Enterprise Flashback: Proving Ground

The long story arc of season three of Star Trek: Enterprise meant that many previously ongoing story lines and characters were benched. But then, halfway through the season, the Andorian Shran came back onto the scene with "Proving Ground."

When Enterprise locates the testing site for the new Xindi weapon, mere days from a possible launch, it's clear they must stop it at all costs. Fortunately, they don't have to go alone -- an Andorian ship arrives on the scene, with Shran offering his help. But T'Pol is convinced he has a hidden agenda.

This is a pivotal episode in the Xindi arc, weaving together many elements of past episodes (touched upon in a lengthy "previously on" package at the start of the show). Still, the best parts of the episode aren't our umpteenth scene with the squabbling Xindi council, the hints of something more important to the Expanse's anomalies, or the surprising suggestion that the "endgame" is here when the season is only half over.

No, unsurprisingly, the best part of the show is Jeffrey Combs' return as Shran. He perfectly navigates the balance of "friend" and "foe" in this episode. One moment, he's genuinely bonding with Archer and making good points about how he's here to help when the Vulcans aren't. Not long after, he's reluctantly double-crossing everyone. Along the way, he's providing comic relief as he bluffs the Xindi, and sharing genuine sympathy with Trip over the death of his sister. And it all culminates in a fun showdown that actually makes Archer look clever rather than impulsive.

It's no surprise that a subplot around another Andorian can't measure up. Guest star Molly Brink is fine as the belligerent Talas, but the writers remain determined to paint Malcolm Reed as the least likeable main character in the history of Star Trek. When Talas and Reed butt heads, the latter just comes off as whiny and prickly. That they ultimately bond over both coming from military families feels slightly ironic to me; how did Reed ever come to behave like this with a military upbringing?

Director David Livingston certainly is having fun with this episode, serving up one wild camera setup after another. We get a bird's-eye view of the Xindi council chamber, a frenetically-paced tracking shot along the catwalk in engineering... and a wild appearance of Shran on Enterprise's main viewscreen, his antennae poking up behind the back of Archer's head. Livingston knows it's time to freshen things up a bit, since we've been spending a lot of episodes with the Xindi.

Other observations:

• It's a bit wild to me that Andorian ale is blue like their skin. Maybe Andorians are surprised that humans don't drink pink lemonade all the time. 

• Seriously, the fact that Archer ever ignores T'Pol's advice at this point just reflects badly on him.

Ultimately, I'm more interested in cat-and-mouse games with the Andorians -- and Shran in particular -- than I am about the Xindi arc at this point. But of course, this episode isn't going to pivot the direction of the whole season. I give "Proving Ground" a B.