Star Trek: Enterprise (TV Series) Bound (2005) User Reviews

Routine-ish episode slightly saved by core plot developments

[jrarichards · 7/10 · 8 December 2018]

While the irresistible "Green Women" of Orion introduced in the Original Trek were presumably too good to miss in at least one episode of "Enterprise", they mostly contribute to a fairly lacklustre, predictable episode made 40 years later and encompassing necessary adjustments in line with the thinking of our times, if not the amount of skin coverage achieved by the three women's minimalist attire. Cyia Batten, Crystal Allen and Menina Fortunato do well enough as these heroines, while Billingsley, Bakula, Keating and Montgomery all have some fun with their at-times daft, at-times aggressive characters coming under increasing pheremonal control.

The slight saving grace in this one is Connor Trinneer's portrayal of Trip, who has to beat up his newly re-demoted deputy following an act or two of gross insubordination, but is unaffected by the presence of the new females on the ship, thanks to his being helplessly and hopelessly captivated by T'Pol. The latter here appears courtesy of a Jolene Blalock looking far healthier (and a tad more voluptuous) than in earlier episodes of the season, and thus returned to full "goddess" status. She's breathtaking here (and actually far more gorgeous than the actress that plays her, which is a fascinating conundrum in itself). And, yes, this is the episode in which she (FINALLY) gives way to her romantic and erotic need for Tucker, and by golly it does somehow feel like it's been worth the wait! The makers taunted us with this for episode after episode, and now here it is! Not quite sure what it's all about (or how vicarious?), but this bit made the episode for me, as I suspect it will have done for many others...

Well, at least Captain Pike liked these ladies...

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 31 May 2015]

This episode hearkens back to the original "Star Trek" pilot--the one with Jeffery Hunter as Captain Pike. In this pilot (later chopped up and re-edited into "The Menagerie"), the Captain is tempted by a green Orion slave girl. Here in "Bound", Captain Archer and his crew come into contact with these Orion ladies--but this time the result is very, very different.

The show begins with a member of the Orion Syndicate who offers to make peace with Earth and go into business with them. To show his sincerity, he gives Archer three lovely (and VERY scantily clad) green slave girls. However, like the Trojan War, you KNOW that this gift isn't what it appears to be...and soon almost everyone on the ship begins acting strangely!

This is a very good episode which will probably annoy some ladies, as the show is much like a male Trekkie's dreams! But it is well made and the twist near the end very nice--so it is worth seeing.

The Seduction of Enterprise

[Samuel-Shovel · 6/10 · 7 March 2018]

In "Bound", the Enterprise encounters an Orion ship whose captain negotiates a deal to give Enterprise the coordinates of a planet with amble resources for Star Fleet to mine. In exchange, he asks for 10% of the profits. To celebrate the deal, he gives the Enterprise 3 Orion women held in slavery. The presence of these women cause the human men on the ship to begin to act irrationally (with the exception of Trip). The human women begun suffering from headaches. Dr. Phlox's sleep cycle is out of whack. The only members of the crew unaffected seem to be Trip & T'Pol. Phlox discovers that the women are exuding a pheromone that's causing all of this. T'Pol mating with Trip has evidently made him immune to its powers. All of this is a trap for the Orion ship to return and catch the Enterprise defenseless, taking the wanted Archer to the Orion Syndicate and stealing the Enterprise. It's up to Trip & T'Pol to stop all of this before it's too late.

We're hitting the home stretch now and this episode represents a bit of filler. It's a combination of a homage to the original pilot and an excuse for the writers to show off some skin as they like to do from time to time. Trip decides to return to Enterprise, despite the fact that he agreed to leave only a few episodes ago. That plot didn't really go anywhere. There's nothing exceptional about this episode, though Phlox and T'Pol are as good as ever.

Relatively fun episode if not taken too seriously

[snoozejonc · 7/10 · 1 January 2021]

Enterprise takes on board three Orion females.

I enjoyed this one for the focus on Orion people, the relatively silly nature of the plot along with some decent character moments for Trip and T'Pol.

This story I can imagine annoying some people in a similar way to the original series episode Mudd's Women does for its take on femininity. It contains female characters with self worth attributed to their attractiveness, males who can't help but respond to it and a fairly unique take on slavery. Personally I didn't take it too seriously and found it quite fun. The plot unfolds in an unoriginal and predictable way but I've seen far worse on Star Trek.

