"Rajiin"

Written by Brent Friedman, Chris Black, and Paul Brown
Directed by Mike Vejar


In which the Enterprise crew encounters a Xindi undercover agent with a hidden agenda, and potent talents of seduction...

Synopsis - Analysis - Memorable Quotes - Observations


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Synopsis

As the episode begins, the Xindi Council is informed that the research lab where the second-generation attack probe was being developed has suffered a setback. The weapon is meant to destroy an entire world. The Xindi-Reptilians and Xindi-Insects offer an alternative, but the rest of the Council objects. The decision is made to continue with the planet-killer.

On Enterprise, Trip and T’Pol continue the neuropressure sessions. However, Trip is worried about the fact that some crew members are beginning to speculate on a possible relationship between them. T’Pol points out that it is no concern to the rest of the crew, one way or another. Meanwhile, Archer is having trouble sleeping, thanks to the lingering physical and psychological effects of his recent transformation (“Extinction”).

As he is treated by Phlox, Archer discusses the fact that a possible source of Trellium-D has been located on a nearby world. The ship arrives at the water world where their source is located. Archer, Trip, and Reed land and search for the chemist with the formula for synthesizing Trellium-D. After some short delays, they finally meet with the chemist, B’Rat Ud. B’Rat indicates that some Xindi arrived on the planet within the past week, and Archer makes that part of the bargaining process for the Trellium-D formula.

Archer and Reed find the contact, a sex slave trader named Zjod. Zjod tells Archer that the Xindi left two days earlier, and tries to strike a deal for one of the women. Archer isn’t interested, but one of the women appears to be interested in leaving with him. Archer ignores the apparent interest, but before he and Reed can leave, the woman rushes after them. She begs him to help her escape, and Archer decides to take her with them, based on her apparent slavery. Zjod tries to fight Archer to get paid for the woman, but Archer takes the slave owner down.

Phlox examines the woman, who appears to be completely healthy. The woman identifies herself as Rajiin, and she promises to serve him well. Archer, of course, explains that she’s not bound to her previous profession. Trip exchanges a collection of Earth spices for the Trellium-D formula. B’Rat warns them that the formulation is extremely volatile until applied.

Archer gives Rajiin free access to Enterprise, and tells her about his attempts to contact the Xindi. Trip explains the problem with the Trellium-D formula, and Archer assigns Trip and T’Pol to work on the synthesis in an isolated area. Sometime later, Rajiin visits Archer’s quarters, and she very quickly begins to seduce him. While seducing Archer with just the touch of her fingers, Rajiin somehow scans Archer’s biology. Moments later, Archer snaps back to attention, not remembering anything that happened, not even the conversation.

Trip and T’Pol attempt to synthesize the Trellium-D, but the initial attempt is unsuccessful. T’Pol asks Trip to come to her quarters for another neuropressure session, so they can be rested before the next attempt. Hoshi finds Rajiin looking over the transporter, and Rajiin quickly seduces and scans Hoshi as well.

As T’Pol prepares herself for Trip’s arrival, she is shocked when Rajiin steps out of the shadows in her darkened quarters. Rajiin manages to break down T’Pol’s natural defenses, though it takes longer than it did with Archer and Hoshi. When Trip arrives, T’Pol breaks out of Rajiin’s spell, and Rajiin overpowers her. By the time Trip uses his security clearance to enter the room, T’Pol is unconscious. Rajiin manages to distract Trip long enough to get out of the room.

Rajiin contacts her employers, and indicates that she can use the Enterprise transporter, if their ship is close enough. Rajiin is stopped by a security guard, but she seduces him into giving up his weapon. Reed leads a security team to find Rajiin, but she deftly shoots her way through Engineering to find a back way to the transporter. Unfortunately for her, Archer and another team are waiting for her.

T’Pol’s condition suggests some kind of neurological trauma, which her stronger Vulcan physiology allowed her to survive. Archer questions Rajiin, but she refuses to tell him about her employers. Rajiin refuses to say anything other than the fact that Archer is in danger. Archer, however, clearly understands that he was set-up. He just doesn’t know why, and he doesn’t believe Rajiin when she tells him that it’s in her best interest to just let her go.

Two Xindi vessels drop out of warp, and Rajiin confirms that she was sent by the Xindi-Reptilian species. The Xindi vessels force Enterprise out of warp, and then send boarding squads to break onto the ship and retrieve Rajiin. Rajiin explains to Archer that she was sent to retrieve biological data for the production of a bioweapon. However, she doesn’t know the details.

