Damage (ENT episode)
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"Damage" is the title of an episode from the third season of the television series Star Trek: Enterprise. It was the seventy-first episode of the series, and it first aired on 21 April, 2004.
Plot summary
Damage_(ENT_episode).jpg
During the episode, Archer orders the theft of a warp coil after Xindi attacks caused damage to Enterprise's.
In addition, the audience finally learns why T'Pol's behavior had been unusual in preceding episodes: for months, she had possessed an addiction to Trellium-D. Following a near emotional collapse (seen in the preceding episode), a tense meeting with Archer in which she screams at him, and a foolhardy attempt to access a sealed off part of the ship in which the Trellium is stored (an act that nearly costs her her life), she decides to report her condition to Phlox. While she is still having her visit with the doctor, Archer - who believes her emotionalism is being caused by stress - calls her to the bridge to take command of Enterprise while he leads the warp coil-theft mission. As a result of T'Pol's adverse mechanical, physical, or biochemical reactions to the addiction, however, Phlox orders her to remain in sickbay. She protests and persuades Phlox to let her go, but before she leaves, she asks whether he plans to report her condition to Archer. Phlox indicates no, saying after a moment of silence: "This is between you and your doctor."
ST-TPol.JPG
The revelation of T'Pol's addiction is considered one of the most controversial developments in Star Trek history, dividing fans among those who felt it made for strong drama and those who felt it sabotaged the character of T'Pol and the Vulcan race. Likewise, Archer's actions in this episode - which results in him committing an act of piracy against a friendly vessel resulting in it being left stranded in space with no warp drive - also sparked much debate with viewers. Archer would continue to wrestle with his conscience over this act into the fourth season. T'Pol, likewise, finds herself dealing with the ramifications of her actions well into the fourth season.
References
- Episode information from STARTREK.COM (http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/ENT/episode/4251.html)
- Star Trek: Enterprise episode 071: "Damage"