The Council

The Council, aired 5/12/04

So much information in the one episode, as well as action, interaction between characters, and drama. The comments reflect the amount of information given.

T/T lite, but what was there was most interesting. T'Pol all but ran out of sick bay when Trip entered, and Trip asked Phlox if something is wrong with her! And my shippy heart saw concern in T'Pol's face when she heard Enterprise was under attack. Her concern could only be for Trip. :^)

In foggy, atmospheric Sphere-Builder land, a group of SB-ers lament that the timelines with favorable outcomes have diminished. The weapon must be launched! Earth must be destroyed!


Phlox finds no trellium, but T'Pol still has difficulty controlling her emotions. Meditation is helping somewhat, but she is still experiencing frequent...




T'Pol bolts for the door. We don't discover what she experiences frequently, but we *all* know it is desire for Trip! Trip asks her if she is OK and she says she has a mild headache.

Trip: I thought Vulcans didn't get headaches. (Where did he get that idea?)


T'Pol (avoiding that comment): I'm needed in the Command Center.

OK, was she bolting because she can't be near him, or out of fear that he would know something more than a headache is wrong with her?


Trip: You ever see anything strange about the way she's been acting?
Phlox: There isn't anyone on the ship who hasn't been affected by recent events.

Trip, Trip, Trip, honey, when will you get a clue? It is you she acts strangely around! Trip thinks he doesn't register on T'Pol's radar not realizing he doesn't have to be around for her to be focused on him.


Trip is in Sickbay because he pulled a muscle. No more NP sessions for T'Pol to make him feel better?


They've been doing double shifts in Engineering to get Enterprise to that damn Council.


Phlox urges Trip to have faith in Archer. "Oh, I have faith in the Captain, but not in the people he's trying to convince." Sigh - Captain not Cap'n


Trip disagrees with Phlox's perspective that Degra is a reasonable man. He doesn't think many people in his hometown would agree.


Meanwhile, in the Control Center. Archer will send a shuttlepod to a sphere to gather information in hopes this will provide more proof for the Council. Degra will give Enterprise anything his has in his database concerning the spheres.


Degra is visited by the ghosts of Christmases past and future. In Xindi-land, that means by his Guardian Sphere-Builder. She confronts Degra with his betrayal of all he believes. The Xindi could have been a great Civilization and he revered in history, but all this has been jeopardized. "What have we done to lose your faith," she laments. "You never deserved my faith," Degra spits out at her.


Archer and Degra confer. Degra has doubts the Council can be convinced because the Sphere-Builders - who are Guardians to the Xindi - are revered. But perhaps with the evidence and the two standing together the Council can be swayed.


The players.

Jannar, the Aboreal. A fairminded scientist who will listen to the facts and is a friend of Degra's.


Kiaphet Amman'sor, Aquatic, a member of the Ibix dynasty, a very wealthy, powerful family. Her opinions carry considerable weight but Aquatics don't reach decisions easily.


At the other extreme are the Insectoids who make snap decisions. Their names grow longer the older they get, which means the name of this charming alien is hard to pronounce.


And, finally, the Reptillians and Dolum. Dolum is rumored to have poisoned his own grandson born with a deformity to his arm because the boy would never be able to serve in the military. A ruthless man, in other words.


Malcolm, Travis, T'Pol and Hawkins are on their way to the sphere to gather data.


T'Pol is back! No longer on the verge of hysteria...


...she directs their course to the sphere with confidence and calm.


Trip and Archer scene #1: Trip would feel better if Archer were to have a couple of MACOs at this back in the Council chamber. Archer tells him not to worry and to "keep my chair warm."


The Council. Once there was a sixth Xindi race, the Avians, now extinct. I think I'm correct that they built this structure.


Archer and Hoshi arrive and try to convince the Council the Xindi are being manipulated. Tempers flare and in the end Dolum slugs Degra and storms out.


Meanwhile, T'Pol heads the shuttle towards an exhaust vent in the sphere. Neither Malcolm nor Travis see said vent.


It appears they are going to crash into the sphere if they keep on T'Pol's heading. "T'Pol!" Malcolm cries. "I'm telling you...!" "Hold your course," T'Pol commands Travis.


Oh, it's a hologram! Malcolm and Travis are relieved. Did they lose faith in our fair Vulcan for a moment there? "You might have warned us," Malcolm chastises her wryly.


Hawkins is all turned on by T'Pol's bold confidence in her readings and discovery of the holographic exhaust vent. Well, maybe he really is interested in the sphere and that requires him to plaster himself to T'Pol's back.

Hmm, if T'Pol just wanted sex, why not chose this young man who probably would have been so OK with that idea, and no strings attached? There were certainly vibes of interest from him in Impulse, and T'Pol is not slow on the uptake (most of the time) when men are interested in her. No, instead she chooses the one man who has done his best to disguise even from himself how he feels for her. Yes, T'Pol, Trip was the logical man to choose to experiment with, because obviously Trip would be satisfied with just sex...not. T'Pol is as clueless as Trip is sometimes.


