Affliction

This episode has a ton of plot compared to a typical episode of "Star Trek: Enterprise"--so hold on tight and be prepared for a heck of a ride!

It begins with Enterprise and the crew back on Earth. Trip has inexplicably asked for a transport to the Enterprise's sister ship, the Columbia. He seems to be dealing with his feelings for T'Pol by running. Soon things get much worse for the crew, as Dr. Phlox is soon kidnapped by Klingon agents. Why would the Klingons go to all this trouble to get the guy? What gives?!

What follows is a very interesting episode about Klingon augments, Reed being sneaky as well as a horrific virus that threatens to possibly kill every Klingon unless Phlox can find a cure. It's all very exciting and complex--hence it's a two-parter. Well worth seeing.

Veers all over the place.

From SFs Chinatown to Rigellian space to... a Klingon planet we saw in the "Arguments" trilogy.

And Section 31 even.

John Shuck has become way more than that "pompous arse" from Star Trek IV, he was well on his way to being less of that in Star Trek VI.

Here he is a talented but disrespected member of the Klingon medical corps, what little they have.

Meanwhile, Trip is having side effects from previous engagements with T'Pol, and somehow Hoshi gets sucked into it.

And then, "those old scientists" era Klingons show up, what?

This pair of episodes was a good example of Star Trek not wasting a set of previous episodes. They totally mined the Arguments trilogy and they begin answering a conundrum that has bothered Star Trek fans ever since the motion picture.

There are numerous things at work here. First of all, Malcolm is caught between a rock and a hard place because he swore allegiance to a cause before he ever jointed Star Fleet. His actions are seen as treasonous and he is in the brig. Phlox and Hoshi are attacked on a street and the doctor is brought on board a Klingon ship. He has been forced to work on a plague caused by the the Klingons messing around with genetic enhancement. The Enterprise has been boarded by human looking Klingons and damaged. Trip has left Enterprise because he feels he can''t be in love with T'Pol and still work with her. Two of Archer's base crew are unavailable as they attempt to rescue Phlox and fight offer the Klingons.

On 27 November 2154, the chief-engineer Trip say goodbye to Enterprise to work with Captain Hernandez in the sister ship Columbia. Meanwhile in San Francisco, Dr. Phlox and Hoshi are attacked by three aliens after having dinner and Phlox is kidnapped. Archer asks Reed to investigate any trace of transport activity in that area and when Reed checks the satellite logs, he is contacted by an acquaintance that schedules a meeting with him. Trip uses his experience to keep the scheduled launch date of Columbia and Hernandez questions why he quit his position in Enterprise. Archer convinces T'Pol to perform a mind melding with Hoshi and they discover that the abductors were Klingons. They seek the Rigelian cargo ship that transported Phlox in the space, but find only debris. Meanwhile Phlox is brought to a Klingon laboratory to work with Dr. Antaak in the research of an antidote to a deadly virus created from a Kinglon experiment with Augments that were not able to stabilize human DNA. When the Enterprise is attacked by four mutant Klingons that sabotage the ship, Captain Archer discovers that Reed is not telling the truth and he loses his faith on his lieutenant. The subroutines Klingon planted in Enterprise system affect the reactor and the Enterprise needs to keep more than warp 5 to avoid the explosion of the reactor and only Trip is capable to purge the viral subroutines.

In this show, Archer loses his doctor, his chief-engineer and his chief of security at once. With the reduced complement, T'Pol and he need to work hard to resolve the problems in Enterprise. The unexplained treason of Reed that is sent to jail in Enterprise is the most intriguing part of this episode. The transference of Trip to Columbia is the sad part of this episode. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Doença Rara" ("Rare Disease")

The following is a summary of the episode #15 from the last season of Enterprise: Trip begins his new assignment aboard the Enterprise's companion ship; Aliens capture Phlox and force him to help them find a cure for a virus that threatens their race.

The following section is a personal commentary by me: This episode is one of the best I've seen. It's too bad the series got canceled when it was finally getting good. I admit that I stopped watching this show for after the first two seasons. The whole romance between T'Pal and Trip was getting WAY to stupid. It was obvious that the ratings were lagging and they were adding sex to spice it up. It's only now that it's in reruns that I'm getting to see the best shows.