30: Dead Stop
Equally, this next episode did a very good thing by starting with all the challenges that
the previous episode's action had dumped on the Enterprise crew. In fact, fans had often complained
that Voyager never seemed bothered by all the repairs it had to do without any convenient
Starfleet resources nearby. Though Enterprise NX-01 here is much closer to home, home manages to
feel further away because the ship is unique, there are no starbases yet, and the crew have no
replicators to aid in repairs. A huge hole in the saucer will reduce their speed, making the
projected journey back to the solar system longer than that of Voyager's actual trek. Sussman
and Strong took a lesson on board in a big way here, and the jeopardy of the episode and the
series is felt more strongly here than before. Good stuff.
There's something I'm forced to wonder about as more and more about this miraculous repair station
was discovered. Everything here seems like primary material for the creation of the Borg,
from the incredible ability to assess, adapt, and repair, to the integration of organic and
electronic elements, to the cold, automaton business-like efficiency of its operation.
But if this is part of the original formation of the Borg, what is it doing so close to Earth?
How widespread are these repair stations, and exactly how did they come into being? Who is
responsible for creating them?
And was Enterprise pulling another future cheat by doing this episode at all?
Well, this episode and its predecessor were better than most Enterprise episodes I'd seen
so far, and certainly much better than "Shockwave". Things were looking up.
Read the next In-depth Analysis Review:
"Regeneration"
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