'Shockwave, Part II' Review Roundup

See Also: 'Shockwave, Part II' Episode Guide

Many online critics have weighed in with their thoughts on 'Shockwave, Part II' and concluded that the episode didn't live up to the promise of part one.

A roundup of seven reviews recently posted online can be found below:

• "Enterprise begins its second season in the time-honored Star Trek tradition, by wrapping up an intriguing cliffhanger in the least troublesome manner possible," wrote Cinescape's Leo Walsh, who awarded the episode a B minus grade. "'Shockwave, Part II' is fast-paced, full of action and generous with its character showcases (with the continuing exception of Anthony Montgomery’s Travis Mayweather, who's beginning to make the Original Series' Sulu look like a masterpiece of character development)- but it also fails to address the epic questions brought up by 'Part I.'" Read why at this page.

• Monkee of monkee's place didn't like the way Silik was portrayed in the episode:

  My biggest beef about Shockwave II was that it emasculated a perfectly good villain. Last year, Silik was creepy and vicious. He shot Daniels without batting an eye. Now, one hour into the second season, he's a complete wus! If he's that terrified of the shadowy Future Guy, we almost have to feel sorry for him. And I don't WANT to feel sorry for him - not yet!

  Despite this complaint, the episode was still awarded a score of 8 out of 10 in the complete analysis.

• TrekWeb's resident critic O. Deus also thought the resolution was a let down in that it relied on several sci-fi cliches. "It's telling that where Shockwave 1 told an engaging complex story and took us places we've never been before, Shockwave 2 does yet another version of 'Take Back the Starship.' In fact, the basic plot here is so old that the movie Galaxy Quest spoofed it long before Enterprise was on the air, complete with crew breakouts, pointless duct crawling that results in ripped shirts, an engine overload and the evacuation of the alien soldiers." The full review is available at this page.

• Matt D. at Trek 5 enjoyed the sub-plot aboard the NX-01 the most. "It's back onboard Enterprise where Shockwave 2 gets good. After being taken hostage on their own vessel, Trip, Malcolm and Hoshi plot to take back their ship while T'Pol takes a brainwashing/ torture by Silik. Propelling this goodness is what I guess can be described as an Enterprise exclusive: fast-paced stealth rescue ops combined with the actors' real chemistry." The episode was given a score of 4 out of 5 in the complete review.

• Over at SciFi.About.com, Julia Houston liked the developing camaraderie between the crew.

  "Shockwave II" hopefully demonstrates a trend away from such things with the silent teamwork and companionship we get with the crew. The Voyager-like scam-plan in the final scenes works convincingly because of the implications of their camaraderie: Hoshi's hand coming down from the ceiling with an impatient demand to get on with it; Malcom knowing full well who's talking to him on the comm even before the voice is cleared up enough to make out the words...

  Read more from Julia Houston here.

• Subspace Relay's Samuel T. Cogley felt the episode was a "step in the right direction" in that it addressed Archer's past mistakes. "The 'hearing' at the end was the most satisfying part of the episode. [...] They had Soval list the many blunders of Archer then and use them against him. Consequences, at last!" However, he added that in order for the series to develop, Archer should learn from his errors. "The stupidity of season one has officially been addressed and--hopefully--is now behind us. I'm willing to give the show a fair chance, but what happens next is critical." Read the full review here.

• In his analysis of the episode, Michael Hinman at SyFy Portal argued that 'Shockwave, Part II' did not 'press the reset button.'

  I know that over the course of the next few days when other reviews are posted, you're going to be reading "reset button" this, and "reset button" that. However, "Shockwave II" -- despite some of its problems -- really didn't utilize a reset button. Normally, a reset button would mean that everything bad that transpired would be erased from memory (think "Star Trek: Voyager's" "Year of Hell"). Those colonists are still dead, the ship was still pretty well damaged, Archer still first heard about the Romulan Star Empire. Sure, things were resolved at the end, but weren't they supposed to be? I thought that was the point.

  In the complete review, Hinman awarded the episode a B grade overall.

• TrekToday readers have also had their say on what they thought of the episode. 'Shockwave, Part II' scored an average rating of 7.4 out of 10 based on data from the 1383 readers who saw the episode and participated in our poll.

More information on the episode can be found in the Trek Nation episode guide.

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