Accusations of sexism get thrown about, but as much as some people like to pretend times have changed, there are still men in the world who cannot see past a pretty face and women who use this as a weapon. Of course Bound presents a rather outrageous situation, but in principle I've witnessed this type of behaviour first hand in life many times. This doesn't mean all men and women are the same, but it's a fact of life that this dynamic is out there and these type of primal instincts can be very apparent in some people. Hence you see powerful men with trophy wives and a market for mail-order brides. It's sad world but it is the one we live in.

The actresses portraying the Orion females are exploited for their looks and sexual allure, but that's what the part calls for and they do it well, particularly Cyia Batten. The Enterprise regulars are up to their usual standards with only T'Pol an Trip having any decent character moments. Their romance is (for once) worked into a plot quite well.

As with the Andorrians, I enjoyed the focus on a little seen species from the original series and this was a positive.

If you watch it looking for a clever plot or something as politically correct as found in modern day movies you'll be disappointed. For me it is a 6.5/10, but on IMDB I round upwards.

Ridiculous

[Hughmanity · 6/10 · 3 June 2021]

This episode heartens back to the original series days when bikini clad alien women abounded. The premise that Capt Archer would accept female slaves(!) as a gift and then just let them run around the Enterprise is a total shark jump. I get that they are supposed to have seductive pheromones or whatever, but why aren't the female members of the crew screaming foul?

I'm watching this in 2021 and it's amazing how even in 15 years times have changed dramatically. This episode would never get made as written today, but was still fun to watch on some level as a love letter to Kirk and the boys with their alien romance shenanigans.

In Each Man's Head

[claudio_carvalho · 8/10 · 29 April 2010]

While traveling to the Berengaria, the Enterprise is intercepted by an Orion ship commanded by Captain Harrad-Sar. After an initial hostility, the alien surprisingly invites Captain Archer to pay a visit to him. Archer and Reed are transported to the ship and Harrad-Sar offers a feast and then a dancing show with three seductive Orion females. When Archer returns to Enterprise, he reports to T'Pol that Harrad-Sar had found a huge magnesite mine but did not have the necessary resources to invest in the mining operation. He had offered the location to the Starfleet and in return he would ask a commission of 10% of the extraction. Archer has accepted the deal and received the three Orion dancers as a gift. The Orion females affect the entire crew except T'Pol and Trip. Dr. Phlox discovers that the men have a great increase in their pheromone becoming careless in their duties and easily persuaded by the females and the women have headache affecting their concentration on the job. However, the Vulcan T'Pol is not affected and Trip is mind bounded to her. Sooner Archer realizes that the Orion females are not the slaves on board of Enterprise.

"Bound" is a "sexy" episode of Enterprise, with Captain Archer receiving a Trojan horse through the form of three female aliens on board of his ship capable of almost destroying the Enterprise. The three actresses do a great job in the role of the Orion females in the lead plot. The romance between T'Poll and Trip is delightfully funny. Dr. Phlox as usual is one of the most pleasant character with his witty lines. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Elo" ("Link")

Female Pheremones

[lfreepartner · 6/10 · 4 December 2020]

Much as I like scantily clad babes and as much as I believe females can manipulate males by arousal, I doubt the performances in this episode would cause a man to sabotage his ship. These green dancers are not Susan Oliver or Yvonne Craig.

In my personal experience, When truly in love, I saw no other. This held true with Trip.

Green babes needed better acting.

Better than what we have today

[vslampert · 9/10 · 18 February 2019]

As we're watching Enterprise, Discovery and The Orville simultaneously, I can compare and concluded Enterprise is way better. Even with those green ladies and the green fellow. This episode could be a 6 or 7 if I wasn't comparing to others series. As I am, it seems better. So, I give it 9. Thank you, Discovery and Orville for making me value this old treasure.

Nothing New

[Vvardenfell_Man · 6/10 · 25 April 2024]

This is a plot-heavy season with multi-episode arcs all over the place. Its weakest episodes are the monster- or villain-of-the-week plots that are probably recycled from earlier series like TNG or TOS. Who knows how many Phase II scripts are still lying around, unproduced, waiting for a good doctoring? This could be any episode of any series of Trek, which is interesting given its place at the tail end of ENT. We've spent 2 seasons watching things develop toward the utopian future of the 23rd and 24th centuries. The Andorians, Vulcans, and Tellarites are canonically the founding species of the Federation so it's gratifying to see their progression toward unification.

Then we get this episode and the Orion slave girls show up. There's really not enough space on the television screen for all the T&A that wants to be on display here. In another format--maybe a differently exploitative one, like pornography or '70s grindhouse cinema--they might have been less intrusive. Plus, we saw T'Pol's bum and have heard people talk about it for 4 seasons now. There's enough skin on display here to give any Puritan whiplash.

