"Bounty"

Written by Rick Berman, Brannon Braga, Hans Tobeason, Mike Sussman, and Phyllis Strong
Directed by Roxann Dawson


In which Archer is captured by a Tellarite bounty hunter, who intends to return him to the Klingons; meanwhile, T’Pol is forced into an early Pon-Farr by exposure to an alien pathogen...

Synopsis - Analysis - Memorable Quotes - Observations


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Synopsis

As the episode begins, Archer and Trip are recalled from shore leave on a planet to meet an unexpected visitor: a Tellarite. The pig-faced alien demands to know what Archer is doing there, then gives tourist advice when he learns that Archer and Enterprise is there for relaxation. He offers to drop by to help plan a tour of the planet for Archer, but when Archer and Trip greet him at the docking port, the Tellarite stuns Trip. Archer tries to defend himself, but it doesn’t take long for Archer to be brought down as well.

When Hoshi detects weapons’ fire, Reed orders the Tellarite ship detained. But the Tellarite manages to rip away from Enterprise, taking out the starboard nacelle in the process. Reed recalls the crew from the surface, but Phlox informs T’Pol that they both have acquired an unknown pathogen that will require decontamination.

Meanwhile, Archer awakens on the Tellarite vessel, and finds himself detained. The Tellarite, whose name is Skalaar, informs Archer that Enterprise will not be coming to rescue him. Archer demands to know where he’s being taken, but Skalaar doesn’t answer. When Archer tries to weasel out of his predictament, Skalaar threatens to stun him into silence. Archer wisely shuts up.

Back in sickbay, Phlox finds that the normal treatments don’t seem to have an effect on the pathogen. They need to use a skin ointment, and it would take hours to determine if it is effective. After pulling a screen across the chamber, Phlox and T’Pol separately apply the ointment. But when Phlox asks T’Pol to help him apply the ointment to his back, she seems to find his bare flesh a little too interesting. She notices her odd reaction, and is bothered by it.

While Enterprise finishes repairs and begins following the Tellarite’s trail, Skalaar contacts his employer in the Klingon Empire for instructions. After SS finishes the call, Archer asks how much the Klingons are paying for his recapture. Archer also wonders whether or not Skalaar is aware of the nature of his “crime”. Skalaar, however, has no interest in Archer’s guilt or innocence.

Enterprise finds where the trail of the Tellarite ship ends, and discovers a decoy beacon instead of their prey. Trip is annoyed that they would fall for such a simple ruse, especially since the beacon’s signal interferes with their sensors. After destroying the beacon, Enterprise is forced to start their search from the beginning.

Meanwhile, Archer tries to bargain with Skalaar, but the Tellarite isn’t interested in negotiating. Archer explains that he is likely to be executed, even though he was innocent. Skalaar counters that every fugitive claims innocence. Skalaar makes it clear that no matter what Archer’s situation is, it’s simply a matter of money.

In sickbay, Phlox detects that T’Pol is developing some kind of fever, as well as some kind of effect on her limbic system. T’Pol strongly insists that she be allowed to leave the chamber, even going so far as to threaten violence. Only then does she admit to some difficulty controlling her emotions.

On the Tellarite ship, Skalaar contacts another of his people. Skalaar says that the money offered by the Klingons is more enough to buy the “Tesra” back, but the other Tellarite doesn’t think Skalaar can deliver on his promise. Archer asks about “Tesra”, and Skalaar explains that it’s a transport ship. Before Skalaar can explain, another ship drops out of warp. The captain of the other vessel demands that Skalaar hand over Archer, and when the Tellarite refuses, the other alien opens fire. Archer offers to help Skalaar pilot the transport while Skalaar fights back. Reluctantly, Skalaar agrees.

Archer drops the Tellarite vessel out of warp, heading for the atmosphere of a nearby planet. Once inside the dense atmosphere, Archer has Skalaar fire off the remaining two decoy beacons. The other alien follows one of the beacons, allowing Archer to bring the Tellarite ship into attack position. Skalaar manages to take out the other ship’s engines, but repairs need to be made to his own ship before they can get away. Archer convinces Skalaar to land on the planet below, far away from where the other alien is likely to crash.

Back in sickbay, Phlox awakens to the sensation of T’Pol applying more ointment to his bare flesh. T’Pol begins coming on to him strongly, making it clear that she wants to mate with him. Phlox stridently throws off her advances, as difficult as it becomes. T’Pol understands her condition, and she tells Phlox about Pon-Farr. According to T’Pol, it’s not her time to experience the mating drive yet, and Phlox wonders if the pathogen is to blame. T’Pol, of course, informs Phlox that she must mate or die.