They break out the EV suits to begin their work on the sphere's memory core.


Trip is to help Degra make modifications to the transport pod which carried the alien in Harbinger. "Lucky Me," Trip snaps, displeased Degra is included in this assignment.


Trip's attitude causes Degra to get angry and grab his arm. Degra tells Trip the past can't be changed...


...but he is risking everything to save both of their worlds. Trip looks at Degra but doesn't respond to these words.


Archer presents a hologram of the body found in Harbinger to the Council. Degra helped create the hologram based upon the data Phlox had. This is the alien which disintegrated when it came into contact with the Xindi universe! Everyone is agog to know more.


Back at the memory core, T'Pol and Malcolm work quickly. Travis, in the shuttlepod, sees something is moving their way and warns them to watch out.


Hawkins is grabbed by a mechanical arm protecting the sphere from intruders. He is killed! No!


T'Pol is shocked. She and Malcolm scramble to escape, Malcolm continually shooting at the mechanical arm.


Malcolm keeps the arm at bay until Travis arrives to destroy it. I thought originally that Malcolm had destroyed it, but indeed, upon a second viewing, it was Travis! Go Travis! More mechanical arms are on the way. "Move!" he shouts at T'Pol and Malcolm.


Trip and Archer #2: Degra arrives in Engineering to tell Archer that the Reptillians have agreed not to launch the weapon.


Perhaps this is the beginning of the future Archer saw. The men shake hands.


Trip realizes Degra really has been making a sincere effort to bring peace to the two worlds.


He asks for Degra's help getting the portable power cells in sync. Of course, Degra will help.


Trip struggles and finally is able to acknowledge Degra's willingness to help the humans, to go out on a limb.


Oh, no! Degra is murdered! And just before he dies, the ruthless Dolum tells Degra what he will do to Degra's family. What a horrible final image Degra takes to the grave.


Trip invites Phlox for a midnight snack. Trip tells Phlox he has gotten used to the anger with the Xindi and now he has to let it go, but it will be like losing an old friend. "You have other friends," Phlox says slyly. Talking about T'Pol, are we Phlox?

Why does Trip have his arms crossed this whole scene, from Sickbay to the Mess Hall?


Trip comments on Phlox's weight loss, which he discovers is the result of Phlox inserting a tapeworm into his body. Trip doesn't want to know.

Not sure what this part of the scene was all about. Didn't fit.


Back on the shuttle, Malcom is angry and sorrowful at the loss of life on Enterprise and at the loss of Hawkins. Death has become too acceptable.


T'Pol goes to him to comfort him. She tells him a Vulcan axiom: "The needs of the many outweight the needs of the few." Although this doesn't make Hawkins death any more acceptable, it makes it honorable, she tells Malcolm. T'Pol is a wise and compassionate Vulcan in this scene. Lovely.


Dolum is proud of killing Degra and the Reptillians and Insectoids stand together against the other three Xindi races. He tells the Council "Either you stand with us or you stand against us." Dolum is reminded he needs three codes to launch the weapon, but has only two. "Do you really think we haven't considered that?" he asks ominously.


Trip and Archer #3. THREE SCENES IN ONE EP!!! Unbelieveable - did someone finally realize that the Captain needs to talk with the Engineer every so often, and that Archer needs to connect with his best friend. Anyway...

Archer tells Trip Enterprise needs to be prepared for battle. Trip feels surprised at his own response to Degra's death - he feels bad rather than celebratory. Degra convinced Trip to change his opinions, and Trip acknowledges that.


The weapon, cleverly hidden beneath the surface of the planet, is launched and guarded by the Insectoids!


Back on the shuttle, T'Pol has most definitely found useful data from the sphere. Travis reports Enterprise and many other ships are leaving the system. There is weapons' fire! T'Pol raises her head in concern - Trip! My Trip! is screaming through her mind!


The battle. Hoshi tells Archer the shuttlepod is hailing them. Archer tells her to have them stay put and Enterprise will be back when they can.


The weapon goes into the vortex.


Hoshi is kidnapped by the Reptillian, beamed off the bridge, and taken on their ship along with the weapon! Enterprise is disabled! "We've lost them, Sir," a crewman reports to Archer.

A whole mess of folks have made comments

YAY! I'm glad I'm not the only one that thought that about her concern! lol I was disapointed in the lack of T/T action, BUT with just that one scene you feel the heat and the tension. Oh and I love how the two don't have to depend on each other for a great scene. Connor and Jolene are stand alone great actors, when they are together it's just that they're great actors with great chemistry together and it makes people smile. :)

Sab

Thanks for the caps, it was a great episode. My husband was laughing so hard at how T'pol ran out sick bay. I'm starting to believe that the only emotions she is having problems with are those related to Trip.

