Synopsis: Aliens take over the bodies of various Enterprise crewmembers in order to observe how the crew as a whole reacts to the threat from a lethal virus.
This episode can be seen as an illustration of what can happen when an individual’s Logos-driven rational conscious ego becomes too-one sided.
In “Observer Effect” non-corporeal aliens inhabit the bodies of various crew members as they respond to a lethal virus that has infected Commander Charles (Trip) Tucker III and Ensign Hoshi Sato. The aliens are observing the Enterprise crew as a whole to see whether or not humans are worthy of initiating first contact with them. They observe something they have not witnessed before when Captain Jonathan Archer risks his life to try to save the two dying crew members by treating them, knowing that he will become infected with the deadly virus himself. At this point the aliens have now become discovered and tell Archer that they are not interfering although they could, because they are advanced and above emotions such as compassion. Archer tells them their actions do not reflect being superior, since they have the ability to save the lives of Archer, Tucker, and Sato, but chose not to. This changes the mind of one of the aliens, and the three are cured.
In this episode, when the non-corporeal aliens choose just to observe the humans on Enterprise and not get involved in their efforts to save their crewmates, this can be compared to the conscious ego becoming too one-sided and believing that it is superior to the needs of the unconscious. However, just as Archer points out to the aliens, this is not true superiority just the airs of superiority without substance. That the one alien changed its mind and decided to cure Archer, Tucker, and Sato, can be compared to psychic healing that can occur when the conscious ego acknowledges and integrates bits of unconscious material into itself, which results in it becoming stronger and the psyche more whole.
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