Star Trek: Enterprise (TV Series) Fallen Hero (2002) User Reviews

A Bond of Trust, Respect and Friendship

[claudio_carvalho · 9/10 · 18 December 2007]

T'Pol suggests and Captain Archer accepts a leave for the crew in planet Risa, famous for the relaxation technique of the local masseuses. However, Captain Archer is called by Admiral Maxwell Forrest, who assigns the Enterprise to bring the Vulcan ambassador V'Lar from planet Mazar to the Vulcan warship Sh'Raan. V'Lar has fallen in disgrace with the accusation of being a criminal, and the Vulcan High Command requested her urgent removal from the planet. T'Pol prepares the Enterprise to welcome the ambassador, and after a brief meeting with V'Lar, she becomes disappointed with her former idol. Out of the blue, the Enterprise is attacked by a Mazarite ship, whose captain demands that V'Lar should be delivered to them. Captain Archer asks V'Lar the reason for the attack, but she does not justify, pleading classified information, and Archer decides to return to Mazar. After having a private meeting with V'Lar, T'Pol goes to Captain's Archer's cabin and asks him to return immediately to the course to Sh'Raan.

"Fallen Hero" is one of the best episodes of this First Season. The beginning is hilarious, with T'Pol suggesting a "relaxation" of the earthlings due to the reduction of productivity and need of "relieving the stress" of the command of the Enterprise. The gentle and nice ambassador V'Lar seems to be a path to approach the relationships between Earth and Vulcan. Jolene Blalock is fantastic in the role of a Vulcan woman with bond of trust, respect and friendship with Captain Archer and the Enterprise crew-members. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Herói Decadente" ("Decadent Hero")

The Series Is Getting Better

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 13 March 2017]

The Enterprise is on its way to Risa for R & R when they are redirected to pick up a Vulcan diplomat who has been expelled during a mission. She has been accused of a crime and put on board ship. The Mazarites are the aliens that have put her off. She is a really interesting woman who is known for her incredible diplomatic missions and treaties. She is a hero of T'Pol's but her unconventional behavior puts the science officer off. The Mazarites change their minds and ask for her back. Soon, they are firing on the Enterprise and pursuing her across the galaxy. The problem is that because of a trust issue, the ambassador can't explain why she is in the situation she is in. This episode has a really satisfying conclusion and some very interesting plotting by Archer and his people.

Very exciting.

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 24 March 2015]

The humans are on their way to Risa in order to get la...I mean, have some shore leave. However, they are once again diverted from this by an emergency mission to collect a disgraced Vulcan ambassador from some crappy planet. The Mazarites seem very keen to get rid of her and the Enterprise takes her aboard. However, a short time later, a Mazarite ship arrives and demands they hand over the ambassador! What gives? At the same time, the ambassador is acting kind of strange--especially for a Vulcan. What gives?!

This is a great episode because it does quite a bit to further the overarching plot about the Earth-Vulcan relationship, the relationship between Archer and T'Pol as well as being very exciting. Too bad all the episodes aren't this exciting and there's little not to like about this one...unless you are a nitpicky jerk.

Beautifully Written. Full of heart. Made me tear up ***SPOILERS***

[Imforeverone · 10/10 · 13 June 2019]

Well written story about a dishonored Vulcan Ambassador who is dignity incarnate. Deals with the importance of trust between people and what good faith looks like. What made me tear up is as the very end when the Ambassador is returning to her ship and she looks at Captain Archer and T'pol and notes that she senses trust between the two but something even stronger. She states that she senses the bonds of friendship. She notes, almost to herself, that this bodes well in the future for both of their people.

That moved me because it often just takes one. One example of what it looks like to take a leap of faith, one example of standing out on your own or one role model who makes it look easy to take on risk and be successful. It takes only one example of what it looks like to friendly with someone we consider different to let us know that that's ok.

I think it's important, as humanity, that we learn to love, not tolerate each other, especially those of us who have hurt others and dealt with each other as enemies. No one ethnicity or culture or nation is above another. We are all capable of great kindness, great sorrow, great love, and great triumph. No triumph, however, will ever be long-lasting until we learn how to embrace the differences in those we do not understand as we move forward seeking out new life and new spaces in this world, Earth, and beyond.

Blessings of the Highest Order to all.

Trust Issues

[Samuel-Shovel · 8/10 · 28 June 2017]

Captain Archer and the crew are asked to pick up a Vulcan diplomat on the planet of Mazar and take her to her homeworld. It seems she's leaving in disgrace but there's more to it than meets the eye as they are soon pursued by the Mazarites that just released her.

This is one of the better episodes we've seen thus far. Fionnula Flanaga's guest appearance as Ambassador V'Lar is perfect and the tension created in this episode via the political intrigue is exactly what you want from a ST episode. Mix in a little action and suspense and you have a solid 45 minutes!

