Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS | More
“Shockwave II” kicks off the second season of Enterprise! As is usual in these Star Trek two-parters, the second half relies a bit more on action and bombast than the opening episode. Archer and Daniels work to return Archer to the correct timeline (after dropping a few hints about the timeline that Archer needs to protect). Meanwhile, the crew seeks to regain control of Enterprise from their Suliban captors. Oh, and Hoshi gets her shirt ripped off and holds her breasts in her hands.
The Wikipedia plot summary for “Shockwave II”:
With Archer gone, T’Pol chooses to surrender the ship to the Suliban to let them verify his disappearance. They do not find any trace of Archer, but they retrieve their data disks and detect a temporal signature in the turbolift. Meanwhile, in the 31st century, Daniels realizes that there is no available technology to send Archer back and, because of this, the timeline has been disrupted. Archer however gives Daniels his communicator and scanner, allowing Daniels to make a device able to contact Enterprise.
The Suliban take Enterprise to a nearby helix, and Silik interrogates T’Pol to learn where Archer has gone, but she knows little. When T’Pol is returned to her quarters, Archer contacts her and gives her instructions on how to bring him back. Meanwhile, Tucker is able to set up a communication link between the senior staff, and they plan an escape. The plan begins when two Suliban find T’Pol acting strangely, and are knocked out by Reed and Ensign Mayweather. Reed then goes to Daniels’s quarters to retrieve a futuristic device, but is caught by the Suliban. During interrogation, he tells Silik that Archer gave him orders to destroy the device, to prevent him from using it to get in touch with the Suliban’s contact from the future.
Silik then tries to contact his master but he only succeeds in bringing Archer back, Daniels and Archer having managed to set up a device that allows them to return Archer to his time using the communication device as a ‘target’. Meanwhile, on Enterprise, a faked warp core breach is initiated, forcing the Suliban to evacuate the ship. As soon as they are freed, Enterprise goes to warp, pursued by Suliban ships. Archer destroys Daniels’s device and, having taken Silik hostage, secures their escape. The reunited crew finally present their proof to Starfleet Command and the Vulcans. Soval still recommends cancellation of the mission, but Archer promises that humanity will learn from their mistakes. T’Pol supports him, adding that the Vulcans should learn from their mistakes as well. Soval exits, and it is decided that Enterprise‘s mission will continue for now. What a Shockwave II!
In this episode of the podcast, Wes and Clay discuss the second season of Enterprise choosing to bring a few topics into focus. Plus! The guys debate the characterization of Daniels, the confounding nature of Soval, and keeping things a mystery when you don’t have much going on.