Enterprise Season 4 Finale & Why Fans Still Hate Captain Archer’s Final Episode Explained

Superstar Trek: Undertaking led to season 4 with a sequence finale this is nonetheless hated by way of enthusiasts two decades later. The one Superstar Trek sequence government produced by way of Rick Berman that did not run for seven seasons, like Superstar Trek: The Subsequent Era, Superstar Trek: Undertaking used to be canceled by way of United Paramount Community (UPN) in 2005 for numerous causes, together with low scores, franchise fatigue, and a metamorphosis of management on the community. Undertaking finishing in the end supposed there could be no new Superstar Trek TV sequence produced till Superstar Trek: Discovery introduced in 2017.
Despite the fact that Superstar Trek: Undertaking creatively hit its stride in season 4 below showrunner Manny Coto, the writing used to be at the wall for the primary Superstar Trek prequel sequence. Undertaking‘s manufacturers, solid, and workforce discovered the sequence used to be canceled all over the manufacturing of “In a Reflect, Darkly,” Undertaking‘s two-part saga set within the Reflect Universe. This supposed there have been best 3 episodes left in Superstar Trek: Undertaking‘s 22-episode season 4 order to wrap up the sequence, which used to be step by step construction towards depicting the founding of the United Federation of Planets.
Superstar Trek: Undertaking‘s government manufacturers Rick Berman and Brannon Braga’s technique to how you can finish the sequence used to be novel, to mention the least. Meant as a “Valentine to Superstar Trek enthusiasts,” Superstar Trek: Undertaking‘s sequence finale, “Those Are The Voyages…” backfired badly with audiences, or even the forged of Superstar Trek: Undertaking, hating the overall episode. Finally, Undertaking‘s finale wasn’t about Superstar Trek: Undertaking‘s characters in any respect… it used to be actually about Commander Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes) from Superstar Trek: The Subsequent Era.
Commander Riker’s Superstar Trek: The Subsequent Era Catch 22 situation In Superstar Trek: Undertaking’s Finale Defined
Riker Consulted Undertaking’s Staff In The Holodeck On Troi’s Recommendation
Superstar Trek: Undertaking‘s sequence finale, “Those Are The Voyages…” takes position inside Superstar Trek: The Subsequent Era season 7, episode 12, “The Pegasus.” All the scenes involving Commander Riker and Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) occur all over “The Pegasus,” and the vanity is Riker, following Troi’s recommendation, consulting the holographic document of the NX-01 Undertaking workforce’s ultimate undertaking in combination. Via staring at Captain Archer and his workforce, Riker sought readability about whether or not he must inform Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) the reality in regards to the USS Pegasus.
In Superstar Trek: The Subsequent Era’s “The Pegasus,” Riker’s former commanding officer, Admiral Erik Pressman (Terry O’Quinn), comes aboard the USS Undertaking-D for a undertaking to find the lacking USS Pegasus. Ensign Riker served aboard the Pegasus and used to be one of the most few survivors when the workforce mutinied. However Riker knew the reality Pressman used to be hiding from Picard: the Pegasus housed an unlawful cloaking instrument that violates the Treaty of Algernon with the Romulans. In the long run, Riker advised Picard the reality, and Admiral Pressman used to be arrested.
Undertaking in the end impressed Riker to do the correct factor.
Via getting into the NX-01 Undertaking by means of the holodeck, or even impersonating Undertaking’s unseen Chef, Riker met each and every NX-01 major workforce member and were given to understand them individually. Alternatively, it used to be Commander Travel Tucker (Connor Trinneer) telling Riker about how a lot he trusts Captain Archer that made Will come to a decision that telling Captain Picard the reality in regards to the USS Pegasus used to be the correct factor to do. With this retcon, Undertaking in the end impressed Riker to do the correct factor.
Superstar Trek: Undertaking’s Ultimate Challenge Used to be Rescuing Shran’s Daughter
Undertaking Had To Go back To Earth For The Founding Of The Federation
The holographic scenes of the NX-01 Undertaking in Superstar Trek: Undertaking’s sequence finale had been set in 2161, 10 years after the NX-01 Undertaking introduced, and 6 years after Undertaking‘s penultimate episode, “Terra High.” Commander Riker witnessed Captain Archer’s ultimate undertaking, which used to be a detour from the route to Earth, the place Archer used to be to provide a speech all over the signing of the constitution that might give start to the United Federation of Planets.