Meanwhile, Archer and Skalaar work on repairing the Tellarite vessel. Archer begins asking about Tesra, distracting Skalaar while sabotaging the repairs. Skalaar, ignorant of Archer’s activities, explains that Tesra was the fastest transport he had ever built. When Skalaar and his brother tried to take a shortcut across an “insignificant corner” of Klingon space, they were caught. Tesra was impounded, and Skalaar has been trying to find a way to get the transport back ever since. Then Skalaar notices what Archer is doing, and angrily stops him from further sabotage.

Back in sickbay, T’Pol heaves and moans while Phlox attempts to find an artificial means of dealing with Pon-Farr. T’Pol practically forces Phlox to mate with her, only to be saved when Trip arrives with their meals. Trip informs Phlox that they are still trying to find Archer. He’s a little worried when T’Pol begins devouring her meal, giving him sultry looks all the while.

Enterprise finds the planet where the two bounty hunter ships were forced to land, but the other alien is the only one still on the surface. The other alien thinks that Trip is also searching for Archer to get the bounty, but when the truth is made clear, it tells Trip that Archer is being taken to Klingon space. Trip orders Reed to make their best speed to the border.

Meanwhile, Skalaar docks at a space station, where he meets with his brother. Skalaar wants the parts for his repairs, but his brother only wants him to go away and never come back. When Skalaar insists that they can get the Tesra back, his brother reveals that the ship was gutted by the Klingons. Stunned, Skalaar has no choice but to agree to his brother’s terms.

Archer, however, plays on Skalaar’s sudden twist of fortune. Archer offers that there is a better way to handle the current situation, one that allows Skalaar to get his money while also giving Archer a chance of survival. With all his dreams dashed, Skalaar is willing to listen.

Back on Enterprise, T’Pol becomes violently delirious, not allowing Phlox to administer any treatment. T’Pol tosses Phlox against a wall, knocking him out. Then she rips off the wall panel to the door interlocks, allowing her to escape. Phlox returns to consciousness just a little too late, and can only warn Trip to evacuate the deck to prevent T’Pol from infecting others.

Reed and a security team don EVA suits and try to hunt down T’Pol. Reed is the one who finds her, of course, and she begins coming on to him. She makes it clear that his interest in her has not been very well hidden, and she offers to give him what he desires. When he refuses, she tosses him to the ground, and he is forced to stun her.

Skalaar takes Archer to the Klingons, but when he hands over the captain, the Klingons only give him a fraction of what he was promised. Once the Klingon ship goes into warp, Skalaar contacts Enterprise. Archer, in his cell, removes his handcuffs with a lockpick, and then uses a device to open the door to his cell. Archer manages to take down the first Klingon he sees, and grabs the Klingon’s disruptor. Meanwhile, Enterprise sets a course to intercept the Klingon ship.

Archer fights his way to the nearest escape pod. The Klingons drop out of warp to retrieve him, but Enterprise arrives at the same time. Enterprise fires on the Klingon vessel, trying to distract the enemy long enough to use their grappler to retrieve Archer themselves. Once they take possession of the escape pod (and their wayward captain), Enterprise races away from Klingon space.

Meanwhile, T’Pol awakens to learn that Phlox managed to eliminate the pathogen, resulting in the end of the premature Pon-Farr. T’Pol, obviously worried over her behavior, asks Phlox not to mention the circumstances of her condition.

With Archer back on board, Trip reports that the Klingons are “limping” back to their homeworld. Archer is a little worried about what has been happening with T’Pol, but he’s not given details. Skalaar contacts Archer to trade best wishes and warn that the Klingons are likely to increase the price on his head.


Analysis

Last episode was one of the high points for the series, incorporating several plot threads in what might be the perfect jumping point for a shift in Archer’s character. This episode, aired on the same night, manages to incorporate several of the worst flaws of the series into one pathetic mish-mash of oft-mined concepts.

Even though it is essentially the “B” plot of the episode, T’Pol’s pathogen-induced Pon-Farr was one of those plot devices that everyone knew would come up sooner or later. It was inevitable from the moment that a “sexy” Vulcan was conceived as one of the regulars for the series. Never mind the fact that it’s incredibly demeaning for an actress to be reduced to a sex object, especially when there’s no other reason for that plot device to exist.

Given how self-contained that the Pon-Farr scenes needed to be, if any semblance of continuity were to be maintained, there was no chance to make them more relevant to something more substantial. And unlike the original episode which introduced Pon-Farr, the original series episode “Amok Time”, there is nothing mysterious or respectful about the way that the “blood fever” is portrayed.