The caps look great, I haven't gotten a chance to look at my taped version but it looks good.
Thankies for the caps

AHHHH!!! They killed off Hawkins!!He was the same MACO as the one that was in Impulse. Really I looked it up and everything. I thought it was him when i noticed the MACO was all up in T'pol's space, and low and behold, he was the same MACO all up in T'pol's space on the Seleya. I liked him, poor puppy. He survived a Night on the Ship of the Livng Dead Vulcans, but was taken out by one of those stuffed-toy-crane-grabby-things they have at carnivals. May you rest in peace, fictional character Hawkins.

I cannot wait until the little comments will appear, in my country we have just finished season 2 and this site keeps me up to date so that I can see what will happen in season 3 (which is allready bought by the tv station)

why is t'pol sitting in a shuttle.....i thought that it must be reinforced with Trailim D ?????? so how can t'pol join malcom, travis and the maco????

They have one that is T-D lined, and one that isn't... this must be the "isn't" shuttle. :) Good eye, bltp!

oh one more thing I thought I'd mention. My shipper eye caught this moment: when T'Pol consoled Reed she was taking Trip's place in a way. :) Trip wasn't there to console him so T'Pol did it! oh and I agree about the emotions that are hard to suppress are the ones regarding Trip, because she even said it was sporadic and when Trip walked in she left in a BIG hurry! LOL

ahhh she loves him!

Sab

The concern on her face about the ship being under attack leapt out at me. I don't think it's a stretch to believe her first thought was concern for Trip. Great caps, and I'll miss Degra!

can't w8 for the words to b written, lovely caps, as usual. Can't w8 for the ep to air, we got E2 on monday :D

Gret screen caps myst... BTW I noticed something interesting between caps 9-10... (in nine the imaging chamber is closed, in 10 it's open) hmmm

I relly enjoyed this episode, Archer too! And the T/T moment in sick bay was priceless.... :)

I loved how Trip stared after T'Pol as she left Sickbay. For about 30 seconds afterward, too, as he inquired about her health to the doc.

I'm just waiting for Phlox to lock them up in Decon until everything is out in the open...feelings, emotions, body parts, etc.

phlox gave trip a very interesting look as trip kept on watching tpol.

the most interesting thing i have seen said about the sick bay scene is it may be more then her seeing trip. but trip seeing her there,.
she is trying to convince him she is fine and there she was in sick bay.
sorta like being caught with your hand in a cookie jar.

GREAT CAPS, THANK YOU!!!!
ACCESSING HER EMOTIONS HAS BEEN SCARY FOR T'POL.I THINK IT IS IMPROVING HER PEOPLE SKILLS, LIKE WHEN SHE COMFORTED MALCOLM. THE ENTIRE CREW HAS BEEN ON EDGE, AND SHE TOOK THE OCCASION TO HELP OUT ONE MEMBER.
AS FAR AS THE SITCH WITH TRIP, YES SHE IS VERY SCARED OBVIOUSLY HER FEELINGS FOR HIM ARE STRONG.I THINK SHE IS THE ONE WHO CANT HAVE A PHYSICAL RELATIONSHIP WITHOUT FEELINGS GETTING INVOLVED LIKE SHE ACCUSED TRIP IN E2.
YOU GOTTA LOVE HER THOUGH, WHAT A CHALLENGE.TRIP WILL NEVER HAVE A DULL MOMENT WITH HER.SHE WILL ALWAYS MAKE HIM WORK FOR IT.

I HOPE THERE IS MORE T/T ACTION NEXT WEEK THOUGH THIS WEEKS WAS A LITTLE SPARSE.

T'Pol wants to protect Trip, if she lets go of her control (when she is with him) she might end up killing him, or at least she seem to think that, after all she had that dream of him and her in a shower and she losses it. Or at least that's my explenation, god woman jump his bones.

Well of course i was a little disappointed with the lack off T/T scenes in this. But lets be reasonable they can't always focus scenes on them two. The show is about more then just them. In gen i think this ep was pretty cool. Not a great T/T ep but a great ep in gen.

I think everyone of us is just waiting for the tension to explode between Trip n T'Pol even though it only had one scene this ep. I think we can pretty much see the tension especially from her slowly building up.

The whole Sickbay scene priceless, it was funny seeing her practically run out there as fast as she did. Isn't it funny that anyone else and she would have strolled outta there casually like nothin was up. Yet trip could get her to nearlly run out. :) and do you think the Doc supsects somethin?

Heheheh i kinda have the same idea as stubs. Get em into that Decon chamber together. We haven't seen em in there for quite a while. I hope in the next season when they come back they will explore more worlds, to give them the reason to be in there lol.

I'm kinda sad that Degra died in this and hope that that Reptile doesn't get to his family.