From the Sublime to the Ridiculous

[Hitchcoc · 5/10 · 31 March 2017]

I suppose there is going to have to be a bit of levity now and then as the series heads into the home stretch. Archer and the gang are on their way to a meeting to find a new planet for a headquarters. Along the way, a ship full of Orion's shows up. These are the guys that sold several crew members into slavery in a previous episode. Archer and several Enterprise crew member accept the Orion's hospitality and after eating, are treated to some green belly dancers (slaves?) who seem to be able to manipulate men. Three of them are soon made gifts to Archer, who stupidly allows them the run of the ship. Soon they have upset the entire balance of the Starship. All the males on board begin to act like salivating teenagers and begin to compromise the mission. Trip and T'Pol seem to have what it takes to resist these women. Of course, this episode would imply that the crew never learned a thing through all their experiences.

Most of us will have a blast, but it's not for insecure women

[borismk-38942 · 9/10 · 5 June 2020]

This episode will get some flack for it's portrayal of the seductive Orion women, and no doubt being a red blooded man made me appreciate the episode a whole lot more.

However it's important to note that their sexuality is far from gratuitous (not that sexuality should ever be considered gratuitous, regardless of gender), you can tell from the start that their seduction techniques (both subtle and obvious) are done to perfection in order to influence the males on the Enterprise.

Far from being degrading, these characters obviously embrace their femininity to their benefit (and the benefit of anyone who appreciates their form) and that's refreshing in oh so many ways.

The women are greener on the other side

[tomsly-40015 · 6/10 · 18 April 2024]

Ah, the early years in the Star Trek universe. When the aliens had different colored skin. Blue like the Andorians or green like the Orions. And as always, the Orion women are particularly highlighted - as you could also see in the Kelvin timeline movies. There seems to be a certain attraction to looking at half-naked green women.

This episode shows in a way that shouldn't be taken entirely seriously who is in charge at the Orions: it's the women and not the men. With their beguiling pheromones, Orion females seem to easily wrap pretty much any male creature around their fingers. This episode shows this uncontrollable attraction better than the LD episode "Something Borrowed, Something Green". There men are just cheap pleasure slaves. In this episode, however, the men are often simply not in control of their emotions and are actually manipulated into following the Orion women's wishes. Basically it's not particularly different from the behavior that men already exhibit - after all, it's often enough for women to dress skimpily to drive men crazy.

But once again one has to doubt Archer's suitability as captain. Although he is aware of the beguiling manipulation effect of the Orion females, he has them guarded by MEN! And of course the three girls manage to get these men to release them with a snap of their fingers. Why didn't he assign female crew members? Apart from a bit of a headache, the effect of their pheromones on other women doesn't seem to have any disadvantages. There are enough women on the ship. Also among the MACOs (speaking of which, what happened to Amanda Cole, who was never seen again?). Or when Archer realizes that he too can't resist the influence of the Orion women: he basically had to hand over his command to T'Pol since she showed no signs of being manipulated. Instead, Archer risks making the wrong decisions as captain in a state of sexual delusion for no reason!

Archer's wrong. Even in the U.S. slavery is legal in 2020.

[sogoodlooking · 4/10 · 24 September 2020]

It hasn't been outlawed "for hundreds of years" as he claims, given the CE date of the episode. Check the 13th Amendment of your Constitution: You're so primitive you still permit slavery for the millions convicted of a crime.

Still, "The Cage" inventing green Orion women in 1964 continues to pay dividends all these years later. Fwiw, are we supposed to believe Archer slept with Navaar about 19 minutes in to this otherwise unexceptional episode? Sure seems like it.

As for how the women are featured, the music accompanying their initial performance is ill-advised, lacking the more hypnotic, otherworldly musical elements and instrumentation of the original dance, instead going with a more conventional (and less compelling) belly dance-type music and rhythms; and once they get to Enterprise, their first scene lacks any music at all, a significant mistake that leaves us rather immune to their green charms.

Still, Phlox casually slapping a hypo into his neck is hilarious, as is Archer trying to intimidate Trip with a glare as part of the male crew members' intramural challenging of each other.

--What does Trip mean at 30m in when he says he and T'Pol didn't "mate"? I thought that was a given? As for Enterprise failing to initiate the attack against Harrad-Sar, c'mon. There's nothing about the story that requires them to wait until their obvious assailant launches the first strike. In addition, towing the entire Enterprise with a single cable is impossible.

-- No, Orion women do not control Orion men as a general principle. Sorry, but that's not just not canon, it's anti-canonical. Yuck.

