Sato
Connor Trinneer as Charles "Trip" Tucker III

Guest Cast:
Kara Zed**er as T'Pau
Gary Graham as Soval
Bruce Gray as Surak
Robert Foxworth as V'Las
Joanna Cassidy as T'Les
John Rubinstein as Kuvak

Creative Staff:
Director: Roxann Dawson
Written By: Andre Bormanis

[Dimitris]

10.08.2004
Production Report: "Awakening" Deepens Vulcan Mythos


SPOILER ALERT!!!
A younger version of "T'Pau" and an older version of "Surak" than those we saw in the Original Series will be among the elements of Vulcan history explored in "Awakening," the second of three episodes dealing with a significant transitional phase on that planet.

Roxann Dawson — not exactly a stranger to Vulcans — was in the director's chair for this mid-trilogy tale which greatly deepens the lore of the Star Trek universe and helps connect the current era to the future we've come to know (related story).

The script, penned by seasoned staff writer Andre Bormanis, picks up where "The Forge" left off. Archer and T'Pol, after a perilous trek across a Vulcan desert, finally locate the Syrrannites, a revolutionary faction blamed for the bombing of the Earth embassy. The Syrrannites claim to embrace the true teachings of Surak — the father of Vulcan philosophy who instigated the Time of Awakening almost 2000 years ago — but Archer and T'Pol are highly skeptical of their professions of pacifism. Meanwhile, Trip Tucker is in command of Enterprise, and with Ambassador Soval's help, contends with an obstinate Vulcan High Command whose campaign against the Syrrannites could endanger the captain and first officer.

One of the leaders of the Syrrannite group is T'Pau, who — as we know from "Amok Time" — is destined to become a very important figure on Vulcan and in the Federation. The part originally played by Celia Lovsky has been re-cast with the young Kara Zed**er. Zed**er has done a variety of roles in television and movies, but she might be most recognizable as "Elizabeth Nash" in the first season of 24.

Another very important figure in Trek lore has been re-cast, but this time a bit older. Surak — seen in this episode through mystical visions — was introduced in "The Savage Curtain" by the late Barry Athingyer. The role's been taken over by Bruce Gray, whom we've previously seen (but only on monitors) as "Admiral Chekote" in TNG's "Gambit, Part I" and DS9's "The Circle."

In each case, a conscious attempt was made to cast actors who look reminiscent of the originals (unlike in the case of, say, Zefram Cochrane or Kahless).

Continuing as "Administrator V'Las" from the prior episode is Robert Foxworth, and Joanna Cassidy reprises her role from "Home" as T'Pol's mother "T'Les." Gary Graham, of course, is back as "Soval." The guest cast is rounded out by John Rubinstein as "Kuvak," another member of the High Command. Rubinstein was in an earlier Vulcan-themed Enterprise episode, "Fallen Hero," as the hostile "Mazarite Captain." He also played the human "John Evansville" in Voyager's "The 37's."

Most of "Awakening" takes place in the cavern hideout of the Syrrannites, so all the ship scenes were taken care of up front in the first two days of production, which commenced Thursday, Sept. 23. Standing sets used included the Ready Room, Launch Bay, the Shuttlepod interior, and a full day on the Bridge.

The desert cavern is referred to as the "T'Karath Sanctuary," and it is made up of several sections dressed with ancient Vulcan artifacts (similar to those seen at P'Jem in "The Andorian Incident"), including a few mummies. Four of the seven shooting days were spent on these swing sets, with Scott Bakula, Jolene Blalock, Zed**er and Cassidy, along with a half dozen or so Syrrannite extras. During the fourth day, however, the artifacts were removed from the main cavern set and re-dressed for the two Surak vision scenes, taking place in the same location 2000 years prior. There were some brief exterior desert scenes, but they all take place at night, so they were faked on the soundstage (with digital effects to follow) rather than hassling with a location shoot.

