"Similitude"

Written by Manny Coto
Directed by LeVar Burton


In which Trip becomes the victim of a terrible accident, and the only hope for his recovery requires the creation of a clone, who may not want to sacrifice himself...

Captain's Log - 60 Minute Drill - Final Analysis


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Captain's Log

Like the previous episode, the events depicted are mostly isolated from the overall season arc. There are no encounters with the Xindi, after all, and Enterprise makes little or no progress. However, in terms of character exploration, this episode provides more than its share of intriguing possibilities.

At the heart of the episode is the question of what makes a person an individual. From the onset, the premise promises a traumatic ending. In the current days of bans on cloning research for humans, informed by decades of often cheesy explorations of clone-inspired nightmares in the media, the possibility of using an alien lifeform to generate life-saving genetic material is controversial at best.

However, the alien aspect is the crutch of the episode: it’s all about allowing the duplicate Trip catch up in age and experience, so the real point of the episode can be entertained. At the same time, the rapid aging allows the characters and the audience time to see Sim as a distinct individual, so that the moral crisis becomes clear by the middle of the episode. One can see the mechanism of the plot clearly, but it doesn’t make the moment of truth any easier.

The writer, Manny Coto, has run a science fiction series on his own, and so he seems to have an understanding of the need for consistency. It would be easy to question why the alien “technology” in question is never mentioned in any of the other Trek installments, and yet the episode provides a simple explanation. The reason it never comes up again is directly linked to the experiences in the episode.

It’s clear from this episode that Archer hasn’t lost any of his resolve regarding the Xindi threat. Archer is completely focused on the goal of healing Trip and getting the man back to work, so that the search for the Xindi super-weapon can continue at top speed. Even as the situation becomes more and more complicated, Archer sticks to his decision, sublimating any concern for Sim’s rights in the process.

This is enlightening, especially with respect to the previous episode. If Archer was beginning to fall into the hand-wringing Prime Directive trap during the second season, the Xindi attack pushed him into the opposite direction. Archer is far more likely now to make quick moral judgments and stick to them with a stubborn streak that is a wonder to behold. In this case, the dangerous side of that tendency begins to show.

At times, Archer appears cruel and uncaring, but if anything, he’s learning what it means to be in command of a vessel on the frontier. If the first season was about the crew’s wide-eyed fascination with exploration, and the second season was about the false sense of security that comes with apparent monotony, then this third season is about the hard choices that come when that security is proven porous.

Archer’s almost cold detachment from Sim is easily justified by the apparent conditions of Sim’s existence. The difficulty comes with Sim’s acquisition of Trip’s memories over time. Sim essentially becomes Trip, and Archer must face the decision of metaphorically killing his friend to save his friend’s life. To make it more difficult, the two complications of the lethal nature of the treatment and the possibility of extending Sim’s life enter the picture.

In perfect counterpoint to Archer’s driven focus is Phlox and his nurturing of Sim during his short childhood. It’s a bit of a cheat to have the crew take to Sim so easily, but at least in the case of Phlox, there’s a solid reason for it. That plot device not only plays into Phlox’s background, but it also gives the audience a vehicle for becoming attached to Sim as well. Sim’s development draws the audience into seeing the clone as a person, making the moral dilemma clear.

Trineer’s performance as Sim is extremely well done, highlighting the actor’s strengths. He does a good job of making Sim distinct from Trip, and the script provides the actor some leeway by making the accent and personal ticks part of the overall plot. Like “Twilight”, the writers use a kind of alternate version of Trip to provide insight into the character.

Not surprisingly, the issue of Trip’s relationship with T’Pol comes into play. While this plot thread has been a constant source of worry since Berman and Braga’s heavy-handed introduction of the subplot, this episode gives it a somewhat more mature and earnest spin. For Trip’s part, it reveals that his general disdain for Vulcans has not precluded caring for T’Pol as an individual, which is a realistic evolution of the character.

