the delphic expanse

Talk about crew obsessions here.

This isn't going to be a complete analysis cause I've got to get going quickly.

Like I said during the rewatch, this is one of my favorite episodes. There's humor but there's also some real consequences (just like in The Naked Time in TOS.) Unlike that one (which was a contagion that slowly affected the crew as it passed person to person,) this one affected everyone at various rates.

I've always thought that T'Pol wasn't affected. Now I'm not so sure. She does take long time to act even in the face of everyone melting down. Yes, she'd been around humans for quite some time and had learned to accept we can get pretty crazy and she'd been working alone in her room but when she starts investigating, it takes her longer than you'd expect. I think that maybe the affect on Vulcans was to dull their senses a bit. Not a lot but enough that the situation becomes critical before she figures out what to do.

One of the first things I think we see is how things that are strengths for each of the characters are what becomes the problem. Phlox (who is obviously severely affected) is still doing what he does well...looking into the medical mystery. He does the right tests but the scary thing is how willing he is to go to extremes with Travis to get to the bottom of that mystery. He also suspects everything, especially those things that are not at all likely. Good thing T'Pol comes in when she does or they wouldn't have a helmsman and Phlox would have been eaten up with guilt.

Malcolm also follows his bliss...that of security...taking it to a whole new level. His threatening Trip with being shot is one of the few things that pulls Archer out of his obsession. He gets so close to insubordination which for Malcolm is really going over the top. Course, if Malcolm hadn't acted on his obsession (just like Phlox) they would have had a very different outcome.

Trip obsession is interesting. It's like when Archer asks him to do something he sees as a low priority, he finds a way to convince himself it's the most important thing he could ever do. Trip is Archer's best friend. I'm sure he knows Archer's weaknesses and one of those is that it's better to keep the man in a good mood. When Archer get's pissy (i.e. Night in Sickbay) it's not a pretty picture. So...the man wants his chair fixed, fine...I'll make the damned thing a throne. Problem is, under the conditions that takes over his thoughts and NOTHING is important but that.

With Hoshi we see her hobby being able to be fed (I've got a hotplate in my quarters.) She's also being helpful to take Chef's role which fits into her 'social function" (e.g., Archer goes to Hoshi when he needs to find out something about his crew...Malcolm in Silent Enemy.) So...when the obsession hits her, it's related to her family's honor. Don't cross Hoshi when she has something that's important to her at stake. CARROTS!!!!

Travis's hidden fears come out. His job and showing his worth on the ship (i.e. not during my shift! That's probably part of his boomer background coming out. He's been out there longer than anyone but he was moving freight. Now, since joining Starfleet, he's a military officer on a command career track. Don't want to screw that up.l

Archer's situation is somewhat different. His family certainly comes to the fore. He's been trying to work on this writing project 'for weeks.' And it's important. We've seen throughout the show just how much his father's ghost continues to haunt him. In a previous story I've written with a friend of mine, we use Hamlet as Archer's nickname. It fits in a lot of ways. However, when this obsession takes hold, it takes something that's been a dilemma for him to solve that's been important but peripheral up to now and in this environment he makes it his sole function. I think that plays into his pushing T'Pol away when he threatens to have her picked up. He obviously trusts her or he wouldn't listen to her eventually but at that moment, she represents Vulcan and what he still feels they did to his father. He's still much gentler than he was was the beginning (You have no idea how much I'm restraining myself from knocking you on your ass.) However, when she realizes that she needs a pilot and Travis is out for the count, she pushes forward with Jon (even with him pushing her away). Jon even with his obsession firmly in place is able to focus on what's she's saying. The ship's at risk. It's do or die time. Pull yourself together, man! I think that's because the dilemma's have switched placed. What was peripheral is now in focus, that is, his normal focus (the ship) has become now become his focus once more. I think part of Jon has known something was wrong there but he's wasn't strong enough to fight the problem until T'Pol comes and knocks him upside the head.

I also think that T'Pol may have determined from Phlox's scan what might reverse to some extent the effects and put some drug into the coffee that may not be enough to reverse the pathology but at least allows her to reach Archer. That could be a reason the coffee is 'lousy.' There's something in the coffee. She knows she needs to pull Archer's real priority to the fore (safety of the ship) and then that will be his only obsession. Get his ship the hell out of danger. She does it well.