The final day of production — last Friday, Oct. 1 — was spent entirely on sets depicting the Vulcan High Command Conference Chamber, for scenes solely with Vulcan players Foxworth, Rubinstein and Graham, and three extras.

This was the first episode of the season for both director Dawson and writer Bormanis. It's Dawson's 10th Enterprise episode overall (after two Voyagers), her last being "E²." Bormanis has numerous writing credits on Voyager and Enterprise, his last being the penultimate episode of Season 3, "Countdown."

"Awakening" is tentatively scheduled to air Friday, November 26, with the conclusion of the Vulcan trilogy set for the following week, December 3.

[Dimitris]

Plot Summary:

The High Command convenes and Soval is asked to resign because of his illegal activities as one who performed mind melds. V'Las tells him that the embassy bomber was a Syrannite so plans to attack the group are proceeding. Soval warns Tucker that Archer and T'Pol may be in grave danger and works with him in a plan to sneak a shuttlepod past the Vulcan sensor grid for a rescue mission while V'Las attempts to persuade the other High Command members that exterminating the Syrannites in the desert is the only course of action open to them.

Archer and T'Pau introduce themselves and are immediately distrustful. When Archer reveals that Arev guided them to the compound and died during the journey, T'Pau reacts with shock and says that Arev's real name was Syran, the leader of their movement. Alone with T'Pol, Archer says that since Arev put his hand on his forehead, he has felt as if something is inside him that is not himself. T'Pol also speaks to her mother, telling T'Les that she does not understand how a scientist could join the Syrannites; she is unconvinced when her mother explains her that the High Command actions at P'Jem and more recently in suppressing dissent convinced her that the Vulcans have strayed from the teachings of Surak. T'Les had hoped that her daughter would follow her into the movement.

Archer has a vision of Surak at the time of the Awakening 1800 years ago. Surak tells him that Syran chose him to be the vessel because he is not a Vulcan and as an outsider he can help restore the people to their true path. When he tells T'Pau about the vision, she asks him to allow her to touch his mind, which he reluctantly permits. Though T'Pol is skeptical, claiming that scientists have never been able to prove the presence of the Katra even via mind meld, T'Pau discovers Surak's living spirit inside Archer's mind and tells T'Les that it must be removed, even if Archer is unwilling to take the risks the extraction might pose to a human brain.

Admitting to his fellow Vulcans that he wants no witnesses of the planned massacre of the Syrannites, V'Las hails Enterprise and orders Tucker to leave orbit, having a Starfleet admiral contact him as well. Tucker refuses to leave, and launches a shuttlepod with Mayweather and Reed aboard in an attempt to retrieve the crewmembers on the surface, but the Vulcans fire upon it until it is forced to turn back. After a battle with several Vulcan spaceships, Tucker accepts Soval's advice that he break orbit before Enterprise is destroyed. Meanwhile, T'Pau again touches Archer's mind, but Surak himself chooses to remain with Archer and instructs him to find the Kir'Shara - a legendary artifact for which T'Pau has been searching for years. Though the High Command begins its assault on the Syrannite compound as soon as Enterprise is out of scanning range, T'Pau elects to stay behind with Archer to hunt for the Kir'Shara within the caves, and T'Pol remains as well.

Deep within the sanctuary, Archer opens a door with a series of gestures and discovers the chamber where the Kir'Shara is hidden. He and the others flee with the object, only to come across T'Les dying in the wreckage of the compound. T'Pol's mother says that she went to the Syrannites to help T'Pol, who had always struggled with her emotions. She tells her daughter she is proud of her and dies as T'Pol weeps. She and Archer are stranded on Vulcan, for Enterprise has left the region at maximum warp after Tucker learns from Soval that the High Command plans to attack Andoria and launch an interstellar war, despite the peace treaty Archer negotiated.


