Synopsis: In order to travel through an area of space that is deadly to every other crew member aboard, Dr. Phlox takes charge of Enterprise.
This episode can be seen as how sometimes the Logos-driven rational conscious ego believes it is all that exists in the psyche, until it is forced to acknowledge the existence of bits of material from the Eros-driven irrational unconscious.
In “Doctor’s Orders,” the Enterprise crew approaches an area of the Expanse where there is a transdimensional disturbance. Dr. Phlox, because of his Denobulan physiology, believes he is immune to its effects, so in order to head through the area he places the rest of the crew in a comatose state for their protection. For the next four days, only Phlox, Porthos, Captain Jonathan Archer’s dog, and Phlox’s other creatures in sick bay are alone on the Enterprise. During this time Phlox dictates a letter to his associate Dr. Jeremy Lucas. But then we see that Sub-Commander T’Pol is also aboard to assist Phlox. However, after Phlox sees a Xindi, a deformed Ensign Hoshi Sato, and Archer, he realizes that he too is being affected by the disturbance. But it is only at the end of the episode, when Phlox revives T’Pol along with the rest of the crew, that it is revealed how much Phlox has been hallucinating. He then sends off his embellished tale to Lucas, thinking it will amuse him.
In this episode, when Phlox feels that his Denobulan physiology makes him immune to the effects of the transdimensional disturbance, this can be analogized to the conscious ego thinking that it is all that there is in the psyche. When he is forced to realize that he has also been affected by the disturbance and has been hallucinating, this can be compared to when the conscious ego acknowledges that there are bits of material from the unconscious that it needs to integrate into itself. It can be unsettling, as it is for Phlox to get through this situation, but it is the way to make the ego stronger and the psyche more whole.
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