2x14 Stigma

[5.8/10] Oh god we’re doing space AIDS. And to make matters worse, it’s in a quasi-sequel to the episode where T’Pol was de facto raped, and the show didn’t know how to handle it. Suffice it to say, we’re in for some tough sledding here, folks.

“Stigma” reveals that T’Pol is suffering from “Pa’nar Syndrome”, a degenerative, and potentially fatal disease that Dr. Phlox can’t cure. The Vulcans refuse to help, because the disease can only be contracted by mind melding, and Vulcan society has a, say it with me, stigma, against the minority who engages in such uncondoned practices. They would rather turn their backs on people who are dying than to implicitly vindicate such deviance.

Do you get it? Do you get it? To be honest I never know what to do with these sorts of episodes. Some of the best episodes of Star Trek, and the best science fiction stories in general, have used the emotional distance that comes from speculative fiction to tackle contemporary social problems. And despite how ham-fisted the racism metaphor of The Original Series’s “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield” was, apparently large swaths of the audience didn’t understand it at the time, so maybe some shouting and obvious signposting is necessary.

But it’s hard to watch “Stigma” and not roll your eyes at how transparent and self-righteous the whole thing is. Enterprise has a message, and by god, you are going to hear it! As I said about “Fusion”, this show just isn’t really equpped to handle a topic like someone contracting a fatal disease after being sexually assaulted, even if it’s caked with layers of metaphor. Beyond the troubling implications of Archer again white knighting for her rather than letting her make her own, the show just seems so loud and blunt in trying to use its story to comment on the plight of the gay community and those with AIDS.

The other side of the coin is that maybe that’s an easy criticism to level in 2019, where companies are tripping over themselves to celebrate Pride, and AIDS is, while still used as a basis for fear and ostracism in many places, much more understood and accepted than it was twenty years ago. It’s hard for me to treat Enterprise as “of its time” like I do with the 1960s series, since I’m old enough to remember the 2000s series’s debut. But society’s treatment of homosexuality and AIDS has changed a great deal since this episode aired, and I’d do well to remember that before I slate “Stigma” too harshly.

That’s the thing -- Enterprise’s heart is in the right place. However thin the analogy may be, the series is right to call out real life unethical indifference to a fatal disease just because it’s transmitted by a group of people, and through a practice, that American society disapproved of. As facepalm-worthy as Archer’s speech about eliminating bigotry is, or the mind-melding Vulcan’s spirited defense of allowing for different kinds of intimacy is, or the final cornball dialogue about inspiring people to speak out is, these are all laudable aims, even if they’re executed with all the grace of a Klingon in a tutu.

What adds to the problem of Enterprise’s attempt to do a Very Special Episode is the fact that they include a wacky, comic relief B-story in between the “space minorities are mistreated and it’s wrong!” bloviating done with deadly seriousness. That alone would be a bad move tonally. But what’s odd is that in an episode about treating different forms of love and intimacy with acceptance, the humor of the B-story basically comes from Trip feeling awkward about Dr. Phlox and his wife’s polyamorous relationship.

And yet, I laughed, so I suppose I don’t have a right to complain! I think the best analogy I could use to explain the subplot to people is “What if, in an episode of Frasier, Frasier and Lillith not-so-subtly invited Roz to a threesome.” That’s the bizarre sort of broad comic energy this has. It works though! Connor Trineer in particular does a great job at facial expressions and reactions to make his discomfort at Mrs. Phlox’s come-ons and Dr. Phlox’s encouragement funny. Though it’s worth considering how different this comic setup would feel if it were, say, a male alien continually hectoring Hoshi despite her obvious discomfort with the situation.

Either way, it’s an odd fit for the gravity with which Enterprise treats its A-story. The progression of events is predictable, with T’Pol being reluctant to ask for help, the Vulcans being their usually snooty disdainful selves about the situation, leading to a stand-off between our heroes and their uptight antagonists that ends in big speeches and a preservation of the status quo.

The one interesting wrinkle is this -- T’Pol refuses to disclose the fact that she only contracted this disease because she was attacked to the council that’s passing judgment and recalling her to Vulcan, even though it would (and eventually does) help her avoid that result. She chooses not to tell them because she doesn't want special treatment, or to be the beneficiary of a double standard, simply because she’s not a member the mind-melding minority that the Vulcan establishment so disdains.

There’s something potent there -- a refusal to take privilege when you might otherwise benefit from it, in the name of not reinforcing an unfair system you despise. There’s also some juice to the fact that one of the doctors on that council is a closeted mind-melder, who has to balance his desire to help his kind with his desire not to be shunned by a society that has no tolerance for the way he was born. Again, Enterprise is overly direct and didactic on both of these fronts, but there’s more depth to each of these parts of the stories than the dumbed down “bigotry is bad!” sentiment that otherwise pervades the rest of the episode.

“Stigma” wasn’t made for me, though. It wasn’t meant for people in 2019 who already accept that gay people have a right to live and love as they please, and that America’s response to the AIDS crisis was awful. It was meant to sway the hearts and minds of people in 2003 who might not have seen the issue that way, or thought of it at all, if it weren’t delivered through the lens of some of their favorite science fiction characters. It’s hard to know if an outing this blunt and transparent really swayed people. But however much an episode like “Stigma” fails as storytelling, if changed just one person’s mind, it’s still a social good.

"If you call yourself enlightened, then you have to embrace people who are different than you are." - Jonathan Archer

I chuckle silently whenever I hear someone say the world has changed a lot and has largely embraced the LGBTQ+ community and people living with HIV/AIDS. It's easy to say you see no problem when it doesn't directly affect you and you're far removed from it. Yes, there has been some (mostly superficial change), but stigma and discrimination still exists, its just more subtle and insidious in many places, still brutal and life threatening in others. Remember, the United States of America isn't the only country in the world, and it's still (in 2022) very much a danger to live "differently" to the norm in some countries (even in some places in the USA)... and yes, we watch Star Trek in other parts of the world too, so it's relevant. Lol

Sure, it might just be that the episode felt rather personal for me, but I found this one to be an Enterprise winner. I particularly liked that it was obvious they were talking about the stigma against HIV/AIDS and homosexuals. I loved that the dialogue was blunt, to the point and unambiguous rather than overly covert. The juxtaposition with Danobulan sexuality created a good contrast by which to examine how relationships and intimacy may differ culturally. This is the kind of Star Trek I prefer, rather than the purposeless hypersexualised nonsense and weak writing I've seen of Enterpise thus far.

Well done.