Defiant escapes from the Tholian base, obliterating it before ripping through their puny fleet. The escape pods are retrieved to staff the larger ship. Hoshi and Archer use the computer (Majel!) to learn about their un-evil counterparts. (Archer describing Archer: "There's nothing great about that man!") Evil Mayweather pummels a slave worker into revealing there's a Gorn on board literally eating the crew; they track it down mercifully and quick. Admiral Black meets up with them in the NX-class sister ship, Avenger, with his First Officer Soval (complete with evil beard).

Black wants Archer to hand Defiant over to the Empire; oh, and sorry we don't have an extra ship for you. Archer insists he does have a ship; he wants to lead Starfleet from the command of Defiant. Admiral Black doesn't like the idea so Archer phasers him. (That was cool.) T'Pol tries to enlist the help of Soval and Phlox, who sabotages Defiant by removing some lighted thingies. Archer give a pep talk in Avenger's Launch Bay, then decides to rid Defiant of all non-humans. Hoshi and T'Pol fight (with a bleeding-green knife wound). Trip repairs the sabotage just in time to tear into Avenger. But, just as Archer thinks he's gained it all, he gets poisoned by Hoshi who, with Mayweather's assistance, assumes control of Defiant and announces herself as the next Empress.

The second half seemed a little looser than the first but still had joyous moments aplenty. The escape of the Defiant was fabulous. In fact, everything about the Defiant was fabulous. The bridge sounds. The aft torpedoes. The inner hallway detail, and the (brighter?) Jefferies Tubes with large open air access tunnels. Even the TOS uniforms were good to see again, like Kirk's wraparound and T'Pol in a dress. And a special salute goes to the direction using stock TOS bridge shots, e.g. over the Captain to communications.

The episode had its distractions though too, like the ineffective and strange two-Archer scenes confronting his inner side, stupid both in concept and execution. Or like the silly silhouette scene with Hoshi and Archer. The return of the Gorn, inexplicably terrible in CGI, was disappointing. And frankly Bakula's acting, as when threatening Evil T'Pol, was atrocious. Evil Archer does do evil, like the destruction of the Vulcan ship, but by and large he's usually just annoying. Is there an Annoying Universe just a transporter accident away as well?

Oh well, I enjoyed this two-parter immensely. I just know I'm going to miss the new, evil opening.