It’s interesting that Spock’s reaction to Pon-Farr was very well-rendered, mixing a degradation of his emotional control with an expansion of Vulcan mysticism. That episode eventually led to a number of spiritual concepts that defined the Vulcans for decades. That was maintained until another Vulcan was made a character on “Voyager”, and from that moment forward, Tuvok became the modern incarnation of the Vulcan people.

Unfortunately, as that series demonstrated, the vague impression of a spiritual aspect is not enough to carry forward the depth that had been developed during the early years of the franchise. Tuvok’s experience with Pon-Farr was mined for its inherent sexual undertones, while still paying respect to the larger implications. This episode simply plays on the overt sexual hunger, which would have been bad enough, had it been a predatory male. But reducing T’Pol to a woman in heat, even for an episode, sounds and feels like someone’s dirty little fantasy.

Clearly the producers, being the ones who originally developed the story, were aware of that. In fact, they were probably hoping that young men (and possibly some women) would be lured into watching the episode by the promise of T’Pol thrashing herself around like an uncontrollable slut. Even if T’Pol’s condition were manufactured simply as a lure, so that the main plot would highlight the best material possible for potentially new viewers, it’s just an example of how poor the judgment of the production staff has been all season.

After all, the “A” plot is far from stellar. The situation is mostly contrived, which shouldn’t be much of a shock. In the teaser, it’s said that the Tellarites are an angry and violent race, but the rest of the episode doesn’t exactly distinguish them from Humans or even Klingons. At least the Andorians were written with a distinct point of view. Other than their appearance, the Tellarites don’t seem even remotely alien.

When Skalaar contacted his brother and mentioned reclaiming the Tesra, why didn’t Skalaar’s brother mention anything about the Tesra’s fate? Why hadn’t that been mentioned before, especially since Skalaar’s feelings weren’t exactly important? Why would Skalaar, thinking that Archer was his ticket back to his former life, suddenly make the mistake of trusting him?

Of course, it was inevitable that Archer will win over Skalaar when it’s clear that the Klingons have been stringing the Tellarite along. It was inevitable that Archer will convince Skalaar of his innocence, and the need to get away from Klingon justice. Just as it was inevitable that Archer would be able to overcome the Klingons using unfamiliar weapons and completely unfamiliar technology.

The only saving grace of the entire episode was the way the situation with the Klingons was escalated. That plot thread has long since gone beyond the line of established continuity, so now it’s a matter of whether or not the writers can make the best of that poorly considered decision. This episode gives Enterprise a reasonably matched foe, while also giving the Klingons a very good reason to begin hostilities with Humanity.

Considering that the Vulcans warned Archer and Starfleet that involving themselves in Klingon affairs would only end badly, seeing that warning turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy is an interesting twist. It is certainly the perfect example to drive home to Archer a better understanding of his role as the captain on the frontier. If anything, Archer has let his early lack of failure engender a completely unjustified arrogance.

Wherever the season finale happens to lead Archer, this episode pulls in too many directions to really give Archer the edge that he needs. With all of the different hands involved in coming up with the thin plot that does exist, one begins to wonder if the writing staff is even getting the free hand it needs to make this series work. The contrived hunt for Archer helps to keep this episode from falling to the level of “A Night in Sickbay”, but not by much.


Memorable Quotes

T’POL: “You have no idea what you’re denying yourself...”

T’POL: “I’m hungry.”
PHLOX: “Our meals will be here soon.”
T’POL: “I wasn’t referring to the food...”


Observations

- Time stamp: the episode begins on March 21, 2153...

- Five writers. This episode took five writers. Is there any wonder why it was so unfocused?

- Why does everyone think energy fields are good for detaining captives? Considering how often systems in the future are destroyed by the utter lack of fuses or circuit breakers, that kind of detention would seem a little ineffective!

- And yet, every time, the one being detained feels the need to physically test the energy field...

- Since when are Denobulan males inhibited?

- Oooo...blowing up probes is such high-powered action...

- Whatever happened to the thick clouds in the atmosphere of the planet where Archer and Skalaar were forced to land?

- Hey, look...more condensation on the inside of an EVA helmut...

- Since when do Klingon disruptors have a stun setting?

- Shouldn’t the force of that grappler whipping around the escape pod have seriously injured Archer?

Overall, this episode was a mess. Five writers were apparently needed to develop an episode that made T’Pol into an embarrassing sex-hungry animal, while supplying Archer with a contrived challenge to show off his supposed edge. The result is an example of the series at its worst, ripping through the shadows of such concepts as characterization and franchise continuity without pause.

I give it a 4/10.


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