Title :
Stratagem
Series :
Rating :
Overall Ep :
66
First Aired :
4 Feb 2004
Stardate :
Unknown
Director :
Year :
Writers :
Season Ep :
YATI :
When you first see the outside of the shuttle simulator, take a look at the screen which is projecting the starfield. It's way too small - given the size of the window it's facing, from inside you would easily be able to see past the edges.
Body Count :
Zero.
Factoid :
In this episode we get to see the Regulan bloodworms, often mentioned but never before seen. However, the worms were implied during the original series to be dangerous, whilst here they aren't.
Plotline
Degra, the Xindi weapon designer, wakes to find himself under attack from his own people on a shuttle with Archer. Archer explains that several years have passed; the Xindi did indeed destroy Earth, but in the aftermath the Insectoids launched a war for dominance of the Xindi. Degra has spent three years in a prison camp with Archer being tortured for information - hence his memory loss. Despite initial hatred the two have become friends, and Archer is hoping that Degra can take them to a safe Xindi world.
Analysis
A fair episode, nothing really groundbreaking or original but well played nontheless. It has shades of Voyager's "Counterpoint", where Janeway engages in a battle of wits with an alien to try and rescue some persecuted telepaths. The problem with episodes like this is that the twists are so hard for the writers to hide. It's not really likely that the show would jump ahead a few years like this, so the viewer immediately knows that there is some time travel or other funky aspect to the initial premise. At the end there is no good reason for Archer to allow Degra to stay on the bridge as he goes into battle, so as soon as we see this happen it becomes obvious that there is another trick going on.
