It's been a long time, but fans finally get an explanation to one of the most 'How come.....' Star Trek topics - the Klingon ridges. This final two part episode brings closure to that topic that should satisfy all spectrums of Trek fandom. The story was well thought out and written. The science fiction explanation was believable and fit right in with the Star Trek universe. The execution of the story by the director and actors brought real drama and meaning to the topic. And all this was done without a single Klingon ship getting blown out of space. That would make even the devoted Klingon Trek fans happy with this one! The special effect battle scenes between the NX class ships and the Klingon ships were pretty cool. In this era, even the best of Starfleet ships have trouble against a Klingon battle cruiser. Of course, the story doesn't account for the fact why 24th century Star Trek characters seemed unaware of this issue (DS9: Trials and Tribblations), but that didn't really hamper the story. It does go without saying that we now know that TOS characters Kor, Kang, and Kolath were descendants of those that got the inoculation.  The ridge issue has been reconciled with the original series. Ridges or not, the Klingons are still a strong warrior race.

Phlox gets a bit more screen time in this episode. Billingsley had fine acting moments in the one! Phlox really came out as a strong and determined character. In fact, he held his own quite well with strong words with the Klingons.  There was some very good character interaction between Phlox and his Klingon "hosts".  Despite being abducted, his professional doctor instinct compelled him to find a cure for the Klingon colony no matter what. More than likely, there will be at least one Klingon Opera about Phlox.

Another subplot that gets resolved was Reed's loyalties. Archer confronts Reed with the issue of his deceptive acts. It was clear that Reed wanted to show his loyalty to Archer, but for some reason his prior obligations to Section 31 tended to hold him back. In the end, Reed does help Archer locate Phlox by giving him information that Starfleet intelligence knows, not so much what Section 31 intelligence knows. He also gets him in communication with Reed's contact Harris, but Archer really doesn't get anywhere with him. These actions by Reed help restore Archer's confidence in him and Reed's moral dilemma gets resolved.  Reed was still clearly bothered by his prior covert past. It all comes down to the choices that we make. If there were any doubt where Reed's loyalties were at the end, it would have been his last comment to Harris - "I have only one commanding officer". But in the covert world.....is anything for certain?

1) Mayweather flies Enterprise to within 50 meters of Columbia.

2) Reed plays mind games with the Klingon prisoner.

3) Archer gets some Klingon Ridges.

4) Trip reboots NX-01's warp drive with the reset switch.

5) Trip's ship-to-ship climb using the tether was pretty cool!