Review

Dr. Phlox steals the show in this episode. The backstory we get on the Denobulans and the Antareans is fascinating and the moral dilemma Phlox' character faces regarding his patient's racism is captivating. This obviously is not the first episode to tackle racism in Star Trek, but it does it in an interesting way. The war between the two species was long over. Three centuries had passed, but the hate was still prevalent. You shake your head during the scene when Phlox loses his patients with his patient, but I much enjoyed when Phlox revealed to T'Pol that his shame wasn't due to his outburst but due to the racism his people still feel. After Phlox' bad ethics displayed in Ent: Dear Doctor, I was sure Phlox would end up being racist, just like the rest of his people. But I was pleasantly surprised to find out that not only did he not share those beliefs, but he'd worked to spread the message of anti racism to his children. I was also pleased to see Phlox' message got through to his patient by the end. The racism is beginning to die. The secondary (?) plot with Trip, Reed, and Travis was less successful. Once again, Travis contributes the least, being put out of commission early. It's as if the writers just personally hate the guy. There were a few funny moments with the Denobulans, but ultimately, and I think Captain Archer would agree with me, the climb took way too long. Instead of all the climbing, a better episode would have focused more on showing us a little about this alien culture whose planet was the setting. They weren't sufficiently elaborated upon. As a result, a fairly profound episode is reduced to above average. Still a great ep, but not as good as it could have been.