Disclaimer: I don't have any complete series collections, and mostly just have a few Fan Collectives now to watch over and over. I've missed the last two seasons of ENT except for Fan Collective episodes. As a result, I'm unaware of the major arcs (and is why I prefer episodic rather than serial format). I tend not to rate episodes on a numeric scale. Judgment (Episode 2:19) TV blurb: Archer is put on trial for his life by the Klingon Empire. There are some good performances here, notably by the always versatile J.G. Hertzler. Unfortunately, the story seems to unconsciencely echo DS9's "Tribunal" when showing the one-sentence-fits-all mentality of Klingon justice. The tribunal hall scenes are well staged, intentionally drawing comparison to ST6:TUC, though on a smaller budget. Fanwankiness is evident, with the inclusion of a member of the Duras family, and the amazing coincidence that the Klingon word for "enemy" sounds like "Kirk". I'm not a big fan of courtroom shows (TNG: The Drumhead is the exception), or flashbacks, and this episode contains both. But overall, I liked the episode despite these two factors against it.
I should have thought Judgement was a big yawn, not a fan of Klingons and court stories are something I think should be excised from science fiction. And yet this episode worked for me, I thought it well paced with great acting and I always enjoy it.
I liked Duras and Archer's different versions of their encounter. That sort of stuff always entertains me. I enjoyed the STVI references (this is one of the few earlier ENT episodes that felt like a real prequel), and seeing Rura Penthe again was very cool (pardon the pun) - although after its fearsome reputation built up in VI, Archer easily walking out with Malcolm at the end was a "WTF?" ending. I imagine fans were furious about that at the time! How did I not notice the Klingon word for "enemy" sounds like Kirk? I've gotta go rewatch! That would explain why the Klingons were chanting "KIRK! KIRK! KIRK!" in STVI when they were clearly against him...
I liked "Judgment" too. The "Rashomon" conflicting stories ("I'm Captain Archer of the battle cruiser Enterprise" ), Rura Penthe, echoes of STVI, the always wonderful J.G. Hertzler. The whole idea that there are Klingons who do something other than charge into battle and eat gagh. Klingon lawyer, very cool. Like in the later "Affliction"/"Divergence," when we see a Klingon scientist and that glorious performance by John Schuck.
Or are we seeing it for the first time? I dunno. That's part of a problem with prequels. There was dialogue of officials and guards being bribed, but really wasn't prominent enough.
"Judgement" is one of my most rewatched episode for the same reason I like "Fallen Hero", also mentioned by HR above. It gave us Kolos, an unconventional Klingon more preoccupied with the matters of the court than with those of war, much less belligerent than the Klingons we'd met before and much more inclined to think objectively about the state of the Empire. Of course, the character was written that way, but I think much of the credit should go to J.G. Hertzler. I loved Martok and I loved Kolos. He injected both characters with a certain air of wisdom that is very refreshing to see in a Klingon. On the pure fun side, Archer saying, "Death to the Empire!" has got to be one of the most badass moments in the series. There's almost a comic book feel to the whole exchange between Archer and the Klingon captain.
IIRC, this is Scott Bakula's favorite episode, or one of them anyway. It's on the Captain's collection where each actor to portray a captain submits an episode that they liked. As for Kolos, I like to think that he's an ancestor of Martok. Not just because JG Hertzler played both, but because Kolos - like Martok - was a truly honorable and good person who cared about his empire *and* was a warrior, in a way.
I watched his preface to the episode (I have the Captain's Log set), and he said he rewatched it the night before the interview. He said halfway through he thought "why did I choose this one?" He felt the story was what was important.
Yes! He cared enough about the empire to see what was wrong with it, and that, I believe, is true honor.
Liked the episode. Reading through this thread, it occurred to me that Enterprise Klingons were basically pissing on Ron Moore. Gives a different perspective on what kind of "tribute" Farmer Moore shooting the Klingon really is, no?