Episode Note: My one complaint is the final scene. The Mazarites never check the machine to see that V'Lar is actually in there. In that situation, of course they would take a peek inside to confirm the killing. Also, it was a little too cutesy when the door opens and V'Lar is standing there waiting for them. There's no way they could have known that their little plan would go off without a hitch, what if the Mazarites still had weapons? They should have stowed her away as far as possible until the coast was clear.

Excellent episode despite a few niggles

[ysabelkid42 · 9/10 · 6 January 2024]

This is one of my favourite episodes purely because of the interpersonal dynamics and, of course, Fionnula Flanagan's wonderful acting.

These aspects overcome some of the more nonsensical scenes, such as T'Pol discussing sexuality - a subject Vulcans consider virtually taboo - or Archer deciding to head back to the Mazarite planet because V'Lar won't tell him her secret. Um, did he notice that in his bid to put pressure on her, he's disobeying direct orders AND placing his ship and crew in danger from an entire fleet because he's moving away from the Vulcan warship that can protect him? Yeah, right.

These niggles aside, this is one of the best episodes of the earlier seasons, for all the little insights and character growth we experience. And of course Malcolm prefers the firing back part!

Ridiculous Decisions, Ridiculous Plot

[Eradan · 2/10 · 2 October 2021]

This episode is riddled with some of the most illogical character actions I've ever seen in a mainstream production...

The plot of Fallen Hero is set in motion by V'lar's irrational decision not to tell Archer why she's being transferred back to Vulcan from Mazar (the planetary state she was ambassador to). She offers two different explanations for this decision, neither of which make any sense.

This absurdity is then compounded by Archer's insane decision to turn around and go back to Mazar to "protect the crew." There are two problems with this: the first and lesser problem is that in doing so he's violating explicit orders, a violation that he knows will cause a major diplomatic incident between Earth and the Vulcans.

The main problem however is that since the Mazarite fleet is based at (where else?) MAZAR, going back there means moving closer to where most of the Mazarite warships are. Although V'lar finally tells Archer what's really going on and why she can't go back to Mazar (ie she'll by assassinated by a powerful faction of the local government) by then it's too late: the Enterprise has been intercepted by an entire squadron of Mazarite warships.

If Archer was a real officer (of any military, past or present or future) he would be relieved of command, then court-martialed, then cashiered for his actions in this matter. But, since Archer is a fictional character, the real explanation for his bizarre decisions in this ep (and many others) lies in the childlike inability of the writers and producers of "StarTrek: Enterprise" to understand how the real world works on this or any other planet.

"Fallen Hero" does have some nice CGI of starships zooming around, shooting at each other, so I awarded it one point which is a '2' on the IMDb scale.

A Senior Trekker writes...................

[celineduchain · 5/10 · 11 May 2022]

Fallen Hero is an interesting glimpse of what has been going on in the wider universe while the Vulcans have been keeping human space travel in check for the past hundred years. Vulcan diplomat L'Var has been working undercover to foil a plot by anti-government agents on the planet Mazar and her urgent transport to safety interferes with the crew's long awaited shore leave on Risa.

Star Trek veteran Fionnula Flanagen is a joy to watch as she upends all our preconceived ideas of how a Vulcan matriarch should behave, enjoying new beverages and socialising with the crew. We recognise the actress immediately from TNG and DS9 and some people were unhappy with this but, after all, this is complete fantasy. If a guest actor gives best value and finds a welcome in the Star Trek family, then who are we to deny them a return.

The Mazarite make-up, in an attempt to diverge from the regular "forehead of the week" involves some sort of continuous eyebrow fold than circles around to the ears in one of the more unflattering looks to emerge from Mr Westmore's workshops. I know they had to keep trying to come up with new aliens but this one would make Brad Pitt look ugly. It's surprising, then, that an extremely busy veteran actor like John Rubinstein would agree to take on a small (ugly) part like that of the Mazarite Captain. Perhaps he's another Star Trek fan.

I really shouldn't keep drawing attention to the blatant sexism of the writing for the character T'Pol but here she is heard making sexual innuendo about the length of time the crew of the Enterprise have been without "intimate relations" and its effect on their overall efficiency. I'm sorry? Not on my watch. Give that woman a written warning for unprofessional conduct (or more importantly, the writers who had her voice such an opinion). However, by the end of the episode she does get to acknowledge that not all Vulcans are humourless and unbending - and so do we.

Senior Trekker scores every episode with a 5.

Nonsensical writing and baffling, unbelievable plot

[txtom-84679 · 1/10 · 16 January 2023]

This episode sees Archer make one blunder after another.

1) He would risk an Earth-Vulcan incident bc the ambassador wouldn't tell him her secret mission.

2) He turns the ship around making him that much further away from the Vulcan ship.

3) He let's the enemy onto his ship with weapons and greets them without any weapons or a security detail

4) He lets the enemy shoot up the Enterprise sick bay and stands around like a cuck

Either Archer is the worst, most hardheaded Starfleet captain of all time. Or this is just epically terrible writing. It's episodes like these that leaves a terrible after taste in your mouth and you're left wondering, why do I like Star Trek. These types of 1st draft, novice plots should not exist in 2002.