My Review-‘Breaking the Ice’

IF YOU READ THESE SPOILERS YOU MAY FIND YOURSELF 'BREAKING THE ICE'

Now when I first heard about 'Breaking the Ice' I wasn't exactly excited. Those who have read my reviews often will know I dont like the way Vulcans and T'Pol are being characterised. As such an episode surrounding them didn't have me leaping for joy. However let's take a closer look at the ep.

STORYLINE  

'Breaking the Ice' uses a recurring theme in modern Trek. 'Breaking the Ice' has an A, B and yes, even C plot. The best example from Enterprise so far would be 'Fight or Flight', the best example from any Trek series would be TNG's 'Birthright Pt.1' where we have Worf's plot of "Is my Father alive?" and Data's of "This malfunction has caused me to dream... cool." 'Breaking the Ice' is more like the latter in that the plots aren't really interconnected. Here we have the comet plot, the T'Pol plot, and the 'Are the Vulcans spying on us' plot and I shall deal with each in order.

The comet plot was good, with a satisfying ending, plus we got to see more of the Mayweather/Reed friendship that was hinted early on. The Vulcan snowman should of felt like complete filler but reinstated the feeling that exploration is still a very new thing.

The T'Pol plot got the most screentime. Unfortunately it didn't feature her prospective mate and Archer fighting to the death :D jk. Although it featured around T'Pol and Trip, my two least favourite characters, I think it came off rather well, all things considered.

The last plot is my least favourite. The scene with Vanik at dinner felt too long and was almost uncomfortable for the rest of us. The funny thing is we never actually find out IF the Vulcans are spying, it's never said either way, and Archer at dinner seems to suggest he believes it. However there is the feeling that the ship is just playing courier, although we never actually find out if it is, and if there's not something more (the fact that such a large and powerful ship is apparently playing courier suggests something more for instance) I like that feeling of ambivalence but I also like the way the plot ended with Archer trusting Vulcans.

Then there's the scene of the school kids back home, although it should of felt like filler, just like the snowman, it, just like the snowman, reinstated that exploration was still a new thing and I loved it. Trekkies should also be interested in finding out how certain ship systems work.

THE SHIP  

YAY! THE GRAPPLER! I LOVE THAT EFFECT!

THE CHARACTERS  

T'Pol came of better than usual this week. I seriously thinking that both Jolene Blalock's performance and the way the character is being written is improving (thank God!) or maybe Im just mentally repressing the worst bits. Her choice of Trip as her confidante is like Al Gore going to George W Bush for help, something they both noted. However her choice was, for lack of a better word, logical, and T'Pol's views felt convincingly Vulcan and like something Tuvok or Spock would spout.

Likewise Trip's views felt right also, Trip is like the 'Dr. McCoy' of the series for lack of a better term, emotional, strong-willed and believes in doing what you want. His viewpoint felt typical of Trip.

STAR TREK NOTES.  

This 'protein resynthesiser' is a very cool way of dealing with replicators. As such it is not a replicator as there is no transporter technology involved and the synthesiser just puts proteins together in a different way, yet it manages to get round the food shortages they'd expect out there.

The Vulcan ship is very cool, I've been wondering what Vulcan ships are like and now we get to see one Im impressed, however I am left wondering if that is like the Soveriegn, Galaxy, Akira etc. of Vulcan ships.

There is no way in hell that comet could have enough gravity for humans to walk on it like that. Even if it is the biggest ever seen.

Rating (out of 10): 6/10. Although there are many shining moments it's brought down by the dinner scene with Vanik, some dodgy science with the comet size, and although T'Pol as a character is improving she still needs work. Still this episode isnt nearly as bad as I was expecting.