Analysis:

It's been apparent for much of Enterprise's run that something was not right on Vulcan, and now we discover that arrogant, secretive Soval is actually one of the biggest fans of Earth! What's most interesting about "Awakening" isn't the discovery that there's a megalomaniacal High Command leader using logic to justify mass murder, nor that Soval is willing to risk his personal safety and that of his planet for the sake of humans and Andorians. It's that Surak, the father of Vulcan logic, apparently trusts an offworlder more than he trusts any of his followers to retrieve an ancient artifact and bring back the true path before the Vulcans destroy themselves.

I can't recall at the moment whether Surak himself created the ideology of Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations, but he seems to believe in it with all his katra. He may deplore V'Las' ruthless and self-serving logic, but at the same time he apparently does not trust T'Pau enough to transfer his katra into her, despite her years as a follower of Syran. What looked last week like a random accident, with Archer receiving the mind-meld because Arev was dying and T'Pol wasn't nearby, now seems to be the design of the enlightened Vulcan master. In visions he seems to be suggesting to Archer that not even the Syrannites understand the true path, and need an outsider to bring them to it. Evidently he did not trust even Syran with the Kir'Shara, whatever it does, if he did not allow him or T'Pau to discover its whereabouts.

I can't decide whether this is a wonderfully progressive concept or just regressive Trek in which humans have all the answers - the sort where Kirk would land on a planet, make a speech and convert everyone to peace, democracy and the American Way in the course of a one-hour episode. It would do much to explain how humans rather than Vulcans became the dominant species in the Federation (well, that and the fact that the Vulcans apparently had trouble getting along with their allies). The political parallels between Vulcan and George Bush's America seem unsubtle: V'Las uses the probability that the Andorians are developing weapons of mass destruction as an excuse to attack them, while at home he's eradicating free speech protestors, a religious minority, proponents of peace. It's difficult to believe that the others in the High Command accept his justifications so easily, particularly Kuvak who repeatedly points out both the cruelty and the illogic of the commands. Surely he must suspect that V'Las himself arranged the embassy bombing and implicated T'Pau?

V'Las does not seem to be a terribly deep character, but what's fascinating are the ways in which he's paralleled with T'Pau. When she insists that she will force Archer to meld with her and give up Surak's katra whether it's what he wishes or not, she sounds more like V'Las than the radical peacenik V'Las himself believes her to be. She seems very young to be carrying so much responsibility - it isn't explained why everyone accepts her as Syran's second, nor how T'Les became so powerful so quickly in a group she apparently joined only recently, since her dismissal from the Vulcan Science Academy. T'Pau accepts T'Les' criticisms without complaint but never really considers her points; she is too certain of her path. She does not seem anywhere near to achieving the pure logic of kolinahr...then again, neither does T'Les, who has allowed her feelings for her daughter to lead her to this impulsive search for answers, and certainly not T'Pol who weeps over her mother's body.

Gary Graham gives another fine performance as Soval but I'm finding the change in him so thorough after the events of "Home" that I'm almost inclined to believe he's working for someone. So he can do mind melds, too - is he secretly a Syrannite, as the High Council claims of their terrorist? Or did Forrest transfer his katra into Soval just before...okay, obviously not, but it's really such a turnaround that I'm literally having trouble believing in it. On the other hand, I am really enjoying Tucker in command. He's much better at it than he was in previous seasons, and does a nice job of keeping a sense of humor and informality with the crew while at the same time being as tough as necessary. Few of the other crewmembers get much chance to shine - Reed does his whiz-bang shooting, Mayweather does his whiz-bang flying and Sato announces that hailing frequencies are open. I'm having Chekov-Sulu-Uhura flashbacks.

Visually I found this episode stronger than the last, though overall the dialogue wasn't quite up to par with "The Forge." The Surak visions, saturated with golden light though set in the midst of a violent war, are eerie and moving, and I liked the suggestion of caves leading off constructed corridors in the Syrannite compound (though I'd love to know how they managed things like food and fresh air, let alone generating power for those holographic disguises). Still, it's hard to evaluate the episode thematically without having the final piece in the puzzle to complete the trilogy. This one isn't much of a letdown, so the momentum is strong heading into the final piece of the arc. So far the Andorian episodes have nearly all been good ones.