Episode Report Card Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Pets And Petulance
By Keckler | Season 2 | Episode 5 | Aired on 10.15.2002
Quantum says, "I guess they haven't finished compiling their list of punishments." T'Pol corrects him that it's not punishment they're after, just an appropriate apology. Quantum flings his arms out to the side: "I'm sorry!" T'Pol glances over at him: "For what?" Quantum tells her he's just practicing, and grins mirthlessly at her. T'Pol ramps up her speed some more, and Quantum furrows The Furrow Of My Manhood's At Stake Here So I Better Make Sure I Can Run As Fast As The Fit Vulcan. Once again, he matches her speed. T'Pol offers the opinion that Capt. Iron-Deficient Man shouldn't have brought Porthos down to the planet in the first place, since they were already on thin diplomatic ice with the Kreetassans. "They knew we were bringing him -- we even sent his genetic specs," Quantum flails. That's not T'Pol's point, Capt. Super-Ego. "They could have asked us to leave him behind -- they didn't!" Quantum continues. "Porthos has a right to a little fresh air." Porthos has a right to an owner who doesn't let his narrow-minded, culturally stunted, over-developed sense of his own self-importance get in the way of plain common sense. T'Pol tells him that he's once again refusing to acknowledge the consequences of his actions. "What's that supposed to mean?" Quantum pants. "You obviously place more importance on the quality if the air your pet breathes than on the quality of the plasma that drives your ship," T'Pol explains, and ramps up her speed again. I was with her until that statement. I think her comment on Quantum's refusal to lie in his bed now that he's messed it up is spot-on. He made the choice to bring the dog down to an alien planet, which not only offended the aliens but is also the cause of his dog's present malady. He needs to suck it up and acknowledge his part in it, and stop blaming the Kreetassans for not telling him their atmosphere was inhospitable to Porthos. They have scanners on Enterprise, and they've used those scanners to analyze the atmosphere on other planets, ships, and truck stops from hell. Why didn't they do it this time? Why leave it all up to the Kreetassans, of whom they know very little and in whom they consequently shouldn't trust that much? As for her comparison of fresh air for Porthos vs. plasma injectors -- I think she's paralleling the wrong things. It's his pride that he's placing above the quality of plasma injectors, not Porthos's right to fresh air.
Quantum asks rhetorically if it isn't logical that he could care about both his ship and his dog. T'Pol's not questioning his pluralities; she's questioning his priorities. Quantum ramps up his speed again and gags that he was starting to think she understood something about human emotions, but he guesses he was wrong about that. "Not when it pertains to primitive quadrupeds, who haven't developed the ability to speak or to use a toilet," T'Pol says, and gets off her treadmill. "Whattsa matter?" Quantum slobbers. T'Pol looks him up and down with distaste: "I obviously can't keep up with you." Heh. T'Pol turns to answer a comm from Hoshi as Quantum decreases his speed to a snail's pace and falls all over the console. "We've just received a transmission from the Kreetassans -- it's their reconciliation demands," Hoshi grins. "The Captain's not going to believe this." "You'd be surprised, Hoshi!" Quantum calls back. Hoshi's grin vanishes as she stumbles out that she didn't realize his big giant head was within earshot. Quantum tells her it's okay and they're on their way.