T’Pol’s reaction requires a bit more rationalization. Her understated disapproval of the entire situation is well done, but then there are the clearly emotional responses to Sim and his overtures. Once again, this plays into the “alternate version” scenario. T’Pol knows that betraying her feelings to Sim will carry few consequences, in terms of her ongoing relationship with Trip. But at the same time, it reveals just how deeply her time on Enterprise has affected her emotional control. It was already at a crossroads before the mission, as seen in “Fusion”, so this episode represents the latest step in that character evolution.

Perhaps the most telling aspect of this episode is the texture of the entire production. Scenes are rendered in darkness more than would usually be the case, especially where Archer is concerned. The direction is capable enough, keeping pace with the slightly “unreal” mood of the situation.

It is a credit to the casting department that they managed to find three young actors who actually look and sound like they could have been younger versions of Trip/Trineer. This is often overlooked in the process of casting for episodes with similar plot devices, as “Star Trek: Nemesis” ably demonstrated. In this case, there is a strong enough resemblance that it lends credibility to the entire concept.

If there is a weakness to the episode, it’s in the casual application of “alien science”. The idea that Phlox would just happen to have an alien “technology” perfected suited to the moral dilemma posed by the episode is a huge stretch. Of course, the writer compensates with strong characterization, and the cast rises to the challenge.


60 Minute Drill

00:23 – Nice music in the teaser, even if it was a bit too short...

05:55 – Love the sound of Trip’s voice when T’Pol leans over him to continue the...er...neuromessage!

07:50 – Right about now, I’m wondering what happened to the safeties that engineers usually build into systems...

08:08 – Nice explosion!

09:37 – T’Pol tries to contain her emotions regarding Trip’s injury, but her sudden rush of panic is evident...

13:10 – I love the conversation between Archer and T’Pol over the ethical implications of the procedure...very much in keeping with classic Trek material!

14:00 – Great effects, as the strange “rust” continues to accumulate on the Enterprise hull...

18:05 – Phlox is a little too happy about handling a newborn...perhaps because it will no longer be one by the end of the day!

19:50 – Now this little genetic memory thing could really come in useful in the real world...

20:15 – Perhaps Phlox could have reminded Archer about the genetic memory encoded within the alien virus that he contracted a couple months earlier in “Extinction”!

21:15 – “Mostly what he does is eat, sleep, and...uh...not fetch...”

22:15 – Ah, I see Mr. Coto knows a little something about series continuity!

24:17 – Nice music, once again...

26:54 – Sim’s profile looks so damn similar to Trineer’s, I swear...it’s uncanny!

36:05 – “And I’m not talking about some sort of adolescent crush. That was...well, that was two days ago...”

37:27 – I love how focused Archer is here...he refuses to let Sim distract him from the end goal of restoring Trip, regardless of the fact that Sim has become his own person...

46:56 – Archer sounds like he wants to rip off Phlox’s head and use it for water polo!

47:53 – Sim’s decision to use Trip’s quarters is a nice touch...visually placing him in the space that he wishes to be...

48:35 – Nice touch, having the space rust slowly peel away from the window port while Archer and Sim argue!

49:07 – Actually, that would be one hell of a scene...and Archer gives the perfect answer to Sim’s question...

49:34 – “Even if it means killing you!” (Awesome delivery!)

51:38 – “Being stuck in there with Malcolm...”

53:12 – Again with perfect use of music...

53:55 – Come on, T’Pol, there’s time for something a little more substantial, isn’t there?

56:00 – This is a nice connection with the “Star Trek II” conclusion, though perhaps less moving...


Final Analysis

Overall, this episode continues to demonstrate the upgrade in quality since the end of the second season. Though it is barely connected to the Xindi arc, this episode excels in terms of characterization and moral debate. The addition of Manny Coto to the team is a definite plus, and the cast is clearly growing in their roles.

I give it a 9/10.


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