Fortunate Son

"Enterprise" presents a solid episode dealing with a distress call that results in some space battling and turf issues at its center plus some nice presentation of different attitudes in mankind's future, such as the Starfleet mentality versus good old rugged individualism.

Lawence Monoson, who made his name in lightweight roles like starring in "The Last American Virgin", impresses here as the guest star antagonist playing a kind of Pete Hegseth part: impetuous and incompetent when thrust into a leadership role when his freighter is attacked and his captain critically injured.

Bakula has to lay down the law and battle with him, while Travis helps save the day. Once the matter is violently resolved, the episode ends on a grace note where the recovered captain (Charles Lucia) gets to make a pitch for the Salt of the Earth types who crew these freighters in dangerous areas of space, linking this story to more familiar Earthbound sagas on the high seas.

Starfleet contacts the Enterprise with orders to help a freighter ship in distress.

I like the concept of freighter ships and their crews so this is an interesting area of the Trek universe that I wanted to find out more about. However, the plot, dialogue and acting in this episode languishes at impulse power. The only time it ever kicks into warp 1 is when Archer gets a bit tough with Officer Ryan.

The resolution comes from someone talking someone else round to see sense and I always struggle with these situations. Couple that with the Nausicaans resembling someone wearing a bad Predator mask and I found this one difficult to get through.

Travis is given a bit more screen time and something tangible to do but unfortunately the quality of material doesn't do the character favours. Archer tries to lift things with his ethical stand, but it doesn't improve matters that much.

I did like the discussions about advancing science and warp technologies impacting ways of life outside of Starfleet but that's about it.

I can't shake the feeling that this Enterprise crew is a bunch of amateurs. In contrast to the crews of the TNG and VOY series, there are definitely no explorers and scientists at work here. Space anomalies? Not interested! Charting stars? Boring! Diplomacy? Something for losers! This crew doesn't have an ounce of tact. Like a couple of cowboys from the American provinces. The ensign simply chats into the captain's speech without being asked to do so. The captain is a complete joke anyway. He could maybe play captain on a shrimp boat. But on the Enterprise? Speaking of boats: The entire Enterprise set seems to me like I'm watching a submarine crew. Those blue overalls, those controls... it doesn't look like a spaceship.

The story of this episode is also complete nonsense. The idea of "Boomers" being born in space, traveling the stars on freighters and being a secretive community of swashbucklers who solve their own problems is just dumb. I just don't buy Mayweather's life story anyway. And his understanding of this freighter crew waging their own guerrilla war is also completely out of place in Star Trek. But Archer then plays space police and ensures law and order in the Alpha quadrant. USA! USA! USA!

Captain Archer is contacted by Admiral Forrest asking him to turn back to investigate a distress call from the cargo freighter ECS Fortunate. Archer finds that the freighter had been attacked by the Nausicaans, a race of space pirates. Archer provides supplies, manpower and medical assistance to First Officer Matthew Ryan, who is in command since the captain is injured. When T'Pol detects an alien form in the ship, the reaction of Ryan is violent and the Enterprise discovers that the officer is plot revenge against the Nausicaans, jeopardizing the space route for other freighters.

"Fortunate Son" is the weakest episode of this good series so far. The story of revenge of Officer Ryan is silly and pointless, since the guy is not totally wrong. The Nausicaans are pirates and attack the freighters, and the Starfleet does not take any action, therefore his attitude of despair seems to be very reasonable. The moral message of this episode in the end is blurred. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Mercadores do Espaço" ("Merchants of Space")

The Enterprise is asked by Star Fleet to investigate the silence of a space freighter. In the opening, we see it attacked by Nausicaans, known as space pirates. They follow the pattern of the bad guys being ugly. The captain of the freighter, Fortunate, lies unconscious in their sick bay. His second in command happens to be a man whose family was killed while on board a freighter. He has spent his whole life in this line of work. Unfortunately, he is consumed with revenge and has taken on of the invaders hostage. He routinely beats him, forcing him to give up defensive codes. When the Entriprise away team comes on board, this man is resistant to their interference, knowing that their scanners will find the Nausicaan. Soon, he traps the away team, sends them off in a pod, and goes off to attack the pirates. Archer realizes that this will lead to the deaths of either the crew of the Fortunate or a herd of Nausicaans. This is really heavy handed and moralistic. The conclusion is really unacceptable when one considers what this guy did.