Awakening (Star Trek: Enterprise)

"Awakening" is the eighth episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise, and originally aired on November 26, 2004 on UPN. The script was written by André Bormanis and the episode was directed by Star Trek: Voyager alumna Roxann Dawson. The episode was the first of the season for both Bormanis and Dawson. The episode is the second of a three-part episode arc which started in "The Forge" and concludes in "Kir'Shara".

Set in the 22nd century, the series follows the adventures of the first Starfleet starship Enterprise, registration NX-01. In this episode, the Vulcan government seek to make the Enterprise leave orbit so they can attack a renegade faction of Vulcans, and afterwards the long-standing enemy of the Vulcans, the Andorians. Meanwhile, Captain Jonathan Archer and Commander T'Pol have been captured by the Syrrannites, and it is discovered that Archer has the katra of Surak. He has visions which lead him to find an ancient Vulcan artifact called the "Kir'Shara" as the group come under attack from the Vulcans.

Elements of the plot of the episode were compared by executive producers to the Protestant Reformation with the Vulcan High Command representing the Catholic Church.^[2] The producers took care to cast actors in the roles of T'Pau and Surak who looked similar to the actors who portrayed those parts in The Original Series. Nielsen ratings for the first run of the episode saw a decrease from the first part of the trilogy, down to 1.8/3. The critical response was mixed, saying that whilst they were entertained by the episode, they had problems with some of the plot logic.