[9.5/10] I’m not sure Enterprise has ever put together a more intense hour of television. If there’s something to be said for the 10-car-pileup of storylines the show introduced in the prior episode, it’s that it can pay them off one after another in this one, and basically never take its foot off the gas. The story of the Klingon augment virus comes to a rip roaring conclusion here, and it had me on the edge of my seat nearly the whole way.
That starts with “Divergence”’s first act, which uses what, frankly, seemed like a pretty disposable cliffhanger in the last episode, and turns it into the show’s finest action set piece ever. The ridgeless Klingon sabotage basically turns the Enterprise into a “Speed except on a starship” situation. The ship can’t slow down below warp 5.2 or it will explode, which requires a big assist from Trip, the Columbia, and even poor “relegated to the brig” Malcolm.
What ensues is the biggest dose of excitement Enterprise has ever delivered. It starts with the mid-air, mid-warp transfer of Trip with nothing but an EV suit, a tether, and the vacuum of space to get him from one ship to another. While the CGI effects are a little dated, the image of the two NX-class ships belly to belly, with a human being rappelling between them, is a gripping one, and the episode sells the tension with the direction, editing, and score.
Beyond the nuts and bolts thrills of that moment, it’s also a nice chance for Reed to prove that he’s still on the side of the good guys. It’s a little contrived that he just so happened to have had training that would prove useful in this situation, but it’s still neat to see him essentially rescue Trip and make the rescue of the whole Enterprise possible.
The same goes for Trip’s exciting cold reboot of the warp engine to purge the Klingon subroutines. Again, it’s a little contrived that Trip’s the only one who can pull this off, but the show absolutely sells the suspense of the limited time the Columbia can sustain the warp field, and how dicey and quick Trip and company have to be in order to complete the reboot in time without blowing everything up. It’s a thin excuse to get Trip back on the Enterprise after he just left, but the nail-biting sequence that follows more than makes up for that.
Of course, once that excitement is out of the way, “Divergence” has to get back to the business of, you know, telling the story of the episode. Despite a couple of (amusingly combative) scenes between Trip and T’Pol, and some lip service being paid to Trip’s new role, this episode manages a bit more focus than the prior one. It ties off Malcolm’s whole Section 31-based tiff with his captain, sets Archer’s hunt for Phlox into the depths of Klingon space for a big confrontation, and shows Dr. Phlox figuring out a way to cure the Klingon augment virus without violating his ethical principles.
The Malcolm-related material isn’t as good in this episode as it was in the prior one. It’s cool to see Malcolm pulled out of the brig when he’s needed and then shoved back in there when he’s not useful anymore. But the Section 31 doesn't play out with much drama if you already know what Starfleet’s covert ops group does. Sure, there’s some juice to the fact that the Section 31 head is working with the Klingon general and is complicit in Phlox’s kidnapping. But Malcolm’s “conflicting loyalties” bit doesn't come to much beyond him affirming his loyalty to Archer, which is just a reversion to the status quo.
It also doesn't help that this episode gives more focus to Archer himself, leaving Scott Bakula, as usual, not up to the task. His “I’m the tough/angry commanding officer” routine with Malcolm is laughable, and a mode that Bakula tries to hit a lot in the show without ever really getting there. And his convulsions when he’s infected with the Klingon virus are just as comical.
Thankfully, those are smaller parts of the episode, and the bulk of the remainder is Phlox being possibly the biggest baddest in the entire show. He’s still refusing to cooperate with his captors, works on an emergency cure when there’s no time left, and eventually pulls a scheme off on the exacting Klingon general, who’s prepared to blow them all to smithereens, that’s as bold as all hell.
Before we can do that, the show tries to humanize the Klingons a bit, which is a nice touch. A lot of the material is a bit rushed, given how packed with incident this episode is. (Really, this should have been a three-episode arc at least.) But there’s still something compelling about learning that the Klingon doctor was disowned by his father for going into healing rather than military conquest, or that Klingon Uncle Phil subjected his own son to the augment experiments without wanting to show favoritism, making that much more eager for a cure. In an episode full of wild twists and high-intensity action, there’s still come character work going on, which is always nice to see.
But the biggest character development of all comes for Phlox, who proves himself the bravest, steeliest guy around, despite is unassuming demeanor. His willingness to die rather than be a part of making “living weapons,” him rebuffing his own captain so that he can forgo rescue to help save millions of lives, and his brilliant scheme to both trick the Klingon overseers into giving him more time and infecting them with the same virus so that they have skin in the game, is arguably the most heroic set of choices any character has made in Enterprise.
In the end, the show’s answer to why the Klingons look different in The Original Series is....there was a virus. That’s a mildly unsatisfying retcon, and the dribs and drabs of exposition about the effect this will have on Klingon society are thin broth. Still, the path to get there: of thrilling ship-to-ship rescue efforts, time-crunched mid-warp reboots, and bold moves from the good doctor, make this one a thrill from beginning to end. “Divergence” is definitely Enterprise leaning into Star Trek’s pulpier side instead of its more thoughtful side, but it’s some damn good pulp.
Shout by NyxBlockedParent2023-01-24T03:50:09Z
Man, I'd say Section 31 early days, but it seems they were already pretty well established, no wonder they have tendrils everywhere. They're not unlike that Klingon virus.