When the Xindi squads rush onto the ship, they are met by the MACOs. However, the Xindi possess advanced body shielding and superior weapons, including biotech. The crew is no match for the Xindi-Reptilian and Xindi-Insect forces, and in short order, they manage to retrieve Rajiin. Archer is left with nothing but dead and wounded crewmen, and plenty of internal damage...and one dead Xindi-Reptilian.

Phlox determines that the Xindi casualty was killed by a triggered organ with his body, not damage from Enterprise resistance. Archer orders Trip to examine the Xindi weapon found with the body, and orders a recovered T’Pol to study the data gathered on the two Xindi ships, including an advanced warp technology that allowed them to approach Enterprise so easily.

Meanwhile, the Xindi Council strongly condemns the Xindi-Reptilian plans. They have Rajiin detail the biological data that she gathered. Despite the disagreements over tactics, the Xindi Council decides to proceed with continued efforts to develop both the planet-killer and the bioweapon.


Analysis

In many ways, recent Star Trek has suffered from an over-emphasis on sexuality, or at the very least, the hunt of sexuality. Part of this appears to be the preferences of the executive producers, who would rather follow the superficial tactic of flashing a little skin and pretending at seduction than following the cue of the original series. While this episode follows that trend, there is at least an attempt to make it mean something in a larger context.

Far more shocking and gratifying is the level of continuity. Just the fact that there are lingering effects from Archer’s infection with the Lokek virus in the previous episode underscores the dedication of the entire production to the new direction of the series. For the first time since “Deep Space 9”, there is a sense that a story is being told.

It should be noted that everything that happens in this episode is a result of events depicted in the four previous episodes. The details might be new, but the fact remains that there are long-term plot threads being intentionally explored. “Voyager” never managed to maintain any level of continuity, so this almost seems extreme in comparison. But this is exactly what the series and franchise needed: a reason for the audience to keep watching.

The idea of tricking the heroes into accepting a seductive spy is hardly new to the franchise. The trick is giving the old story enough context to make sense in the scheme of things. In that respect, this episode succeeds. Rajiin’s mission makes complete sense, and it is interesting to contemplate what the success of the mission suggests for Enterprise.

For one thing, it’s unlikely that Rajiin’s mission will provide the Xindi with the information that they are looking for. In a clever bit of obvious advanced planning, Rajiin ends up “scanning” the two humans who are still recovering from the Lokek virus. This incidence is an example of how continuity opens unexpected and intriguing doors that normally wouldn’t be opened. Were Rajiin’s scans tainted by the remnants of the Lokek virus in Archer and Hoshi’s systems?

That’s an important question, because not only does it lend much more importance to the otherwise tired plot of “Extinction”, but it suggests an interesting direction for the Xindi plot threads. If Archer held onto the Lokek virus at the end of “Extinction” for the purposes of using the virus as a weapon against the Xindi species behind the attack on Earth, and the bioweapon developed by the Xindi is mistakenly based on the remnants of the Lokek virus rather than pure human genetics, then the Xindi could very well provide the means of their own destruction!

The bioweapon is not the only possibility of short-sightedness by the Xindi. It’s still unclear how the Xindi homeworld was destroyed, and involvement within the context of the Temporal Cold War is apparent. Not only is there an indication that a bioweapon capable of wiping out the Xindi could explain the lack of Xindi in the previous Trek incarnations, but the discussion about planet-killer superweapons suggests a possible explanation for the destruction of the Xindi homeworld. Ironically, in the process of attempting to save themselves, the Xindi might create the very key to their own destruction.

Enterprise, on the other hand, is just as clueless and unaware of what they’ve gotten themselves into. This episode demonstrates that clearly. Archer and the others are walking, talking intelligence sources for the enemy, and in this episode, that naïve quality is fully exploited. It’s almost as though this season is meant to prove, at least in the beginning, that the Vulcans were absolutely correct. Humanity is unprepared for the level of intrigue and conflict waiting for them.

The formulation for Trellium-D is another perfect example. Trip seems to think that he’s been clever in trading cheap spices for something vital to the mission, but what’s to say that B’Rat didn’t give them a false formulation? The very fact that the formulation doesn’t immediately work speaks to the difference between typical Trek and this season. There’s no guarantee that the formulation was real, and no guarantee that the crew will ever make it work. In short, nothing is certain, and everything is open to question.

