"Think happy endings." Reed's epiphany perfectly captures this almost perfect episode. Friction between a freezing Tucker and Reed develops as an unpleasant scenario not unlike Apollo 13 unfolds. Thinking the ship destroyed, their air supply dwindling away by the hour, Tucker willfully establishes command over Reed's pessimism even if only to deliver corpses to a distant beacon. As their nerves begin to shorten they approach the decisions of the situation in different ways.

A strong teaser, some brief asteroid maps then blam! The sudden "wreck" of Enterprise all rushed by leaving me confused - but that helped situate the plot. The pod's sensor array down, no communications, the audience is to understand that these officers are on their own. "There's no correct resolution, it's a test of character." Or rather "characters," as in Malcolm and Trip.

Malcolm has finally found a place for his hope and growth among the NX-01 crew, after something of an uncomfortable earlier emotional life. He would rather be considered "lovely" and not "stuffy." Through a dream sequence we indeed see inside Malcolm's head (a staple of "ridiculous science fiction novels" involving another questionable application of T'Pol, burdening the arc of the series with interspecies "bum checking"). Malcolm learns to thrive in the moment - he may not always have the luxury to dictate his final thoughts.

Tucker's "See ya around Captain" reflects the grim realizations produced by his quick dark wit. His sleepy agitation at Reed's dictation embarrassingly reflects his quick hot temper. The shock was well-expressed in his face as Hoshi's voice emerged from the static only to suggest a rendezvous located just beyond their gasp. But he chooses life every time, whether it involves two days warm or two and a half freezing, blowing out a little candle, or even jettisoning an exploding big one ("like sending up a flare," as Scotty would say).

Archer's performance was apparently beamed in so I'm not as annoyed at his idiotic rejection of his science officer's best theory. Treating the Terran plot device of "microsingularities" as a Vulcan science myth, dismissing her recommendations as a gremlin chase, was a problem for me. And twenty or so of the interminable commercials granted to Mayweather (maybe a morsel for Porthos) would have put the plus on the hi-A-tus but no matter, a happy ending is a happy ending. With a new lifelong friendship between Trip and Malcolm (maybe even "Stinky") entrenched, as the show still boldly and steadily goes, fandom can relax until next time and "Think happy endings."