Enterprise 3x5 "Impulse"

rating: ***

the story: The crew encounters a Vulcan ship whose inhabitants have been adversely affected by the Expanse.

what it's all about: "Impulse" was one of those Enterprise episodes jaded fans actually enjoyed, for much the same reason as the second season's "Dead Stop."  It was a complete tonal break, not only within the series itself but from throughout the franchise.  It's a horror story.  Or, as fans dubbed it, "zombie Vulcans!!!"  Clearly, with the massive success of The Walking Dead just a handful of years later, horror was becoming the next big thing in the genre market, beginning with the Dawn of the Dead remake.  Little surprise, considering many fans were first lured away from Star Trek by The X-Files, which itself was more horror than sci-fi.

"Zombie Vulcans!!!" is the thrust of the episode, but there's plenty of justification for it.  The second season finale, "The Expanse," that set up the Xindi arc, had referenced such things.  Now, five episodes into the arc, viewers finally get the visceral experience they were promised.  "Impulse" can easily be seen as the most thrilling episode of the season.

But it's not just cheap thrills, either.  There're lingering consequences.  T'Pol's infection leads to a drug addiction that plays out in the season.  Like the best of the preceding episodes in the arc, significant elements are featured without barreling ahead of the story.  Conversely, the whole experience can also be described as an example of what primitive Vulcans were like, before Surak's logic saved them.

criteria analysis:

• franchise - The events might seem inexplicable to casual viewers.
• series - But they're thoroughly justified in their connections to the Xindi arc.
• character - T'Pol's experiences here lead to a secret drug addiction.
• essential - The most vivid experience of the Xindi arc so far.