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Captain Archer Did 6 Superb Issues That Superstar Trek: Undertaking Didn’t Display
Superstar Trek: Undertaking best lasted 4 seasons, and audiences by no means were given to look Captain Archer’s accomplishments that came about after the NX-01.
Captain Archer receives a misery name from Commander Thy’lek Shran (Jeffrey Combs), whom he concept had died 3 years previous. Shran asks Archer for lend a hand rescuing his abducted daughter. This required an away undertaking to Rigel X, a callback to the planet Archer’s workforce visited in Superstar Trek: Undertaking’s sequence premiere, “Damaged Bow.” Shran and Undertaking’s workforce rescued his daughter, and believed the extraterrestrial beings could not chase them.
If Superstar Trek: Undertaking season 5 had came about, Jeffrey Combs’ Shran would have joined Captain Archer’s Undertaking workforce as a ordinary persona or a sequence common.
Alternatively, the extraterrestrial beings stuck as much as and boarded the NX-01 searching for Shran and his daughter. To save lots of Captain Archer’s lifestyles, Commander Travel Tucker tricked the extraterrestrial beings by way of atmosphere off an explosion that killed the intruders and himself. Travel sacrificed his lifestyles in order that Archer may just attend the founding of the Federation, figuring out how necessary his Captain is to the brand new coalition of planets. Due to Travel, Undertaking did make it to Earth on time, and Archer gave his speech that might set the Federation into movement.
Why Superstar Trek: Undertaking Killed Off Commander Travel Tucker
Killing Travel Used to be A Large Mistake
As soon as the die used to be solid in regards to the inventive path of Superstar Trek: Undertaking‘s finale, the verdict used to be made to kill off certainly one of Undertaking‘s major characters: Commander Travel Tucker. In line with government manufacturer Brannon Braga when he used to be interviewed on The Shuttlepod Show in 2022, Travel used to be selected as a result of he “will be the maximum heartbreaking persona” for enthusiasts. Learn Braga’s quote underneath:
He didn’t [have to die]… He simply… will be the maximum heartbreaking persona to kill off by some means. However I don’t be mindful why [we wanted to kill Trip off]… I don’t suppose killing Travel used to be vital. To respond to the query, I don’t suppose it had the affect we supposed, and I don’t suppose it used to be vital.
In hindsight, Brannon Braga agreed with the fan uproar referring to Travel’s unceremonious dying. Trip’s dying comes out of left box, and it used to be performed for surprise worth in an episode already based totally round an unwelcome premise that Undertaking‘s finale could be about Riker and no longer Captain Archer’s workforce. Braga and Rick Berman have since claimed that if Superstar Trek: Undertaking season 5 had came about, they might have introduced again Travel, which might had been simple since Travel’s dying occurs 6 years sooner or later from the place “Terra High” left Undertaking.
What Had been Superstar Trek’s Manufacturers Considering Via Making Undertaking’s Finale About Riker?
Undertaking’s Finale Used to be A Manner To Display The Founding Of The Federation
Superstar Trek: Undertaking‘s government manufacturers went into the sequence finale with out unwell intent in opposition to Captain Archer and Undertaking’s characters, however their resolution to heart “Those Are The Voyages…” round Commander Riker and necessarily flip it right into a Superstar Trek: The Subsequent Era episode used to be faulty. As a visitor on The Shuttlepod Show in 2022, Berman took “complete duty” for Undertaking‘s finale and attempted to give an explanation for his option to set “Those Are The Voyages…” in TNG‘s technology. Learn Berman’s quote underneath:
There used to be no different approach to display the Federation being based and to turn Benjamin [sic] Archer doing a grand speech after we had 4 or 5 weeks to wrap it up, and we had been in the course of a wholly other wave of news. So we got here up with the theory of, “Let’s get The Subsequent Era 100 years [sic] later to seem again and to look precisely what came about in order that shall we inform the tale of the finishing [of Enterprise] from the long run versus from… with 4 weeks of writing and taking pictures to get us to that time.
As Rick Berman defined, leaping to Superstar Trek: The Subsequent Era‘s twenty fourth century allowed them to seem again at Captain Archer’s speech that based the Federation. The noble intent used to be for TNG icons like Riker and Troi to recognize the significance of the NX-01’s achievements to the Federation and validate the significance of Undertaking to the better Superstar Trek canon. Alternatively, it did not succeed in the targets they aimed for, and Superstar Trek: Undertaking‘s finale didn’t paintings for the target market.
Superstar Trek: Undertaking Has Elderly Smartly, However Its Sequence Finale Hasn’t
Undertaking Fanatics Nonetheless Hate “Those Are The Voyages…”
Superstar Trek: Undertaking by no means completed the recognition of Superstar Trek: The Subsequent Era, and for a few years, the prequel used to be brushed aside by way of hardcore Superstar Treok enthusiasts and used to be blamed for “killing Superstar Trek.” Alternatively, the arrival of binge-watching and Superstar Trek: Undertaking arriving on streaming platforms like Netflix and Paramount+ (in addition to COVID-19 lockdown) gave audiences previous and new a possibility to rediscover and re-examine Undertaking. As of late, Undertaking is thought of as very important Superstar Trek due to the heavy lifting it did to turn the an important twenty second century of Superstar Trek‘s historical past.
“Those Are The Voyages…” used to be staged as a farewell to Rick Berman’s 18-year stewardship of the Superstar Trek franchise, to not Superstar Trek: Undertaking itself.
Alternatively, Superstar Trek: Undertaking‘s finale nonetheless rankles audiences two decades later. “Those Are The Voyages…” does not play as a deferential go out that honors Superstar Trek: Undertaking, its characters, or its tale. In the long run, “Those Are The Voyages…” used to be staged as a farewell to Rick Berman’s 18-year stewardship of the Superstar Trek franchise, to not Superstar Trek: Enterprise itself.

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20 Years In the past, Undertaking Finishing Gave Superstar Trek The Likelihood For A Rebirth (However It Took Years)
Superstar Trek: Undertaking ended two decades in the past. In hindsight, Superstar Trek were given a much-needed relaxation and got here again with a renewed taste and imaginative and prescient.
If “Those Are The Voyages…” didn’t finish the sequence, and a ‘Riker visits Undertaking at the holodeck’ episode had aired at another level all over Superstar Trek: Undertaking‘s run, it could had been warmly won by way of Superstar Trek enthusiasts. As an alternative, Superstar Trek: Undertaking‘s finale used to be no approach to say good-bye to Captain Archer and the NX-01.

Superstar Trek: Undertaking
- Free up Date
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2005 – 2005-00-00
- Showrunner
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Brannon Braga
- Administrators
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Brannon Braga
- Writers
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Brannon Braga