- After previously offending the Kreetassans, Enterprise attempts to make a better second impression, only to upset the alien race once again. A frustrated Captain Archer returns from the planet only to be further upset to find that his dog Porthos, has been affected by a pathogen native to the world. While Phlox works around the clock treating Porthos, Archer stands vigil in sickbay, experiencing first-hand the quirky everyday life of his Denobulan Doctor.—Meribor
- After a five-day away mission spent apologizing on the planet Kreetassa (For having taken them to their common mess, where people were eating together, which the Kreetassans consider as extremely vulgar) (The Enterprise needs plasma injectors which the Kreetassans wont give unless the Enterprise apologizes), the away team consisting of Captain Archer, Sub-Commander T'Pol, Ensign Sato, and Archer's dog, Porthos, return to the ship to decontaminate. Porthos has acquired a pathogen on the planet surface and must be quarantined. The team offered the apology but was sent back empty handed once again. T'Pol thinks that they have managed to offend the Kreetassans again. Archer learns from Commander Tucker of the ship's need for an extra plasma injector from the Kreetassans, but negotiations break down after it is discovered that Porthos had urinated on a sacred tree (more than 300 yrs old and considered as part of their cultural heritage), insulting the Kreetassans. Archer reacts poorly to the news and is given a list of requirements he must meet in order to apologize.
He and Doctor Phlox then tend to Porthos, and Archer spends the night in Sickbay to be with his pet. Throughout the night, as Porthos' immune system weakens, Archer experiences Phlox's side of life in Sickbay (at night Phlox goes through an elaborate and noisy ritual to clip his toenails, clean his tongue, feeding his lab specimens). Archer is pissed that the Kreetassans never mentioned about a possible pathogen that Porthos's immune system couldn't take, even when they had access to his DNA files prior to the landing party arriving on the planet. T'Pol is specifically angry with Archer for taking a dog on a diplomatic mission and putting the needs of his pet over and above the needs of his ship and crew. During the night as Porthos's condition goes up and down, Archer dreams of Porthos' funeral, Archer also deals with unresolved and suppressed sexual tension with T'Pol. He also relates to Phlox how he met Porthos, and how he was the last in a litter of four male puppies, the 'Four Musketeers'. Through it all, Archer struggles to reach an emotional understanding with Phlox and T'Pol, as the two alien senior-crew members have little grasp of the human-pet relationship, and Phlox keeps offering Archer unsolicited advice about dealing with his apparent feelings for T'Pol. while T'Pol keeps trying to get Archer focused on how he would prepare for the exacting ritual that the Kreetassans are demanding as an apology.
T'Pol, working out in the gym, also keeps urging Archer to apologize to the Kreetassans for Porthos' behavior, but Archer resists because he blames them for Porthos' illness. In the end, Porthos recovers following a pituitary transplant from an alien chameleon. Finally swallowing his pride, Archer then goes down to the Kreetassan capital and delivers an intricate ritual apology which involves slicing a tree trunk with a chainsaw, arranging the pieces of wood in a complex pattern on the ground, and chanting phrases in the Kreetassan language. Having successfully apologized to the Kreetassans, the crew finally manage to procure three plasma injectors prior to their departure.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content