Wow
By Steve Krutzler

An interesting thing happened while watching my "Similitude" tape this morning. From the beginning, it was a good episode. The script is undoubtedly the most sophisticated of any ENT. The setup is interesting and the references to the contemporary cloning issue are subtle, intelligent, and surprisingly lack the blatant on-the-nose-ism that most of ENT's "message" episodes have suffered ("Detained," "Stigma"). The reference to a Lysenian (??) cloning ban is something you'd expect to make your eyes roll, but instead it's a great nod to the contemporary issues at stake and it's completely appropriate. Again we have another one of these neuro-pressure sessions that I have learned to accept, even though it's a little strange that T'Pol has to put Trip's head b/w her legs and then lean over him to get the job done (did I mention rolling eyes?)

I was fully able to suspend disbelief during the first half hour. STAR TREK is one of those things that requires a certain amount of that. Of course I found myself finding it a little convenient that you can just inject this alien "thing" with Trip's DNA and, boom, you've got yourself a clone. The genetic memory thing struck me as completely unbelieveable (is such a thing possible, that all Trip's memories came out in that one vile of blood Phlox excised?), but I bought into it because it makes the drama very compelling.

The episode began to grow on me. First the child Sim surprised me with a great performance, then the pathos really began to set in when young Sim told Archer "I feel older." As teenage Sim starts interacting with T'Pol, the episode continues to get better. Sim realizes he's an outsider, a manufactured experiment, and although my eyes rolled in the earlier neuro-pressure scene, suddenly I felt it was a pretty clever idea to reveal Trip's feelings through Sim. It's sort of like the DS9's "Children of Time" when old Odo tells Kira of his feelings.

As the end grew nearer, I really started to feel this was a great episode. Then Archer confronts Sim in Trip's quarters. Here we see the greatness of the whole Expanse plotline. If this were business as usual, the ethical dilemma would be simple: Sim wants to live, who's to say he shouldn't replace Trip. Sim makes a good point that he's not responsible for Trip's predicament. But this isn't regular TREK. Archer has the entire fate of the human race on his shoulders and he doesn't have the luxury of thinking only of his own conscience or doing what is otherwise morally right. By the time this scene was over, I was convinced that it is best scene I've ever seen on ENTERPRISE. The intensity of Archer's conviction, that he would kill Sim by force if necessary because he can't risk not having at least one Trip with him to complete the mission, was just mind-blowing. We had a taste of this in "Anomaly," but it was easier then to accept Archer's actions. We knew he was going over the line but it may be justified in the context of the Xindi threat. But here it's not that easy. Archer is willing to murder Sim to save Trip, and that is an extremely powerful moment. Sisko occasionally had to make really tough choices, but "In the Pale Moonlight" he didn't have to kill the Romulan senator himself. This is the first time a STAR TREK captain has had to make this kind of choice. This wasn't simply a matter of ordering an officer, who by wearing the uniform has pledged to give their life, to their death, or leaving someone behind to save the rest of the ship. This is a much darker, much more difficult choice than I think a TREK captain has ever faced. Although Archer has far less screen time than Sisko in "Pale Moonlight," this was Archer's "Pale Moonlight."

By now it was getting really good. The scene with Sim and Archer took it to a whole new level, one ENT has never attained before. Sim's arguments about being just as much Trip as Trip were compelling. When Sim talks to Archer after his aborted escape, cracking the Malcolm joke the way Trip would, the plot really starts to thicken. I've forgotten the genetic memory thing. I've forgotten T'Pol leaning over Trip's face in the opening moments. I've forgotten the convenience of the alien hulk that makes cloning as easy as 1, 2, 3.

Then, it got better. The shot of Sim petting Porthos and being called by Phlox like an inmate on death row is quite overwhelming. When T'Pol kisses him it's amazing. Suddenly I don't care about whether a Vulcan would kiss someone or not. I don't care about the fact that I initially thought it was foolish to get these two main characters into this sort of romantic situation. The kiss destroys all that. It's a powerful moment because it's not just T'Pol and Trip consumating something. It's T'Pol having the humanity to give Sim this gift before he goes to his death, and it's surprisingly effective.

But wait, there's more. The final Sickbay scene is the clincher. The music is absolutely perfect. John Billingsley gives a supporting performance to die for. Maybe his tortured face is part of the reason why something unexpected happened. Phlox has shown it before, early in season one, when he weeped over a dead patient. What TREK doctor has ever reacted this emotionally at the death of a patient? Sim starts talking. The line about having not just Trip's childhood memories, but "my own" just sends me over the edge. I can't believe it. What is this? No--couldn't be. But it is. I'm tearing. My eyes have welled up and it's only due to every ounce of mental concentration that I can keep a tear from streaming down my face. I have only cried a few times when watching a movie or television show. One was DS9's "The Visitor." This entire final Sickbay scene is just dynamite, absolutely dynamite. There is nothing else to say. Transitioning to the memorial for Sim is nothing short of brilliant.

I have never given an ENTERPRISE episode a 10 rating. "Similitude" is an 11. If ever STAR TREK deserved an Emmy nomination, it is here. If ever Connor Trinneer deserved an Emmy nomination, it is for his final scene as Sim. "Similitude" is one of the best TREK episodes of all time, and whether this is the beginning or only a rare gem, it proves not only that STAR TREK is alive and well, but that ENTERPRISE is capable of honorably carrying the torch.