Following the archetypal pattern of the mythic "hero's journey," Captain Archer enters the inmost cave of the enemy in the very intense and ambitious third-to-last episode of the season, "The Council."

SPOILER ALERT! The script, written by Manny Coto, has Archer approaching the Xindi Council on their home turf to argue why the two peoples should make peace and the planet-destroying weapon should not be deployed. Meanwhile, T'Pol, Reed, Mayweather and a MACO infiltrate a Sphere in order to gain information about the so-called "Sphere-Builders," a mission which proves to be far more perilous than expected. The story is rife with shocking twists and turns, and at the risk of sounding like a UPN commercial, the ending will have you on the edge of your seat.

David Livingston helmed this installment, his fourth of the season — tying Roxann Dawson for most directorial outings this year.

As mentioned, this is a highly ambitious episode with a larger than usual guest cast and a wide array of swing sets, and more than the usual amount of visual effects to be integrated with those sets. As the title implies, a good chunk of this segment is spent in the Xindi Council Chamber, which we've seen several times before, but now we'll get more of a geographical context for this setting. We learn the chamber is located in an "Avian Stronghold," an ancient artifact of the extinct Xindi-Avian race. Swing sets such as an Avian Corridor and Residence will combine with post-production effects to create this environment. Sets representing the interior of a Sphere also made extensive use of "greenscreens" behind the actors where the cavernous nature of the structure and other digital effects will later be inserted.

Degra's Ship continues to play a part, and new sets representing various sections of a Reptilian Ship were built. A lot of time was spent inside a standard Shuttlepod, along with standing ship sets including the Bridge, the Command Center, the Ready Room, Engineering, Sickbay and Corridors. Most of the NX-01 sets are still pretty trashed, reflecting the damage suffered in "Azati Prime" (airing next week) and "Damage" (airing seven weeks later).

The guest cast includes the familiar recurring players of the season, Randy Oglesby ("Degra"), Rick Worthy ("Xindi-Arboreal" council member), Tucker Smallwood ("Xindi-Humanoid" council member) and Scott MacDonald ("Reptilian Commander"). Several Trek newcomers play other Xindi-Reptilians. Sean McGowan returns for his fourth stint as the MACO "Corporal Hawkins" to join the dangerous Sphere mission. Josette DiCarlo, who will be first seen in "Damage," repeats as the "Sphere-Builder Woman." She will be joined by two more of these trans-dimensional beings, referred to as "Presage" and "Primary," both played by newcomers.

As elaborate as this episode was, it still fit into the standard seven-day production schedule, starting on Thursday, February 12, and concluding on Monday the 23rd, with a day off for President's Day. However, scenes involving the three "Sphere-Builders" from this episode were lumped together with those from the next — titled "Countdown" directed by Robert Duncan McNeill — and were shot the following Thursday (today). Expect the last two episodes of the season to be even bigger in scope and more intense than this one.

"The Council" represents the second collaboration between writer Coto and director Livingston, after "Harbinger." This being his fifth teleplay, Coto also scripted "Similitude," "Chosen Realm," and next week's "Azati Prime." Livingston also helmed "Impulse" and "Proving Ground" earlier this season.

This episode is tentatively scheduled to air May 12, with the season finale currently targeted for May 26. Check Episode Detail for further information.

Please note: All production, story and scheduling information is subject to change.