There are a number of good questions to be answered and possibilities to be explored. It would certainly seem that at least two species of Xindi are working with someone able to provide advanced technology, and that suggests ties to the Temporal Cold War. The fact that Rajiin, a nearly human agent, was used to infiltrate Enterprise suggests some basic knowledge of humanity. Some might argue that it was too easy for Rajiin to look human, but it makes the entire plot seem calculated.

There are also a number of weaknesses to the story. Archer’s reasoning for taking Rajiin from the planet doesn’t quite mesh with his attitudes in “Cogenitor”. However, unlike that episode, this is not a question of alien culture. Still, it would have been nice for Trip to question Archer about the apparent contradiction. It’s certainly something that could have been explored, especially since it would give Archer’s motivations and sense of morality greater definition.

There are also some problems with the depiction of Rajiin’s overall mission. It’s not clear how she is seducing people, other than through touch. Not is it clear how she is actually “scanning” through touch, though the visual effect is suggestive. It’s also a bit annoying for Rajiin’s apparent homosexual contact to be expressed as a violation, since her seduction of Archer was far less disturbing than her attack on T’Pol.

Taking the level of continuity and the overall tone of the episode into account, it’s clear that the entire production staff is aware that the series has been compared, often unfavorably, to “Farscape”. Like many of the episodes this season, “Rajiin” could have easily been a retooled episode from that series, with the more extreme elements softened for the Trek franchise.

Granted, “Enterprise” is still only mimicking “Farscape”, because that series would have let Rajiin operate with far less concern or sympathy for Archer and the humans. It’s also likely that Rajiin would have been much less human in appearance if this were a “Farscape” episode. However, one could easily see the entire Xindi plot as presented to this point transplanted to “Farscape” without much need for improvement. The difference is one of emphasis and execution, and considering the reluctance of Berman and Braga to institute this level of continuity and uncertainty, a complete transformation wasn’t going to happen overnight.

However, unlike much of the second season, “Enterprise” cannot be criticized for playing it safe. The series may not be playing on the same level as the more innovative shows in the genre, but unlike past efforts, the writers are clearly trying. The improvements made by injecting tight continuity and eliminating stock solutions give the series an edge and promise that have been missing from the franchise in recent years. There’s still much room for improvement, but now, there’s actually anticipation for what might come next.


Memorable Quotes

Not much, but as an engineer, I found one line to be rather amusing:

T’POL: “Some of our calculations may have been slightly off...”


Observations

- I swear, the Xindi scientist reminded me so much of Barclay from “Next Generation”!

- When even the teaser contains a massive amount of continuity and actual intrigue, it’s a damned good sign for the series as a whole...

- Still hate that theme song, though!

- OK, it was nasty to see that Archer scratched off that “scab” from his face...

- Wait...was that actually a reference to Ensign Cutler, and the fact that she and Phlox are still interacting? More continuity!

- I like how Archer is more direct and clearly short of patience, but in a less obvious manner than would have been expressed in previous seasons...

- B’Rat Ud was played just perfectly, very reminiscent of John Schuck as Draal on “Babylon 5”!

- Nice costume work for the sex slaves...almost as though this were an episode of the original series...

- Nikita Ager was stunning as Rajiin, but I think my favorite touch was the tattoo work across her chest. Far more subtle and intriguing than her wardrobe!

- I love how Zjod essentially had buttocks for a forehead...

- While the fight between Archer and Zjod was classic Trek, the music didn’t really match the scene very well...

- Another classic Trek touch...the use of the soft filter on Rajiin’s close-ups!

- I swear, half of Rajiin’s dialogue is overdubbed...very strange...

- What, they couldn’t give us a Rajiin/Hoshi scene? It would have been better than the obvious T’Pol scene!

- I love Rajiin’s moves during the firefight in Engineering...it’s clear that she was bioengineered as the perfect undercover agent...

- The weapons, armor, and advanced warp systems were all quite interesting for a Trek episode!

- OK, that catsuit that Rajiin is wearing at the end of the episode is better than anything T’Pol has worn...

Overall, this episode is a perfect example of how continuity can enhance episodes that would otherwise be completely unoriginal. Everything in this episode has context, and unlike previous seasons, there’s a lack of simple resolution. There’s room for improvement, but there’s also a clear sense that the writers are making an effort.

I give it a 7/10.


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