Like I say...more later...but for now...those are the broad strokes. I look forward to reading everyone else's POV.

(made a few corrections)

That's a very interesting analysis, asearcher. This is a favorite episode for me as well.

That was a good analysis. I look forward to seeing what else you have to say, asearcher. I haven't had time to rewatch this one yet, and my memory is pretty fuzzy. I do remember that I found Trip and T'Pol's dynamics interesting. I'll try to watch it again soon.

I tried to watch it last night, but I'll be honest, I had to tune out after the first half.

I loved the setup which showed us a sequence that could very much be like a "day in the life" type story. Yes, it was a pretty boring day, but it's nice to see what goes on outside crisis mode when you don't have time to deal with things like the duty roster and the captain's chair.

And I get that the point was that they all went over the top but it just was too unpleasant to watch. I think part of this may have been a reset button factor; it was obvious that something in the environment was causing irrational behavior very quickly. From there the storyline is obvious: T'Pol figures it out, fixes it, and then we're all happy again. Bit of an overdone storyline and not enough for me to stick with it, as much as I might like to.

....this is a backhand compliment to the acting and writing, by the way, since if it affected me to the point of causing discomfort, then it was really well done. If it hadn't been, I wouldn't have cared enough to get uncomfortable.

So. Given that I only saw the first half, I do have to agree that it looks like T'Pol was affected. Some of it may have been the fact that the episode was very narrow POV on her in most cases, as opposed to the wider POVs we usually see. But the whole thing about insisting on working in her quarters, even after Trip moved to engineering, suggested an obsessive fear/dislike/discomfort about being around others. There's a parallel toward the kind of people like me who are perfectly fine behind a keyboard but flat-out terrified when it comes to in-person interaction.

Just a few thoughts of my own.

I've always enjoyed this episode, but I noticed some interesting stuff.

Trip's accent and mannerism are stronger than usual - right about when the anomaly starts to affect them. Malcolm's body language also becomes way more extreme. I didn't notice these kinds of changes with the others. Maybe it was choices by the actors, or maybe it was intentional.

I think the end sequence, from when T'Pol retrieves Archer through the climax is very well edited and tense. JB does a great job indicating T'Pol's tension, without making her emotional. She also looks really good in this episode, something about her hair and makeup is working great.

I agree with asearcher about Phlox being the creepiest - for some reason his normally friendly manner twisted into obsession is very chilling. It's also pretty unnerving when T'Pol asks Malcolm why he's armed. I don't think they even need to say that thing isn't set to stun. You just sort of know.

The one thing that is a little odd is how long it seems to take T'Pol to really connect the dots. She seems to suspect quite early, but it's sure until quite late.

In any case, there are lots of enjoyable moments in this episode. And there is interesting TnT and interesting Archer/T'Pol moments. The TnT bickering has a lot of spark on screen, although it's not intended to be romantic bickering. In particularly, his reactions to her are very intense. But this is the season of Archer/T'Pol, and obviously, there's a great deal of intimacy and trust between them as she rescues him and the ship.

I also did wonder why T'Pol didn't connect the dots sooner. Maybe she was somewhat effected and maybe she didn't like her image as "Vulcan sticking her nose in Humans business." It would explain her reluctance to act, but I am glad she did. The change of Archers attitude came pretty quick, so I totally buying the "coffee theory".

Regarding T'Pol:

She was beautiful! (Ok, had to get that out of the way first! )

All the characters were becoming obsessed with what they're very passionate about. Jon about his dad's contributions to warp flight. Trip about fixing and building stuff. Malcolm about preparedness and protocol. Travis about being a good officer. Phlox about medical mysteries. Hoshi about her family recipe.

What does T'Pol feel most strongly about at this point in the show? Logic and reasoning. So maybe she was affected...but would we necessarily notice, and would we notice it as soon as the other characters who don't keep as much of a lid on their emotions and passions?

I wish I had known about the theory that T'Pol was affected - just her obsession happened to be figuring everything out and saving the ship. That's kind of beautiful, and I think there's nothing in the episode that totally discounts that. I don't think it was intended, but it's a neat interpretation.

Quickly, because I don't have time for in-depth: I think Archer's obsession is over communicating his dad's contributions, a bit of a play on two things that are very important to him. His father, and getting a point across to convince someone else.