After its encounter with the minefield, Enterprise is badly damaged and sends out a signal for help. However, the response they get sends them to an automated repair station where things aren't quite as simple as they appear.

I had no idea what this episode was about going into it, and I think that really helped. It's good for once to see the series not just letting us assume everything turned out okay, but actually dealing with the consequences of a previous story. This is the kind of thing Enterprise should do more often. It's particularly effective as well, in the way it makes the ship and crew look more vulnerable, unable as they are to continue on their mission without extensive repairs, and too far out to seek Earth assistance.

While the main premise does smack a little of Hal 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey, it's a good one, and though the end result is not especially surprising, it's certainly effective, and leads to a clever and troubling ending that will hopefully result in further stories. The space station itself is a pretty creepy affair, full of bright corridors concealing darker secrets, and with a computer system that refuses to answer certain key questions.

What really works, though, is Travis's death. It provides that sinister air, it leads to a shock revelation that satisfies, and it enables the crew to face the death of a colleague for the first time, something we haven't been able to see yet. It's such a small and close-knit crew that you expect a lot of grief, and it's good to see the situation not resolved a) quickly or b) by one of those clever parallel dimension twists. The answer is perfectly acceptable, and again is something that could do with more exploration further down the line. There are a few questions that need an answer, such as where the aliens have gone after leaving the station, and why in such a hurry, but having ongoing arcs in the background is always a good move. Hopefully the producers will learn from this one.

****

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