Well the Faith is still there but the Heart definitely has a different beat. After a brief recap comes a glimpse of the Xindi Counxil that bookends the episode. This Counxil, a kind of anti-Federation containing five distinct species, is mighty worried. Subtitled insect-man chitters about their plot to learn everything about these … humans!

NX-01's new mission - learn everything about these … Xindi! - brought it into the Expanse on questionable intelligence and six weeks later Archer is still consulting questionable characters for leads. Dismissing patience and tact as luxuries he madly snaps at Reed (in the spacious Command Center now found along with a poltergeist room aboard his stuffed submarine starship). Shpodding down to Mineworld (wanna bet there's caves here?) they meet a wheezing foreman who offers a Xindi finger - and the rest of its owner - for some coveted liquid platinum. Archer orders Trip to strip 200 antimatter relays - good thing those weren't needed - to get that pint o' platinum. After paying off their bribe they finally meet nine-fingered Leper Xindi, but the foreman promptly and easily traps his new prisoners (Earth's last, best hope indeed).

Leper promises to help their search if they help him escape. T'Pol pipes deep into the cave to warn of three incoming warp ships. Archer Trip and Leper try to escape slogging through the Baskin and Robbins Sewage (flavored by 31 different species, eliminating any waiting for poop jokes in the third season. Trip also gets slimed by Leper.) They are recaptured quickly but Malcolm and the Macos come rappelling to the rescue with Night Scope gun-type toys (a concession to a grateful Activision?). During a dark and confusing firefight (this Vasquez shocks!) Leper takes a hit yet all pile into shpods and off they go.

Then a JUMP and everyone's aboard safe because we ran away! Phlox loses another patient but not before extracting Leper's deathbed confession of promised coordinates. (A Xindi with integrity? Maybe Archer's too furrowed to notice.) T'Pol needs Trip to help reach some neural nodes she can't access with so many Vulcan silk pajamas in the way. Naked backrubs prove far more effective than a hypospray but JUMP they're both dressed and back on the bridge approaching a dense debris field. Leper's coordinates have led to a planet Death Starred 120 years ago. T'Pol reasons the answer lies … deeper into the Expanse! More anomalies - sure to be dead ahead.

(Fair enough for a fresh start. Bug-guy rules, but this direction needs to lead somewhere soon.)