Hey, why didn't T'Pol replace the men guarding the Orions in the brig, with women guards? That could have been a terrific scene, and a logical one. The script is just too full of holes to be plausible, or particularly enjoyable.

Green Sirens

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 20 August 2010]

While approaching a planet believed to have no intelligent life Enterprise is intercepted by an Orion ship. The ships captain invites Archer to come over his ship for discussions; Malcolm and Travis join him. Once there they are given a fine meal before being entertained by three Orion slave girls who clearly have an effect on the three men. When they return to Enterprise they are accompanied by the three scantily clad beauties and Archer tells T'Pol that he has made a deal with the Orion captain concerning the mining of a planet. As they head to the planet something strange starts to happen to the crew, the women are getting headaches and most of the men are falling under the spell of the Orion girls due to their pheromones; they are starting to act in an unprofessional way and when the Enterprise come under attack from a ship that poses no threat whatsoever Archer orders Malcolm to destroy it, he refuses however. One of the Orions persuades engineering officer Kelby to sabotage the ship and they are left without propulsion while their master comes to capture Archer. Luckily T'Pol and Trip find away to defeat their assailant and prevent the captain from acting under the influence of the women.

This was an enjoyable stand-alone episode; the three Orion girls may have been slaves but it was clear that they had a control of the men on Enterprise. I can see why the crew came under their spell, their behaviour was highly seductive and their costumes were pure fan-service. It was a nice twist to discover that the true slaves weren't the women and that even within Orion society they were the real bosses. The way T'Pol and Trip were immune was a little convenient but was necessary to make the story work and it is nice that there is still a connection between them and that Trip will be staying on Enterprise.

A preposterous scripted episode. Didn't like it much at all.

[davidhiggins-89756 · 3/10 · 24 August 2021]

**Does contain spoilers***, **Does contain spoilers***.

This whole episode rested upon Capt Archer being daft enough to accept 3 women off some mercenary guy they came across in space. So no matter the security risk these 3 women were left unaccompanied to roam Enterprise and low & behold they SABOTAGED the ship.

Just would not have happened. Capt Archer would have declined from the start citing some made up Starfleet regulation or even actual one.

The trade negotiations would hardly have not gone through. IF that was the sticking point it would have alerted Capt Archer to the fact something underhand was in play, that they were being planted to cause trouble, WHAT was he going to do with them anyway?. Let them get off on some planet?.

SO, for that MASSIVE Insult to the viewers Intelligence this WASTED episode is barely worth 3 stars. It just dragged on & on, did nothing, went nowhere.

BTW, the NEXT 2 episodes were also a waste of time & effort. Leaving me believing there was yet another episode following on from such an INCONCLUSIVE ending as that 2 part dark scanner malarkey.

The writers could have at least had at the end of S04 E20 the wording "The End". After going on to episode S04 E21, I was expecting some sort of continuation of that off beat storyline. Checking through the episodes to see if I had missed one out or dosed off during S04 E20 and missed some content out.

The two parter with an alternative Capt Archer being as nasty & as HAMMY as he can be, possibly due to playing a character that dressed up as Capt Kirk. IIn a way Bukula took after the swaggering cocky bombasticness of Shatner. I could see a similarity.

This particular episode (Bound) did nothing for me. It generated the 2nd LOWEST (original air date!) audience figure for Enterprise season 4. Correspondingly as season 4 was the lowest audience rating season, (the main reason Enterprise was canned!), THIS episode pulled the 2nd LOWEST audience figures of an episode in the ENTIRE Enterprise series.

So just 3 stars for this episode. The next 2 episodes are worth about 4 stars, that did nothing much for me also except showed what snazzy dramatic uniforms were originally worn on TOS.

Plain coloured, yes maybe, in the various colours but far more visually engaging than the Enterprise 'boiler suit' uniforms. Especially the red uniforms, stood out no end, came out well on the 65" 4K TV.

Was leaving the entire TOS till last, still will if I can get it all in full HD or even 720p and put up with the sight of Shatner taking over the whole series, just that the uniforms will look refreshing & bright compared to many other ST series, especially on this series Enterprise.

Just 3 stars then, a disappointing episode, nothing much going for it.

Most of the acting & production was good enough just it had a stupid script, poorly written, poor writing all adding to the cancellation of Enterprise.

BTW, Enterprise was cancelled just 2 days after episode 12 of season 4 called "Babel One" was originally aired. THAT 'Babel One' episode was the LOWEST viewer audience rating of the entire Enterprise season at 2.53 million, just 0.03 million lower than this particular 'Bound' episode.