"The Andorian Incident" is the seventh episode of the television series , and was written by Brannon Braga, Fred Dekker and Rick Berman. Roxann Dawson served as director for the episode. As one of the most significant of the first-season episodes, the events of "The Andorian Incident" would continue to resonate into the third and fourth seasons. This would, in particular, affect T'Pol and her family. Captain Archer and Commander Tucker, after finding the Vulcanstar maps incomplete, talk Sub-Commander T'Pol into taking a trip to P'Jem, a Vulcan monastery. When they arrive there, they find the monastery has unwelcome guests: the Andorians.
Plot
Captain Archer tells Sub-Commander T'Pol that he had found a remote outpost on a planet a few light years off their current heading, and that he would like to visit this 3000-year-old Vulcan monastery, called P'Jem. En route, T'Pol describes it as an ancient retreat, a place for kolinahr and peaceful meditation. She also explains the strict visit protocols—they should not speak to anyone unless spoken to first, nor touch any relics. Arriving at P'Jem, a Vulcan elder tries to send the away team away, but Archer notices the reflected form of an armed intruder. Although they manage to subdue him, they are quickly captured by a larger group of armed Andorian Imperial Guards, led by Commander Shran. Shran interrogates Archer, asking if they have brought more surveillance equipment for the Vulcans. The Andorians lock up the away team with the Vulcan monks, who explain that the Andorians, neighbors of Vulcan, believe that P'Jem holds a long-range sensor array, and the arrival of T'Pol and Enterprise has unfortunately amplified their suspicions. When Enterprise attempts to contact the away team, Shran warns them not to interfere and destroys their communicators. During interrogation, wrongly disbelieving Archer's protestations of ignorance, the Andorians beat him. Seeing Archer, the monks relent and take Commander Tucker to an ancient transmitter in the catacombs. After repairing the device, Archer manages to send a signal to Enterprise to tell them to wait. Soon, Lieutenant Reed and a security team transport into the tunnels, taking out most of the Andorians with explosive charges and phaser fire. Shran escapes into the Reliquary, where a fire-fight reveals a large modern door. Archer manages to open it, revealing a high-tech sensor chamber. With the Vulcan deception exposed, Archer lets the Andorians go with T'Pol's palm scanner as evidence of the installation. Shran remarks that he is now in Archer's debt.
Production
During the first season of Enterprise, production designerHerman Zimmerman described "The Andorian Incident" as the most challenging episode with the exception of the pilot, "Broken Bow |Broken Bow". This was because of the volume of work that was required to build the Vulcan monastery of P'Jem.
Reception
In 2016, Empire ranked this the 36th best out of the top 50 episodes of the 700 plusStar Trek television episodes. In 2016 The Hollywood Reporter ranked "The Andorian Incident" the 100th best Star Trek episode, noting how it established the story for the Andorians and Vulcans in the series. A binge-watch guide for Enterprise did not recommend skipping this episode. In a 2015 interview with some of the show's cast, SyFy recommended this episode as an Enterprise cast favorite. In 2016, Treknews.net had "The Andorian Incident" ranked as one of the top tenepisodes of Enterprise; they note how Captain Archer must deal with an Andorian, Shran, who is introduced in this episode. On TV.com it had a rating of 8.9 as of 2019.
