#i have to imagine the DoD got their hands on this script or something

[cronagorgonzola]

Ok so Star Trek: Enterprise really seemed to be improving in season 3 ever since they abandoned the shapeshifting lizard people as the series villain and stopped trying to put T'pol and Archer together but then we came across an episode last night that baffled us so thoroughly we stayed up for an extra hour just yelling into the void about it

So, Enterprise comes across this destroyed insectoid ship. The crew are dead and most systems are down and they dont know why. And then on the ship they find a hatchery of insectoid eggs. Babies. It's the most fortified section of the ship and the only section that still has life support.

Turns out, the crew cut power to their own life support in order to keep the hatchery running. They sacrificed themselves to save these babies. Phlox analyzes their anatomy and learns that they reproduce asexually, concludes there is likely a hatchery like this on every insectoid ship. So now we know two things: these children were loved, and the crew of this ship was not especially negligent for having them onboard, because this is a normal practice for their people.

Archer says "we gotta save these babies." The crew is skeptical, because saving the babies would take a lot of resources and put Enterprise in danger. For once i agree with Archer - they gotta save the babies. He makes a lot of really good arguments, like "we have a chance to show the Xindi that we're not the monsters they think we are," and "if this was a nursery of primate babies, you wouldnt think twice about saving them." That good Star Trek shit. No one actually directly refutes this argument, they just say they dont want to save the babies.

The whole episode goes on like this, with Archer fervently trying to save these babies while the rest of the crew stands around saying "idk i think the captain's going crazy." T'pol refuses a direct order to help with saving the babies, so Archer relieves her of command. This is seen as evidence that Archer is going crazy. Another insectoid ship shows up, and Reed blows them out of the sky without even attempting to communicate, so Archer relieves him of command as well. This is further evidence that Archer is going crazy.

Then the senior staff fucking mutinies. They say, "captain, youve taken this whole 'save these babies' thing too far, let us kill the babies." The babies have started to hatch and Archer is getting weird with it. They drag him off to sick bay and scan his brain - turns out, he was infected with some kind of alien pheromone that gave him an irresistable urge to protect these babies. He was not, in fact, following a moral code that compelled him to protect innocent life, or trying to set a good example for humanity as they join the interstellar community. He was just crazy all along! No attempt is made to refute the (very good) arguments he made in favor of saving the babies, the viewers are just meant to accept the premise that saving the babies isnt worth it actually, because it would take a lot of resources. Archer even says "yeah if i was normal i wouldve just let the babies die" and leaves it at that - no slow zoom in on his face as he realizes what that means about him, no speech about how humanity needs to outgrow old prejudices to see the sanctity of diverse life, the episode just leaves off on "those babies were creepy it wouldve been fine to kill them."

But the episode still makes a point to tell the viewer that the babies will survive, because the writers understand that when you put a bunch of babies in danger, people will naturally worry for their safety. Not the crew, though. It's super fine and normal that they were totally willing to let those babies die, the captain was definitely the crazy one for trying to save them.