Episode 82: The Augments

Let's see. First, it was a season-long story arc. Then a two-parter. And now a trilogy. Can't we just have a single episode once in a while?


"The Augments" closes out the Soong story line. It's a silly action yarn with thrills and chills from start to finish and, but for the significant reservations I have detailed in my posts on the first two parts of the trilogy, entertaining enough.


We are treated to an homage to TOS's The Undiscovered Country when Archer has to bluff his way past a distant Klingon Battle Cruiser by claiming to be a Klingon ship escorting the Chancellor from meetings on Orion. Of course, in the middle of that homage, we must also wonder how the 22nd Century Enterprise can make itself invisible to the distant Klingons by adopting a Klingon warp signature, something the 23rd Century Enterprise is apparently incapable of doing. And, despite the fact that Chekov makes it clear that they can't use the Universal Translator while impersonating the Klingons as the use of the UT would be recognized, Archer seems to have no such problems.


So, it's an homage filled with errors in Star Trek lore. Great.


The plot is fairly simple


The Augments, led by Dr. Soong, have rescued the Eugenic embryos from Cold Station 12 and now have to figure out what to do next. Archer has saved the Station from Malik's release of all the nasty viruses that were in storage and himself in the process and Enterprise is now in pursuit of the Augments.


Enterprise catches up with the Augment ship and is about to defeat it but then Soong cleverly drops the stolen Dinobulan medical vessel into a dangerous orbit around a nearby planet and Enterprise must permit the Augments to escape in order to perform a rescue of the vessel's sole Dinobulan occupant.


Soong, meanwhile, is having a crisis of conscience as he witnesses the increasing violence perpetrated by his children, especially Malik. When it becomes clear that Soong believes the Augments must lead the human race but not use violence to do so, Malik stages a revolt against the "Father". The satanic son (see Paradise Lost) plans to incite a war between the Klingon Empire and Earth by loosing one of the viruses he has stolen on an innocent Klingon colony planet and letting the humans take the blame.


The resulting war will give the Augments a chance to escape and raise a small army from the embryos and, best of all, it will get Enterprise and Archer off their backs.


Persis, unhappy with how things are going, helps Soong escape the stolen bird of prey in an escape pod but then is killed by Malik for her treachery.


Enterprise picks up Soong and, after much chatting and debate, Archer finally decides to believe his story that Malik plans to infect an entire planet with the virus. On its way to save the day, Enterprise is attacked by a massive Klingon Battle Cruiser but escapes through a clever use of its grapplers. Enterprise intercepts the Augments just in time, destroys the virus-bearing torpedo before it reaches the planet's atmosphere to disperse its deadly load, and (with Soong's help) deprives the Augment ship of power.


Despite Soong's pleas, however, Malik chooses to blow his own ship to pieces, killing all of Soong's children, rather than accept capture.


Malik somehow manages to beam over to Enterprise at the last second and uses his last breath to try to kill his father. Archer, of course, manages to stop him and Soong is delivered back to his cell on Earth. Turned off by the violence his Augments created, Soong decides to turn his considerably brilliance toward cybernetics instead.


As I said in my previous post, Malik's decision to destroy his own ship at the end of its battle with Enterprise is a clear tribute to the end of The Wrath of Khan and the father-son relationship between Soong and Malik is an ironic reversal of the relationship between Khan (who espouses violent means) and his son Joachim (who wants to take a more deliberate, peaceful approach) in that TOS film.


Brent Spiner gives a chilling, convincing performance throughout this three-episode arc as the brilliant, superior and eventually repentant Dr. Soong, convinced of the rightness of his cause at first but horrified by the violence and cruelty that ensues. He is by far the best thing in these episodes.