Character Insight No. 216: Best of Dr. Phlox

Welcome back to Character Insight! This week, we continue the "Best Of" series for Enterprise with a profile of Dr. Phlox, the chief medical officer. [FAITH OF THE HEART]

https://archive.org/details/CharacterInsightEp216

In the season 1 episode Dear Doctor, Phlox explains his reasoning for serving as medical officer aboard Archer's Enterprise, which explains a lot of how his character acts over the entirety of the show:

[from Phlox's reply to Dr. Lucas, his Human colleague]
Dr. Phlox: You'll be pleased to hear that the crew finally seems to be growing accustomed to an alien doctor on board. I must admit, I wasn't planning to stay this long, but the opportunity to observe your species on their first deep space venture has proven irresistible.

That episode also involves interesting debates between Captain Archer and Dr. Phlox about whether to intervene in another world's medical emergency. Phlox makes the case that Neanderthals weren't helped over humans, leading to this exchange:

Captain Jonathan Archer: They've asked for our help. I am not prepared to walk away, based on a theory.
Dr. Phlox: Evolution is more than a theory. It is a fundamental scientific principle. Forgive me for saying so - but I believe your compassion for these people is affecting your judgment.
Captain Jonathan Archer: My compassion guides my judgment...Can you find a cure?
...
Dr. Phlox: [after a long pause] I already have.

Archer and Phlox also interact a lot in the season 2 episode A Night In Sickbay, when Phlox has to treat the Captain's dog Porthos. It leads to more conversations about Phlox's world and background:

Captain Jonathan Archer: Does your expertise on... sexual tension come from professional training or... firsthand experience?
Dr. Phlox: I do have three wives.
...
Captain Jonathan Archer: Sounds very complicated.
Dr. Phlox: Very. Why else be polygamous?

In the season 2 episode Vanishing Point, Dr. Phlox shows a little wariness of technology in a similar manner to some other old doctor you may remember from Star Trek:

Dr. Phlox: Transporter technology is, er, very new. I'm sure Humans were equally frightened when the automobile was introduced, or the aeroplane. New forms of transport take a while to get used to. I'm not at all surprised at your reaction; you wouldn't catch me using that apparatus.

Finally, we couldn't leave out the other obvious Dr. McCoy callback from season 3's Doctor's Orders, where Phlox must keep the ship running by himself:

Dr. Phlox: I'm a physician, not an engineer!

Dr. Phlox, much like T'Pol, provides an exterior perspective on the humans as they make their first deep space travel adventures. That allows him to bring humor and a unique perspective that is a big net positive on this iteration of Trek.