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“Rogue Planet” features a planet shrouded in darkness! It conceals the motives of those who visit its lush surface. Its darkness symbolizes the darkness of the souls of men, a seductive evil that circles our good intentions and drapes them in nefarious purposes. Unfortunately, this episode of Star Trek: Enterprise doesn’t really seem interested in all of that. It would rather show us Jonathan Archers spank bank material from the fourth grade.
The Wikipedia plot summary for “Rogue Planet”:
A planet appears on sensors, adrift and without a solar system, so Captain Archer has Sub-Commander T’Pol scan the planet. Lieutenant Reed detects a ship near the equator, and an away-team find the remains of a camp-site 200 meters from the alien shuttle. T’Pol and Reed return to the shuttle while Archer and Ensign Sato stay. As they walk through the jungle, they are surprised by two aliens. Both parties return to the camp, where they find Archer and Sato with another called Damrus. The ‘Eska’ call the planet Dekala and they permit the away-team to spend the night. Over dinner, Damrus explains that they have been visiting Dekala for nine generations to hunt the wildlife.
As the away-team turn in for the night, Archer hears a woman’s voice calling his name. He finds a blonde woman in a clearing, but she runs away. Later, no one reports seeing anything unusual. In the morning T’Pol goes to investigate a geothermal shaft and Archer sees the woman again, looking distressed, but again she disappears. Meanwhile, Damrus and Burzaan detect their quarry, a “Wraith” which attacks Burzaan. Archer has Burzaan sent back to Enterprise for treatment, and Doctor Phlox reports that he has found cellular residue in Burzaan’s wound.
By the steam vents, Archer encounters the woman again. She says that her kind can assume the form of anything on the planet, and that her kind want the hunting to stop. Later, Damrus explains that the reason they visit Dekala is because the prey can sense their thoughts, making them challenging to hunt and kill. Back on board Enterprise, Archer asks Phlox if he can find a way for the wraiths to mask their chemical signature, and soon, on Dekala, the hunting-party begin having problems detecting them. Damrus wonders why, but Archer merely blames it on bad luck. The Eska depart and Archer encounters the woman one final time. As she moves off into the forest, she assumes their natural form, a large gastropod.
In this episode of the podcast, Wes and Clay discuss how Enterprise expertly disguises its broken storytelling. Plus! The guys talk about the songwriting tropes of The Police, the ethics of hunting, and the pent up sexual frustration of Jonathan Archer!