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Borderland brought its own unique perspective on the Star Trek eugenics
story thread.
There is always the danger of being a rehash or cheap follow-up to such a great story
line, but fortunately that did not happen with this episode. It would be a mistake for anyone
expecting this episode to be able to hold its own against a previous Khan episode or movie. In this eugenics
story, we learn that Arik Soong (yes, an ancestor of Data's creator from TNG) was
one whose intentions were only to improve humanity through genetic engineering.
Soong was the main driving force for this episode. Though he may come across as a bit evil and psycho, he
truly believes that what he was doing was for the greater good of all mankind. Soong also came across as quite a
resourceful character and a genius on many levels . In an earlier scene in jail,
Archer mentioned how he used a pad to unlock all of the security locks and make a
brief escape. Soong also knew how to use Archer's offering to his own advantage
in order to help find the Augments by luring Archer and ship into the borderland
and contacting his "creations". It should be interesting to see how Soong plays out and changes over the course of
this mini arc story. Brent Spiner played this character quite well. It is such a contrast to playing Data from
TNG. Spiner does of good acting talents that most Star Trek fans have probably not
been aware of.
The augment actors did play the superman in their somewhat typical aggressive fashion. Viewers did get an insight
into their hierarchical structure. The women are attracted to those that are smart and strong and males strive to prove to
their group and women of their superior intellect and strength. This was somewhat of an
outtake of Nietzscheans from the Andromeda series, but that series had its ideas
"borrowed" from other stories as well.
The writers have done well in setting up the plots and confrontations that are sure
to follow. There was a little bit of something for all kinds of Trek fans to watch and
enjoy. The two following episodes should be worthwhile and exciting to watch!
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